After finding out i was not a top seed anymore but a bottom seed of the grade above me my whole outlook for the tourny changed but i made it my goal to win at least 1 game out of 3. The Open mens draw consisted of the former number 22 in the WORLD Mike Corren and ex top junior lance beddoes along with other high A graders. The womans Open draw had the number 14 in the world/No.1 in the nz Joelle King. A lot of talent there thats for sure.
3 and a half hours drive later we arrive at the club with sore stiff legs. Game times are up and im 1st out of the camp. My choice of attire for the 1st game against the number 1 in my draw is my yellow court shoes, bright blue shorts and my black and white squash shirt (gotta be comfy haha.) Purple powerade this time. My opponent is a mid B grader and im way below on C1. Warm up goes good, the courts are fast. I get the 1st set and my opponent wasnt happy. I dont think a pie and sausage roll and coke from bp on the way were very good because i was pretty much out of energy after the 1st set!! i lose the 2nd set but not by many. The 3rd set is full of arguments ( not by me for a change) the refs are on my side though which is good! i keep my mouth shut and get on with it. I scrape the 3rd set to go to a 2-1 lead. Purple powerade is doing the trick but i feel so drained. My mate jordan was giving me tips between games and my opponent was sniggering at them and mumbling to himself. Pffft shut up. Myswell have not even played the 4th set because i had no energy and just went for shots the whole time only pulling a few off. Allgood though time to get back in the game. 5th and final set time. Getting the 1st point here is vital to the mental side of this set. I race to a good lead and everything goes my way as i hit my shots and i put my opponent under pressure and force him to make mistakes. Game match ball to a tired dripping with sweat me haha. One more point i say to myself before i serve. A longish rally then BANG he hits the tin and i win! Stoked much! I have knocked out the number 1 after a long tiring battle! the term used after beating someone way above you is "giant killer" ill take that ha. I go and lie down in the changing rooms for ages. sorest legs ever haha. Needa massage when i get back ;) We get to see the top player Mike absolutely kill the bottom seed of the open. After watching the rest of the camp play we head to our cabins at some motor camp. I score top bunk greeeat. Next game at 6pm sat night.
Next game is against the number 5 Josh Oakley who is the son of former World No.1 Woman Susan Devoy. He is 15yrs old and the size of a garden gnome but ranked way above me. I destroy him in the 1st set and he is sulking and swearing when on court. Heaps of little kids that play have the worst attitude. 2nd set goes to him although it is close.im down heavily in the 3rd set but make a huge comeback to get game point but play some dumb shots to give him gamepoint. I get it back again but cant capitalize. Such a waste and poor shot selection by me, i should of just went for nics i have been pulling them off all tournament. I waste him in the 4th set as my confidence climbs and the kid is upset ( later on i find out that he was outside on the field crying and had to be lifted up and taken back to the court bahahaha.) 5th set goes crap nothing works as i tin my way to a loss that i could have won. oh well he ends up winning the final 3/1 against the number 3 so i actually did pretty good.
We get to see Mike Corren again this time playing an old fit as A1 dude who gives him a run for his money. Mike gets some bad calls against him and he mocks and swears at the ref, a poor attitude from someone of this level! but also funny to watch. He wins 3-2 to progress to the final. We also get to see Joelle play who is freakishly fit and good. Dominos for tea.
11:40 is my final game for 3rd/4th place. I'm up against the number 7 who beat the number 2. The ball is soo bouncy and my opponent is a basher. I clean up the 1st set. lose the 2nd, tin everything. lose the 3rd im playing like crap! not getting into position for shots and not getting low enough. I get some bad calls and argue a little. i make a huge comeback in the 4th set to get game point but cant take it. I wrap my racket around the player and ask for a let and get a no let! soo frustrating as this call is COMPLETLY wrong. I turn quickly to the ref and ask what is she on about?! it was more looking like a stroke than anything else! i say to her "You're not even good enough to make that call" still angry my opponent serves and hits the nic in the back corner and takes the game. Such an unfair call pretty much turned the game right around as i reckon if i could have taken the game to 5 i would have won it. As soon as i get to the changing rooms i throw my racket into the seats. should have been my game. This is why low ranked woman shouldnt ref men, they dont understand the game. Players your own grade should be reffing each other not lower ones. Oh well gotta move on i got my 1/3 wins and learnt a lot. The prizes for places are crap so im not bothered that im not getting one haha my mate from up north gave me some strings so thats allgood pretty much worth more than any prize on the table ha.
Mens open final time No.1 Mike vs No.2 Lance. Mike wins fairly easy in 3 but after a lot of arguments, threats and a bit of shoving on court. Not the kind of attitudes you expect from some of the top ranked players in NZ.
Meeean tourny overall pretty happy with it just wish i got 1 more win. Bring on MataMata next weekend $7grand spread of prize money :)
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