US Pro Singles 2018

I had gone in to the tournament full of confidence with the way I was playing, with my head space and my fitness. My first match against Craig Greenhalgh was a nice warm up to face Camden Riviere. Craig is a good player with a handicap of 5. I played well and didn't make many errors so I was pleased to walk off the court having only lost 2 games.

I was really pumped to take on Camden and thought I could push him and give him a scare. The early exchanges were close and the first 4 games went to deuce, but I won none of those games. I was getting increasingly frustrated that I was not executing in the way I know I can. The tennis balls were not behaving and I was struggling to adapt to the weird bounces. I am so used to the way my court plays that I let this get into my head. I spent too much of the second set annoyed by the balls and lost the 2nd set 6/0. In the 3rd set I was much more competitive, but by then Camden was on a roll and I lost the set 6/2

I was very disappointed in the way I lost the match, not because of the scoreline, but because I worked hard on trying to stay in the moment and playing 1 point at time leading up to this tournament. I failed in the mental strength department in the match against Camden. I do find it very frustrating playing him as he can reel of a lot of quick points and you don't really know how the scoreline gets away from you. I won't let this result get to me. I determined to to get my head focused when I play at the highest level and to enjoy myself more when I am playing matches. I truly believe in my ability to get to the top, I just need to match my head with my skill level .

The good news is I have 2 tournaments just around the corner. First up starting the 11th July I play in the UK Pro Doubles with Rob Fahey at Prested hall and then The Champions Trophy at Hampton Court Palace follows. I am looking forward to playing and have kept up my training with Mike Cecchi, I feel fit and ready to go!