Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-0 Jana Shiha (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (22m)
Melissa
I think Jana was injured recently, plus she is in an exam period, so I don’t think she is the most prepared of players.
I didn’t win a match for a very long time, since BlackBall I didn’t play PSA except Manchester, and I lost in the first round. I was in search of self confidence really. Plus, we organised a few tournaments playing with men, and that didn’t help feeling confident about my game!
So that’s why I came here for 10 days, to train and play with a lot of different girls, to rebuild my game, rebuild my confidence.
Today, I wanted “a full match”. As in, no hiccups, no errors. And even if she is not that prepared, Jana is an extremely skilful player who knows how to win a match. I couldn’t let her get a sniff at it.
Physically, all the lights are green, as in, I feel good, no injury for a while now, and most importantly, I feel now I can keep the ball in play, I can keep playing one more game, and that makes a huge difference in my game. It’s incredible how great you feel when you trust your body. It’s one thing less to worry about and you can focus on other areas of your game.
And you know, when you are playing a lower ranked than yourself, it’s important to feel you are holding your rank. I did the match I wanted.
Now, I’m playing Nour El Tayeb, again. It’s like PSA is trying to make sure I know how to play her!!! Only kidding but tomorrow, I won’t got on court to make numbers. The result will be what it will be, but I’m going in there with no pressure, to try and put her under pressure. I want to enjoy the match and also, make sure I show what I can do…
