James Willstrop (ENG) 3-0 Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 11-7, 11-5, 11-1 (31m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-1 Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 (36m)
James, happy and grateful to be back at the Pyramids, Hollie in control of the match, 2/0, 9/4, only to let it slip, Ineta had a bad start, very nervous, and probably relaxed as the match went along.
James
When I hit with him yesterday, I thought immediately he was coached by Jonathan Power. But apparently, today, he told me he never heard of him… His game has a strong reminiscence of Jonathan’s game, not in ta flashy sort of way, I think he’ll work on and develop that later on, but a basic game, his technique, quality of shots, he is a classy player. He looked strong out there, I guess the fact he is training in altitude plays its role. He is definitely an exciting prospect.
The body is responding ok, I still get a buzz out of competing, hopefully, I can get the tournament going.
It’s a beautiful place, we are wonderfully well looked after, playing squash right next to the Pyramids… I guess when you are in the latter part of your career, you get to appreciate it a bit more, playing squash, where we are, how lucky we are….
Hollie
I don’t think I ever got settled in the match today. And after a bit of a nervous start, I think she relaxed from 2/0 down, and I got ahead of myself a bit from 9/4. Instead of pushing forward, I let the shield down a bit, and got a bit frustrated.
So in the 4th, I got back to my game plan, and stuck to it, to try and break both her rhythm and her confidence. And it worked….
