R1: Lauren confirms her excellent form against Lee Ka Yi

[Q] Lauren Baltayan (Fra) 3-1 Lee Ka Yi (Hkg) 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3 (38m)

I was feeling really good, but when I realised I could actually do it, that I was close to winning, I started to panic a bit.

Luckily, I had Yann Menegaux with me, telling me what to do, and of course, I had already prepared my match with my coach, Ahmed Effat, so I had the main plan clear in my head.

I expected her to play well, and when she took the third, I thought she might also start overthinking, panicking a little, getting stressed. So I managed to start the fourth strongly, and then everything clicked.

I would have liked to play more to her forehand side and inject some pace. But I’m happy that I didn’t get frustrated after losing the third, that I came back well into the match, and that I stayed focused.

I’m over the moon right now. It’s such a prestigious event and I’m very happy with the way I’m playing and the squash I’ve been producing this whole week.

Tomorrow I play Farida Mohamed – we share the same coach, so I know how she plays, and we get along really well.