[2] Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-0 Lowri Roberts (WAL) 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (16m)
A simple affair for Alicia Mead, whose serve today seemed to bother the Welsh Lowri Roberts, opening a bit the court for her opponent, only too happy with the opportunities. Good defence from Lowri, but a few too many errors to put the English under pressure.
Alicia
When you come to these events, everyone is quite attacking, everyone wants to win, any loose shot and it’s a winner straigth away. So I was conscious of my serve in practice recently. I was making sure it would catch the side wall and make it difficult. That way, you are not on the back foot straight away.
I arrived from London two days ago after the UK Nationals, but I’m fine physically. Shame I didn’t have so many matches at the Nationals, but I think I put in a good performance in the semis, I felt sharp actually, I have been pretty fresh all week and then I took confidence from that match that I was doing the right things, although I didn’t win, I wasn’t too disappointed with the loss. I think I delt with the circunstances pretty well.
Same coming here, the pressure is on me, I’m trying not to overthink it, and take one day at a time, and I feel pretty fresh and ready for trying and qualify.
[1] Nardine Garas (EGY) 3-1 Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (44m)
Those two girls had played twice on PSA, and if Nardine had won the first match, she just lost their last week encounter. The turning point of the match I feel is the first game, Nardine saved a game ball to clinch the opener.
Nardien was a bit tired in the second, gave it a great push in the 3rd to come back to 1/2, but she was a bit short physically from the middle of the fourth. To her credit, she never threw the towel, and kept digging in, but Nardine kept serving quickly, making the rallies hard and the court very big. 4/4 to 8/4, 9/5. A last big try from the junior girl, saving a match ball at 10/7, but finally bowing 11/8.
Very disappointed as I feel she might have put too much pressure on herself after her last win…
Nardine
Because I lost against her last week, I was so nervous coming here today. I was confident before the first match we played, but after I lost, it was very hard for me.
I kept telling myself that I had nothing to worry about, that I had already lost before so, nothing to lose, just play my own game. Last time, I got dragged into her game. I couldn’t find good length, my shots ended up in the middle, I couldn’t control the game…
Thank God today, I won!
