For this article, we have another exciting tournament recap from Team CT's very own Nicole Bunyan.
This time, Nicole talks about her experience at the highly-competitive Australian Open.
It's always great to read Nicole's thoughts and reflections after big events like this, especially from the point of view of a professional player on the PSA Squash Tour.
Here's the recap...
Lead up
Given the disappointing loss in Vancouver, I was determined to make the necessary mental and tactical adjustments for a better performance in Brisbane.
Unlike technical or physical changes, which can take up to several weeks to ingrain, mental and tactical changes can be made in a matter of days (or less!).
As I’ve alluded to before, I do my best when I focus on performance objectives (ie. matters under my control such as effort levels, and tactics), rather than outcome objectives (ie winning vs losing).
Going into Vancouver, I was too concerned with matters outside the court. I was aware that I was playing in front of a home crowd, and given my lack of recent tournament experience, I wasn’t quite sure where my performance level would be.
I was determined not to let lack of discipline in tactics or my mentality be the cause of a poor performance in Australia- win or lose. (You can read about my post-match analysis here).
I was initially worried about the time zone change/jet lag from Vancouver to Australia, because I’d only have 2 full days to acclimatize.
Fortunately, there was a direct 13 hour flight from Vancouver to Brisbane with Air Canada, which made the journey efficient.
You’re probably reading that and chuckling, but honestly- that’s basically as good as it gets unless you’re a local to the Oceania region.
Also, Brisbane is so far ahead of Vancouver that it was only 6 hours behind… the next day!
Essentially, the jet lag felt like going from London to New York, which isn’t bad at all. You just have to push through the first day and not nap or fall asleep too early, and then you’re on a good pattern of waking up early and falling asleep easily.
My first match was at 3 pm, so this worked nicely for me because it meant I was keen to make the trek for my 9 am practice court.
Match vs Aira Azman
Coming into this match, I’d never played Aira before. I hadn’t even seen her play too much. From having watched her play a bit, I noticed that she is a tricky player who reads the game well and doesn’t want long rallies.
Given the hot, humid conditions in Brisbane, I knew it would give me a good chance of making the rallies long and hard- as long as I was disciplined with my tactics to not give her too many openings.
I played well in the first game and won 11-9. In the second game, I continued this form to gain a 9-3 lead. Then, I made an amateur error- I came out of the present and started thinking about the future.
Most notably- what it would be like to be up 2-0. As soon as that happened, I felt a shift. Aira started to play better, gain momentum, and I got edgy. I lost that game 11-9.
This momentum continued for Aira in the 3rd game, and she won handily, 11-4.
In the past, I would have fallen victim to this pattern. Lower ranked player has a good start, gets a lead, loses it, and can’t get back into the match. I have been there many, many times. I have also been on the other side! I was determined not to let this slip away from me so easily.
By now, entering the 4th game, we had both put in some work. I knew I needed to make life hard for Aira, and that’s what I did. The rallies were longer, I was more disciplined, and I told myself to have courage.
I have a really clear memory of knowing the tactics in the back of my mind, but between every rally saying to myself “courage” (as in, to have courage) as I was about to serve or receive serve.
Between rallies, the simplest 1-3 word mantras are the best. And sometimes they aren’t planned- they come to you in the moment. I closed out the 4th game, forcing a 5th and deciding game.
Going into the 5th, I had one thing in the back of my mind- play with CONFIDENCE, even if you don’t feel that way.
I didn’t have the best start (I went down 3-1), but I didn’t let that phase me. I closed the gap, and from then on, Aira and I battled it out.
I managed to sneak away to a 10-8 lead, and finally won off of a tin from Aira. I remember being absolutely shocked. Not once in the 5th game did I let myself ruminate on anything to do with the result.
I’d learned that lesson all too recently in the second game! So when Aira hit the tin off of a frantic (loose) cross court, I looked at her in disbelief.
I was pretty sure the match was over, but it took me a second to actually process it, because I was so engrossed in the present.
As I walked off court, I remember feeling very proud of myself for putting in such a good mental effort throughout the match.
It wasn’t perfect throughout, but I battled and worked my way back in. Most importantly, I learned from my most recent experience in Vancouver, and actually made the necessary adjustments.
That is one of the benefits of playing 2 events back to back!
Match vs Salma Hany
My next match was against Salma Hany, the #8 seed in the draw. I hadn’t played Salma before, but I had seen her play a good amount and commentated on her matches. Off the court, I knew what to expect.
On the court, it’s a completely different story, trying to limit her threat, and expose her weaknesses.
The first game was a bit of a shock, but I let it go and regrouped for the second.
I actually played a really good second game, and managed to let myself relax a bit so I wasn’t frantically overrunning the ball all the time. (Overrunning the ball was one of the biggest issues I had adapting to the bouncy conditions).
Taking a bit of pace off and relaxing helped me improve my consistency and accuracy, conserve energy, and extend the rallies. I was just missing a little bit of threat in the middle and needed to be more clinical at the front.
The third game wasn’t as close, as Salma was more confident with the 2-0 lead, but it was still decent squash. It was a good test, and I immediately watched it back to see what I could improve upon!
Post-Tournament Reflections:
1. I’m proud of my mental effort, especially in my first match vs Azman.
2. I made myself a self-coaching sheet, which helped me feel like there was another “me” there coaching myself. This page had some mental notes, tactical notes, and my performance objectives written down.
3. I enjoyed being in Australia as a whole. Having taken some time away from tournaments, and with no big travel since Hong Kong in December, I was energized and excited to be on the road. This positive mental state surely played a role in my resilience on court.
Thank you to my coaching team (Graeme Williams and Amr Khalifa) and my sponsors, Control the T Sports, Harrow Sports, Open Squash, and Richardson Wealth.
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