This week’s song of the week is a suggestion by our famous player back home in Ottawa, Sergiy Shatenko. Ladies and gentleman this man is a bombshell back in O town. So in order for me to play this song he demanded that I also post his picture onto my website….who could blame him..this site is great publicity:)
Hope you all like his pick for the week.
Enjoy!
The debut of the Canada Open 2010 took off yesterday with first round of play in the main draw. I had my first match against Hugo Arthuso (Brazil). It was the first time I have ever played him so did not know what to expect. Also the conditions in the hall were quite tricky so I took nothing for granted. The first set we started even up until 5 or 6 all, not able to find my depth. Then I quickly took the lead once I was able to hit the back line. I ran away with the first set 21-10. The second set was a bit similar since I had to adjust to the new side which was against the wind. It was clear that I was able to adapt better to the hall than my opponent since he was making quite a few unforced errors where the wind was pulling the shuttle out of the court. I finished the match in two sets winning 21-10 21-11.
My second round was against Hock Lai Lee (Malaysia) another player whom I have never played before. In the first set I really came out of gates like a champion. Playing a very steady and strong game. Since I started on the side where the wind was against me I was able to pin Hock on the back line and then waiting for my chances to strike. This paid off big time since I was able to get on top of him and stay on top throughout the whole set. I won the first set 21-13 (even though it says 16 on tournament software I am sure it was 13:). The second set I was on the “fast” side and took a little time to adjust. We stayed even up until about 12-13 and then he pulled away from me. I was losing some speed in my legs and could not create anymore points. I lost the second set 21-16. In the third it was a VERY tough battle to get the 11 points. We both were grinding out every rally and we were both trying to pin each other on the back line. He got to 11 first and took it from there. I was able to create some points to catch up to 13-14 but then could not keep it. I ended up losing the third set and the match 21-13.
So that is all she wrote for me for this tournament but I will get myself ready for the U.S Open next week in Calirfornia.
To check out the results up until now please click on the link below
DRAW
I am in Vancouver, Canada and have been training with the Canadian national team for the past week in order to get ready for the Canada Open 2010. The tournament starts on the 13th of July until the 18th. There is a very good turnout for the tournament, with a 103 entries for the men’s singles and big names like Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia). I have been drawn up against Hugo Arthuso (Brazil). I have never played against him but I do know that he has had some good wins in the Pan American Zone. My match will be played on Wed the 14th of July at 5.45pm Vancouver time.
It will be just over a month since my last tournament in Spain. I played quite well there lets hope that my preperation over the last weeks has gotten me ready for this tournament.
In order to see the draw please click on the link below
DRAW
Watch this video so you are able to meet my mascot:)
This week’s song of the week is Your Body Is A Wonderland by John Mayer. The reason why I chose this song is because two of my friends just received free tickets to go see John Mayer’s concert tonight. So they inspired me to remember this very good song that was once a big hit. A little friendly advice to all my male website visitors….play this song and the girls will melt:)
Enjoy
This week’s song of the week is a song from a Lounge Compilation CD. I do not know that name of this song I just know that it is from the Hotel Costes CD collection. I believe that my friend Weenie was the one who bought the CD for me a long time ago and I just rediscovered it on Youtube 
Very soothing and relaxing song, hope you can sit back with a glass of wine or cup of coffee and enjoy:)
Well I was hoping to do a day by day update of my tournament in Spain but unfortunatly it was much more difficult to do so then expected. When I say what a tournament, I really mean it in every way. From me getting to the semi fnals to trying to get a proper breakfast….what a tournament. It starts off with the fact that the Champions League Soccer finals are in Madrid and every hotel is booked solid. So we end up staying in a hotel that is a half hour drive away from the hotel. On top of that there are very few buses organized by the tournament to get to the hall and back. So my journey started on Friday morning when I had to leave 3 1/2 hours before my match, with a practicaly non existant breakfast.
I had to play against a Spanish Indonesian Hendry Winarto who had qualified the previous day. This match was a very tricky one especialy in the first set. I know that he was probably pretty tired from having to play 3 qualifying matches so I did my best to keep the rallies going. However he has alot of trick shots and is a clever player. I had a hard time to find a good rhythm but fought out the first set and won it 21-18. The second set became a little easier since I had a better feel for him and the court. I ended up playing with more variation and in the end that broke him down. I ended up winning the match 21-18 21-14.
My next match was 5 1/2 hours away, but of course I could not get back to my hotel since there was no transport. So the first thing I did was I got some decent amount of food in me for lunch…then I went back to the hall and found a quiet corner so I could sleep. Funny enough one of the security guards thought I was sick and came over to check on me:)
My next match was against Henri Hurskainen (Sweden). I had never played him before but I do know that he is a strong player who can play long rallies. However that is not the way the match went. Since we were using Victor shuttles, our ability to control the shuttle was somewhat limited. So our match became battle of the net. We did not want to lift the shuttle since it would either go out or it would bounce off our rackets in a funny way and only go half court. So the first set I end up winning quite easily since I am owning the net and soacking up his attacks from the back. In the second set he does a much better job of taking control of the net and make me lift alot of his net shots out the back. In the third and final set it was all me again, being a bit more clever with when to play net and when not to. Its one thing to be able to play good net, its another to know when and when not to play it:) I ended up winning the match in three sets 21-12 15-21 21-10.
The next morning I decided to take a taxi to the hall since we did not feel like having to be in the hall 2 hours before our match…..and let me tell you the cab ride was not cheap. In my quarter finals match I played against Jan Vondra (Czech Republic). I have played him once before this year at the Dutch Open and won in two sets. Even though I have beaten him before I knew it would be a tough match because he is a tricky player. The first set went pretty smoothly and I was able to punch him around the court which I know he dislikes:) I won the first set 21-11. The second set however was a different story. He played much more clever and started to play very flat and into the corners. This was very annoying because it was tough to get a good feel for the shuttle and re-direct his shots. He was leading the whole way up until 14-11. I then started creeping back and we were neck and neck until 18-18. At this point I played a few good rallies and scraped alot of shots back in order to close the set and the match 21-19.
In the semi finals I ended up playing one of my training partners Rune Ulsing (Denmark). We know each other quite well and knew what to expect from one another. He usualy wins in practice and so it was important that I try and do something different in our match. I tried and failed:) Whatever I did he was there to counter it. He is incredibly strong at the net and in the flat play. I tried to stay away from that but all too often he gets his way. I needed to be more pro active in the rallies, by poaching a bit more with my positioning. That would allow me to get a bit more on top of the rallies and start pressuring him with my shots. But all too often it was the other way around. He ended up winning in two straight sets 21-15 21-18.
All in All a pretty good tournament for me. I look forward to a few days break and then get back to my training for the Canadian and U.S Open in the summer.
Today I am taking a plane for Madrid and competing in the Spanish International 2010. The last time I played in Spain was in 2006 where I made a very exciting semi finals. Lets hope that this year will be the same or better:) My first round might not come as any surprise to anyone who has been following my website since I will be playing against a qualifier…..Qualifier number 8 to be exact. This could be a number of players so I am not too sure who might opponent will be.
This year’s tournament is quite strong, with Eric Pang (Netherlands) and Brice Leverdez (France) as first and second seed. I normally get seeded in these tournaments but not this time….too many players ahead of me in the rankings.
I feel good going into this tournament…so lets make it a good one! See you there.
To see the draw please click on the link below
DRAW
I played my first two rounds on Friday in the Slovenian International 2010. My first round was against Ernesto Velazquez (Spain), a young lefty with speed and deception. We had never met in competition before so I was not too sure what to expect. The first set started out quite tight, there was alot of feeling each other out on the court which gave easy points to both players. However after the 11 point break I was able to start racking up more points by being a bit more steady and also reading his game. I ended up winning the first set 21-15. In the second set it was a little bit the same, tight until 11 and then me pulling away to about 16-11. At that point the game changed a bit and he started to play a bit better and I made some unforced errors which brought him back to 18-18…..he even got a set point at 20-19. I was able to save the set point and then take the following two points by being a bit more resolute with my shots. That ended the match 21-15 22-20.
In my second round I had to play Lukas Schmidt (Germany), another player I have never played. In this match there was no feeling each other out period. He came out very strong and was on top of me from the get go. I was down 11-5 in no time and was not too sure what was going on. He was doing a very good job of keeping the net and not allowing me to push him around. He took the first set 21-12. In the second set things looked and felt the same. He was making NO mistakes and was constantly on top of the rallies. I could never figure out how to turn things around. At around 13-11 for him I started to figure things out and I was able to get him off the net and return the pressure. However he was always staying a few points ahead of me. He got to 20-17 and I was able to save 3 match points, two of which were net kills by him which I magicaly got back. Unfortunatly I was not able to take the set and lost 23-21. It was a shame, if I had taken that second set I had finally found the way to play him and stood a good chance in the third. But that is badminton…no second chances.
Even though I lost second round in this tournament, which was dissapointing, I must say I played good badminton but my opponent played better on the day. That is also badminton, even on a good day you can lose. I hope to keep up my good play for next week in Spain for the Spanish International 2010, but win on my good day
To view the results of the Slovenian International 2010 please click on the link below
RESULTS
This week’s song of the week is Alors on Danse by Stromae. I first heard this song while working out at a gym in Copenhagen….others might take the claim for introducing this song to me or even to Denmark, but I would like to believe that I was here first Happy to see a french song with a great beat rise up in the international charts. Hope everyone can click on my website…..and dance:)
Enjoy
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