Valencia

Last week I was in Valencia for another $10,000 dollar event which are the same as the two events I played in America at the end of last month. It wasn't a great run, I lost first round to a Frenchman (never enjoyable) called Geoffrey Demont who is of similar age and ranking to myself.

What was disappointing about the match was that I was leading 2/0 in games and 7/2 in the third as well as having a match ball in the fourth eventually losing 11/9 11/2 10/12 10/12 7/11. I think it fair to say that it was a bad day, one of my worst on tour, to have got so close in the third and in the fourth was devastating. Spain is officially my least favourite place and that is purely because I haven't won a match there in several years. The venue itself was fantastic with big crowds turning out from the first rounds right through to the final.

How did I lose you might say, well it wasn't complacency but more nerves having not won a match for a while I felt the pressure more than I normally would. The important thing however as boring and philosophical as it might sound is that I learn from that situation and let it never happen again! After the event I had a couple of days off after a long run of travelling and events it also gave me a chance to cheer up a bit!

With the World Open qualifying next week it was important to get back to work. I always find that first session back the hardest but after that you feel a lot better and it becomes easier to motivate yourself and push through. World Open qualifying begins next weekend in Manchester and I encourage you to come watch, qualifying is free to get in and you can find out more details by looking at the website www.mensworldsquashchampionship2013.com/