Last week I participated in the Yonex Dutch Open in Almere. This was the first tournament out of a series of three in the coming three weeks.
On Wednesday Samantha Barning and I started with our first  mixed double versus an Indonesian pair. We lost the first game but we managed to win the next two games. In round two we met Dave Khodabux and Selena Piek. Day in day out we are training together at the National training Centre so we know each others way of playing very well, but we had played only once against them in an international tournament. At that time we didn’t stand a chance of winning. In our match last Thursday we were playing at a more or less equal level. In the first game we took a comfortable lead which we still threw away. We lost with 25-27. Nevertheless we showed focussed teamwork.
Also in the second game we took the lead but again we let them come close towards the end of the game. At 21-20 we were just a bit sharper then in the previous game and we won. The third game showed more or less the same picture. It was a thrilling encounter till the very last moment. We survived a match point and at our first match point we stroke straight away and made the win. It was a 71 minutes encounter and the discharge afterwards was enormous, Â but it also gave so much energy and there was so much adrenaline left that I felt like being able to play another such match right away.
And I had to play another match but a few hours later and this time together with Dave in the men’s doubles. No easy opponents. Certainly not. We were third seeded but what does that mean when you draw Markis Kido and partner as your first opponents. Still we played very well with a focus on our tactics. From the back court they were not really dangerous but we had to try and avoid flat rallies. For 85% we succeeded to do so but this requires very much energy and concentration. We lost the match in two games but we were reasonably satisfied with the way we had played. Of course we would have preferred to meet them later in the tournament but a draw you can not do anything about!
On Friday in the quarter finals Samantha and I met the Swiss pair which was first seeded. Six months ago during the European Championships in Sweden we had defeated them quite easily and I couldn’t call that match to my mind anymore. As from the first point we felt that we were not focussed and not in control and we didn’t succeed to regain that. The positive energy of the previous day had gone completely and we didn’t get it back. We just had to make the best of it. Quite unexpectedly we lost the match in two games. A shame and a lost opportunity. Nevertheless the win of the previous day was very important because, considering the short time we have been playing together, we for the first time reached a very good playing level and teamwork. This should be the basis for further development and creating a consistent and durable playing level.
The living football legend Johan Cruijff, founder of the University where I graduated, once said: “Ï never look back, never!!!” I do not fully agree with that. I think it sometimes can be useful to look back and to evaluate what happened in order to have success in the future. And that is what I did this weekend. Now it lies behind me and I am ready for the next challenge, the Yonex Danish Open Premier Super Series. I am looking forward to being active again at this level. I will only play the men’s doubles with Dave since Samantha and I don’t have the right ranking yet to participate in these kind of top events. Our match is on Wednesday afternoon at 1.30 PM. Follow the tournament on www.tournamentsoftware.com or look for updates on my twitteraccount.