Last Thursday we left for Stockholm to participate in the Swedish International. Every year a tournament with a strong entree list. But this year extra competitive due to the  qualification period for the Games this year in England in which everybody tries to collect as many points as possible for the world ranking. Even at these European circuit tournaments.
Friday morning at 9 AM Samantha and I started versus our French opponents. Samantha knew them from last years edition and then she won. Now we did the same. We defeated them in two games. So on to round two where former World Champion Nathan Robertson and his partner Jenny Wallwork were waiting for us.
But first I had to focus on my first round men’s doubles in the afternoon in which Dave and I were meeting a pair which we both know very well, the Austrians Koch and Zauner. We chose the right tactics and even more important we managed to control the entire match. So this meant a big victory in 2 games and obviously we were very happy with it.
Then the mixed doubles versus the English pair. Samantha and I started very well and we played the same kind of game with which Nathan has been successful all these years. We won the first game with 21-13. In the second game we continued the same way of playing but unfortunately we couldn’t decide the game and the match in our favour. So we were forced to play a third game at top level which is not bad at all for us as a new pair. Till a score of 15-14 we stayed close and along the way the English started to show some nervousness. But then they scored 5 points in a row and the match was theirs. We lost with a 15-21 score but I believe that we have a very good basis now for further development and of course I am very satisfied about our level.
In the evening we were facing another men’s doubles and it became a laboured match. It took quite some time to find the right rhythm. We lost the first game and also the second one was difficult. Still we succeeded to regroup in time and win the second game. The third game was a convincing win and so we qualified for the quarter finals.
In these quarter finals we were confronted with two young Danish players and that showed. They played open-minded but they were not experienced enough to give us a hard time. It became a relaxed two game win. In the semi finals we had Danish opponents again but this time a very experienced and well playing pair. In this match we again chose the right tactics and we both got a kind of invincible calmness. We played in a relaxed but still pragmatic way with now and then some kidding and we won in two smooth games. So the second final in a week time!
About that final I can be short. Our Russian opponents were much too strong for us. They are 40 points ahead of us in the world ranking and that was noticeable. They played very well and, especially in the second game, we were unable to effectively oppose them. Still a splendid second place I am very proud of.
So these were two consecutive tournaments and in both most of the players have performed very well. That’s not a coincidence. In the last months of 2011 we have been training and working very hard in preparation for these and coming events. In my view this is the right way to practice top sport. It is simply impossible to play many tournaments in a row and still be 100% every time again. Your body needs time to convert the energy from the delivered trainings work into the required best possible performance during important tournaments. I found it interesting, instructive and nice to experience this myself.