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Not a good one for me, but as usual, lots to take out from it.

Band 6:

1st game on against this irish lad, had alot of support with him. I don't know what happened here I just went in really confident and blitzed the 1st 2 games. I think I 'woke up' in the third which he took. In the 4th I found myself at 3-3 and then lost the next 4 points. Took a timeout and then came back to win the end. I was really pleased with this. It was a nice clean win and a good game.

2nd game against a kid with pimples on his BH. In the knock he was still happy to hit BH to BH topspin (with his reverse side) so I knew he was going to be a class player.  He could even loop with his reverse side on his BH, but in the match he kept his pimples on his BH. Maybe he's being coaching so as in the future he can twiddle?! I lost to this kid 3 straight, but close games 10,10,9.  This kid ended up being the eventual winner of the whole band, and he didn't drop an end the whole way according to the ETTA report. Makes it even more frustrating. My BH serve was annoying him and I should have nipped the 1st end, who knows what could have happened then.

3rd game turned out to be the battle for 2nd place. Had such a slow start here and went 2-0 down. Got back to 2-2 though. In the 5th he took a timeout when I was 8-5 up. I then lost the next 3 points before taking my timeout at 8-8 with him serving. I then lost the match 13-11 . I really regret not taking my timeout sooner at 8-6 up on my serve would have been ideal, just to ensure I won at least 1 of my service points. I bottled it.

Band 5:

Same pattern as band 6 here. Lost in 3 to the clear group winner, beat in 3 the clear group loser and then had a 5 set battle for 2nd place. I even went 2-0 down again and clawed back to 2-2. I lost the 5th. Just looked at the points though and this would have been a maximum win for me too, he was 3rd seed in band 5. So close.

Overall, I am still getting there. Experience has to take time to acquire, just because I know I'm 'capable' of winning doesn't mean I'm going to win automatically. Got to work for it. I just showed determination at the wrong times. There will be more chances in the future. Just found there are 2 GP's in October (Peterborough and Newcastle), so hoping to make both of them. Hopefully I'll be able to play both days. If I want to get to where I want to be I'm going to need the experience of Sundays to increase my playing level.

I still can't work out why, but ever since Doncaster in July I've really found my BH serve to be a weapon against many players. Loads of people don't like it. Perhaps this is what makes me 'unorthodox'. I can't decide whether it is simply because its a rare serve, or that its good, or its simply just because I make every one a little bit different.  It's a good sign. My BH punch is getting better, but I really need to step in to punch after I've spun the ball up. All about footwork, if I'm in the right place, it all works. I'm finding myself about 1ft too far back quite often.