[24] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-1 [16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (57m)
Yahya
The only pressure I get is the one I put on myself! I know coming to this match that I would have a good shot at getting to the top 20 if I was to win it…
So I started with a bit of pressure, especially after the first game. He always comes back in the second game in his matches. He starts the match slow and casual, and then he pushes in the second. I tried as hard as I could to win the second, but I put too much pressure on myself, let it going to my head.
I’m happy I controlled my head, especially in the 4th where I was 9/5 down.
I knew I had put a lot of work in his legs, and that he was where I wanted him physically but then, I kept on making errors…
My path hasn’t been plain sailing in the last years.
I had reached a good ranking of 32 when I was 20. Then a couple of misfortunes happened. I had to focus on my studies, that forced me to step away from squash, then a bad virus, so I was more or less out of a couple of seasons. And my ranking just fell.
And it got into my head. While I was away, the game changed so much, it became so physical, and I was afraid I couldn’t get up again.
This season is my first season full time, I have now finished with my studies. I moved to Florida with Wael since November. My first couple of events didn’t go as expected, it took a bit of time for me to settle.
So only now, I believe I’m getting back to my level, I’m now going to get to the top 20. I’m happy to finally see the reward of the hard work, I’m happy to see how I’m progressing.
It took me a few years to find my way, I never spoke about it before, I didn’t really want to get into details. But now I feel that I’m on the right path, and everybody has their own path. People only focus on the top juniors. Not everybody is Asal or Zakaria. We all have a different way to get there…
