German Open

Monday, March 2, 2009 5:24 AM

Dear Friends and Supporters!

Last week's German Open went ok for me, considering my draw. I had some very consistent training after I was ousted from the Austrian International and felt strong going into this past week's tournament in Mulheim an der Ruhr.

I was up against the Japanese player who won the Austrian, so I was expecting a tough match. In the first set, it was even all the way until about 18-all. We were having mammoth rallies until this point. He is a very dangerous player, and so I was really having to struggle to neutralize his attacking game. I guess I managed to do this well, as he was waning closer to the end of this first game, and he started to make some tired errors. I won it 21-18. In the second set, I could see that he didn't want to work anymore and so I kept the speed of the rallies high and evenutally won it 21-14.

In my second round (this is where the tough draw came into play), I was up against the first seeded Bao Chunlai, from China. He's a tall lefty (about 6'2'') with very smooth footwork and technique, and has been ranked in the top 10 for the past 2-3 years. He is also one of the few top 10 guys who I haven't played before, so that was quite the treat for me.

Looking at the positives, I am playing very well despite my less than peak form these past two weeks. I am very much looking forward to a few months from now where I plan to be once again in the best shape of my life and really giving these top players a run for their money!

I am off to Zagreb, Croatia, this Wednesday, to play yet another event on the tour. It's a smaller event, and I am the first seed, so looking forward to going all the way!

Take care and greetings from Zurich, where I am now for a few days!

click here to see the draws

Andrew

ANDREW ROBERT DABEKA

(c) 613.222.3302

www.AndrewDabeka.ca

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