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Coach's Blog
by Steve Townsend
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Having played my 1st round at the National O35 Champs yesterday, I was watching my old "charge" Jonathan Kemp in his match with Nick Matthew.
What a match! On a very warm, bouncy court Kemp was taking it to Matthew (in his usual style) but it was somehow different to all the other times I'd seen Jonathan play. How nice it was to see him add his killer blow to a well constructed rally rather than Kamikaze style!It was squash of the highest calibre from both. It was not unusual to see Kemp hit 3,4,5 seemingly winning shots before actually he claimed the point. Nick did what he had to and defended superbly at times.
He gave Nick a fright, and with a touch more luck and composure would certainly have been in a fifth set. I'm sure Nick might not have been at his very best, but on the flip side, it would not have been the court Jonathan chose to play Nick. Good effort Kempy, now it's time to kick on from here.
From my perspective, it's nice to see the years of work we put in on court have not been wasted, though unless he puts these performances together on a regular basis, in some eyes they will not have been utilised to the max.
Now I've got to refocus on a rather more sedate paced game - mine, later today in the old boys' last 16. Wish me luck.
