Robbie discusses his run to the Semi-Finals of the Men’s Open International d’Angers 2015, including his now famous win against first seed and world no.58, Steve Finitsis.

Tournament overview

June 2015 has brought the defining moment of my career so far, in run to the Semi-Finals in the $10,000 International d’Angers. This wasn’t my biggest victory in terms of importance or rankings, but it was certainly a defining moment which has changed a lot.

I arrived in Angers seeded 7th for the event and began with a 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 victory over Scotland’s Jon Geekie. The reward for this win was a quarter-final berth against Steve Finitsis, a good friend of mine who I’ve known for a long while, in what would become probably my biggest result to date.

Steve’s a very fair player so I knew it would be a good contest but I didn’t expect the result! Steve claimed the first 11-7 but I recovered to win the second 11-8. Steve responded emphatically though to win the third 11-4 to claim a 2-1 lead. If it wasn’t for the crowd, who were magnificent and my Spanish amigo, Bernat Jaume, I’m not sure I would have managed to pull it back. With their aid, I triumphed 11-9 in the fourth to set up a decider, which I managed to win 11-7! I never could have anticipated this before hand. I seemed to find better form than him on the day and realising that was a huge moment for me.

I’ve always believed that I can beat players like Steve. Now though, I feel like I will beat them. It’s a subtle but massive shift in mindset. I’ve been told I should now be expecting to win these sort of matches!

After dispatching Steve, I faced Tayyab Aslam, the 3rd seeded Pakistani in the last four. It was difficult regrouping from all that had just happened and unfortunately, I didn’t quite make it happen. Tayyab, the world no. 86, was fresher than me and just had that extra edge when it mattered most, winning 11-9 in the fifth game. It was an 85 minute marathon I couldn’t quite handle after the match against Steve the day before. Despite being disappointed, I was pleased to be able to compete well even when I wasn’t on song.

What made the breakthrough possible?

As with all successes, this victory was the coming together of lots of factors, which all finally clicked in Angers. It was a breakthrough in realising my potential for me. I’ve been working hard on my movement and have also been working through a new training program, which has given me a new lease of self-confidence and a new love for the game, which is incredibly important when you’re training professionally.

I’ve also been developing my tactical skills and become better at what I call ‘mapping out the court’, which means I’m able to navigate my way through matches better, which is taking me away from an erratic and frantic style.

What was the media coverage like?

I got an overwhelming response on social media and from the local media. Doing interviews felt surreal, as did seeing my face in the local paper.

The PSA also gave me a mention, which is always nice. I took it in my stride and actually enjoyed it. I just tried to keep my mind calm and focus on the next game, which I’m pleased with given it was a first for me in the senior game.

The media coverage isn’t as intense in squash as other sports and doesn’t really happen to us so much but I do like the way Gregory Gaultier handles the media. In the earlier rounds, he’s often more chatty and relaxed, as there are fewer unexpected defeats in the opening rounds in squash compared with other sports. When he gets to the later rounds though he’s much more serious and eager to get the interview over and done with.

Looking forwards

As I mentioned earlier, some thing has really changed in my mindset. Before, I knew I had the skill and thought I could do well but now I feel I ‘will’ achieve my goals. I compare myself with the top 20 players in the world and how good they were at my age and I don’t think it’s out of reach. The top 20 is the benchmark I’m aiming for, with a view to making the top 10, though this can depend on circumstance. If you look at Nicolas Müller, he was often getting the top seeds in the opening rounds, which stifled his rankings for a long time. Now he’s really breaking into that elite group. Simon Rösner, was always close to the top 10 as well and has recently upped his game and now broken through, edging a lot of closely contested matches.

Angers has made everything real for me. I now believe I will achieve my mission to make the top 20 in the world, and beyond.

You can see some highlights of Robbie’s match versus Steve Finitsus and also follow his progress on:

–Robbie’s Website
–facebook.com/robertdownersquash
–facebook.com/holdandflick

“Hi I’m Robert Downer. I’m 22 and I am a Hampshire based Professional Squash Player competing on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour, as well as a Full-Time student at the University of Winchester where I study Sports Studies with Sports Psychology. With my blog, I’ll be giving you an insight into my life and my quest to reach the World’s top 20 and beyond and more importantly win PSA Shot of the month at least once, as well as the wacky, wild and at times downright bizarre world of professional squash.”.

I first took up squash when I was 4 years of age when my dad introduced me to the sport, having taking it up the year before. He was set on keeping me away from football and he really encouraged my interest in squash. His external motivation wasn’t required for a lengthy period though as I became forever hungry to be on that squash court, a hunger that has carried me right the way through my junior career and beyond. I honestly believe I’ll play on the tour until my body has had enough, as my mind will never say; ‘that’s enough’.

I currently move between my home town of Portsmouth, my university base of Winchester and Lee On The Solent where I train with a group of Pro’s including Oliver Pett and Steve Wykes under the guidance of my coach Tim Vail. The travelling does make it tough to fit everything in.

Combining professional squash and education is something I never imagined myself doing and a challenge which is testing my mental limits! The University of Winchester have been fantastic though and given me a full scholarship in partnership with Winchester Racquets and Fitness Club in return for me promoting squash and the university. Not a bad deal all round with the prices of Student Loans in England now but it can be difficult combining my studies with my training and a tournament schedule which sees me compete in over 10 International PSA events and several UK Based ones a year.

I exploded a few times in my first semester of university, as I was just not finding time to train. I really didn’t understand how to manage my time efficiently. I have that disease known as  procrastination and I struggle to motivate myself to get on with work unless I can see the deadline looming, which is certainly something I am working on, as I’ve had to put down the racquet for a week before due to the studies building up too much. I spend lots of my life studying on planes, trains, buses and sometimes even the beaches of Dubai!

Career so far

As a junior I won six Hampshire Junior County Championships across all five age categories and was Senior Champion at 16. I also reached number 1 in England at U17 level, before reaching number 1 in Europe at under 19 level. Perhaps my greatest achievement though was reaching the final of the U19 British Junior National Championships, where I toppled number 2 seed and current World No. 67 Charles Sharpes in the semi-final. I may have lost out in a close 3-0 to top seed Ben Coleman in the final but that the semi-final win over Charles meant the world to me. I was an emotional wreck the night before playing Ben due to the disbelief that I had actually beaten Charles. It had been six years since the previous win!

During that season I won the Senior County Championships, I also made it into the top 8 in U17 European rankings which gave me free PSA World Tour membership for the next season, which lead me to entering my first PSA tournament, the Meersquash Heroes Open in The Netherlands. I snuck in a week before the tournament was to due be played and so hurriedly booked my flights and arranged to crash on a friend of mine’s sofa in the heart of Amsterdam. Not only was I unseeded, I also had to play a round of qualification as I was the lowest ranked player on the entire PSA Rankings, which I guess made me officially the worst player in the world. However, I shocked everyone including myself by taking out 4th seed Phil Nightingale and 6th seed Bastiaan Meulenbelt, before edging out Northamptonshire’s Mark Fuller in the Semi-Final. That match was one of the most gruelling matches of my career so far, as I came through 12-10 in the fifth after I had saved a match ball at 10-9 down in that fifth game with an incredible 4 minute rally that even the referee noted. It meant the world to me and also made me eligible for the prize of facing Top seeded Dutchman Piedro Schweertman in the final – on the same day! I lost 3-1 but that tournament still remains my first and only PSA final appearance to date, though I’ve made three Semi-Finals.

Just recently I gained entry into the Dubai Squash Cup ($25K) in November 2014 which will be the largest event I have not had to qualify for so far in my career, which is a nice sign of my progress on the PSA Tour.

Rob will continue to blog for The Squash Company on a regular basis.

You can also follow Robert on his Facebook accounts:

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