Women’s $6k PSA Challenger, 19-21 Mar, Uster, Switzerland
Home win for Cindy
Home favourite Cindy Merlo came through a draw that was stacked with French players, beating top seed Enora Villard in the final to claim her first PSA title.
[2] Cindy Merlo (Sui) 3-1 [1] Enora Villard (Fra) 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 (44m)
Day One : Down to the quarters in Uster, with Five French still in the mix …
Cindy relishing extra pressure
Swiss #1 Cindy Merlo is the leading home player in the women’s event at Squash Uster, having lost out in the final in the Sihtal Classic and just returned from Cairo for the Black Ball Open.
“I feel like I am getting back to where I was mentally. COVID has messed with my head a little bit I would say, so here I am now training to pull myself straight again. I’m certainly very motivated to play, learn and improve! Always grateful to be able to play any time any where.
“The Sihltal Classic was not the result I hoped for. I still feel it and it bothers me. However, that tournament got me out of a really bad mental state, so since that final which I lost, I still feel proud of myself for taking that step in the right direction.”
“Now I am trying to change my mindset and am working on that pressure. I love pressure, that’s a fact, but it isn’t the kind of pressure of the home soil I focus on. It is more the pressure which I make myself to push harder and longer. Therefore, being the Swiss No.1 now is a bonus for sure, but playing the Swiss Open on home soil does not build the pressure in a negative way.”
