The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Aitken’s Bangor success driven by Scotland defeat
Montrose squash player Lisa Aitken says the pain of failing to win her last PSA World Tour event on home soil helped secure victory at the inaugural $5k Karakal Bangor Classic.
The 28-year-old admits she didn’t deal with the expectation of being number one seed at the North of Scotland Open back in March and learned lessons heading into the event in Wales where she was top seed again.
Aitken produced a flawless performance winning all four of her matches without dropping a game to seal her third PSA World Tour title.
She said: “There’s only a couple of times before I have been number one seed on tour and the last time was up in Aberdeen where I lost in the semi-finals.
“I completely underperformed and let the pressure get to me.
“There was no way I wanted to have that feeling of disappointed again and the most satisfying part of the event in Wales was dealing with being top seed.
“All these players are really good on their day and coping with the expectation almost felt more satisfying than winning a third PSA title.”
She added: “The older I get I realise it’s more about the process and knowing the outcome will often take care of itself.
“The focus is on sticking to my game plans and also on how I’m going to conduct myself off and on court all week as top seed.”
Aitken defeated English qualifier Lucy Beecroft in the final 11-7, 11-1,11-4 and will now head to France full of confidence to compete in the $15k Tournament of Pyramides in Le-port Marly.
She added: “Lucy had been on court more than double the time I had been before the final.
“She came from the depths of qualifying and having had two five game matches.
“I trusted myself that mentally and physically I was going to have the edge over her and it was my best performance of the week.
“It will be tough in France as the field is a lot stronger but I’m looking forward to it and it’s nice to have another event so soon after Bangor to keep that momentum going.”