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Tom Dodds on transport matters »The pressure is on, I will be practising more this week as it is now only five days until I go to Solihull for the first event of the tour season.
It will be the first full pro event since I played in Nuneaton in 2003.
That day, there was nothin going my way, and after missing a pressure shot I was out 9-8 in the first round. That is the most difficult thing about playing in events like this. You will hear about "Joe Bloggs" wins 10 matches to take the title, but doing that is another matter, and winning 10 matches against top quality opponents is very difficult.
Hopefully I will settle quickly into the event and have a good performance. You cannot really ask for anything more than that. The problem is because no one is ranked as the tour is new it is an open draw so some unlucky players are going to draw the top 16 players in the first round! I will be a huge underdog if the draw goes against me. There should be interesting match-ups and shocks in this tournament and I know if I play well I may be able to go on a good run.
It's all about responding to the pressure, my aim is simply to play well and if I play well I normally win. Even a top player can succumb to nerves and be outplayed. I have witnessed Thorsten Hohmann beat Earl Strickland 12-4 in the semi finals of the World Championship tournament in 2003, so anyone can be outplayed.
As long as I don't play terribly I'll be looking forward to enjoying some good matches.
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