Hans-Kristian Vittinghus

Hi all,

Good news from Stockholm, the beautiful capitol of Sweden. I'm here for Swedish International 2010 and the first day of playing has been a great pleasure for me as I came through both of my matches without dropping a set.

First up was Harry Wright from England, a player I've played before and whose style I feel suits my game pretty well. I was in control from the very beginning and never really let him into the match winning in less than half an hour, 21-7 21-13. It was a good match to start off with for me and I felt very confident going into my second round match against Lester Oey from the Netherlands.

(photo by Mark Phelan, badmintonphoto.com)

I can't remember the last time I played Lester but I think it was some time in my years as a junior. He has improved a lot and matured in his game, which he proved by beating Scott Evans in the first round of this tournament. So I knew I shouldn't underestimate him, but I also knew that if I could play at my usual standard I would win the match.

First set was tight in the beginning but once I got a small gap he got a bit impatient and that handed me an easy opening set in the end. The second set proved to be a much different story as I got a bit to passive in my play, letting him control the match with his soft touch at the net and skillful strokes from the back. He got up to a big lead and 5 setpoints at 20-15, but then I managed to up the pace a bit and forced him to commit one mistake after the other. I finally caught him at 20-20 and thankfully I kept on going and took the last two points to wrap it up in two sets 21-14 22-20.

Tomorrow I have to play Petr Koukal from Czech Republic. A good player with a dangerous attack, so I have to be cautious not to give away too many opportunities. I have to be the one deciding the pace of the game and push him around the court. I usually do well against him, but he is always a tough opponent.

I'm really looking forward to play again tomorrow. It's great to be back in competition and tomorrow will be a great test of my game and character!

Hoping to bring you more exciting news tomorrow so stay tuned

/HK