Bartlomiej Mroz pushes last week’s demons aside and comes through as group winner in China today.
The Polish world number three can find conditions difficult away from Europe. His results over the years when travelling abroad have been unreliable at times, and he admits that a small team and lack of support at times do not help him.
Last week in Thailand Mroz came up against Fang Jen-Yu (TPE) in the quarterfinals, the current ‘danger-man’ in SU5 men’s singles. The player from Taipei has not been seen on the circuit for very long and is already up to world number 11 with just four tournaments.
After beating Mroz in Thailand last week in straight games, he went on to beat Tay Wei Ming (SGP) in the semifinal and take a silver medal which will elevate his ranking status further.
Today however, Mroz got some revenge in the group stages and beat Fang 21-12, 17-21, 21-10 and took his seeded position in the knockout draw after going through as group winner.
Read: Ellis and Smith beaten in thriller
‘I felt powerful and ready’
Badminton Europe spoke with Bartlomiej Mroz shortly after his match, and he shared the following with us:
- Last week my body wasn’t ready to play in Bangkok. I didn’t have enough time to adjust to the time zones, wasn’t eating properly yet, struggled with the temperature and I really found things difficult. I’ve been in Asia for 11 days now and feel much better. I’ve acclimatized. I felt powerful and ready today!
- Playing against him last week helped, I prepared well for today. I felt focused and calm, I was patient and waited for the right moment before trying to hit winners. I didn’t rush or try to win the rallies too early, he added.
- I hope that I can play the way I know I am capable of this week, I just want to be satisfied with my game. That would make me happy, to be able to enjoy each match and hope the results will take care of themselves, said Mroz.
Follow the China Para-Badminton International 2019 on tournament software here.