France 2-1 Japan: “They did it again!” Philippe Signoret

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D  [4] FRANCE 2-1 JAPAN  C1
Melissa Alves 1-3 Satomi Watanabe  11-4, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 (42m)
Coline Aumard 3-1 Risa Sugimoto  11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 (40m)
Camille Serme 3-0 Akari Midorikawa 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (19m)

A relieved French National Coach, Philippe Signoret, reminded us how Japan has been a threatening team for France for years now!

“To be honest, when we saw the order of play, we realise it was probably not as favorable to us we would have liked. Satome is a player in great form at the moment, and here, she proved it yet again.

Melissa didn’t managed to close the game 10/8 in the 3rd, that could have played a role and unsettle Satome, but no complain, as Satome played superbly, she is truly a beautiful player to watch.

After that, we were hoping for a bit more ease in the second game, although I had told Coline not to take any notice of her opponent behaviour on court, which, although quite nice and friendly, is something you don’t normally see on a squash court.

And it didn’t fail! Coline lost a bit of focus, and after Melissa’s loss, a big pressure on Coline’s shoulders, especially as she didn’t play an official match for quite a while. But still, got there eventually and Camillie closed out the tie by doing the job.

But it has to be noticed that we played Japan three times in the World Teams. And each time, they give us hell, 2/1 with a decisive match! First here a few years ago, with the “Old Guard” Celia Allamargot and Maud Duplomb.

And then last time round, in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Paris), again, but we take it for a good omen, as we struggled against them in the pool, and still got a podium…