After a long gap between US Nationals and Canadian Nationals, I felt I was hitting well but match fitness was going to be questionable.
There was a chance I was going to play on the glass court in the Montreal Forum, which I kind of have a history with.
My father took me to a Habs game when I was about 5 and it left an indelible impression on me; namely becoming a lover of the Montreal Canadiens.
With my father having died in the recent past, it was kind of a cool opportunity to do something I loved in a place in which I have some fond memories of with my father.
When I started playing squash, my father sent me to a family in Toronto and from there they would always take care of me; feed me, train me and were like a second family. I owe a lot of my long term success in squash (as a complete amateur hacker) to the Butt family and Sajaad Butt.
I had not seen them in a while but they ventured to Montreal and it was great to meet up with them again.
The tournament itself had me seeded to play Steve Wren in the final and scheduled to play on the dreaded glass court which gave me squash PTSD the previous year in Vancouver.
The setup being inside and with some new tint to the glass, made the court more playable this year; albeit the lighting is still super bright and one can lose the ball.
In addition I had an easier semi final match; giving me a dress rehearsal of sorts on the court.
While I did not play my best squash, I did win the final 3-1 for my 7th individual national title.
Very satisfying to finish the season with two Ontario titles, a first US title and my first Canadian title in several years.
