Alasdair Prott hopes victory Down Under will be followed by a strong showing back home at this week’s Springfield Scottish Open in Inverness.
The 22-year-old Invernessian enters the competition on Thursday as he locks horns with England’s Miles Jenkins in the second round at 4.30pm.
In July, the Edinburgh-based athlete won his first major Professional Squash Association (PSA) tour title, clinching the Eastside Open in Australia.
First pro victory ‘breeds confidence’
He’s not long back on Scottish soil from his hectic schedule at the other side of the globe, but he is determined to entertain the fans at Inverness Tennis and Squash Club, where it all began for him as a junior.
He said: “I just got back over a week ago from Australia after playing four tournaments there.
“I managed to win my first pro title, which was a good one to get under my belt ahead of the Scottish Open.
“It breeds confidence and I am happy with the way my squash is going right now and I’m hoping to continue that this week.
“I have been playing squash for such a long time now – 18 years – so it has always been a goal of mine to get my first PSA Challenger Tour title. I’m happy with how it’s going.”
And having beaten Aussie Dylan Molinaro to secure the title, he admits “not many people were cheering for me, that’s for sure.”
Prott keen to showcase his talents
And Prott is thrilled to have the chance to not only mix it against top opponents, but put on a strong display in his home city.
He said: “It’s great being back up the road in Inverness and being able to compete at a high level.
“It’s a strong field this week, so I’m looking forward to testing myself in the draw.
“It’s a great club with really good facilities. There are lovely people there as well, so it makes it sweet to come back up and hopefully I can showcase some of the high-level squash I have trained and learned while I’ve been away.”
Scotland's flagship squash competition returns to Inverness for five days of world-class action this September.
Some of the world's top players will go head-to-head at the Springfield Scottish Squash Open 2023.
Tickets available now: https://t.co/ZXE0rfz3LD#SpringfieldOpen23 pic.twitter.com/dwoqRwVuMf
— Scottish Squash 🏴 (@Scottish_Squash) August 4, 2023
Chance to land spot on BBC channels
The weekend’s semi-finals and finals will be covered on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Prott hopes his squash is good enough to make it to those latter stages.
He added: “Being seeded eighth and with such a strong field, every match is going to be really tough.
“I am not putting any pressure on myself to get to certain stages of this event, with it being so strong.
“I aim to take it a game at a time and play to the levels I know I can, I don’t see why I can’t make it on to the coverage of the BBC this weekend.”
