Nathan Aspinall has openly confessed he is "not enjoying playing darts at the moment" and "just want[s] to be at home with my family," despite a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Ricardo Pietreczko in the second round of the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich. The Englishman, who recently faced disappointment in Belgium and poor form in a Players Championship event, told DartsNews he is "a bit flat" and working behind the scenes to "get myself fired up." Aspinall emphasized his struggle with motivation, stating, "I don't want to travel — I just want to be at home with my family at the moment. So I'm trying to find some motivation, and a lot of that comes from enjoying myself on stage."
In his search for spark, Aspinall leaned on his opponent's stage presence, noting that Pietreczko was "a perfect opponent because he likes to give it a little bit on stage, and that obviously fired me up." He also received respect from the German crowd, attributing it to his exhibition work in the country, saying, "I do a lot of work in Germany, a lot of exhibitions, and I give everyone their time of day. I think that's why I get a lot of respect." Aspinall now faces Martin Schindler in the third round.
Travel frustrations compound his challenges, with Aspinall citing issues like passports, lost luggage—his arrived at "two o'clock this afternoon"—and Brexit-related airport problems. He admitted, "If I'm playing really well, I'll sit in an airport for three hours — I'm not bothered. If I'm playing rubbish, I don't want to do it." To cope, he plans to play fewer events, explaining, "I think the only thing is I probably won't play as many events. If I have a couple of weeks where it's been a nightmare, I'll just pull out if I want to, because I can't be bothered." Aspinall has already made schedule choices, confirming, "I'm in Sindelfingen — I'm not in Graz." Despite the struggles, he called his win in Munich "a big win" and a step forward.
