With miserable weather hitting the English mainland (ruining dreams of an early summer) who wouldn’t want a relaxing break in sunny Chile?
Only, for Darius Knight, who is heading to the GAC Group 2012 ITTF World Tour Chile Open, there can be no switching off as he battles for crucial Olympic spots with the deadline for team selection looming ever closer.
With London 2012 in mind, Knight heads to South America to begin one of his last World Tour events before the all-important decision is made.
With a low entry of just 60 men in Chile it could be a great opportunity for the Londoner to achieve a high-placed finish as he begins as the 19th seed.
Last week in Spain he almost pulled off a shock win against world number 115 Hiromitsu Kasahara (JPN) before falling narrowly short in a 4-3 defeat.
With big names like Jun Mizutani (JPN, 8), Lee Jung Woo (KOR, 19) and Gao Ning (SIN, 21) ready to attend in Chile, the 22-year-old could yet send shockwaves on the international stage with a victory against one of these top class players.
He starts on Thursday in his qualifying group alongside Chilean Gerardo Palma (1560) and Brazilian Gustavo Souza (u/r). His South American opponents face each other later on today.