Finally in Australia

G'day mate. I've finally reached Australia! It was a very very very long couple of travel days but we've arrived. We started our journey at 8am Tuesday the 26th when we got on the Tri-Rail in Florida and headed to the Miami Airport. We got to the airport around 10:30 then had to wait around for the ticket counter to open. The first flight left Miami destined for Washington Dulles Airport. Then we left Washington and went to San Francisco where we had 3 hours to kill so we got dinner and walked around. Then we left San Francisco on the biggest plane I've ever been on. It was one of those 747s with the 2 levels and the 4 engines and hundreds of seats. The worst part was getting on the plane where you could see inside the first class and business class where they had the comfy chairs that folded out into a bed and their own tv screens...it was just like a ha ha wish you could sit here type of thing, but only if you dished out a few thousand dollars. But anyway the flight was wicked long. 14 hours as a matter of fact. The first part seemed to drag on but they had good movies on that I've never seen before like 'Grown Ups' 'The Back-up Plan' 'Cyrus' and the 'The Joneses'. The last two I could have cared less about but they weren't terrible. Also on the flight we got some decent food and all the water you could ask for. Other than that it was uneventful. I did manage to sleep for about 45 minutes that's it. But after 14 long hours we landed in Sydney on the 28th, 2 days after leaving Miami! Weird. But once in Sydney we had to take another flight down to Melbourne and then from Melbourne to Perth on the west coast. So the entire journey took 27 hours on an airplane but I was awake for over 40 hours with probably about 2 hours worth of sleeping. It wasn't fun. I really wish I could sleep on planes. But to top things off once we were in Perth we had to drive 5 hours to get to Kalgoorlie which is a mining town in the middle of nowhere which is where the first tournament is being held. That drive was awful! We were literally driving through the outback in the middle of the night. There was nothing around, no lights no buildings no nothing besides 18 wheelers. It was kind of creepy. Especially when we got stopped at a railroad crossing and there wasn't anything around. I thought people were going to jump out at us. But we finally arrived in Kalgoorlie at around midnight and man did I sleep good that night. Since then I've just been practicing so nothing too exciting. The courts aren't too bad. They're on the edge of town next to cricket fields so the area is really windy, I just hope it calms down before the matches start. But it's doubtful. Anyway the tournament starts tomorrow so hopefully I'll do okay, but we'll see tomorrow.

Rock Hill, SC

Well I am back in Florida for about 24 hours before myself and my mom head to Australia. But I'll tell you about last week at the 25k in Rock Hill, SC. So here we go!

I ended up having to qualify for the tournament so my first match was on Sunday and I won my first two matches against decent opponents. One who is really difficult to play because it can be hit or miss but ended up winning. So I managed to get into the final round of the qualifying and had to play Brittany Augustine who I played 2 summers ago in Brownsville, TX and lost in 3 sets. So I had a game plan in mind and I knew it was going to be tough but I grinded it out with a 3-6 6-3 6-3 win to make it into the main draw.

My first round in the main was against a Brazilian player who I've seen many times but never have played. I guess in her career she has played over 500 matches so she was an experienced player. Anyway she is a player who just doesn't miss and she also doesn't go for many winners. I ended up winning 6-3 6-2 by being really aggressive and hitting as many forehands as I could. Then in the next round I had to play the number 1 seed from Columbia who was ranked 131 in the world. And going into the match I knew it would be a great experience for me so I put it all on the line and turns out I won 6-4 6-3. Again I hit a lot of big forehands and she just made a lot of forehand errors. The next day I had to play a friend of mine Irina and woke up not feeling well at all. It must have been due to the change in the weather, going from 85 degrees to the 40s. But no wondering many top pros pull out of matches when they feel sick, its not fun. You can't move well at all, your reactions are delayed, and in my case I was nauseous the whole time. But it was bad, I think I was done in about 10 minutes. So that was my tournament for the singles, and I couldn't have been happier. That was a great tournament, played some good competition, got 6 matches under my belt. It was a good week to have before heading off to Australia tomorrow.

Then in doubles I paired up with Sanaz again and we made it all the way to the finals. We took out the number 4 seeds and the number 2 seeds. But we fell in the finals to the two girls I took out in singles (maybe it was there revenge) but it was close. We lost the first set, won the second set, then lost in the 10-point breaker. So again it was a really good tournament.

Now it is off to Australia tomorrow morning. I CANNOT wait! I'm really excited so I will try to keep you all informed as to what is happening in the Land Down Under. Until then I would like everyone to celebrate on Wednesday the 27th of October because that will be a day that I will never experience. Weird. Leave America on Tuesday and get to Australia on Thursday. So have a BBQ, open a present, or light off a firework, but enjoy Wednesday the 27th for me!!!

50k Troy, Alabama

So I ended up getting a wildcard in the qualifying draw of a 50k in Troy, Al. I found out on Wednesday that I got the wildcard and was on a flight Saturday morning. They wanted me to get here on Friday but thank goodness I didn't because there is absolutely nothing here. They only seem to have fast food and gas stations on the main road. But they do have a Wal-Mart so that is a plus. But anyway qualifying matches started on Sunday and I ended up playing Krisan who I played 2 summers ago and she just doesn't miss and runs everything down. But I had a good game plan and played aggressively and ended up winning 3 and 2. Then my next round was against the number 2 seed in the qualies Solovieva who I guess turns out to have been the number one ranked junior in the world at one point. I lost 2 and 2. I didn't play bad I just didn't play good either. Everything was hit to my backhand and I felt I couldn't be aggressive hitting just backhands so that was the story in the singles.

On a better note I got into the doubles main draw which is a plus. I played with Elizabeth Lumpkin but our first round was against the number 2 seeds of Ditty and Spears. :( That was a sucky draw. Elizabeth and I have have never played together and to get the 2nd seed is just bad luck. Both are ranked in the top 200 and one I can't remember which but one is ranked top 60 in the world for doubles. Anyway we lost 0 and 4. And that was my first doubles match I've played since July, and I seemed to have forgotten how to play doubles for the first set. We had some chances in the second set that we let slip away. But it was a good experience to play players who have competed in Grand Slams. So now I know what to work on. And hopefully one day I'll get there. But that was it for Troy, Al. Now I'm off to Rock Hill, South Carolina for a 25k which I am in the qualifying draw of. Hopefully I'll do some damage there. But I'll post my next blog after that one is finished or before if something exciting happens...

Florida must flood

I have been living in the great state of Florida for close to 3 months now and have experienced many of what the state has to offer, from the Beaches to the Theme Parks and even the Cuisine. But what I want to discuss are the reasons why I would never choose to live here when tennis is over. So here are 10 reasons...

1. It's wicked hot here. All year long. The seasons consist of Spring, Summer, Boiling, and Hell.

2. There are fountains in every lake or pond. Like what ever happened to Nature's own beauty or man-made beauty for that matter.

3. People drive crazy here. They ride your back bumper, they cut you off, they go through red lights. It's like the rules of the road (aka the Law) don't apply
to them.

4. Most women are made of either plastic, botox, silicone, or anything else that makes them look shiny. (Insert a favorite movie quote of mine) "You're plastic. Cold, shiny, hard plastic."

5. Everyone is constantly on their cell phones. I would like to have a conversation where we look each other in the eye and converse. I don't like when I am speaking and they are looking at their phone texting because I know the person isn't listening and that means I need to repeat myself, which I don't like to do.

6. Florida's official language is Spanish. I am no bueno at it even though I took it in college (which I failed). But Florida is part of the United States if I am not mistaken so where did the English go.

7. Did I mention the crazy drivers...

8. I can never watch my favorite sports teams (Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics) unless they are playing Miami or other Florida team.

9. Too many people, and people are always in a rush. Relax people and stop making babies. This world is over populated enough, it seems every one comes to Florida. I would rather vacation here for a few days but other then that get me the heck out of here!

10. My last and final reason I don't like Florida is because the rest of my family is not here. I am very family oriented and I miss seeing everyone each week. I live with my sister and I see my grandmother who lives down here every week or two which is great but I miss the others.

So for these reasons I want to have my own Island where I can decide what happens and who can come stay and visit then exile them when needed.

A nickel for your thoughts

Why is it that most of all the disaster movies and television shows have to start with a airplane crashing or going missing. All of the shows this fall seem to have this happen. For instance, Lost - a plane crashed, this new show No Ordinary Family - a plane crashed, Cast Away - a plane crashed, War of the Worlds - a plane crashed, and The Event - a plane disappears. Why do all shows have to have planes go missing or go down in flames??!! As a person who doesn't like to fly that much, I don't want to watch a movie or show that depicts just that. Why can't a cruise liner disappear?? Or a bus load of marching band members go lost? That would be more interesting to me, and there are many more people to choose from to have a good storyline. Just a thought. Any comments?

Strong Like Bull

Practice this week is finally over, but it was a great week. I got a chance to work one on one with Ola Malmqvist who is the Head of Women's Tennis for the USTA. Now I have gotten to work with him before but never one on one, and man did he kill me. But I got to experience him on my court every day of this week. I continued to work on my backhand which has gotten a lot better. Hit my forehand bigger. Improve my serve, and cut down my unforced errors by not missing in the net or wide. So I can definitely say after this week I have improved my game. I even got a chance to play a player who once was top 50 in the world. The first day I was down 4-6 4-4 then a monsoon hit. But the next day I won the set we played 6-3. So that was a good experience. Another great thing is that I have been doing a lot of fitness and each day I feel a little more stronger and faster and I think feeling fitter on the court is increasing my confidence. And in practice sets and matches my confidence is starting to show. So I am very excited about that. Now all that I need to do is to continue to play the way I am now in my next tournament, two weeks from now. Until then I'll continue to workout and try and build on the confidence I have in my game now.