75, Albuquerque

Last week I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the qualifying of a 75 after spending a week at home after 8 months in Europe. It was great being back but I wish I was there longer. I got to practice a few times up at the Weymouth Club were I practically started playing when I was younger. It's funny because every time I hit up there the place gets bigger and bigger. But it was my first time hitting on a hard court in a very long time. I was surprised I got balls in the court actually. I just made sure I moved like I was on a hard court and not on clay, I didn't need to roll an ankle before my tournament. Good thing I didn't. But I heard that Albuquerque air was thinner due to the altitude and that serving and slicing should be effective which didn't bother me. When I arrived I was surprised that Albuquerque just under a mile up. It was cold in the shade but hot in the sun. And you were very easy to get a sunburn (Ranked 3rd for Most Dangerous Skin Cancer Cities in the US behind Anaheim, CA and San Diego, CA by Men's Health - just fyi). The first practice I'll admit I had trouble breathing. I had to take my time in between rallies. It was almost as if you were breathing through a straw. Definitely not enough oxygen in the air, obviously. However, I did find out that serving and slicing was very effective, but if you go to hit a ground stroke and don't hit it properly the ball flew to the fence. Hit or miss, literally.

First round of the qualifying I got match up against a wild card Bezdickova from the Czech Republic. She also is a current student athlete at the University of New Mexico, so I didn't know much about her but that's what happened during most tournaments in Europe. Anyway I ended up winning 6-0,6-2. Not a bad start and first match on a hard court. I played well. Didn't miss much and I played aggressive. Sliced it to keep it low, looked to hit big forehands, and tried going to the net as much as I could. I did a lot of serve volleying and even chip and charge off the return. Overall it was a good first round match. I still was breathing heavy though. I thought the people watching could have heard me breathing. Other then that, all was good.

Second round I was up against the 5th seed in the qualifying draw Geuer from Germany. All was well before the match, then I went to jog to warm up before my match, then went inside to fill up my water bottle and headed out the door to the courts. As I walked out into the sun the vision in my left eye was like someone just took a picture with the flash on, so I had a white spot in the center. I thought well that's odd but thought it would just go away like it usually does after someone takes a picture. So I managed the five minute warm up with only seeing clearly out of my right eye. Then I even played three games before I called the trainer out because I didn't know what was going on. And by that time I could see a bit better just I couldn't see any of my peripheral vision, it was really blurry. So the trainer came out and thought it was just a migraine and even the Dr. who was the main sponsor of the tournament came out because he was a vision specialist, and he too thought it could be an ocular migraine because of the troubled vision. So they asked if I wanted to stop and I said no, if it gets worse I would. So soon after the medical timeout ended my vision came back but I had a splitting headache every time I bent down to get a ball. Some how I managed to still win the match 6-2,6-3. I think I wasn't even paying attention to what was going on and focused on my headache. But after the match I head was killing and I wanted to throw up. It wasn't a good afternoon. But I won so I was happy about that. The trainer then had me go see the tournament Dr. who told me that it was probably just a migraine but I also might have some effects of altitude sickness which were headaches (had a big one the day I arrived), shortness of breath (while practicing and first round), and fatigue (possibly). But when I heard that I thought I can tell people that I suffered from altitude sickness which makes me sound way cooler like I climbed Mt. Everest or K2. But anyway some Advil and I was good for the rest of the day.

In the third round I played Abaza from the US and lost 3-6,5-7 and I played awful. Words cannot adequately express how bad it was. I'm surprised the score seemed close but it was bad. I have never missed so many forehands in my life. I even started to push the ball in with my forehand, and I never do that. But when I went to hit the ball a bit harder I missed. I even thought to myself maybe I should run around my forehand to hit a backhand it was that bad. It wasn't like I was hitting deep every time. It was missed every where. Deep, wide, in the net. My first day all year where it was that horrendous. Maybe it had something to do with my brain being on fire and my messed up vision the previous day I don't know but it was terrible. Afterward I wasn't even upset, I had to just laugh about it. So that was that.

After Albuquerque I headed back to Florida to see my sister and grandmother who I haven't seen since last December so it was great seeing them. Now I'm in Amelia Island, Florida playing in a 10k back on clay. Hopefully the 8 months on clay helps. We'll see.

Travel Day From Hell

On my way back to Holland from Ratingen it had to be the worst travel day I have ever experienced. I leave for the train station at about 6 and when I go to purchase my ticket from the kiosk it says the first two connections I won’t make because of delays. I figured that is ok, because they were only 30 minute train rides anyway. So my first train was scheduled to arrive at 6:30 it doesn’t show up until 7. At 7:15 I arrive at Dusseldorf  HBF and I check the timetables to see if I can get onto another train because my previous timetable wouldn’t work anymore. So I see that there is a train leaving in 5 minutes so I run to the platform and the conductor person, or ticket man is standing outside the door facing the train talking to a man. So I stand behind him waiting for him to move so I can get onto the train. He finishes talking, walks up the steps onto the train, presses a button, turns around and looks down on me and I look up at him, like can I get on? Then all of a sudden the doors close and he is still looking down at me and I up at him as the door slams shut and off the train goes. I’m standing there like what the heck just happened and then become enraged because I wanted to get onto that train to get back to Apeldoorn. So as I’m mouthing obscenities I walk back downstairs to the kiosk to find yet another timetable. Find out there is another train leaving the same platform I was just on, so head back up the stairs with my luggage, tennis bag, backpack, and flowers I received from the tournament. So I’m waiting on the platform and the board changes and there is no train. I ask information what happened and he tells me the train was cancelled. Now I am fuming because all the trains are delayed and cancelled, and it’s wicked hot in the station. So I’m sweating lugging my things around. I end up squishing all my flowers so I throw them into the trash. I go back and check the timetable for a third time and find a train that is going to Munster which was delayed so I had time to get it. It arrives about an hour later at Dusseldorf. So at 8 I’m on it, but there is no AC on the train and the car I get into is closed. (It was the one with the small rooms and a long hallway down the side.) So I sit on the floor next to the bathroom sweating like a pig. About 30 minutes later the ticket lady comes and tells me there is AC in the next car. So she helps me with my bags and finds me a room with a husband and wife and their small boy who must be about 3 or 4 years old. The kid starts climbing all over me, trying to take my water, and wants my Kindle. His father slaps the kid on the head, yanks him off the chair by his ankle so he falls to the floor, he starts crying until his mom picks him up. Like I didn’t realize how harsh you can treat you kid in Germany, either that or Americans are just soft. Who knows, but it made me feel very awkward. So finally we get to Munster at 9:30 and the place is just overrun with people. There were people hanging out the windows and doors of a train across the track, on the other side there were about 300 people lined up waiting for a train to arrive, and a huge line at the information booth looking for answers about which train to get on. There was also construction going on, so there are barriers and yellow tape everywhere, the pavement was unfinished, and the escalators didn’t work. So I walked down the steps to read the big board of arrivals and departures and it says where I need to go. So head back up to the platform and there is a different train there. Not the one I need. The information says this train was leaving two minutes after the one I was supposed to be on. So just to double check I take me stuff, walk down to the big board again and it still says the same platform. So I head back up and wait. Apparently we need to wait until the first train left. So finally get onto the train, the ticket man comes around and says I need to get off the train at a certain stop and get to the front because half of the train is continuing on and the other is heading the opposite way. So at the stop I get my things and walk to the front of the train so I don’t get left behind. I finally reach Eschnede at about 11:30 and my next train doesn’t arrive until 5am. So I’m thinking whether or not to find a hotel room, staying at the train station, or take a taxi home. So I’m just sitting on a bench thinking about what to do when three security guards come walking over with some man in a red shirt, who looks like he is on drugs or drunk and sit him down next to me. Of all the benches! So they’re talking to him then two police officers come and ask him questions. Then one of the security officers asks me if someone is picking me up. I tell him the situation and he says I can’t stay here because the station is closing. So I take my things and walk outside and sit on the bench contemplating and about 5 minutes later the same guard comes out and tells me a taxi would be expensive to get back, try for a hotel because the area isn’t very nice to just be sitting around. So I look up hotels then just decide I want to head back, so I ended up taking about a 45 minute taxi ride back to Apeldoorn. The first 20 minutes the driver was texting probably his girlfriend because it was nonstop. I thought we were going to end up off the side of the road, or in the back of another car. Scary. Then he pulls into a gas station and asks if I want something, I say no but he insisted so I say a Coke. He comes back with a Coke and a Red Bull and candy for him. Apparently so he wouldn’t get tired. But I finally get to the house at about 1am after spending about half of my prize money. And in bed by 2am. Crazy day. Life is an adventure that’s for sure!

Ratingen, Germany

Last week I was in Ratingen, Germany for a 10k and did pretty well. I ended up making it to the finals of singles and the semifinals of doubles. So after my qualifying loss in Hechingen this makes up for it.

First round I was up against the 3^rd seed Kvatsabaia from Georgia. After seeing this I wasn’t too thrilled. Playing a top seed in the first round is always tough, but it is the best round to beat them. We were scheduled to play the evening match on Tuesday, so I had all day to wait. I went for a run in the morning then had a long warm-up around three and then continued to wait. I played so many games of solitaire on my phone that I won the achievement of 1,000 games played. Not kidding. I don’t know whether to be embarrassed by that or not. But of course I didn’t play 1,000 games that day, just ever since getting the phone in January. But still that’s a lot of waiting around for the eight months I’ve been over here. Anyway, the match scheduled before us finally ended and just as we walked out to the court the dark ominous clouds were rolling in and there was thunder off in the distance. It wasn’t looking good at all and both of us knew we weren’t going to finish the match that night. So we had our five minute warm-up and we started the match. She served first and I managed to break her serve and then I won the first point of my service game and the rain came pouring down. Play was cancelled for the rest of the evening so we had to start again the following day. From the first game I kind of got a sense of who she was going to play. More of a baseline game, run shots down, and every so often hit a big ball but not go for a winner on it. I figured if I play the way I’ve been practicing the last week days, with intensity and being unafraid to make a mistake I should do ok. But the next day when I woke up I felt like crap. Runny nose, headache, and nauseous. Not a good start for the day. In Hechingen the housing family had a son who was sick, so might have caught something there. But anyway I just tried to focus on the match and not how I was feeling. And it was working. I got up 5-2 in the first, but couldn’t serve out the set, then she got it back to 5-4 and she had a game point but I erased that with an ace down the tee, then won the next two point to take the first set 6-4. In the second set I went up 3-0 then she brought it back to 3-2, then I went up 5-2 and again I was serving for the match but couldn’t hold serve. So back to 5-4 and finally held for the win. Both sets when I was up 5-2 it wasn’t like I stopped doing what was working, I think it was more like this should be closer, I shouldn’t be winning this easily. Then you realize you’re ahead and you don’t want to lose now, so you get a bit nervous, you play the same but not as freely. So I think that was my mistake. But I played the match well. I served very well, and hit a lot of big forehands and played very aggressive.

In the second round I played a Polish player Baranska and won 6-4, 6-1. That match I still wasn’t feeling well. I was way more fatigued then the previous day, but no headache or nauseous feeling. During the match I got up 5-0 in the first set and it was like I hit a brick wall. To get to 5-0 I was trying to play it one point at a time. So like work really hard for one point, rest for the 20 seconds or so and do it again. Then my movement started to slow down, I wasn’t getting behind the ball enough to put any real power on my shots. So she was getting more back in the court and as the points were getting longer my legs started to feel like Jell-O. So she got it back to 5-4 and I was down a break point (so her game point Keri J) and I hit a forehand down the line that looked like it hit the line to me, but the umpire called it out, so I asked her to check the mark and it did in fact hit the line, so it was my point. Then I manage to win the next two points and the set. I got frustrated that set just for the reason of not feeling well and I didn’t want to play too many unnecessary games which I was doing. But the second set I again was winning 5-0 then I thought I don’t want a repeat of the previous set, but only lost one game then I won the set 6-1. I was lucky she started to miss more in that set. Had she kept the ball in play longer I’m not sure I would have been standing.

Third round I played against another Polish player, Zagorska and won 6-4, 6-2. I certainly wasn’t as tired as the previous day but it still was more my head that didn’t feel well. I would rather that then below the neck. But at the start of the match I broke her serve and held. But then I got broken my next service game but thankfully broke her straight back and we each held for the rest of the set until I won it 6-4. On set point I ended up serving and volleying and hit a low forehand pickup that I managed to drop just over the net for a winner. It was a lucky shot, but oh well, it won me the set. In the second set I went up 5-2 and 40-0 serving. I ended up hitting three double faults in a row to bring it back to deuce (a little nervous) but on my match point I hit a drop shot and came into the net and the whole time I thought please don’t get to it, please don’t get to it. But she just barely did and I hit the shakiest forehand volley of my life about 2 feet from her that she didn’t even try for so I won the match. Crazy way to end the match. But I have to say at the start of the match I kept thinking of Joan Rivers Fashion Police the ‘Bitch Stole My Look’ segment because we were wearing practically the same outfit. And obviously I wore it better! Hahaha It made me laugh throughout the match, so maybe that was why I played so well.

In the semifinals I was up against the number one seed of the tournament Lim of France. I saw her previous match and new it was going to be tough. She had a big forehand and a good serve, kind of like me, so it was going to be who could use their strengths better that day. Well we both held serve until 2-3 when I got broken. On her game point I hit a serve down the tee but she returns it to my backhand side where it hit a bump in the clay and bounced way up over my head and I barely get my racquet on it but it lands short and she hits a winner. Unlucky. But at 3-5 I have break points to get back on serve but she hit an ace and a forehand winner for the first set. 3-6. In the second set I just wanted to focus on serving well, which I didn’t in the first, and try to play a bit more aggressive and look for  more forehands. She was hitting mostly to my backhand side but I wasn’t running around them much, so wanted to change that. So we each held until 3-2 when on her serve at 15-15 she fell down and I hit a shot for a winner, so now 30-15 for me. She takes her time to get cleaned up. The umpire even takes one of my waters to give to her to wash away the clay from her leg. The physio comes and puts a Band-Aid on to stop the bleeding on her knee. But after that she comes out and double faults and then loses the next point and the game so I go up 4-2. I held and broke her again for the set 6-2. After her fall she kept complaining about the courts and how dry they were (which they were) and so in the back of her mind I don’t think she moved the same, worrying about falling again. But her fall helped me so I wasn’t going to complain. I did almost fall numerous times but I guess my balance is better. Hahah. Anyway so we go to a third set. We had the option of taking a 10 minute break between the sets because of the heat rule but neither of us took it, so they just watered and swept the court and we started up again. Like all the previous sets we each held until 3-2 where I broke her after a long deuce game. But during one point that was my game point a ball bounces into our court so we have to stop and replay the point, but a man watching tells me ‘shit happens’ in his German accent as I go and retrieve the ball. I thought it was funny and start laughing and then manage to win the game. So I end up holding the next game to go up 5-2 then its 5-3 and now I’m serving for the match. I win three straight points, up 40-0. Next point I slice a backhand deep and out down the line. So 40-15. Then I miss an inside out forehand well wide. Now 40-30. Then I hit my serve she sort of lobs the return deep up the middle I hit a high forehand back, but it lands mid court, short and she misses her forehand inside out into the alley and I win the match 6-3 in the third set.

In the final I was up against the second seed a German Siegemund who was a former top 200 player. She played German club league for the club the tournament was held at. I played doubles with her at the tournament in Wiesbaden earlier in the year. So we knew each other. But our match was scheduled for not before 3 and it was supposed to get to 100 degrees in the afternoon, so I made sure to drink plenty of water throughout the morning. The first set started off by each of us holding serve but then I got broken first at 2-3 and then again at 2-5 to give her the first set 6-2. I started off a bit slower than the other matches, but I also felt like I never really got into a rhythm. I always felt pressured by her, whether it be when I was serving, or just hitting ground strokes. She stayed close to the baseline and took the balls earlier and took a lot of time away from me. I was hitting good serving but she was hitting better returns. And during the points I would hit a good shot but she hit an even better one, and lots of drop shots especially on her forehand side and they were at times that you wouldn’t expect. Then in the second set she held and I when I was serving up 40-15 the kid on the court next to us (who I hit with before the match) fainted and started hyperventilating. People were running around yelling across the courts for help. I was just standing there I didn’t know what to do, whether to continue playing or to stop. But I certainly wasn’t concentrating on my match anymore. I was just worried about him. So I ended up losing the game and asked our umpire if they called an ambulance for him, which they did. Then she says to us that we don’t have to play anymore if it was too distracting, so we leave the court until the ambulance takes him away with an IV in his arm about 15 minutes later. But it was scary. He kept yelling something over and over, but I don’t speak German so I have no idea what it was, but his face was purple and someone was holding his legs up in the air and people were circled all around him. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Once the ambulance took him away we went back onto the court to finish, but it was still hard to concentrate. I tried thinking about my game plan while waiting inside but I still was worried about the kid. But I figured she kept killing me with her forehand drop shots so I tried to stay away from that side, so I would hit more to her backhand but that left me in more of a backhand cross court rally which I don’t really want. So it was more of a pick your poison kind of decision. So I kept with the backhand strategy thinking I could run around some and hit forehands, but not much chance of that. I ended up losing the second set 6-1. Didn’t play like in the earlier rounds, but I made it to the finals, so I can’t complain much about it. She saved her best for last and me my mediocre for last. Oh well. I got my points, my ranking should move up some more. So it was a great tournament. Hopefully this play from me continues in the weeks to come.

Hechingen, Germany

This week I was playing in Hechingen, Germany which is about an hour long train ride south of Stuttgart. It’s a small town located where mountains in the south transform into a sprawling countryside to the north. From the train the town looked to have a medieval feel to it but on the outskirts of town are today’s modern houses and buildings followed by fields as far as the eye can see. And atop the highest mountain lies Hohenzollern Castle looking down on Hechingen.

On my journey there I managed to make the sign in deadline by about 25 minutes. I planned out my trip and I would have gotten there at about 4pm but one of my trains was delayed and so I missed the next one and was forced to wait in line for 30 minutes at the ticket office to get on another train. During the wait I was trying to figure out the timing and panicking that I won’t get to the tournament in time and getting angry at the people behind the desk because they were just sitting there not helping anyone. (Like the USPS - Oh the line is out the door, I think I’ll take my break now.) Finally my number gets called and the man at the desk puts me on a train that was leaving in five minutes, so I run out of the office with my backpack, tennis bag, and big suitcase (thank goodness for wheels) and weave in and out of people and board my train just as the doors shut behind me. Usually I would rather miss my transportation than look like an idiot running through the station but I needed to get to the tournament before six to sign in.  So on this next train we arrived about five minutes late and I’m praying the next train didn’t leave. So I get to the platform and there isn’t a train so I thought great I missed it but on the board it said it was five minutes late. Thank goodness. But I managed to get onto that one, and made all the other trains and got to the tournament with time to spare.

First round of qualifying I played an Italian, Stefanelli and won 6-3,6-1. It was a good first round. I served well, I felt like I was hitting well and moving well. But the only bad thing was the court. There were many bad bounces and something like a trench right behind the baseline. So when you go to serve it’s like your back foot is two inches lower than your front foot. But other than that everything was fine.

After the match another player from Australia, Leah (who I met at a previous tournament) went to the castle to have a look around. Now for those of you who don’t care for a history lesson I suggest skipping down to the next paragraph. So the tournament driver, Günter (strong German name) tells us he’ll drop us off and then it is a ten minute walk up to the castle. Well the ten minute walk was straight uphill. I felt like I was walking on 10.0 incline on the treadmill. A few minutes in my calfs were burning, then I was starting to sweat, and then I was huffing and puffing my way up the hill. Once the hill was over with there were stairs probably 200 steps. I have to say the stairs were easier than the hill. And after the stairs were over there was one final hill but not as steep as the previous. Once at the top I felt like holding my arms above my head and jump around like Rocky. But anyway the castle was part of the Hohenzollern dynasty, which a book in 1267 described it as the “crown of all castles in Swabia” (Swabia is the countryside region of this area.) The Hohenzollern lineage was divided into the Swabian and Franconian after Count Frederick III. von Zollern’s (around 1200)  wife died and he inherited all possessions and titles. The Swabian lineage remained in the region while the Franconian lineage expanded. The Franconian lineage went on to bigger and better things. In 1701 Frederick III (1657-1713) crowned himself King of Prussia and King William I. (1797-1888) won the Franco-Prussian War and he was known as German Emperor in 1871. (I remember the Franco-Prussia War topic coming up in history class, but remember nothing about it.) The Swabian lineage on the other hand had an inheritance dispute between two brothers Frederick XII (1443) and Eitel Frederick I (1439) and after ten months of fighting they destroyed the castle in 1423. Then in 1454 Count Jost Nicholas von Zollern began reconstructing the castle. Now skipping a few hundred years the castle was taken over by the Austrians then the castle lost its military importance and soon was reduced to ruins. Then in 1819 Crown Prince Frederick William IV of Prussia visited and ordered his men to reconstruct it. Then because of financial difficulties a contract was written between the family branches for the upkeep. The crown prince carried two-thirds of the building costs, and the Swabian lines one third. As of today, still two-thirds is owned by the Prussian line and one-third the Swabian line. The castle was finally completed October 3, 1867 but was never a residence for the Hohenzollern family, up until 1945 family members only visited. It was just a symbol of the rise of the Hohenzollern… That was a lot of information taken out of the booklet I got. I feel like I’m back at school now writing a paper. Glad that part is over and done with. Now when this German history comes up on Jeopardy you’ll be ready! But the castle was amazing. As you entered the castle you worked your way up to the courtyard by a ramp shaped like a corkscrew which covered about 75 feet in altitude. In the three overlapping loops it had three different drawbridges each with deep ditch below. Once out of the ramp the tunnel opened into a large courtyard where you would find entrances to a chapel, the garden, the armory, and the residence rooms. Inside the rooms I was amazed by the detailing of just about every aspect of the room. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures of inside but there were marble columns, marble floors, painted gold and blue ribbed ceilings, three 50 candle bronze chandeliers, a library filled with oak book cases, murals painted in the 1800s, colored glass windows, a treasury room that held the red velvet, diamond laced Royal Prussian crown, three snuff boxes covered in precious gems, and another that saved the King's life as it stopped a bullet fired at him during one of his battles, medals of honor such as the Order of the Black Eagle, and gold drinking glasses and tableware. Needless to say, there were a lot of valuable items. I did manage to take some pictures when the guides weren’t looking, but they were roaming around like hawks in a field full of mice. It was a great experience that’s for sure. Going back in time to see how royalty lived is something I won’t forget. Well I hope I didn’t bore you to death with my history lesson, or completely confuse you. But now back to tennis.

My second round of qualifying I played against a Ukrainian and won 6-2, 7-6(0). The day started off a bit rainy so the clay was very slow and still had water underneath. But the first set went well. I hit a bunch of forehands and went after my shots. The second set she started to play better, making more shots in the court and I on the other hand started missing a lot. I was serving for the match at 5-4 but got broken then managed to get it to a tiebreaker where I won easily to win the match.

In my third and final round of qualifying I was up against a tough French player Ramialison who took out the 10^th seed in the previous round. The match started out ok, but I never got comfortable out there. When serving she just ripped returns deep into the corners to put pressure on me right away. She also moved really well and took time away from me by standing close to the baseline and moved diagonally into the court to cut the ball off. But I just didn’t play well, my shots just weren’t there and shots were landing short in the court for her to attack. So I was pretty bummed. But I keep trying to tell myself there is always another tournament next week which there is, in Ratingen. Hopefully I can put some wins together there.

Center Court

Courtyard

View from the top

Knokke, 10k

This week I played in Knokke, Belgium, a beachy tourist town in the northwest corner of Belgium. Of all the nice things I heard of this place I was glad it was my last tournament in the six weeks of playing. I got here on Friday thinking I was in qualifying because the acceptance list said I was two out of main the day before. So I go to sign in and they tell me I got into the main. So I had three days of practice before the main draw started. Well in those three days I only got to hit for about three hours. It rained every day so I was lucky to hit even if it was just for three hours. I thought it was great preparation for this tournament…

So finally the main draw gets underway and I have to play my doubles partner Elyne first round. Tough start to the tournament. We each know how the other plays and to play a friend makes it more difficult. But as I expected it was a close match. The first set was decided in a tiebreaker, which I lost 7-1. But I shouldn’t have. I was up 5-2 and 40-15 returning. The first set point I missed a running backhand and the second she hit a forehand winner. I ended up getting broken the next game, then we each held serve the rest of the set to force a tiebreaker. The second set was also close. I won it 7-5. I broke her at 6-5 and that was that. But I played that set very well, and I served great. Elyne even said after that I played that set amazing and all she did when returning was watch the serve go past her for an ace. But that set I was relaxed and just swung freely. I had a few break points but couldn’t convert any, but I was just focusing on holding really. Then in the third set I remember breaking her in the 3-3 game after what seemed to be about 15 deuce points, but then the next game I lost my serve easily. Then we each held until the tiebreaker which I ended up winning 7-0. I just wanted to get more points than I did in the first set, but I ended up with 7 straight. That was an improvement. But it was a great match, then two hours later we both were back on the court again to play doubles which we won 6-0,6-1. We wanted to win the doubles so she didn’t have two losses on the day. So we made sure to win, which we did.

The next day in my second round match I played an Italian Scimone and won 6-2, 6-1. But during the match I was up 4-1serving and I went to toss the ball to serve and felt my knee (the problematic one) pop a bit and just pain. So I grabbed the ball walked to the fence to see if I could walk it off, then go to serve again but still the same pain. So I thought just great! It always hurts when I’m winning. So I just serve the ball without bending and then I lose the game because I can’t run. But I won my return game by just trying to hit winners. On the changeover at 5-2 the trainer came out and put tape on it and I was good to go. It has happened before so I knew the pain would subside, which it did and I was able to serve out the set and win the second set too.

In the quarterfinals I played a Belgian Oyen and ended up losing in three sets, but it was a good match. I started the first set up 3-0 then I had a game serving where I missed a forehand wide and doubles faulted twice. Not good. Momentum snapped. Then it was 3-1, 3-2, 4-2 where I had a game point for 5-2 but missed my shot deep while running forward to get a drop shot. So then it went 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6 and I had a game point serving but she blasted a backhand return down the line on a first serve for a winner. Then I lost the game and the set 5-7. In the second set I played really well again. I didn’t miss much, she made most of the errors. I won the set 6-1. In the third set I wish I kept up my play, but it didn’t happen. I got broken in the first game and she held so down 0-2 and my next service game I was down 40-0 and somehow came back to win the game and stay in the match. In the next few games however I was unable to get the break back and she broke me at 3-5 for the match. It was a competitive match. I wish I got more shots in the court at the end but she hit a lot of good shots that I was unable to attack. Later that day we were back playing doubles against each other but I won this round. 6-2, 6-2. Not losing two times in one day. That’s a big no no for me.

Then in the semifinals of doubles we lost 6-7(4),6-0,8-10. I didn’t play my best doubles. Maybe in the second set we stepped it up but that tiebreaker for the third is tricky. One or two points can go either way to decide the match and I think that is what happened. We felt like we were the better team who came out of the losing end. Nothing we could do about it after, but I think we should have played more aggressive in the first instead of waiting on our heels. So that would be my only criticism, oh and for me to just play better. Ha.

Well that was this week. It was a good tournament. Had close matches. Won some points to move my ranking up. Now it’s back to the drawing board for two weeks, then I’ll start again. So until then…

Some pictures for you guys.

Entrance

Royal Zoute Tennis Club

Some strange statue on the jetty

Different angle

Main street on the beach

Lots of beach huts

Pictures of Alkmaar & Breda

Alkmaar, Netherlands

Crowd for doubles final

Breda, Netherlands

Church

Center Court, Breda

Middelburg 25k

Last week I was in Middelburg, Netherlands for a 25k and let me tell you, it was the most stacked 25 I think I’ve ever played. The number one seed Rezai from France was a former top 15 player in the world. Crazy. But I started in the qualifying draw and made it into the main draw where I lost second round to the 3^rd seed, Namigata from Japan.

In the qualifying, I was the 8^th seed and was told I had a bye in the first round. I was there when the schedule came out and when the draw was made it showed that I received a bye. However, at 10:30 Sunday morning I got a call from the ITF Supervisor that there was a mistake and I had to play a wildcard at 3pm that day. I was totally not prepared. Usually you go to bed thinking you have a match in the morning so you can mentally prepare, and schedule your day to get prepared for your match. I didn’t have that chance.  But at 3pm I played Van Der Wal from the Netherlands and won 6-4,6-3. I was lucky in the 1^st set. I was up 4-1 then she brought it to 4-4 when I was serving at my advantage it started to rain. So we had about a 30 minute break then headed back out to the court where I won the first and was able to come up with a better game plan for the second set. Second round of the qualifying I played Adams of France and won 6-2,6-2. There was no rain delay, just a straight forward match where I made more in the court than she. But I was happy to qualify, because I automatically got one point instead of having to win a round in the main like in a 10k. So that was a plus.

In the main draw I was match up against Eva Waccano of the Netherlands. And if some of you have good memories, she and I played doubles together in a few tournaments in the past. We won a 10k in England last November and made it to the semifinals in France a few months back. So we knew how the other plays, you just need to put the friendship aside and play the ball. The start of the match I lost my serve and she held, so down 0-2 which wasn’t the most ideal start, but only down one break so it wasn’t so bad. Then I managed to hold serve, break her and hold to go up 3-2. Then 3-3, 4-3 then I got another break to go up 5-3 and serve for the set. That game she played great. She took my serve and returned them close to the lines and put me on the defensive right away. So now we were back on serve until I broke her again at 6-5 to take the set 7-5. The second set started off just like the first, I starting down 0-2 but won the next five games to be up 5-2. Then she had the best serving game of the match, an ace, two unreturned serves and a winner. Then in the next game I was serving for the match. The game had multiple deuce points and on one of them I missed a forehand inside out by about an inch then lost the next point when she hit a forehand winner. Now back on serve, identical to the first set. Then it went to 5-5 and another really close game. At deuce I hit a backhand return down the line that landed in the corner of the court but Eva stopped playing, then decided she wasn’t sure if it was in or out, so the umpire came out and looked at the mark and said it was out. But clearly from my angle it hit the side of the line. But I managed to win the next point and eventually the game to go up 6-5. We changed sides and I got a second chance to look at the mark and it was in, so I’m not sure what the umpire was looking at, but it didn’t matter because I won that game, but if I hadn’t it could have changed the outcome of the match. But I held serve to take the second set and the match 7-5. It was a close one and could have gone either way. But I used my backhand slice to keep the ball low so she couldn’t get a good whack at the ball and I hit my forehand. I think when I was up 5-2 I played it not to lose and she took control. My shots didn’t really have a purpose behind them so she could attack and be on the offensive. But at 5-5 I realized what was happening and told myself to hit the ball and try to win the match because she certainly wasn’t going to hand it to me. So I made a late adjustment but it was just in time.

A funny thing after the match was the next scheduled match on my court had already taken their seats on our benches just as we shook the umpire’s hand. Eva and I had just shaken hands when they were walking onto the court. Like it’s a sprint to sit on the winner’s bench. It’s crazy. Let me at least enjoy my moment and put my things in my bag without you breathing down my neck. Like geez give me 2 minutes. hahaha

In the second round I was up against the 3^rd seed Namigata from Japan who was 190 in the world. The match started off ok I guess. I had three chances to break her in the first game but couldn’t convert. Then in the next game I got broken although I had game points, but I broke her back in the third game. We each held until I again got broken at 3-4, but the worst part was at 3-3 I was up 40-0 and lost the game. Then at 3-5 down I was up again in the game 30-0 but didn’t manage another point in that set. In the second set I found myself down 1-4 rather quickly. But got it back to 3-4 then in the next game I was up 40-15 but again she managed to erase the break points and held and then broke me to win the match. It was a close match, but the break chances just killed me. What amazed me was watching the top 5 seeds play and how well they play the break points and how well they return. Namigata returned everything about a foot from the baseline, immediately putting me in an awkward position on the court. And even on the break points I figured out where she was going to serve but still managed to lose the point. Like on the deuce side she would like to serve out wide then hit the next ball to the open court, so I would know it was going there so I took a step to my right and I would get a forehand and no matter where I hit it she wacked it to the open court for a winner. They all just seem to step up to the plate in big moments and hit a home run. But it was a good experience, I felt like I kept up, just those few points I needed to play better. But it was a good tournament to make it through the qualies and into the second round. That means a bunch of points are headed my way which will move my ranking up in the right direction. Hopefully, I can continue to play well for the next tournaments.

Memorable Moment.
The tournament had shuttle drivers to pick us up from the hotel to the site and to the practice site. Well the driver that I had to take me to the practice site had never driven an automatic before in his life and what a ride. We got into the car and he turns the engine on and looks at the pedals like ‘where is the clutch?’ then looks at the stick and says ‘what does the ‘d’ stand for?’ I started laughing, told him it meant drive, and all he needed to do was just use the right pedal for the gas. We ease out of the parking lot and as the engine revs he thinks he needs to change gears from 1^st to 2^nd. So he slams on the brakes and tries to move the shifter into a gear that isn’t there. He was like ‘oops I’m sorry! Glad you had your seatbelt on.’ I thought to myself maybe I should drive. Then throughout the rest of the ride he wanted to use his left leg to change gears but I kept saying he didn’t have to and when we safely made it to the practice site he wanted to just put the car in neutral. But I told him that was what the ‘p’ was for. Need to put it in park or else the car will roll without the emergency break. After that I didn’t see him drive anyone else…

Past Two Weeks

Sorry for not updating anything. I didn’t feel compelled to write after a dismal showing in the singles in Alkmaar two weeks ago. However, we did win the doubles title which some of you saw. So now that a week has past and I did fairly well in my next tournament I’ll just recap for you the past two weeks.

Alkmaar:
In the singles tournament I  played a Dutch girl Podda first round. I won 6-1,6-1. I’ve seen her play before and she is a grinder, gets a lot of balls back and doesn’t miss much. But when I played her it was windy and she made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. However, I was up 5-0 and had a few match points that I couldn’t convert and at 5-1 I had even more that I couldn’t get until what I was told by the umpire was the 11th match point. The last two games were 35 minutes. Crazy. I was just glad I managed to win two points in a row finally. It wasn’t like I was nervous or anything. She made me play and I went for it a little too much, and she played those points well. I remember I double faulted on one, but of the others she passed me at the net, another couple she hit winners, and the rest were misses by me. No big deal.

Second round I was up against Burger, the player I lost to in the second round of the previous tournament in Meppel. Before the match I was confident in my game plan, hitting to her forehand and be aggressive by looking to get to the net. My game plan was exceeding my expectations early in the first set when I found myself up 4-2 and break chances. On my last break point opportunity I hit a slice backhand return deep up the middle and followed it into the net. Then she hits a normal (not easy, not difficult) shot to my backhand side and I manage to miss the volley deep passed the baseline. A volley I can hit with my eyes closed ‘most’ of the time. After that point I cracked mentally and she wins the next two points for the game and eventually the set. I think in the second set I started to continue to replay that point in my mind, which isn’t good, and lost sight of the present and what I needed to do in the second set. She also changed up her tactics again, by hitting a lot more to my backhand side. As the match wore on I was hitting less and less forehands and feeling less comfortable on the court. But it was over soon, I lost the second 6-3.  And that was that.

But we won the doubles so that put a smile on my face. It’s always good to win something! This was the fourth tournament Elyne and I have played together and our second win. So not too bad. Hopefully more in the future.

Breda:
Last week was a 10k in Breda, Netherlands, which is located about 15 minutes north of the Belgium border. A very nice looking town, friendly people, and nice tennis facility. I also got to house with a Dutch family who lived only a short 5 minute bike ride away from the tennis courts. And after the day of tennis was complete I got to tour the city with my own personal tour guide, had a cup of tea in the market square, and even played a few rounds of golf. It made for a very enjoyable week.

But back to tennis. I had to qualify for this tournament and won my first two matches 6-0,6-0 and 6-3,6-0 against two Belgian girls. In the main draw, first round I played against a French girl Pons and won 6-7(4),6-2,6-0. I was up a break in the first set 5-4 and served for the set but got broken, then we each held to force a tiebreaker which she played well and won. But I battled back and took the next two sets and the match. A good comeback for a win is always nice.

Second round I played a Dutch girl Burgmans. She was a big lefty and had a monster serve. I managed to win 6-2,7-6(3). Playing a player like her I knew I needed to hold serve and just try to win one return game. But I played the match smart. She return from standing right on the baseline, I knew it would be difficult to ace her, and she was a big girl so it would be difficult for her to get out of her own way, so I served body serves most of the time, and I worked rather well. After a while I would try to play a serve to her forehand or backhand but not straying too far away from the body serve. I managed to break her twice in the first set, one was just a poorly played game by her, she missed 4 shots quick into the points, the other, a multiple deuce game that I just manage to get the ball in the court more times than her. But in the second set I was down a break early (definitely not a spot I wanted to be in) but I managed to break her later on in the set. Then she needed hold to the stay in the match at 5-4 and she sure did. She aced me twice, hit a winner, and I missed a return. Then we each held until the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was even at 3-3 until I won the next 4 points to take the match. It was a good win, didn’t get into much of a rhythm but oh well I’ll take the win over that any day.

In the quarterfinals I played another Dutch girl Van Der Meet. And again a tall girl, with a big serve and even bigger forehand. The start of the match it was drizzling the whole time so her shots didn’t have much on it. But the first game of the match she served and hit four forehand winners. I’m thinking oh dear! Just hope she can’t keep that up. But to my luck she didn’t. I won the next five games to go up 5-1 until she held and then I held to take the set 6-2. Then in the second set after she came back from what seemed to be an eternity of a bathroom break, it stopped raining, the sun came out and it got hot. Not the best combinations when playing a player who hits it big. I got broken in my opening service game and went down 3-0 quickly and couldn’t get the break back. I lost the second set 6-3. In the third set I wanted to just focus on holding serve and try to break her. But easier said than done. I got broken twice and found myself down 5-2. Then I finally managed to break her serve by just getting the return back and she tried to win the point on one shot but it didn’t work like it had in the previous games. Then I held to keep the pressure on, but she served a big game up 5-4 to win the match. I felt like she just outplayed me. The closeness of the score lies. First set I was in control, but the second and third sets were hers so she deserved to win. I was bummed I lost, but to lose against a player that hit a lot of aces and winners there is nothing you can do about it.

It was a good tournament, to make it through qualifying and into the quarters it’s pretty good. As the saying goes “eyes on the forest, not on the trees,” Time to look at the big picture more, instead of seeing just a loss. So I’m happy with that tournament. Now I head west to Middelburg, Netherlands where I will play in the 25k. I’m in qualifying so I should start Sunday or Monday. Hopefully I continue to play well and get some more confidence. Let you know how it goes.

And I'll try to upload some pictures of the places later in the week!

Meppel 10k

This week I played in Meppel, Netherlands, which is a little under an hour away from Apeldoorn. It’s in the northern part of the country, and it’s mostly farmland and not much else. However, the tennis facility on the outer edge of the town is pretty nice. The only problem is it is a very open area and no wind screens, so you have the wind whipping around all day. It’s not terrible but it makes matches a bit more difficult.

First round in singles I played against a German girl, Bosnjak. It was a tough three set match that I ended up winning. At the start of the match I wasn’t nervous or anything. I practiced pretty well leading up to this tournament, so I felt good with the way I was hitting and figured it would continue here at the tournament. The first two games I won at love, and then I was up 40-15 in the third game until she hit some well placed serves and took the game. After that things settled down and I managed to break her again but got broken the next game, which was ok because I was still up a break. So I managed to just keep holding to take the first set 6-4. The second set I played the same way however the wind picked up and the sun disappeared and soon my shots that were pushing her back weren’t doing anything. They were just sitting up nice and high, mid court for her to hit where ever she chose. My 1^st serve seemed to take a break as well. In the net and deep, I couldn’t seem to get a hold of it. But I had some chances in to get back on serve in the set, but never was able to get the break. Her level went up a bit, she hardly missed, and hit a lot of well placed serves and used the wind to benefit her. I lost the set 2-6. In the third set, I just told myself to focus on holding serve, and when on the side of the court with the wind at my back to go after the returns and hopefully get a break. I did just the thing. We each held serve until 4-4 when I broke her and surprisingly it was facing the wind that game. We changed sides at 5-4 wind now at my back, I again told myself to make my first serves and use the wind to my advantage, meaning to push her back off the baseline and look for a short ball to attack and make her run. I made my first serves, stuck with my game plan and at 40-15 on my first match point I won it with a volley winner. It wasn’t a pretty match, but I won so that’s all that matters.

Second round I played Burger, a Dutch player and lost 3-6,7-5,3-6. The first set she simply out played me. She took advantage of all my shots that landed short in the court and made me pay. She hit a big ball and with the wind I had trouble. For me, on clay especially, I like to hit with more feel. Slice, angles, high spin. And against a player who really whacks the ball it’s tough to do that. In the second set I changed my tactics up a bit and played more to her forehand instead of her backhand, which was killing me. She started to make a lot more mistakes off the forehand side so I just kept attacking it. I was down 2-4, 15-40 serving and managed to hold and that swung the momentum in my favor. The next game I broke her and then held again for a 5-4 lead. The next game returning I had two set points but missed a return and she hit a backhand winner on the next, then she won the game. At 5-5 serving I knew I needed to hold because after losing the previous game after having two set points could change the momentum again favoring her. So I managed to win my service game and broke her to take the second set. Heading into the third set I wanted to continue with my game plan of playing more to her forehand side and do my best to hold serve. If only things work as planned in your head… She didn’t follow the script I had in mind and decided to play more to my backhand side which made it difficult for me to run around and hit my forehand and put pressure on her. But that can’t be my excuse. I got broken early in the set, so was down 2-3. The next game I had two break points but she hit a big forehand winner and the next I missed a backhand down the line. So down 2-4. Then serving to pretty much stay in the match I had a game point, but she hit a drop shot and followed it in and I slid into the shot and missed the passing shot wide by an inch, then lost the game. Down 2-5 I manage to break her serve. So now 3-5 I’m serving and again I have game points. The first I hit a backhand slice long and the second my backhand landed short in the court and she hit a backhand winner down the line. Then at deuce I double faulted, which was probably the best time to double fault ever… Not. Then on her match point she runs me to my forehand side then stepped up and hit a forehand winner down the line. Game over.

Three hours chasing a ball around for a loss hurts. Having so many game points and losing them really hurts. I just really wish I could have pulled out my service game at 3-5. Maybe at 4-5 she could have gotten nervous and I could have capitalize and taken the set and the match. But I can’t do anything about it now. She played really well and her change of strategy in the third really helped. So congrats to her. I know what I need to work on for the next tournament. But I can be happy about making her earn the match. I could have easily folded in the second set, so I’m proud of myself for not going down without a fight. Have to look for the positives I guess. But the next tournament is a few days away and hopefully I can make some improvements and hope for a better result next time. I’ll keep you guys posted.

Warsaw 10k

I just got back from a week over in Poland. I played in a 10k that was held at the Legia Sports Complex. It was a nice site. It had two courts inside of a stadium, and they also had two rows of four courts in the back of the stadium and a stone’s throw from the Legia soccer stadium. I’ll have to admit that I was quite surprised. I have never been to Poland so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but it was the nicest facility I’ve been to so far. The surrounding area maybe not the nicest but I not there to be a tourist so it doesn’t matter.

I finally got into the main draw without having to qualify, thanks to my ranking finally moving up! So I was wicked excited about that. But it also meant that there was no easing into the tournament. It’s a one and you’re done situation so you better be prepared from the very first ball. The first round I played a girl or woman I should say (she was in her 30s) from the Czech Republic, Vymetalkova. I was bit nervous before the start of the match, but once the match started I felt pretty good. The first set was a bit close but towards the end of it I played a bit steadier than my opponent. And in the second set I played better. I won 6-4, 6-2. In the second round I played a Polish girl, Frech. I won 6-2, 6-1. I felt like in this match I was very consistent. I didn’t make many mistakes and I played aggressively. The one game she won in the second set I was up 40-0 and managed to lose it, so I made sure from then on I wasn’t going to let that happen again, and I ended up winning the next 6 games and win the match. In the quarterfinals I played against a Ukrainian, Kolb. I lost 6-2, 6-3. There isn’t much so say about this match. I played pretty bad. I missed tons of first serves and returns, the two most important shots in tennis. They get the point started. You aren’t going to give yourself a chance to win if you don’t make your opponent play so I deserved to lose. I was angry at myself after that one, but I won two rounds, got some points to keep my ranking moving in the right direction. So I can’t be too upset. I just know now what to work on.

I also played doubles in Warsaw. I partnered up with Elyne Boeykens from Belgium. We played once together in Bath, England but we lost to the first seeds in the first round, so I guess you could say that one doesn’t count. But we played well all week. We ended up winning the tournament. First round was 6-1, 6-1. Second round was 6-3, 6-2. Semifinals was 7-6(5), 6-1. This was a good match. Had we lost the first set we weren’t sure what could have happened. Our opponents (two Dutch girls) came out firing in the first set, but when the tiebreaker came into play things started to lean our way. We held a 5-3 lead in the tiebreaker, then lost 2 close points to make it 5-5 but squeezed out the final two points to take the first set. Once we took the set their energy waned and they started missing. But we played really well in the second set, staying aggressive and on our toes looking to poach at the net. In the finals we won easily 6-2, 6-2. Elyne had just lost a close 3 set match in the singles semifinals so I could tell she was a bit upset, so I just tried to keep my energy up and keep her positive. She let me do the thinking out there and I came up with a game plan and we stuck to it and managed to win the title. Not bad for what I consider our first time playing doubles together. :)

Overall, it was a good tournament. I got some matches in, won some points, won the doubles, and learned what I need to work on. Nothing I can complain about there. Up next are about 8 weeks of tournaments in the Netherlands and Belgium so hopefully I can continue to play well. I hope to play well enough to get past the quarterfinals in singles. But we’ll see. I just need to focus on playing my game and not worry so much about results. Until next time.

Stadium Courts



Back courts with soccer stadium in back

More back courts

Wiesbaden, Germany

Last week I was in Wiesbaden, Germany for a 10k. I got there the day of my semifinal loss in Bournemouth. After the match I headed straight for the train station then to Heathrow Airport where I bought my ticket and off I went. The flight was fine until we were landing and about 100 feet from the ground the pilot gunned the engines and up we went again. Apparently another plane was still on the runway so we had to go around again. 15 minutes later we landed safely in Frankfurt and I took a taxi to the hotel. The taxi driver didn’t know much English and I don’t know any German so I just showed him my phone with the hotel name and address and he tried putting it into his GPS which wasn’t working at the time. So he decided to just start driving and while we were on the highway he tried putting in the address again but wasn’t looking at the road and we were swaying in and out of our lane. I though the plane now this! Geez. But finally I got to the hotel at about 11:30pm then bed at about midnight then up at 9 and headed for the courts to get ready for my first round in the qualifying.

My first round was against Wagemaker, a tall Dutch girl with a monster serve and big forehand. I ended up winning 7-6(4), 6-1. It was windy and her forehand was off and on and the same with her serve, so I was lucky it wasn’t closer in the second. The next day in my second match against Ayassamy, a French player and it was another close one 6-2, 7-5. The second set could have gone either way. And she should have won the second set with the way I was playing but somehow I managed to win that set and the match. A few hours later in the final qualifying match I was up against the 6^th seed Pirazhenka from Bulgaria and won 6-1, 6-1. I just played really well. Attacked and didn’t give her a chance to get into the match. I got a day of rest and practiced a few times so it was an easy day. In the first round of the main draw I played a wildcard from Germany, Engelmann. I won 6-2, 6-1. Again, I played ok. She seemed a bit nervous and made some mistakes but I of course didn’t seem to mind. In the second round I played the first seed Voracova. I woke up that morning feeling like everything was off, nothing seemed to be going right. I’m not superstitious or anything but I do like to keep a schedule of when to do things and the moment I woke up it just felt wrong. So I got to the courts and the girl I was supposed to hit with never showed so I managed to hit for about 10 minutes with two other girls, it was rushed but oh well, can’t do anything about it. But in the match I didn’t play well. I lost 6-2, 6-2. She was a very steady player who didn’t miss much of anything and I seemed to be 3 steps behind getting to the ball. So even if I was rested enough I’m not sure who would have won. But she was a good experienced play and it showed.

In the doubles I teamed up with Laura Siegemund from Germany. She plays on the same club team in Holland as me so we’ve known each other for a few weeks but have never played doubles together. She played the backhand side and I the forehand which I’m not that used to. In college I played my last 3 years on the backhand side but Laura has a better backhand than me and I seem to have a better forehand than her, so that’s how we played. We won all our matches in two sets 6-3,6-1., 6-3,6-1., 6-4,6-2. Then on the day of the final our opponents wanted to leave as soon as possible because they had another tournament to get to, however, the weather didn’t cooperate. It rained all day then at 6pm the tournament director said we are playing indoors at a club 20 minutes away. We got to the club and the surface was carpet, a big difference from the slow clay. But we got about 20 minutes to practice on it then the match started. And not long after the match started the match was over and we won 6-0, 6-0. The girls definitely didn’t want to be there. Oh well, their loss. I certainly wasn’t going to complain and neither was Laura because she was playing in the singles semifinals the next day. So we got our gifts and a big bottle of champagne (I swear they must think we are all alcoholics).  But it was a good tournament. I played pretty good, won some matches, got a point (most important), and won doubles. So not too shabby. Now I head to Bad Saarow, Germany for another 10k. I got a bye in the qualies so I begin on Monday. Hopefully I have another good week. I’ll keep you all posted.

10k Bournemouth, UK

This past week I played in Bournemouth, UK for a 10k. It was held at the West Hant Tennis Club outside on green clay. On the train ride there from Waterloo Station I was pleasantly surprised to see all the towns surrounding Bournemouth were like those in Massachusetts where I grew up. I grew up on Cape Cod in Mashpee but now live in Sandwich (I know, weird name). On the Cape there is a town called Bourne and here in southwest England are towns like Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Weymouth to name a few. All of these are also in Massachusetts. So I felt like I was home and it was refreshing after being away now for nearly 5 months. Too bad I didn’t see any Sox hats…

When I got to the hotel and it was raining. I should have known this was an indication of the week ahead. I was in England, so I should have known better but I guess I was hoping for the best. Main draw play was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday but the rain held up the start until Wednesday. During those rainy days not much was done besides playing cards, reading (Hunger Games, again), working out, and trying to hit on the indoor hard courts until club members kicked us off, which was about 5 minutes in. So it was pretty boring. I think it was Wednesday when the tournament director said we were going to play indoors at a different site. But after an hour or so he changed his mind and said we were going back outside, then back indoors, then outdoors, then finally after 9 hours of waiting he said to go home. Only 3 women’s matches were completed, only because they were moved indoors. Everyone else had kept getting their hopes up thinking they were going to play then 2 minutes later it was a false alarm. It happened several times so it wasn’t a fun day. Mother Nature was playing a cruel joke on us. But because we had to end the day without completing the matches we had to play 2 rounds on Thursday to make up for lost time.

Thursday the weather cooperated most of the day. There were a few rain showers but none too bad that suspended play for over 30 minutes. My first round was against a girl from Belgium Verhamme and boy was it windy. The forecast said 25mph and gusts to 45mph. Some of the points I felt like a beginner because we weren’t taking full swings at the ball. It was more of just tapping it in up the middle so you didn’t miss. But that match I won 7-6(3) 6-1. Next round I had the 7^th seed Juhaszova who had just won a long 3 setter and I took advantage of her being a bit tired and won 6-1 6-2. The wind had calmed down during the match, which was helpful. And she ended up rolling her ankle in the 2^nd and needed the trainer to come out and tape it up. But I played really well up until then, which I was happy about. But after the trainer came out she couldn’t do much which was unfortunate for her. My next round was against a French girl Benamar who took out the 2^nd seed in 3 sets in the 1^st round so I felt like it would be a close match. But it wasn’t really. I won 6-1 6-1. I think it was due to the fact that we sat around for hours waiting for the courts to dry and the 15 minutes only allowed for warm up. Then in the semifinals I played a British girl Windley and lost 7-6(3) 6-1. This match was moved indoors because it was raining and they wanted to get both the semis and the final completed. So we got our usual 15 minute warm up on the hard courts and off we went. I had chances in the first set and didn’t take advantage. I botched a couple forehands in the tiebreaker that might have given me a chance at taking the first set but oh well I guess. In the 2^nd set I played bad, missed a lot of forehands and played more of a clay court game style by waiting for the ball to come to me instead of attacking the ball. But my opponent also played really well, she played a hard court game and I didn’t. So she deserved to win. The semifinals is pretty good. I’m happy with the way I played this week. Now I head to Germany for another 10k, so hopefully I can continue to play well and win some matches. I’ll keep you posted.

10k Bath, UK

This past week I was in England for a 10k. I started in the qualifying because this was a completely stacked tournament and my ranking isn’t where I want it to be. But that’s what happens when you lose your ranking, you have to start back at square one.

So in the qualifying I played a girl from Switzerland, Michel and ended up winning 6-4 6-4. I was a little nervous and didn’t allow myself to play relaxed like in practice. The week before this tournament I practiced and I was playing great. I beat up on a few boys and felt like I was hitting solid, moving well, and serving well. This first round however was not like in practice. A little nervous excitement really can screw up your game. You start going for your shots a bit too much, missing by inches or you slow your racket down and the ball lands short in the court for your opponent to take advantage of. You footwork also isn’t right, so your timing to the ball is either too slow or too fast and that can mess your swing up. So these little things make a big difference in how you swing and your accuracy. But anyway I managed to settle down after a few games and managed to break her more times than she did me to win in straight sets.  

The next round I was up against the 1^st seed in the qualifying, Smitkova from the Czech Republic. And to be honest I got man-handled 6-1 6-2. My worst loss of the year so far. She played much better than me, she went for her shots and I didn’t. But really, I just didn’t play my game. Had I, I’m not sure what the outcome would have been because she was a good player, but I could have at least given myself a chance to win the match.

Later in the day I looked at the draw for the Main and realized that I was a lucky loser again. So in the 1^st round of the main I played Spremo from Serbia and ended up winning 7-6(5) 5-7 6-1. I was down 0-3 in the first set but managed to play my way and came back and take the set. In the second set I got broken late. And in the 3^rd set I served really well and on her second service game it was about 10+ deuces and I broke her and I think that’s when I turned the match to my favor. I was serving for the match at 5-0 but got broken after she decided to tee off on all her returns, but I broke her the next game for the match.

2^nd round I was up against the 3^rd seed Vrljic from Croatia who was ranked about 280. We had a close to 3 hour 2 set match which I won 7-6(2) 6-4. We both held serve in the first set, with each of us saving a few break points. In the tiebreaker she made more errors on easy shots and I was able to capitalize on it and take the first set. Then in the 2^nd it was 1-1 I was serving down 15-40. Won the next point and at 30-40 I missed my 1^st serve and knew if I kicked it to her backhand she was going to run around and hit a forehand as hard as she could up the line. (She did this a few times throughout the match so I picked up on it.) So me being as ballsy as one could be I kicked my 2^nd serve to her backhand and serve volleyed. She did exactly what I knew she would do. She ran around and hit a huge forehand up the line and I hit a solid forehand volley cross court for a winner. She definitely was not expecting that and after a big sigh of relief I won the next two points and the game. When it was 4-3 I broke her but then lost my next service game when I was serving for the match at 5-3. I made one 1^st serve and that’s what I get for making one 1^st serve. But the next game, after a few deuce points and 3 math points she missed a backhand wide to give me the match.

In the 3^rd round I played Piter from Poland and ended up losing a close match 6-4 7-5. I got broken early in the match and couldn’t get it back. Then in the 2^nd set I was up 4-3 up a break and lost my serve twice in a row to lose the match. I went for too much with my forehand and missed a bunch. But she played steady and pressured my serve with her returns.

Overall, it was an ok tournament. Both players I lost to managed to make it to the finals so you always want the player that beats you to win the tournament, and this time around both are in the finals. I wish it were me, but not this time. Anyway that does it for England. I play in France this coming week. And it is on clay (which I haven’t played on in over 6 months) so it should be very interesting.  

Border Control

FYI - I wrote this about a week ago when it happened but am now just posting it. So it sounds like it happened today but it didn't. Just letting you know.

Today was a travel day over to the UK because I will be playing in the 10k that is being held in Bath. So I took a flight from Amsterdam to Bristol and when I got to customs I thought they weren’t going to let me in. For starters, I was last in line for those people without a UK/EU passport. Then I get to the counter and hand the officer my passport and flight information. He looks at it, and then asks me why I am coming to England. I say I’m here for a tennis tournament and that’s when it all does downhill. Well let me just say this, I always get nervous while at a customs/immigration counter. The whole man/woman sitting in the little box, no smiles, no hello, no welcome, just an evil stare like they either hate their job or simply just want to intimidate the heck out of you. That really gets my heart pumping and palms sweating. Not sure why. It’s like when your teacher calls you up to their desk and the whole time you’re walking up there you’re thinking of all the things you could have done that might get you into trouble, even though you really didn’t do anything wrong. You just assume the worst. Well that’s the feeling I get walking up to the officer. And no enthusiastic smile and hello on my part will lighten up the mood. I should just have the "Cold As Ice" song by Foreigner playing in my head from here on out when going through customs. But anyway I say I’m here for tennis. He says as pro or amateur? Pro. Where are you coming from? Amsterdam. Why are you there? Training. What city? Apeldoorn. Have you been to England before? Yes. When? November. How long did you stay? Two weeks. Where are you going during this stay? Bath. For how long? 1 week. (At this point I thought to myself if you just read my information I wrote on the customs declaration form we could bypass all this small talk but no, that’s not how it works.) Then he repeats a few questions and I can start to feel my face get hot and probably red like I’m lying to him, but I’m not. Then he asks to see my return ticket but I don’t have one because I wanted to take the train back. Then he asks how I am paying for my stay as well as how much money I have on me. So I tell him however much I had, and now I think I’m going to have to pay for my ticket back to Amsterdam because I am not getting through customs. Oh and I forgot, all of my answers he was writing down on a piece of paper causing more anxiety. I was also the only passenger left in the border control room, and the questioning at the counter went on for about 20 minutes it seemed like. Then he says he has to talk to his colleague so I have to take a seat. I sit there for another 10 minutes until his colleague comes up to me and asks me more of the same questions. Is this a pro tournament? Yes, or you can sign in as an amateur. Are you a pro? Yes. Will you take money? I first thought I won’t take the money if I can just get out of here, but I said yes. How much money is involved? 10,000 US dollars, but the winner gets about $1,000. The 10,000 is spread throughout, so 1^st round loss is like 20 bucks. I told her this isn’t Wimbledon, it’s a measly little 10k, the bottom of the barrel. She said ok and walked away. Now I’m panicking, I think I’m in trouble. I’ve seen the TV show Border Control and when multiple officers are involved it is never a good sign. A few more minutes go by am I’m still the only one in this big room, waiting and waiting. I’m trying to keep calm, thinking I’m no terrorist, maybe because I came from Amsterdam that put up a red flag. But I thought I’m an American for goodness sake, England’s greatest ally, and partner in crime. Just let me in! Another 5 minutes pass and the man comes back, motions me up to him and says I can go. No thank you, no enjoy your stay, no nothing. So I quickly took my papers and passport and left before he could change his mind. Then I was free. But that was an extremely nerve-racking experience, and I hope I never have that experience again. But I made it to Bath in one piece and I’m far from that customs officer so I couldn’t be happier. Now to play some tennis!