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!