Florida^2

I'm back in Florida again after a few weeks break from tournaments. The start of the trip got off to a much better start than the last time I came down here. For starters my flight was on time, not cancelled. It even arrive 20 minutes early, unlike the 36 hours delayed. I flew into Orlando and on my flight were tons of little kids all excited to head to Disney. 3 of them sat in the row behind me. Surprisingly enough only a few times they smashed the tray table up and down but nothing to get upset over. Then once we landed in Orlando I waited for what felt like an eternity at the car rental agency. I swear they are just as bad as the post office. Take one customer, then go on break the next. Well anyway, I had a compact car reserved but apparently they didn't have one so the man upgraded me to an SUV. He tells me go out the doors, up the escalator to the left and look for my car in row H. So I did just as he said and all I could see was rows S-Z. I wandered around thinking I'm just alphabetically challenged and so I head over to the booth for help. The man said I was in the wrong spot so he said he would give me a new car and to trust him when he said I'll like what car he gives me. He gave me the ticket and said go to the U row and my car will be there. And lo and behold was a nice black ford mustang. It was awesome. I was psyched. So I hop in and off I drive 2 hours to Gainesville. And on the way I could have sworn I've died and got to heaven because my trip just felt unusal that every thing was happening in a positive way. Flight on time, ride was smooth, upgraded car, people were smiling driving by, and even given a thank you wave when I let them go ahead of me. I thought this is too good to be true. But what the heck I'll roll with it. 

So I get to Gainesville and had a few days to practice on the clay which was nice. Felt good not foreign like some times before. But first round of the main I'm up against a very good Australian junior. She's maybe top 40-50 in the world, played in the junior Grand Slams so she has experience. We get out there and I find myself down 0-2 real quick. She was swinging away and I was a bit anxious and missing too quickly. So I tried to slow things down a bit and relax during the point. Now found myself up in the set. Before I had won a game she was attacking and coming forward and won the points with great volleys. But I saw when she was volleying she was hugging the net too much. So the next few times I caught her off guard and threw up some lobs that she wasn't expecting. It worked in my favor and then I also took a few 2nd serve returns and really went after it and it may have got into her head because a few more doubles faults by her crept in. But in the 2nd set I was up 2-0 and stopped playing aggressively and then it became 2-2 but it was back to square one and just went back to playing my game style and it turned out to be enough to win the match. And I really had to let out a big sigh of relief because I was a bit worried going into the match. 

Then in the second round I was supposed to have one day off from playing but it turned into two. Rain washed out all the matches so the day before my second round I was unable to practice so all I did was some footwork and a light jog. But the day of my second round it was about 45 degrees, cloudy, and a little windy. I watched my opponent play her first round and saw a few things but my plan did nothing for me. She was sporadic in her previous match but against me not at all. I hit a few really good body serves and she somehow hit angle winners off them. She even had a few net cords as well that just bounced over. But I didn't play well enough to beat her. The conditions may not have worked in my favor. The balls were cold and not bouncing so every shot was landing in her strike zone which I didn't want to happen. But can't do anything about it now. I lost. What's done is done. Just for future sake I hope that I can adjust my game so that the conditions shouldn't effect my game. Or I should be able to make the conditions a non issue and not be an excuse for losing. I should be better then that. If I want to get my ranking up I have to be. And I think that it is something that is doable for me. And it's something I can start right away in my next matches. 

So that was my tournament. They say every loss brings experience, so I gained some this week. But now it is off to Orlando where I'll be in the main draw. So I hope I can continue to play aggressively, focused and really impose my will on my opponents. 

Florida trip

Last month I headed down to sunny Florida from Massachusetts to play in my first three tournaments of the year. The first tournament was held in Vero Beach however Mother Nature had other plans. I was to leave Boston and arrive in Orlando Friday morning. My first flight got cancelled and JetBlue rescheduled me on an afternoon flight to Fort Lauderdale. That second flight ended up getting cancelled too. So they ended up putting me on another flight Saturday which connected in Raleigh and then to Fort Lauderdale. I get to Raleigh and 10 minutes after landing they said my next flight was cancelled. So after 40 minutes of waiting on hold they said no other flights I was able to be put on until 3 days later. I ended up going to the JetBlue counter and they managed to get me on an American Airlines flight but it landed in Miami, a bit far from my original destination of Orlando. So sign in for the tournament was from 3-6pm and my flight to Miami was going to cut it close. I still needed to drive 3 hours to get to Vero Beach. So what ended up happening was that flight to Miami kept getting delayed and by the time I got to Miami and retrieved my luggage it was already 5pm. So in no way was I going to make it to the tournament in time to sign in. So I had to call Dessie (the ITF supervisor) and told her I wasn't going to make it. But she did tell me that I was still able to play doubles I just couldn't play singles. At the time I didn't think it was such a bad idea because that would give me some time to practice on the clay courts. So the next few days that's what I did. I practiced and signed up for doubles. Turned out however that I didn't get in to doubles. We were the 1st alternates for the qualifying draw. It was a horrible week. So again, all I did was practice and watch some matches.

The second week the tournament was held in Port St. Lucie only about 30 minutes south of Vero. And this time around I made it to sign in this time! In the first round of qualifying I played a girl from France so figured she would know how to play on clay. As the match began I just needed to be aggressive because she moved well and kept the ball in play. But that was easier said than done. I wasn't aggressive, I was waiting for the ball to come to me which gave her time to recover in between shots. I played more of a clay court style and that was my downfall. I also got in doubles but we lost 1st round. So again not the best tournament.

In the third tournament up in Daytona I was matched up against the 6th seed in the qualifying. She was from South America so I knew she could play on clay. I figured going in to the match I really needed to make adjustments from my last tournament and play aggressive and not give her any time. I ended up playing really well I just lost a close 3 sets. I was up 4-1 in the third set and one point away from a 5-1 lead. It became 4-3 and again had another point away from 5-3 and couldn't convert. I ended up getting overruled on that game point. I could have sworn the ball was out, but because of the light rain we were playing in the ball didn't leave a good mark on the wet clay, and therefore the umpire had to give her the point. It sucked because in the previous weeks match I hit a ball on the line and the girl called it out. The umpire came out and said there were no marks that were out so he gave her the point. A bit ridiculous. Like read the damn rulebook! But I really did believe her shot was a good inch out, so I thought I had won that game, so to come back after getting overruled was a tough mental thing to overcome. Then at 4-5 I saved two match points, and thought maybe I could get the momentum back but unfortunately I lost it 5-7. It was a better match than in Port St. Lucie so I was happy things turned around. I just needed to keep the pressure on and not let off. But that was my trip. Not a good start but a tad bit better I guess. Onto the next trip in a few weeks.

France - Dijon

The other week I was in Dijon, France. My journey started from Amsterdam and took a train straight to Paris Nord station, about a 2 and a half hour train ride. My next train was out of the Paris Bercy station which isn’t near Paris Nord. To clarify, Paris has three train stations. Paris Nord which is pretty much at the center of Paris, it’s the biggest. It has the fast trains, long distance trains, and the subway trains which they call the Metro. Then there is Paris Lyon which is in the middle of the three station and is only a few train stops away from Nord through the Metro. This station serves the Metro and fast trains as well but not as big as Nord. Then on the outer end of Paris there is Bercy. This station serves around the country but has the slower trains that stop a more stations. So from Paris Nord I decided to take the Metro instead of a taxi. So I took the Metro Line 4 towards Chalete where I needed to get off. Well I get on the train and the announcement said the next stop was the wrong direction that was needed. So I get off and walked around because I couldn’t find out how to get to the other side of the track. So after lugging my bags up and down some stairs I finally found the right track and direction that was needed. So I made it to Chalete and from there I needed to catch the 14 Line to Bercy. Once at Bercy it was about a three minute walk outside to the Bercy station. But after going through France’s subway system I don’t think France allows obese people to ride. The gates that you have to go through are so small I could hardly get my luggage through. The space is barely a foot and a half wide. It’s crazy. No wonder the French are all skinny.

Train Ride

Anyway, once at Bercy I get on the train and there is not a seat to be had. I went on about five different carriages and nothing. So I have up looking and just put my luggage and myself in the small hallway where the carriage doors are. It seemed to be a popular spot because I shared it with six others and their luggage. The only open seat was the toilet but I definitely wasn’t going to sit on that. The roof would have been a better choice. So we all stood around for about an hour and a half until a bunch of people got off at one stop. Then we all ran for the open seats for the rest of the trip.




Farmland

I got into Dijon at 4:30 and was disappointed because there was nothing that had to do with the mustard. So was bummed. I thought it would be like those Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing commercials but it wasn’t. Hahaha. But I took a taxi to the courts and it seemed to take forever, as I’m watching the fare raise even when we were idling. But there was nothing near the courts. It was all farmland. The courts were next to a fold course that was up in the woods away from the main road. But 30 euros later I was at the courts. I didn't think it would have cost that much so I only had 20 euros on me for sign-in when I needed 27. But they let me pay the rest the following day before my first round.


The site had three indoor courts but being in France it might have been outdoors it was so cold on the court. A few mornings when warming up you could see your breath. It was like playing Winter Nationals out in Arizona in Decemeber. When matches started at 8am so you were warming up at 7am playing in the dark dressed in your warmest clothes while all the parents were sitting in the cars with the heat on. So I guess I should have been used to it. Well in the first round of qualifying I played a French girl Enmer. I won in three sets 6-4,3-6,6-3. I didn't play the greatest but it was enough. The second set I missed a lot and she was hardly missed. She got a lot back and so I was forcing shots and it didn't work. Obviously. The third set though, I was relaxed and just out played her by being aggressive and not giving her anything for free.

Second round I played Lemmens, a Belgian. I won that match in two sets 6-3,6-3. It was a tough one. Every point was earned and most games had multiple deuce points. I played this match aggressively and smart. I moved well and I was lucky enough to win most of the key points. I think she was playing well enough that if I wasn't moving and hitting the way I was, even had a small mental lapse then she would have won the match. So the way the match really played out the score should have read 7-6,7-6. It was that close. But i made it to the main draw after that win, so something else to be happy about.

In the first round of the main draw I was up against another French player Cheli who was given a wild card into the main. Apparently, she wasn't sure she was going to play because she hurt her ankle before the tournament, but she played. She managed to only play a set. She retired when she was down 6-0,1-0. She couldn't run much so she just hit hoping to hit winners but she mostly just missed. I didn't realize she was stopping because her and the umpire were speaking in French and then the umpire said she's done. Then the tournament supervisor who always reminds me of my grandfather
 just in his stature came out and winked and nodded that she was finished. But good for me bad for her. I got my point and was moving on to the next round.

Second round I played another French player Arcangioli and won 6-3,6-3. Again it was a close match but I played aggressive, I moved well, and I was focused every point. I didn't give her a single free point. I ran every ball down forcing her to hit into smaller and smaller targets and eventually she made an error. So again it was another good effort on my part.

In the quarterfinals I was up against Kostova and lost 4-6,6-3,3-6. In the first set I found myself down 0-3 rather quickly. I was being pushed around the court and I was playing passively. Then from that changeover I was determined to just run for everything, look for an opportunity to take charge of the point right from the start, and to stand my ground and not let her pace knock me off the baseline. So once I did that I won four straight games and was up 4-3. Then she called for the trainer to get her leg rubbed out and well all my momentum I had came to a screeching halt. I lost the next three games and the set. But I was mad over the medical timeout so I wanted to beat her even more because I felt she abused the rules a bit. Like when players go to the bathroom. No one ever really has to use the bathroom. In women's tennis yes there will be times when it is an emergency, but that is rare. So when people go to the bathroom they really just go a stand there, some players take their water bottles with them, to make it sound more realistic, other wash their face. But the point of a bathroom break is to use the bathroom. Most players don't. Well anyway I don't know if she was really hurt but it was interesting timing. So the second set I just continued with the same gameplan. Being aggressive, moving, take control of the points. And by doing that I took the second set 6-3. I even came out of my shoe one point I was moving around the court so fast. And yes my shoe laces were tied tight so it wasn't like it was easy to get out of. In the third set we both were going at it. She would yell come on when she won a point, and I would yell come on when I won a point. We came to a point at 3-3 and I had a game point and I got cautious. I had a chance to take control of the point when I got a high ball in the middle of the court. I backed up and instead of hitting it to her forehand which was the weaker of the two groundstrokes and keeping me in forehand rallies which I wanted I changed my mind at the last second and floated my forehand to her backhand and she just cracked it and she took control of the point and won it.. Then after that she won the game and took control of the match. After that and in the final game I pressed a bit too much. Came to net too soon, or went for a bigger shot then needed and lost. But I competed until the very end. I save two match points but unfortunately not the third. But it was a great match. It was a great tournament. I competed. I was mentally tough. I moved really well.  And I gave nothing for free. So I was very happy with my result in Dijon.




The courts

 

Indoor