Boys and Girls,
Today was one INTENSE day of practice. After a long on court workout and gym session all before 10 am this morning I ran some errands and rested up for my second hit of the day while watching my close friend Lester Cook play his qualifying match.
Its always interesting to watch a close friend play, because its the closest feeling to playing a match while not actually playing a match. Its nice to feel like part of a team when all year round you are participating in an individual sport.
My afternoon practice was with a very strong canadian player named Frank Dancevic. He has had summer wins over David Nalbandian, Andy Roddick, and Mario Ancic; so he definitely knows how to strike the ball! We played a fantastic match together in the semi-finals of The Hall of Fame Championships ATP event in newport earlier this year, which I was able to squeek through in three sets. He decided to place a little wager on our match to make it exciting. He said we should play for dinner, and one thing you dont mess around with is an athlete and his dinner. We played on the last court in a row of six, and there was yelling and screaming hustling for every ball as if we were playing the finals of wimbledon. The set was fought tooth and nail until I picked off a Henman like volley to win the set in a tiebreak. After he shook my hand, he put me in a mean headlock that would have made Hulk Hogan proud!!!
My coach and I had a long discussion after and the biggest point he emphasized was the intesity of the practice. He said that is how the great players battle in practice and it leaks over into match play. It was a great feeling to leave it all out on the court.
... And its a feeling I will make sure I feel again each time i step on the practice court.
... And I hope you all do the same...
Bye for now,
P$