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Hi. I am in Argentina for the 2nd straight week after the Gaudio Grand Prix. I am feeling good and confident about my game at the moment with 2 recent claycourt QF. I have been hitting a lot on the clay here. When I first arrived here, I was getting used to the conditions, but now I am fully prepared and excited to be playing a tier 1 event. Agassi2000 left Argentina last week so I will catch up with him later on the tour. I am just with my coach. We have talked a lot about my 1st match with Avolt, which is a night match tommorow on the stadium court.
I got to the courts nice and early before the hot afternoon. I have recently been hitting with Sheila, who is very popular on the tour. She asked me if I wanted to hit, and I was not going to refuse. There were cameras down at our practice court, and they even asked Sheila for an interview! Afterwards I relaxed in the players lounge waiting for my match. It was another solid performance. I was a bit unsettled at the start, but pulled through 4-6 6-2 6-2. I now play the top claycourt Tricatrina tommorow evening.
I had breakfast at 10:00 am and went for a jog around the tournament site, then a quick practice with my coach. I try to make the most of the cool mornings because the afternoons are unbearable. Today was just a normal day, trying to keep relaxed before my match. I had a siesta at 1:00 for a couple of hours. I then woke up and got to the locker room to prepare for the match. I played very well, and am still shocked to beat Tricatrina 6-4 6-4! I am now into the SF!
I had a day off today which was good. Claycourt matches can be very demanding so it is important to have a good rest in between. It was Kid’s day at the tournament, so I offered to help out. I gave some tips and hit some balls to the kids at the tournament. There is quite a lot of talent in Argentina. After that, I went into town. I looked around the shops. I didn’t buy anything though. Then I had dinner and got some sleep before the biggest match of my career. I am enjoying myself in Argentina, it is a great place with lots to do.
I had a half hour hit with John Edelstein which was good. I have played him a lot before but never practiced or spoken with him. My match with Adelaide started at 11:00 pm. I survived in a 2nd set tie-break, to win 6-2 in the final set! I am certainly having a great event and enjoying the best run of my career! I will play either John Edelstein or Ying-Chang in the final. They will play later on. My match lasted a long time, it had a lot of rallies. I am so pleased to have been able to grind it out and win a place in a tier 1 final. I had a lot of media attention afterwards, interviews from various journalists from around the world. This is the first time I have had worldwide attention, but I will have to get used to it sometime. After such an emotional day I went to bed early.
I spent most of the day at the tournament site. My coach and I hit for a bit, then sat down and thought about the match. I had a nice lunch and then relaxed in the player lounge. No matter how much I told myself not to, I kept thinking about the match and getting nervous about it. This was the biggest match of my career, a tier 1 final with John Edelstein, the world number 1. I walked out onto the stadium court at 3:00 for the match. I was very nervous to begin with, and I had to fight so much to get into the match. I leveled it at 1 set all, but lost a close 3rd set to John Edelstein. I am obviously disappointed from the loss, but very pleased with the way things are going for me. This has been a great 2 weeks in Argentina, and now I head home to England to prepare for the European claycourts. I will next see my coach at the French Open, and I will play at the Turkish Challenge in 2 weeks.
