Archive for Percy896's Tennis Forum This is a new tennis forum to discuss professional tennis, vote and create polls, and ask advice about equipment, fitness, or anything regarding tennis! Now with a new Fantasy Tennis League!
Turkey: road between Europe and Asia, being used as an exhibiton tennis court
Hi. I am playing in the Turkish Challenge for the first time in my career. I have been in Turkey since Friday, and have been getting some good practice in ahead of the event. The court here are different to the ones in Argentina, where I last played. So far though, everything is going well and I am looking to continue my great claycourt season so far. I have been on my own so far, which gave me the chance to look around. I took a train up to a nearby town and bought a few things that would be more expensive at home. I may have another chance to go into town, although I doubt it. I am waiting to catch up with other players that are arriving soon from tournaments in Russia and Holland. I am the top seed at a tournament for the first time, which is exciting. It is a completely different feel than at my last event, a tier 1, where I surprised everyone. Now, I am the favourite. This does not change anything though, I will still have to play my best tennis. I have a first round bye so I will start in the QF on Wednesday.
Today I had a free day, so I caught up with a lot of the players who I haden’t seen in a while. This morning, I watched the match that would decide who I would play in the QF. X.Doublea beat Chikita Benita in straight sets. X.Doublea and I have played some very close matches in the past, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy. After the match, I hit with Leftys_rock who I had not seen for a few weeks. It was good to catch up with her. She was pleased with her comfortable win earlier, and is playing some great tennis. I had an early night, knowing I would have to play a match tommorow morning.
I woke up at around 7:30 am, had some breakfast, warmed up, and prepared for a 10:30 am start to my QF match. We were evenly matched in the first set, which I eventually won on a tie-break. I won the match 6-3 in the 2nd set to reach the SF. I am happy to have won against a tough player like X.Doublea. It was a good match for me, and it was the perfect start to the tournament. I had a quick practice before I was off the court. The afternoon was devoted to my media commitments, and an autograph session. They don’t have night matches here this year, so I had to prepare for another early start tommorow, this time against Valkyrie.
The weather had been perfect since I had arrived here, but it rained for the first time this morning. I could usually play in light rain, but it was quite a heavy fall. My match was postponed, and eventually started at 5:00 pm when the rain stopped. I was tight coming out, since I had been waiting for so long to play. Valkyrie was even worse though, and I managed to win the 1st set 6-3. The 2nd set lasted a very long time, with a lot of rallies. Valkyrie won it 7-5. Then, we played an even longer 3rd set, which at 4-4 was suspended due to bad light as it was already 7:30 pm. This was very bad news for both of us, as we miserably walked off the court. The match was due to be finished tommorow morning. I was frustrated and went straight to my hotel room, ordered room service for dinner, and went to bed.
I did not sleep well, but I was energised up after a quick breakfast. From 4-4, I settled q bit quicker than Valkyrie, and went on to win in a final set tie-break. I was very relieved to come through after a very difficult situation, and get to my 8th career final! Now, I was in a better mood as the sun had come out again. Leftys_rock’s match had also been suspended, and ended a bit before mine. We knew we had to play each other tommorow in the final, but since there were very few people to hit with at this stage of the tournament, we decided to have a good practice ahead of the final. I was glad to get my rhythm back during the practice, and I was feeling confident ahead of the final.
I had to pack my bags and bring them with me to the tournament site because straight after the final I had to catch a plane to Kuwait. I did all my necessary preparations, and walked out onto the court for the finals. It was a very mixed match. I think I played well, but lost on the big points in the 1st set tie-break. I lost the 2nd set 4-6 to lose the match. I am disappointed with that result as I had played well for a lot of the match. After that, I had to leave for the airport. I boarded a plane in the evening and was off to Kuwait! This is the last of my blogs, I hope they have been fun to read.
