The ATP players blogs

[Dina]

Well guys it's kind of a suggestion from me to you! ;)I suggest to post here every ATP player blog at each players posts. This way the ones who can't reach the ATP official site (becoz it has some troubles and not everyone reaches it now!as exemple I can't reach it since after the last Kremlin Cup! ) so they can read all the players posts and enjoy!
I hope you agree and want to help

[Annie]

Oh totally ;D I am all up for it

[davis]

Well, I suppose we should start at the beginning, then: The very first blog (at least the first one that's still avaliable online), written by Ivan Ljubicic in Chennai in January 2006.

Player Name: Ivan Ljubicic
Blogging From: Chennai Open - Chennai, India
Last Entry: Sunday, January 8, 2006




Saturday, December 31, 2005
I'm pleased to be back in India for the first time since 1998 (when I played Challengers in Bombay and Ahmedabad). But it was a pretty tough journey for my wife and me. We left Nice at 1.30 in the morning and then had a five-hour layover in Milan and later a 2 ½ hour wait in Dubai for the final flight to Chennai.

Driving from the Chennai airport to the hotel, one of the first things to strike you is just how chaotic the traffic is. While it's similar to what you find in China and Croatia when you're off the main highways, I said to my wife 'I wonder what Americans would make of this?' It's hard to comprehend the volume of traffic on the road and the chaotic way people drive. Most of the time there aren't any traffic lights or lines on the road. People just weave in and out I'm amazed there aren't more accidents.

And, picture this: It's common to see a man driving a humble motorbike with his wife sitting sidesaddle on the back, holding an infant (or two!) in her arms. No-one is wearing a helmet!

At the draw ceremony We arrived on Friday morning and I was so tired I went straight to sleep. I practiced in the afternoon with Jiri Vanek and then had dinner and went to sleep. Today (Saturday) I practiced twice, first with Rainer Schuettler and then later with Vanek again. I also took part in the draw ceremony.

It's great to go into a new season after finishing last season on such a high. The celebration with Croatian fans in Zagreb after winning the Davis Cup was fantastic. It's very difficult to say how many people crammed into the main square but I'd say there were at least 60,000-70,000 people cheering and screaming. Fortunately Goran didn't ask us to get naked like he did after winning Wimbledon. It was too cold to get naked!

I'm looking forward to this week in Chennai and please keep checking back each day to read how my week is going.

Happy New Year to you and your family!
Ivan Ljubicic

Sunday, January 1, 2006
Happy New Year! I'm pleased to say my wife and I saw in the New Year at a players' party in the hotel bar. One thing I hadn't thought of in India is the need to avoid putting ice in your drinks. People have said to me that you never know what type of water was used to make the ice and it could carry some health risks. Ljubicic with Paradorn Srichaphan I woke up around 10.30 am and just had a light breakfast of toast with honey and jam. I didn't want too much food in my stomach as I had a 2 pm practice. I had arranged to practice today with Spain's Guillermo Garcia Lopez, but that was before the draw came out. I play him in the first round.

In situations like this players take it as automatic that they will find someone else to practice with, so we didn't even need to call each other to cancel our practice. I just went to the tournament desk and told them I would now be practicing with Hyung-Taik Lee. I spoke to Guillermo later at the players' party and he was fine.

When I first arrived in Chennai I practiced with Jiri Vanek. If we both win our first-round matches we will play each other in the second round. Players will still practice with each other in situations like that.

After practice I went back to the hotel for a poolside photoshoot with Paradorn Srichaphan, who is a big start here in Chennai. I went back to the club for a 5pm practice with Thierry Ascione and then had an early dinner.

Tonight my wife and I watched a movie, Shrek, which I had seen before but was happy to watch again. It's a funny and beautiful movie made even more interesting by having famous actors doing the voiceovers.

Tomorrow my wife will get out and see some of the city. The hotel is really beautiful but it's not the real Chennai. She wants to see what everyday life in Chennai is like. I hope to be able to take a look around on Wednesday.

Catch you tomorrow.
Ivan

Monday, January 2, 2006
I went to the courts around 12:15 pm for a 1 pm practice with Radek Stepanek. He asked me about a week ago if I wanted to play doubles but I decided not to because if I lose in the singles I'd prefer to go early to Melbourne. It was a little hot so we started slowly before moving into some practice points when we got a bit tougher with each other. He's quite a funny guy, Radek.

After practice I saw the ATP physio. My neck was a little sore so I just wanted to double check that everything was fine. And it was.

We had the opening ceremony at 4 pm. I was there with Moya, Stepanek and Srichaphan. There was a little bit of rain but it didn't interrupt us.

Then I did some long, long interviews until 6:15 pm with lots of newspapers and TV. Everyone was interested in my past season and my goals for the next month. India is a huge country with a lot of people and media, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised with all the questions. I've never done so many interviews at one time, but there were lots of interesting questions, so it was fine.

There were some questions about my early life and my family's escape from Bosnia. I have recounted the story many, many times to writers and I would like to say it just once and have everyone know about it, but it's understandable that the media wants to hear me say it in person. I'm comfortable to talk about it and I often find that a couple of different recollections come to mind when I start telling the story again.

Some reporters were also interested in our reaction to having Goran as the No. 4 player on the winning Davis Cup team and him being the next Croatian captain.

After that it was back to the hotel for dinner and to watch some football on TV.

It feels a little different this week not having my coach (Ricardo Piatti) here with me. It's much easier when he is around. He'll always arrange the practice and we'll work on a couple of things in my game. The first week is very important but when I decided to accept the wild card to play in Chennai at the last moment it didn't work out for Ricardo to come with me. But we talk on the phone and he knows me so well that he's still a big help even though he's not here.

Tomorrow night I play my first match against Spain's Guillermo Garcia Lopez. Wish me luck!

Ivan


Tuesday, January 3, 2006
I was scheduled to play third match from five o'clock tonight so I warmed up between 4 pm and 4.30 pm with a local guy, Bopanna, who will be a very good player.

I came back to the hotel and watched some matches on TV, with a plan to come in after the first match on center court was over. I watched Paradorn's match from my room - it was a long one, lasting 2 1/2 hours. The fact that the first match went long allowed me to eat a good sized amount of pasta for dinner as I knew I'd have extra time for it to digest before my match. After Paradorn's match I then watched Carlos' match from the players' lounge on site

I feel fantastic with the win tonight (d. Garcia Lopez 7-6(6), 7-5). It was a very difficult match. I was down 4-1 with a double break in the first set tie-break and then in the second set I was down 4-2 before I broke back. For the first match of the year I was feeling the ball pretty well and being the only one in the tournament who played competitive matches in December gives me an advantage.

With the match finishing around midnight I wanted to do press straight away because I knew it would be late for the media who have their own deadlines. After that I did some stretching. I prefer to ride an exercise bike for 15-20 minutes after matches but there is no bike on site and the hotel gym is closed this late at night.

Tonight (or should I say 'this morning') I expect that it will take me a couple of hours before I can fall to sleep because the body is still switched on after a match. But the good thing is that matches start late in Chennai and on Wednesday I have the added benefit of having the day off. If I wake up in good time I may look around the streets a little bit. I'll probably practice around 3 pm or 4 pm.

Talk to you tomorrow.
Ivan


Wednesday, January 4, 2006
After last night's late finish I ordered room service - a club sandwich - and fell to sleep around 1.30 am-2 am. I woke around 11 am and hit the gym straight away, riding the bike for 20 or 30 minutes. My wife and I both woke up with headaches, with hers worse than mine. I think it's because we're in air conditioning everywhere we go. My wife may travel with me a little less in the first half of the year because she's studying to take the bar exam back in Croatia. She's thinking of becoming a lawyer or a judge. So the Australian Open will probably be one of her last long trips with me.

I had breakfast and headed to the club for a 2 pm practice with Germany's Simon Greul. I was really pleased with the practice and although I feel a little tired I thought I would be feeling a lot worse.

After practice I did some interviews at the courts and then dropped off my racquets to the stringer in preparation of tomorow's match against Jiri Vanek. I left five racquets to be restrung - one for the warmup and four for the match. (For best-of-five matches I drop off seven or eight racquets). Often I'll go for a different string tension the first day after I arrive on site and get a feel for the weather conditions and the balls. I always string between 26.5 and 28 kilos.

I practiced with Vanek on the first and second days and hopefully I picked something up during those hits that I can use tactically to my advantage. It's the first time we've played. I know he is serving well and his backhand is strong.

A lot of players have commented on the blog and they think it's a great idea. I'm pleased I'm the first player to write a blog for ATPtennis.com. A lot of journalists from back home have asked me if they could use some quotes from the blog in their stories. Of course I said yes.

Later,
Ivan


Thursday, January 5, 2006
I'm pleased to report I had another win today, a tough 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Jiri Vanek to move into the quarterfinals here in Chennai. Going into the locker room after a match is different for tennis players. It's not like you're part of a football team where, if you've had a win, you all go to your own locker room and sing and cheer and generally make as much noise as you can. In Chennai, like at most tournaments, there is only one lockerroom for all players and you end up sitting next to the guy you've just beaten. So you've got to show some respect for your opponent who is feeling bad because he has just lost. And you've also got to respect the other players who are in there getting ready to go out and play the next match.

So I'm celebrating tonight's win in a very different way to how I celebrated at my last event, the Davis Cup final. In Bratislava the team had our own locker room and the celebrations continued in full force after we'd left the court.

Coming off the court many people and players who you walk past will say 'well done' or 'congratulations.' I saw Paradorn in the physio room (I was icing my shoulder and he was preparing for his match) and he was one of the players to say 'well done.'

Today was nice knowing exactly what time I was going to play: first match on center court at 5 pm. (In the first round I was third from 5 pm.) You can plan your match-day routine with certainty. As long as matches don't start at 10 am I'm happy to play the first match of the day. I arrived on site at 2.15 pm and had a warmup between 3 pm and 3.30 pm with Bopanna. Warm-ups on match days are very different to a practice session on a non-match day. In a warm-up I'm just trying to feel all my shots. I'm not trying to work on anything new. After the warm-up I showered and changed clothes, changed my grips, got my drinks ready and then went to the physio room to put some tape on the small toes of both feet.

The only concern today was the transition during the match from daylight to playing under lights. That gave me some problems, but it was the same for both players. And I'm not using that as an excuse for dropping the second set. Jiri played some amazing points to break me to go 2-0 up and he served well to hold for the rest of the set.

During a match it's important to try to take a moment to relax and reduce the stress of the situation. On changeovers I try to relax my mind and tune out for a few moments. I may also see if the grip needs changing or if the strings are okay.

After the match I met some sponsors with Radek Stepanek and then it was back to the hotel. Tomorrow it's quarterfinal day against Gilles Muller. He took out Roddick in the first round of the US Open so I know he is a very dangerous player.

Catch you tomorrow,
Ivan


Friday, January 6, 2006
I'm back at the hotel after finishing my quarterfinal match - a 6-1, 6-3 win against Gilles Muller - and am waiting for room service. So this is a good time to update the blog.

I really played very solid tonight. My first serve percentage of around 66-67 percent was extremely high for me and that put a lot of pressure on him. I felt that I read his serve well.

After accepting the wild card I came ready to play and now that I'm in the semis I'm just two steps away from the title - I won't give up from here. I reached the final in Doha in the past two years and now I'm just one win away from reaching a final in the first week of the season for the third straight year. So my results this week haven't been by chance. I've always played good tennis when I've been physically ready and after a period of solid practice.

This morning I let myself sleep to around 10 am. If I wake too early I sometimes feel like taking a nap in the middle of the day and that didn't suit my plans. I hit with Bopanna at 2 pm for a little longer than 30 minutes. We actually started about 10 minutes late because when I went to the stringer to get my racquet for the warm-up it wasn't ready. The stringer said he thought I was practicing at 3 pm. I went up half a kilo in string tension before the match. I started the tournament at 26.5 kilos and I'm now at 27.5 kilos. I'll stay at that for the semifinal but if I win I may even go to 28 for the final; but it depends on the conditions. Once I get going in a tournament I feel stronger and that I need more control.

Around 4.45 pm I had an early dinner, or is that a late lunch? I knew I was third match on from 5 pm so I could go a little heavier. I had a plate of pasta with grilled chicken. Right now I'm just waiting for room service to bring a late dinner. I'm having beef a tenderloin steak with some fried rice and Naan - the Indian bread is one of my favorite things to eat.

On Saturday I've arranged to practice with Bopanna again before my semifinal against Kristof Vliegen, which I'm happy about. Sometimes towards the end of a tournament it can be difficult to find players to practice with because they have moved onto the next event. Usually I have my coach with me and he hits a good ball. But if my coach is not with me I can normally find one of the local guys who is happy to hit with me even though I may only want to hit for 10 or 15 minutes. And the doubles guys are good about hitting, too. I remember I warmed up in Vienna with Mark Knowles once.

Aida and I are both fine now. We had headaches for one day but that was all.

Check back for my post tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have another win to report.

Ivan


Saturday, January 7, 2006
Well, it's been a long day. Unfortunately my semifinal against Kristof Vliegen got rained out at 3-1 in the first set. So we've got an early start tomorrow at 12 o'clock to complete that, with the winner to play Moya in the final. So it's pretty much straight to sleep after updating the blog. I don't need to eat anything because I had a big meal around 5.30 pm - 6 pm and I had some sandwiches around 8.30 pm - 9 pm while I was waiting. Moya's match was also interrupted by rain, so it was around 11 pm until I got on the court.

I was confident that we were going to get through the match tonight. But it began to rain pretty heavily and Gerry Armstrong, the ATP Supervisor, told me that even if the rain stopped it would take an hour to dry the court, which meant play would not have restarted till after midnight. And the forecast wasn't good, so there was really no option other than to call it a night.

I've been sleeping till 9 am or 9.30 am this week so I'll have to be out of bed earlier than that on Sunday.

I've played two singles matches in one day before but, from memory, never a semifinal and a final. I may be leading 3-1 but the key is to focus all my thoughts and energy on the semifinal because if I don't there will be no final for me. If I win the semifinal there will be enough time to prepare for the final, which starts not before 6.30 pm.

Hopefully the rain will stay away Sunday. I'm certainly hoping to make it to the final. My flight leaves at 11.30 pm so if everything runs on schedule I should be able to make that even if I make the final.

And I'll try to find time to write my last blog for the week. It's been a lot of fun.

Ivan


Sunday, January 8, 2006
This is the life of a tennis player on the run! I brought all my luggage to the courts with me this morning knowing that if I made it through to the final I would need to rush straight from the courts to the airport to catch my 11.30 pm flight to Melbourne. With the final starting not before 6.30pm it could have been tight if the final went three sets. And after the match there is the trophy ceremony and press commitments.

I nearly had all the time in the world to catch the flight! I was down one match point in my semifinal against Kristof Vliegen. That match started at 12 o'clock and I scraped out with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) win. Then in the final I beat Carlos Moya 7-6(6), 6-2.

It's been a fantastic week. I really enjoyed the food, the hotel and the organization was great. To finish the week as a winner is great. I have a bad record in finals and that's why I wanted this title so much. I didn't want people to think of me as a guy who always lost finals.

I had some tough matches to reach the final. Then against Moya I was down 4-0 in the first-set tie-break and then down two set points at 6-4 before coming back to win the set. The second set was some of the best tennis I've played in the past couple of months.

To play my best tennis of the week in the final is a great way to start the year. I thought my 2005 was fantastic but I have started 2006 even better. I hope that is a sign of things to come for the season. Physically I feel okay. No complaints at all. I hope my body will survive as I have a heavy schedule planned.
I hope the blog is going to bring luck to the other players as it has brought it to me. I'm going to play a couple of exhibition matches next week in Kooyong against some great players, so it will be a good lead-in to the Australian Open. But it's not an official tournament so the mood will be much more relaxed. Melbourne is a very nice city and I have seen a lot of it in previous years. I have some relatives in Melbourne and they will take me around. It should be a fantastic week.

Thanks for reading my blog this week. I hope you've enjoyed it.

Ivan

[Dina]

thanx guys for your participation!!!!!!!!!!!!

[davis]

Player Name: James Blake
Blogging From: Medibank International - Sydney, Australia
Last Entry: Saturday, January 14, 2006




Sunday, January 8, 2006
Greetings from Sydney, Australia. After an early loss in Adelaide I've been here since Friday to prepare for the Sydney International. I've been to Sydney twice before and it's a very beautiful city with the water, the Opera House and the Habror Bridge. I like it here so much that I've brought a couple of good buddies with me from Connecticut. I'm sure they're happy to have swapped a Connecticut winter for an Australian summer.

The player hotel at Darling Harbor is in a great location and there is a casino on the corner. That could be dangerous for me because I'm addicted to poker.

It's tough being away from the US when the football playoffs are underway. I try to follow the games online at ESPN.com and my team, the New York Giants, are playing Sunday. The Giants play Carolina at 1 pm US time, which is 5 am over here. You've got to be pretty commited to get up and follow the scores at that time of the morning. I may not make it for kickoff but I may get up around 7am or so to follow some of the second half. I do play a first round match Monday against Davide Sanguinneti on Court 2, not before 5 pm.

I remember two years ago being in Australia when the Giants had their huge collapse against the 49ers. They had a huge lead when I went out to practice and after practice Mardy Fish told me they had lost. I didn't believe him for a couple of hours. I hope history doesn't repeat itself.

A game I really would have loved to have seen was the Rose Bowl between USC and Texas. It's fun to see the good players like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young before they embark on their NFL careers. Will they be the next Peyton Manning or the next Akili Smith? USC had won so many in a row it was good to see Texas win. I haven't spoken to Andy since the game - he may have been in the stands for all I know - but I'm sure he was going crazy.

James


Monday, January 9, 2006
I woke up around 9.30 am and the first thing I did was switch on the TV to watch the NFL playoff game between the Steelers and Bengals. Any time there is football on the TV here I have to watch it because it makes me feel like I'm back at home. I got some breakfast at half time. It was way too early for me to watch the Giants, of whom I'm a big fan, and given that they got beaten so badly that was a good thing. I would have had to get up about 4. 30am for that one. I love my Giants, but I love winning tennis matches more.

Being scheduled to play (Davide Sanguinetti) not before 6 pm is a tricky time to play. It makes for a somewhat lazy and wasted day in the lead-up. You don't want to go shopping or do the tourist thing in the heat or do anything at all strenuous. So I just sat around my room watching TV. Luckily my buddies are here so I hung out with Evan, who was playing poker on my computer and winning some money. I always enjoy watching him do that.

I had lunch at the hotel around 1 pm or 1. 30 pm and then rode out to the site with my coach Brian Barker, who also is one of my best friends, one of his best friends from growing up and Evan. We were cracking up the whole way. The two buddies who are here this week, who don't normally travel with us, are two of the biggest jokesters in the world. This time we were talking about relationships with the women we know and who some of the good ones are, some of the 'keepers,' and who are some others that may be a little more difficult to live with.

I got to the site around 3 pm and at 3.30 pm I practiced for around half an hour with Andreas Seppi. That was nice of him given that I was playing one of his countrymen.

I had half a sandwich and a banana about an hour before I was scheduled to play. Eating for a 6 pm match is tricky because you can't have a full dinner. And if you just had lunch you'd be out of fuel by the time you hit the second set. I took a little bread out with me on the court. That's something that is easy to diget.

Before matches I will listen to my iPod. For the past six months the routine has been to listen to some calming music before I go on the court. I used to listen to rap or hard rock to fire me up, but I'm pretty good these days about firing myself up.

First-round matches can be a little trickier than other matches because you're not sure how well you're playing on the courts or if the wind or sun will be different. I hadn't practiced on court 2. Just little things you want to be familiar with. And I'd never won a first-round match here before so there was a little pressure on me to get through to the second round. I hadn't seen Davide play since Paris last year so I had no idea how his off season had been. He hasn't seen me play. So it's a little trickier. That's maybe why I got broken in the first game. But fortunately I came away with a win.

There's a different feel to being back on tour again. I feel when I get on the road my life slows down a little because there is less to worry about. When you're on tour you have to be singularly focussed on preparing to win tennins matches. When you're at home you're making sure your girlfriend is happy, that you've answered all your emails, that all the bills are paid - all the little things that go with normal life.

Now, we live in a dream world. We don't have a normal life out here. I just worry about tennis and go home to the hotel. My room is clean, everything is in order.

James


Tuesday, January 10, 2006
It was starting to get late when I got back to the hotel after the first-round win against Sanguinetti so the celebration was pretty reserved. I just ordered some room service and caught up on some emails. This morning I got up at 9.15 am and practiced with Ferrero for an hour from 11 am. I got a massage and actually fell asleep on the table.

Two minutes before walking out for practice my coach told me I was hitting with Ferrero instead of Taylor Dent, which was fine with me. I guess Ferrero saw that Taylor had canceled after losing his match the day before. Switching from indoors at the Hopman Cup to outdoors in Sydney can be tough, but hopefully Taylor will use the extra practice time he'll now get in Melbourne to have a great Australian Open.

Ferrero and I warmed up for a long time and then played a set. For me the most important thing is to play as much as I can outdoors, in the heat and on Rebound Ace before the Australian Open. For practice, I'm not as picky with stringing as a lot of the guys. There are some players who get a ton of racquets restrung before every practice. Today I pretty much used the same racquet as I used in last night's match against Sanguinetti. As long as they're pretty tight I'm happy. But of course I'll get fresh strings for a match.

I also did an autograph session with some kids. It's always entertaining to listen to some of the different questions that kids have. It makes you feel good that you can make somebody's day just by signing a piece of paper for them. I won't be able to do that forever. I'm sure people won't remember me once I've been off the tour for a year or two. We are public figures and it's our responsibility to make kids realize there are good role models out there. That's something I take very seriously and I try to make a difference while I still can.

My buddies are playing golf today and once they get back I'm sure we'll get some dinner together. It's a little annoying that I can't be out there golfing with them but I'll get them back in December when they're up in Connecticut and I'm playing golf in Tampa. I'm sure that will annoy them more! We've spoken about going over to Bondi Beach for dinner but we'll see if that's too much of an effort. I do get lazy when I'm on the road so we may just walk around the hotel and get something close by.

James


Wednesday, January 11, 2006
I went on site pretty early in the morning, getting there at about 9.30 to prepare for my match. I had a hit at 10 with Dmitry Tursunov. It was so hot though that we only hit for about 20 minutes. I was eating something at about 11.30 when the ATP Tour Manager came up to me and told me that Carlos had pulled out. I think it's the first time that's ever happened to me, to go through on a walkover. I've had a few retirements but never a walkover.

At the time I found out, I was just sitting with Justin Gimelstob. Straight away he offered to hit with me in the afternoon, so I was lucky that he was right there. So I got my second practice of the day in with him, hitting for about an hour which was enough to get a set in.

It was lucky not to play a match today as it was pretty rough weather out there. It wouldn't have been fun to play at any point today. It was sweltering early on before the storm came, and then once it had passed it got really windy so it was a good day to get a walkover!

I still spent most of the afternoon over at the courts and in the players' lounge. I met with Australian singer Alex Lloyd and had a quick chat with him and took some photos. Otherwise I was just sitting around watching the tennis, hanging around on the couches with my buddies, listening to my music. I got back to the hotel around five o'clock and left my buddy Evan and my coach Brian at the site. They are still out there playing baseline games, getting their work out. Bryan will probably stay over there until the order of play comes out for tomorrow.

I'm probably gonna play some poker before we go out to dinner. I don't have enough time to play any tournament online, though. It's been a pretty good week so far on the poker front. I won a tournament on Saturday, winning about $5,000. You need about four hours to play a tournament though.

Tonight, we'll probably just go out for dinner. We usually just walk along the harbor here and pick out one of the restaurants. I haven't really been noticed too much out on the street here, definitely not as much as back home. Maybe it's because I cut off all my hair. People come up to me a lot though on-site when I'm on my way to practice or after my matches.

I've had a couple of emails about my blog this week, quite a few from my friends back home and also some from Evan's mom, who've been following it this week.

James


Thursday, January 12, 2006
I'm starting today's blog with something pretty dramatic that happened Tuesday involving my friend Bob, who is here with me this week along with another buddie Evan and my coach Brian.

Bob is a terrible, terrible swimmer, so he had no business being in the ocean at Bondi Beach to begin with. He noticed that there was a lifeguard on a jetski rescuing people all the time as people kept getting pulled out in the riptide.

Bob saw a woman who was struggling so much that she couldn't even get her arm up to signal the lifeguard. Bob went out to help her to get the attention of the lifeguard. When the lifeguard came over on the jetski she pushed off Bob, pushing him under the water. He sunk, then came back up and, as I said, he's a terrible, terrible swimmer. He couldn't get back to the shore.

As soon as they had taken her on the jetski Bob then had to put his hand up because he needed to be saved as well. So another guy on a longboard came over to save Bob. Apparently there was just a very small area of waves that he couldn't get over. It was only like 10 feet. So the guy swam Bob in those 10 feet and then just let him off and said 'You can make it from here.' He felt a little foolish, but the guy probably saved Bob's life.

Bob's not the type of guy who needs a new perspective on life but it always helps to have a life-saving experience to keep things in perspective.

On a happier note I had fun earlier in the week sitting down with Justin Gimelstob and the Bryan brothers as we reflected on some of our days in the juniors. I wasn't very good in the juniors. I was the guy they beat one and one then would go home and think that it was a good performance. I was happy just to get the free t-shirt.

I warmed up with Brian today - he beat Evan in their baseline game challenge yesterday so we decided Brian was the better of the two - which isn't saying a whole lot.

Before the Clement match we talked about the scouting report. I'd played Arnaud three times before. But generally when you're playing your best you want to impose your own game on someone else rather than worrying about your opponent's game.

Arnaud's a great guy to play as you prepare for a Grand Slam because he'll get a lot of balls back and you know you have to play well to beat him. You know he's going to make you work hard. It's perfect preparation.

After the match I went for a five minute run to cool down. You're body is heated up from playing two hours in this heat, so it's better to allow your muscles to cool down gradually rather than going straight into the air conditioning. I'll also do a little stretching and then get the trainer to stretch me, just to make sure I'm taking good care of my body. I like to get a massage when I can but often at a tournament like this there are a lot of guys vying for a position on the massage table, and there's only one massage therapist.

Before the match I had a chicken sandwich and just hung out watching Paradorn and Ivo because that was the match I was following. I figured we'd see some tie-breaks and I was preparing to play as soon as that second tie-break was over. Now I'm in the semis and it's a great opportunity to win a title because I'm only two wins away. That's always exciting for any player - unless you're Andre or Roger who have won so many tournaments.

Wish me luck.

James


Friday, January 13, 2006
It's great to be through to the Sydney final, particularly after beating a solid Top 10 guy like Davydenko one week before a Grand Slam.

The day itself was frustrating and boring leading into the match because of a rain delay that ultimately forced my semifinal to be moved to Court 2. I haven't played on center court this week. The two times I played on center in my other two appearances in Sydney I lost first-round matches. So maybe I should ask the organizers to switch tomorrow's final to Court 2, where I have a 3-0 record.

I passed the time playing some cards with the Bryans. For the record, I dominated! It was a game called 'killer,' which I just learned. It's similar to a drinking game Bob had played in the past. Obviously there was no alcohol involved in this game on the day of a match! Other than that it was just hanging around, trying to figure out when to eat, when we were going to go on and what was going to happen with the schedule.

Before I went out to play the draw for the Australian Open was released. We're all extremely selfish so the first thing I did was look at who I played. I play Jose Acasuso, whom I beat a couple of years ago in Melbourne, so hopefully I can have the same result. He's a dangerous player with a huge serve - he beat Andy on clay at the French Open and he's had some success in Grand Slams.

Then as soon as I see who I play I look for Andy, for Robby and Taylor. It's interesting that they're all in the same section. Andy and Taylor could meet pretty early and then Robby could be next up if all goes according to plan. It's a tough situation for us when we're all on the same side, but hopefully that means that one of us will get through to the final and even hold up the trophy. And we're not in Roger's half - that's always a good thing.

Before I left for Australia I had a bunch of shoes sent to my house. Unfortunately they were the wrong size. But Nike's great at sending me what I need and they sent me a few that were my size and in Melbourne there will be a distribution where I'll get a whole lot more.

I don't use new shoes on Rebound Ace because the courts are sticky to begin with and you can roll your ankle when you try to stop. What happened to Nicolas Kiefer can happen to anybody. I wear them in at practice and try to scuff them up a bit. Now that these shoes have been lucky for me this week I'l definitely wear them in the final.

At the Aussie Open I'll probably start with a new pair - particularly if I get a day off - because if they also bring me luck I'll be able to wear them throughout the whole tournament.


James


Saturday, January 14, 2006
I couldn't be happier to win the Sydney title on the eve of the Australian Open, particularly coming through in a final-set tie-break. I've missed out in a few of those situations in the past.

If you're looking for me in Melbourne next week I should be pretty easy to find - I'll be standing next to a guy with a shiny gold tooth. When I won my first ATP title my coach Brian said he would go skydiving. He was so scared. He did it, but he hated it. Then we had a bet that after winning my second tournament he would wear a gold tooth at the next Grand Slam tournament I played.

Last August I won New Haven right before the US Open and we went down to New York but we didn't have time to look for a gold tooth. But now it's time to pay up at the Australian Open. We went to a costume store and got him the gold tooth. He's supposed to put that on from the moment we walk into Melbourne Park to the moment I'm out of the tournament. I feel a little bad because he has enough trouble as it is meeting girls, but now it's really going to be tough.

After winning the semifinal yesterday I got a bunch of emails and apparently there are a lot of people reading my blog. I'm excited about that. It's great that I could keep the perfect blogging record alive. Two blogs for two titles following Ljubicic's win in Chennai last week. Everybody will be asking to do the next blog. (Editor's note: The next blog will be in the week after the Australian Open.) It's a good record to have and hopefully the luck will keep up for the next guy who does it. If I play whoever is blogging I may as well not show up.

A lot of my buddies have been staying up pretty late at home watching the scores on the computer. I apologize to them for that because that's the worst way to watch a match. I wish these matches were on TV back in the US. But I appreciate them staying up and all the congratulatory emails they have sent. After winning the final today I'm sure my inbox will be pretty full when I check it.

I am someone who doesn't get an international cell phone because it's a welcome relief sometimes to go on these trips when people can't really contact me. I'll call or email people when I get a chance, and I'm sure I'll be making some calls back home tonight and tomorrow. Winning a title is great but it's even better when you can share it with friends who are genuinely happy for you. I remember being able to share the title in New Haven last year with my family and friends meant a lot.

I will play my first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday. So I'll only have one day off but on the upside I'm just going to ride the wave of confidence. I was in a similar situation last year when I won the New Haven title before the US Open, and I went on to make the quarterfinals and lost to Andre in a fifth-set tie-break.

My body is in good shape. The courts and the balls will be the same as they were this week. I don't think my rhythm is going anywhere in the space of just one day and I like the way I am hitting the ball, so I couldn't ask for a better preparation for the Open.

Thanks for reading the blog this week.

James

[davis]

Player Name: Jarkko Nieminen
Blogging From: PBZ Zagreb Indoors
Last Entry: Thursday, February 2, 2006




Sunday, January 29, 2006
I'm happy to be here in Zagreb for the first PBZ Zagreb Indoors. I arrived Saturday and although there must be a lot of potential problems involved with staging a new event, things seems well organized.

After the Australian Open I spent just one day in Finland before moving on to Copenhagen, where I practiced with Kenneth Carlsen, who is also here with me in Zagreb. Why go to Copenhagen to practice? That's where my wife Anu, who is Finland's No. 1 badminton player, practices. I had played a lot of tennis in January, reaching the quarters in Adelaide, winning Auckland and reaching the third round of the Australian Open. So I needed a couple of days rest before picking up the racquets again.

There was a big reaction in Finland to my title in Auckland. I was the first Finn to win an ATP title. They showed the final live on TV in the middle of the night. But my wife didn't get to see the match because she was in Copenhagen at the time. The first she knew of it was when I woke her up in the middle of the night with a phone call.

Today I woke at 8.30 and after breakfast I watched the last two and a half sets of the Australian Open final between Federer and Baghdatis. Then I went to the hotel gym to do some rubber band training and stretching. Then it was back to the room to listen to some music and to read a little. I'm reading a Finnish book about a murder and big investigation in Finland that spreads south.

I had my first practice today with Carlsen and soon I'll practice again with Mario Ancic. As you can imagine he's very big in Zagreb this week after being part of Croatia's winning Davis Cup team. There's lots of posters of him in the city.

I play last match on Monday night against Potito Starace. If it's a real late finish my next post may be Tuesday morning.

Jarkko.


Monday, January 30, 2006
I got through a tough three-setter tonight against Potito Starace, who his a very talented player. You're always happy to get through the first round at any tournament. The courts are really fast here and he was serving well. I had played him once before, have practiced with him and had seen his matches, so I knew his game well. Other times if you don't know a guy that well you will ask other players or coaches about his game. I always try to have a game plan worked out going into a match.

It was the last match of the night session so I knew it was going to be a long day. I practiced at 11.30 in the morning on center court with Kenneth Carlsen to get a feel for the court, which I had not hit on before. Then I did my normal stretching and I ate some pasta for lunch at the courts around 1.30.

It was then back to the hotel and I was planning to take a long nap but I started to listen to some music and I really got into the book I'm reading. I probably got through 70 or 80 pages before I told myself that I had to put the book away and get some sleep. I slept for about half an hour and then called the site around 5 o'clock to check on the progress of the matches. Because my match was a 'followed by'' and not a "not before'' you always need to play it safe in case someone twists an ankle early in a match.

Then I picked up my iPod and went for a walk outside for about 20 minutes. I just walked a few blocks to take in some of the local sites. At indoor tournaments you often spend your entire day indoors in the hotel and the site, so it's important to get some fresh air when you can. Then I headed to the courts and had some salad and pasta for dinner around 6 o'clock.

Because I play the winner of Youzhny and Zib - who don't play till Wednesday - my next match won't be till Thursday, so I'll have some time on my hands the next couple of days. I'll try to have a look at the city on Wednesday. Often you're in the best cities in the world and all you see is the hotel, the site and the airport, so when you get a chance to take in the culture and atmosphere of the world's great cities I like to do it.

Jarkko.


Tuesday, January 31, 2006
A day off today after yesterday's three-set win, so I took it pretty easy.

After breakfast I went to the hotel gym to lift some weights, which is something I try to do two or three times a week. I don't work with heavy weights; just lighter weights I incorporate into some exercises.

I practiced and then had a massage on-site. I'm going to go back to the hotel now and ask if they have a sauna. That's one thing I always look for when I'm traveling and I really miss when I'm not at home in Finland. Many of the good hotels have a sauna and the tournament hotel here in Zagreb is very nice, so hopefully they'll have one.

Today I watched a little bit of the Mario Ancic-Dmitry Tursunov match. I was interested to see how many spectators came out to watch. It was pretty packed. And it was a good match too. I also watched some of the Gasquet-Sanguinetti match.

Tonight I'm going to watch some of the TV series '24.' I have my DVD in the room. I'm really looking forward to the new series. In Australia I watched the TV series 'Lost' on DVD which I got as a Christmas present.

On the way to Australia I was planning to sleep a lot but I got so addicted to 'Lost' I just kept watching episode after episode. I watched the whole season in just three days. It's a very popular show in the US and the second season has started. So I'm really looking forward to getting that on DVD at some point. The end of the first season really kept you hanging.

Tomorrow my plan is to walk around the city and then watch the match between Youzhny and Zib. I'll play the winner on Thursday.

Jarkko.


Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Well, good news to report. I found two saunas back at the hotel last night!

Today I watched about a set of the Youzhny-Zib match to prepare for my match against the winner on Thursday. I've seen both of them play before so I didn't feel that I needed to watch the whole match. But I like to go in with my tactics in mind and watching a little today will help. When you're scouting your next opponent's match you try to blend into the crowd and not make a big scene. I don't know whether either player knew I was there watching. I know that when I'm playing a match I wouldn't notice if another player was there.

After watching some of the match I went into the city with a Finnish friend. He's been studying in Budapest for four months and came to Zagreb by train. It was my first time to the city and we stuck on the main street. There were some very impressive buildings, including the Zagreb Cathedral. I found some Finnish chocolate - which is the best in the world! - and I tucked that away to have later in the evening. We caught a tram home from the city.

I heard that some people were interested to learn that I was a fan of the TV series 'Lost.' When I first became aware of the series I thought that it wouldn't be very original; after all, there have been so many movies about plane crashes and people getting stranded on an island. But I got addicted to the strange things that happen on the island. And the large cast of characters also makes it compelling. At first you thought some of them were bad, but as you learn more about them you realize they have a good side too.

Jarkko.


Thursday, February 2, 2006
I've just finished my second round match here in Zagreb. I was beaten 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(0) by Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

Obviously it's disappointing to lose 7-6 in the third but at the end of the day a loss is a loss. I won't be more upset just because it was a close match that could have gone either way. It would be more painful if I had blown match points, but that didn't happen. Youzhny played great in both tie-breaks and I give him credit for that. I had been 6-1 this year in tie-breaks going into today's match, so my record had been good.

After any loss I usually try to do something to take my mind off the match. If you just go back to your room you'll just keep thinking about the loss and you can get too negative. Of course I will reflect on the match and try to analyze what went wrong, but after a loss - particularly a painful one - it's often better to think about it after a few hours. If you start analyzing it too early it can be hard to find the positives among the negatives.

Generally after a loss I try to stay active and later today I'm sure I'll go to the gym to do some exercises. And of course I'll need to book my morning flight back to Helsinki. As a tennis player you never want to buy a non-changeable ticket! You could be out in the first round on Monday or still be there at the end on Sunday. Whenever I can I fly with Finnair as they are one of my sponsors. My wife is in Helsinki at the moment for the Finnish Badminton Championships. Matches start tomorrow so it will be good to see her play.

One thing back home that is proving amusing at the moment is talk about how American TV talk show host Conan O'Brien looks so similar to our President Tarja Halonen. I don't see a great similarity myself but a lot of people do. But the whole affair has been pretty funny and handled in good spirit and it's been a good promotion for Finland. Conan is going to come and visit soon, which should be a lot of fun.

Thanks for reading my blog this week. I hope you enjoyed it.

Jarkko.

[davis]

Player Name: Fabrice Santoro
Blogging From: Open 13, Marseille
Last Entry: Friday, February 17, 2006



Monday, February 13, 2006
It’s not often that you can visit your regular dentist at an ATP stop, but that’s where I’m going today. I grew up about an hour outside Marseille (my parents still live there) and that’s where my regular dentist still has his practice. So I thought it makes sense to see him while I’m in the area. I now live with my family in Geneva, which is about a four hour drive from here, so that’s why I don’t get to see my dentist too frequently. I’m just going to have a general check-up for half an hour or so. Hopefully he won’t have to numb me up because I’m planning to have a nice dinner with a friend who has come down from Paris.

It looks like I have a Wednesday start, so I practiced twice today and tomorrow I’ll just practice once.

This is my first tournament since the Australian Open, where I reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. I experienced some amazing moments in Australia, so I needed to let my body and mind rest afterwards. It was a very tiring event. After the tournament I went back home to Geneva and found my rhythm again away from tournaments, taking my daughter to school every day, having dinner with friends, recuperating.

Slowly but surely I started doing a bit of physical work and was lucky enough to play an exhibition with Nadal last weekend in Tarbes, marking his return to the courts after four months. After that I started stepping up my training regimen. Last week was a tough week of training and now I'm entering a period of Marseille, maybe Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. It’s a month and half of tournaments on surfaces that I like, so it's an important time for me.

My dad's been my coach in my head for the past 10 years. When he comes to tournaments, he's the boss. He comes to the tournaments he wants to. Here I'm playing only an hour away from home, so he's coming every day. I'm staying in the hotel, though, from tonight onwards. Often with indoor tournaments you play late at night and I don't want to have to drive home in the middle of the night, so it's better to stay in the hotel, which is close by.

It's a tournament I really enjoy. My parents, my sister and friends are going to come and watch so I hope that the week lasts as long as possible. My wife and daughter are staying in Geneva, though. My daughter missed three weeks of school during Australia so she can't miss another week.

My first match against Thomas Johansson will probably be on Wednesday. It’s late to play a first match but I just hope to have the chance to play a second match on Thursday. Playing back to back Wednesday to Friday is not bad but it gets trickier when you have to play Saturday and Sunday as well. But if you have a first round opponent like Johansson, you can't look that far anyway.

I'm playing doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi from Thursday too. So if things go well, it will be a tough week.

Look out for my next post tomorrow.

Fabrice


Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I'm pleased to report that my dentist gave me the all clear. I don't need any work done, so that's always a good feeling. I think he's pretty busy at the moment so it was nice for him to find time for me last night. He didn't ask for any tickets to the tennis but if I'm still in at the weekend then I'm sure he'll try to come along and watch.

Today I'm going to have a hair cut on site, so I'm taking care of my affairs this week! Every day since December I've been thinking about getting my hair cut! But I won't be doing anything crazy like a few years ago when I had blond hair - I don't think my daughter would recognize me.

I had a great meal last night at a good French restaurant. My friend and I had the Marseille special - bouillabaisse, which is a soup with fish. It's a main course and it was unbelievably good. But when I got back to the hotel I was only feeling 'so-so' because I'd eaten one too many bowls.

This morning I practiced with Rafael Nadal. We hit for about 45 minutes on a back court so the fans didn't know we were there. But there were two Spanish TV crews there getting some footage. Obviously Nadal playing his first match in four months is very big news. I've never played him in a real match but we've played a couple of exhibitions, including about 10 days ago. It's a fun combination of different games and hopefully before the end of my career I will play him in a tournament.

I spoke to him for a while and he's very excited and nervous to be back on the tour. I think he has something in his shoes to help his foot problem. It was interesting to see how he's moving and he looks to me to be at 100 percent. I think he's got big expectations this week.

Tomorrow I play second from 11am against Thomas Johansson. The ATP just told me that I am one win away from my 400th career match victory. Thanks guys for the pressure! Hopefully it will come tomorrow.

Fabrice


Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Today was very special, winning my 400th career match against Thomas Johansson. I was very happy to see my mother and father and sister there. I will often look to them to feed off their positive energy. I warmed up with Ivan Ljubicic for half an hour before the match.

Thomas and I are good friends and we were talking in the locker room five minutes before we went out to play. He was telling me about Sweden’s Davis Cup tie against Argentina in Argentina last weekend. He said the atmosphere was pretty tough.

After the match the press was asking about the 400 wins milestone. I was a little surprised by all the interest but I guess there aren’t too many players on the tour with that many wins. I was asked who was the first guy I ever beat. I couldn’t remember, but he must be pretty old by now.

Obviously the game has changed a lot since I started. Most of the guys today hit pretty hard and don’t use a lot of slice. One guy I remember enjoying playing with in the past was Morocco’s Hicham Arazi. We always had fun matches.

It’s tough to identify what my best wins were during all those years. But my run to the Australian Open quarterfinals last month is definitely a highlight. To make the singles quarterfinals of a Grand Slam after so many years was very big for me.

After today’s match I met with some people from a French company Inesis. With them I am developing a new racquet. We started about three years ago with a pen and a piece of paper and now we’re just a few weeks away from having something to hold. If all goes well I hope to start hitting with it in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow I play Greg Rusedski, who beat me here in 2002 when we last met. He’s obviously got a great serve that isn’t easy to return. But hopefully I can get win No. 401!


Fabrice


Thursday, February 16, 2006
I knew it was going to be a long day with two matches to play so it's always important to be in good form in the morning. I came over here and practiced two hours before my singles match with Mahesh [Bhupathi] - as we'd be playing doubles together later in the day it made sense. Then I rested and ate some pasta ahead of my singles match. I played my singles and then rested two hours before playing the doubles.

It's important to get a quick win in singles if you're playing twice in the day. My match against Greg [Rusedski] lasted about 1 hour, 15 minutes so I was able to play the doubles without being too tired, which was great. It was quite a clear-cut match against Greg, which was great. A few years ago I beat Thomas Johansson here in the first round and then lost to Rusedski in the second. This time around I beat Johansson again in the first round and followed up with the win over Rusedski, so it's an improvement on last time.

I spoke to my wife and my daughter after my singles as I knew that it would be too late to talk to my daughter after my doubles match as she'd be in bed. So I spoke to my daughter beforehand and she was just off to her dance lessons. Usually I call my wife and daughter pretty quickly after my matches to keep them informed, to tell them if I've won or lost. If I've lost, then they know that the positive thing is that I'll get back home quickly.

It was great to play with Mahesh again and that was the feeling heading into the match. We hadn't played together for over two years. We still remembered how we played all that time ago but we discussed a few things in the locker room before the match to refresh our memory a bit. Unfortunately we lost [to Knowle and Melzer] but it was a lot of fun and a high-quality match against a top team.

It's amazing to see John McEnroe winning doubles matches again. I can't imagine playing when I'm that old, but he's always been a special case. I don't think many people could be doing that at that age. I would love to play alongside him one day. I was on the same flight as Jonas Bjorkman on the way back from Australia and told him how jealous I was.

My parents and sister watched me again today. They live about 45 minutes away and come over here for my matches. Tonight we'll have a family dinner here on-site at the restaurant.

After my doubles I made sure to get a massage and some stretching so that my body will be ready to go again tomorrow. I think I'll be playing late tomorrow. I'm still not sure about how many times I'll practice yet. For sure I'll practice in the morning and maybe again shortly before my match. I've always had long battles against Arnaud [Clement], our match at Roland Garros seemed to last for an eternity a couple of years ago. Tomorrow it will be just three sets though so it for sure won't last as long but I hope it will be a good match.


Fabrice


Friday, February 17, 2006
Well, yet again it was another long match with Arnaud. He took me out in a third set tie-break after 2 hours and 42 minutes. He won two more points than I did: 105 to 103, so it was a very close match with a high quality of tennis. But in the end there could only be one winner.

When I was younger I would think about losses for a long time, maybe even for a couple of nights. But these days after about two or three hours I try to turn the page. I will have dinner with a good friend tonight and we won't talk about the match all evening. After so many years on the tour you have to get used to losing at some point. You can't win a tournament every week.

I spoke to Arnaud a couple of times before our match, including in the locker room before we went out. He knows I am developing a new racquet and he joked that I should change my racquet today. "Today is not a good day for me to try it," I said.

During the match some of my friends in the crowd made me laugh with some of their comments. They helped me to relax and have fun, which is important.

I'll go straight to Rotterdam tomorrow and meet up with my wife and daughter. There's no school next week so it will be great to be with them again.

Fabrice

[davis]

Player Name: Mardy Fish
Blogging From: Memphis
Last Entry: Sunday, February 26, 2006




Sunday, February 19, 2006
Greetings from a very, very cold Memphis, Tennessee. It hasn't been above freezing here the past two days and there is ice everywhere. It's a challenge just to stay on your feet when you're walking outside. The storm that came here was unbelievable. It is freezing cold. I was born in Minnesota but I haven't been in this kind of weather for a long time.

Last night I went out to dinner at Houston's with my coach Scott Humphries and James and Thomas Blake. The restaurant is right next to the hotel - less than a five minute walk away, but it was far from an easy walk. We had to walk really slow and slide our feet across the ice. But Thomas fell - on the speed bump, which was hilarious. James of course had on the beanie he always wears out. He needed that. We also went to the Fox and Hound, which is right on the doorstep of the hotel, for a drink.

In weather like this there's not a lot you can do. We've been playing a lot of hearts, which is a card game, and a lot of poker online. We're all staying on the same floor of the hotel so we just migrate into the one room. We bring in our computers and just play poker on line... and watch each other lose!

This morning we went to the Blue Plate Cafe, which is an unbelievable local breakfast place. We all went: Scott, Thomas, James and Todd Martin, my other coach, who came in today. I had scrambled eggs and bacon and some pancakes. James usually has the French toast. Scott gets the oatmeal. We'll go every morning that we're here.

I was drawn to play Andy in the first round, which obviously is tough. But it will show me where I am at. It's just nice to be back. I've only played the two matches this year in Delray Beach and San Jose. I was a little rusty but I am pleased to be competing again. Last year was a long year that hopefully I can put in the back of my mind and forget about.

We hit at 1 o'clock and it's great to have Todd here this week. Whenever he's with us we try to get as much out of him as we can. I'll also hit later at about 8.30 tonight. I'm going to be playing late against Andy so it's good to practice late.

A number of the guys did a pro-am that started at six. The fans have a lot of fun and we take it seriously because we know they are taking it seriously. My guy came up to me and said 'We need to win as many games as we can in 10 minutes.' That puts a bit of pressure on. But we took care of business. We got up 7-0.

Tomorrow I have a first-round doubles with James. I'll post again after that.

Mardy


Monday, February 20, 2006
I missed out on breakfast at the Blue Plate Café today. I actually slept till 11.30. Everybody else went but they didn’t wake me.

I’m usually an early riser so I got a shock when I woke up to see it was so late. I was pretty disappointed to have missed breakfast but we had a court at 12.30 so that didn’t leave much time. I grabbed a Balance bar and then had something to eat quickly after practice and then went right out to play.

James and I beat Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips in a match tie-break. I haven’t played doubles in a long while. That was my first win since Indianapolis last year. Even in doubles it’s nice to get a win.

If James and I strategize before a match it’s usually right as we’re walking out to the court. We never talk strategy during the changeovers; we always talk about something else.

The weather has ‘warmed up’ to around 35 today, but it’s still pretty chilly and it’s supposed to get cold again tonight. It’s way too cold for my liking!

We were going to go bowling tonight but my bicep is a little sore. I’ll need my arm in good shape tomorrow against Andy, so I may have to pass on that.

I saw Andy for the first time today. We said ‘hi’ and then we said, “Okay, don’t talk to me anymore.”

Fishy


Tuesday, February 21, 2006
I had another battle with Andy tonight and he came away with a win in a third-set tie-break. It was very encouraging to see my wrist hold up. I tape the wrist as a precaution and I had it re-taped during the match because it got a little tight, but that wasn't a big deal. If the wrist can hold up against Andy's serve you've got to think it will hold up against anyone.

Before the match Andy and I kept to our own areas in the locker room. Andy has his own little thing happening back there with a nicer shower. But I stole a shower while he was warming up. The first he'll know about that is when he reads this blog. I was also going to steal his racquets but decided not to.

A lot of times after playing a night match we'll find ourselves scrambling to get something to eat before the restaurants close for the night. That's the case again tonight so Todd cut away a few minutes ago to grab a table at Houston's to beat the 10 o'clock deadline and Scott and I are on our way up there to join him.

It's great to have both my coaches here this week - Todd Martin and Scott Humphries - and they're both quite different in style.

Todd is a little more hands on; he wants to talk about everything. He likes to write everything down in this little book during a match and analyze... and sometimes overanalyze things! Todd's got a lot of knowledge and we play very similar games, so I knew we would be a good fit. I've never seen the book, so I don't know what he's jotting down during a match. He likes to talk a lot during practice and I get a little agitated with him at times. He'll want to work on one thing and I'll do it wrong and he'll want to talk about it. I'll be like 'Just let me get back there and let's do it again.' So we get into little arguments. When Todd's not here Scott takes over the role and we'll talk about things I need to accomplish in a match.

I have a day off tomorrow but have an autograph session at 5.30. James and I will play our second-round doubles match Thursday or Friday.

Fishy


Wednesday, February 22, 2006
We got a table okay at Houston's last night and we basically had the restaurant to ourselves, which was kind of nice. A bunch of the guys met up afterwards at a place across the street to play some pool. I slept in this morning and then tried to take advantage of my time with Todd. Normally after a match like I had with Andy I would take the day off, particularly when I'm playing doubles. But I'm taking every opportunity I've got with Todd so we went out and hit for a couple of hours. I did an autograph session later in the day and tonight we're going to the Memphis Tigers game.

There's a golf tournament going on right now, the Accenture Match Play. Unlike a normal golf event they play in brackets, sort of like the NCAA. Scott, Todd, James, Thomas and I all filled out a bracket Tuesday. The tournament started today, so we were looking at the scores throughout the day. I think a lot of us had Jim Furyk going to the semis or finals and he lost in the first round - all of us except for James. But James knows nothing about golf so we're not afraid of him. My friends and I are looking forward to the start of the ATP Fantasy Tennis season - we have a lot of fun with that, too. But obviously I'm not eligible to win any prizes!

It's tough when a whole group of us lose - James, Robby and I all went out on Tuesday. When that happens we tend to congregate and hang out that night together and then the following day focus on moving forward. And I'm pleased to still be in the doubles draw with James. I haven't played very many matches and James lost in the first round in San Jose and here, so he also wants to get in as many matches as he can. I love playing doubles.

One thing I'm missing at the moment is watching '24' with Kiefer Sutherland on Monday nights. I could have watched Monday night here in Memphis but it's one of those shows that you can't miss a week and then pick it up. So I have the Ti-Vo set at home. I've missed three in a row beginning with the Monday of the Davis Cup week, so I definitely need to catch up when I eventually get home. Mike Bryan is into American Idol but that's not for me.

Fishy


Thursday, February 23, 2006
We went to the Memphis Tigers game last night, which was good fun. We laid pretty low at the game.
I slept in again and practiced with Scott at 12. James and I then practiced some more and then he and I played Thomas and Scott in a set. I'd like to state for the record that we took them down in a tie-break, but they were very competitive. Scott was playing out of his mind. He likes to show that he's still got it going on.

Later on we walked around the Wolf Chase Mall. I got a pair of jeans, which is pretty typically. I have so many jeans it's ridiculous. I probably have around 75 pairs. James and Thomas both got a shirt. Scott got nothing. He usually keeps his wallet in his pocket when we go to the mall.

No joy for me in the Accenture Match Play today. They guy I picked to win - Adam Scott - lost, so I'm pretty much gone. James and I have our doubles tomorrow against Gimelstob and Huss, so we'll take it pretty easy tonight. Maybe catch a movie.

Fishy


Friday, February 24, 2006
James and I were really pumped to save a couple of match points against Gimelstob and Huss today and win the Match Tie-break. We now play our good buddies the Bryan brothers in the semis and that will be a lot of fun. It's a night match Saturday. We have a lot of respect for how Bob and Mike play and how focused they are on the court. Bob and I have had some great battles in singles and doubles. But I'm very close to both of them and we spend a lot of time together, particularly during Davis Cup weeks.

After losing first round in the singles it's been great to stay alive in the doubles. The new format is interesting. I still have some reservations about no-ad at deuce - that's so cut-throat - but I definitely like the Match Tie-break. It shortens matches and increases excitement for fans. James has taken all the 3-all points so far - and won most of them. When I've been returning they have been playing I-formation. They haven't done it against him. He's also been playing a while and I'm still getting back into it.

We don't talk as much as other teams. We just tell each other where we'll serve and if we'll stay or go. But 'conferencing' between points is an interesting issue. Some fans may think it's a little melodramatic to cover your mouth with your hands or the ball when talking to your partner, but there are times when you can make out enough of what an opponent is saying to get an important clue. You're not deliberately looking at an opponent to try to read their lips but in the past I have glanced and caught a player starting to say 'wide' - your eyes catch them saying the 'w'. You see a lot of football coaches with the playbook over their mouths when they talk.

Breakfast today was the normal eggs, pancakes and sausage at the Blue Plate Cafe. We had a quick hit on site and then watched a little of the Olympic hockey between Sweden and the Czech Republic in the locker room before we went out to play. There is a large screen TV and a couple of very comfortable couches. Sweden won that and Soderling was pretty fired up. He didn't even know that it was on. I was the one who turned on the TV and Sweden was leading 5-3 and then they scored right at the end of the second period. He was saying something in Swedish - I had no clue - but he seemed pretty fired up about it all.

Tonight we'll go the Memphis Grizzlies game. It's the first time I'll have seen them play in their new stadium.

Fishy


Saturday, February 25, 2006
Before we went to the Grizzlies game last night we went to play putt-putt. James and I took on Thomas and Scott over 54 holes – three 18-hole rounds. We won the first 18, they won the second 18 and then on the last 18 I made a hole-in-one on the final hole to win it for us by one shot. James gave me a big high five; Thomas threw the ball at me and Scott through the club at me. We had dinner riding on it, so we ate up well.
James and I were very disappointed tonight not to be able to play the men’s doubles semifinal against the Bryan brothers. We went to the basketball game with them last night and I had no idea Bob was hurt. Today we were in the locker room shortly before six o’clock and their coach David Macpherson walked by and said Bob’s shoulder was hurt and that they wouldn’t be able to play. I walked back to the small training room and chatted with Bob and Mike, telling them that I hoped it wasn’t too serious.

Bob said his shoulder was bothering him and he couldn’t really lift it. Unfortunately the injury has come at a bad time for him as he has a wild card into the main draw of singles in Vegas next week. Hopefully it will come right and he can still play.

We’d been looking forward to the match ever since the draw came out. Everywhere we went in Memphis the last couple of days people were saying how they were going to watch the match. It’s great to see that sort of buzz around doubles.

The match was set to follow the women’s singles final. To keep the fans happy James and I played an exhibition mixed doubles with Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur. We were happy to do that because the tournament was very good to give me a wild card into the singles and the doubles.

There’s a high-speed internet connection in the locker room so while we were waiting for the women’s singles final to finish we checked out the Vegas draw on ATPtennis.com. I had Thomas and James standing around me and we scanned the draw from top to bottom pretty quick.

I’ve drawn a qualifier in Vegas. While we all know that qualifiers are dangerous, it’s a much better draw than here in Memphis where I got Andy in the first round!

Still, for now, my mind is on tomorrow’s doubles final against Chris Haggard and Ivo Karlovic. Wish us luck!

Fishy


Sunday, February 26, 2006
James and I are obviously pretty disappointed to lose today's final against Haggard and Karlovic after winning the first set
6-0. I guess that's where the new doubles format is a factor. We dominated the first set and then we played a lackadaisical game at 5-5 in the second to get broken and all of a sudden we were in a Match Tie-break, where anything can happen.

Now comes the life of a tennis player - scrambling from one side of the country to the next to get ready to play the following week. We're all playing at The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas. But tonight's flight will be better than most.

James has a private jet deal so we'll jump on with him and fly straight to Vegas. We've got a few hours now to wait. The jet is still in flight so we can't leave any earlier than the time we had scheduled.

It's not every day that you get to travel by private jet but it's very nice when it happens and it's great of James to let us come on. Well, we're actually forcing our way on. You drive right onto the tarmac and just load your bags straight on. You can save so much time and hassle that way. When I travel I always try to squeeze my gear into two bags to avoid having to pay an extra fee. But I won't have to worry about excess luggage this time!

It'll be a four-hour flight so we'll eat some food and play some cards and probably take a little nap.

We're all pretty excited about going to Vegas. For me it's good enough just to be back on tour playing matches after the wrist injury kept me on the sidelines for so long. My sister works for The Tennis Channel and I don't get to see her much, so it will be nice to spend some time with her.

A lot of people have said they read the blog this week, which is nice. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you're in Memphis don't forget to check out the breakfast menu at the Blue Plate Cafe.

Fishy

[davis]

Player Name: Jose Acasuso
Blogging From: Acapulco, Mexico
Last Entry: Wednesday, March 1, 2006



Sunday, February 26, 2006
The Latin American swing is my favorite swing of the year because apart from being great tournaments in nice places, I feel comfortable as I am close to home. My favorite tournament of the swing is probably Buenos Aires because it’s in my country and it’s my house. If I had to pick a second favorite it would be Acapulco or Costa do Sauipe. I would say Acapulco wins though because the weather is not as hot as in Brazil. It’s definitely very hot here but the heat in Sauipe is unbearable and makes it really difficult to stay outside.

I arrived here Thursday night with my coach, his wife and daughter and physical trainer. I left Buenos Aires Thursday morning and traveled all day. It’s a very long trip to arrive here; there’s some jet lag also, but all went well. I took it easy on Friday, practiced a little bit and enjoyed being in this place a little. Here in Acapulco, if I’m not playing I try to enjoy the good weather and go to the beach or hang out at the hotel pool. The beach is great, it’s right across from the hotel and you have many things to do like surfing, jet-skiing or horse riding.

I don’t know when I am playing yet. I have entered in singles and doubles but I hope I am going to do well here. I’ve had great results in this swing so far; I hope they will continue this last week. Let’s see.

Hasta mañana!!!
Chucho


Monday, February 27, 2006
I woke up at 9 this morning, had breakfast and practiced for 1 hour, from 11 to noon with Nicolas Lapentti. Since I’m playing tomorrow, one practice session is enough for me today; this why I am at the beach again, just relaxing and watching the other guys play football.

I’ve tried Mexican food before and I actually had some last night but I don’t like it that much because it’s too spicy for me. For some reason I don't digest it too well. I usually try to eat meat or pasta... non-spicy food.

Tomorrow I play my first singles match and I don’t know yet if I will be scheduled in doubles. I face a Mexican here in Mexico, Santiago Gonzalez. I’m not sure what to expect. I know he will have the public going for him and it will make things a bit more difficult for me but I am confident, I’ve been playing well, and I hope I will be playing like in the past weeks.

My coach doesn’t often travel with all his family, but since this is such a great week in the schedule to enjoy the beach and the good weather they all came. I spend a lot of time with them and I like being with his daughter, who is quite a nice character.

Since we are so many Argentines here we usually try to do stuff together. We usually plan to go to dinner in a group, or go to the beach, or play a soccer match. This week, the majority of the players came with their wives, girlfriends and they know each other pretty well, so it’s very easy to all hang out together.

The tournament party is tonight and I plan on going and have dinner there. Depending on when I am scheduled to play tomorrow, I’ll stay to enjoy it or will go to bed early.

See you tomorrow!
Chucho


Tuesday, February 28, 2006
I went to the players' party last night. It was a 'white party' on the beach, tables were nicely set up around a bonfire, the food was great and there was a band playing. There’s usually fireworks as well but I was quite disappointed that there wasn’t any last night.

I was there with my friend and doubles partner Sebastian [who was dressed all in white, I only could find a white shirt] and had dinner with the rest of the South Americans, Calleri, Horna, Lapentti, Chela... I didn’t stay long since I was playing today and had to wake up at decent hour.

I warmed up with my coach this morning. I then took a one-hour nap after lunch and came to the courts to wait for my match.

Luckily for me, the public behaved really well and I could even hear a few Mexicans cheering for me and not for their compatriot. My first round against the local wild card Santiago Gonzalez went pretty okay, I played well. First rounds at a tournament are always difficult because you need to get used to the conditions. I was very solid and comfortable the entire match, which helps a lot for the confidence.

After the match I showered, stretched, did press and went back to the hotel to have dinner. Another early night for me since I am scheduled in singles and doubles tomorrow.

Buenas Noches!
Chucho


Wednesday,March 1, 2006
Very unfortunately I had to retire from both singles and doubles today due to my foot. Last Sunday, I was barefoot and I inadvertently twisted my big toe on the stairs. For some reason it was fine yesterday, but this morning, when I put on my shoe I could feel it wasn’t well at all. I still went on court to face Nicolas Almagro but after a set I decided to retire because it was hurting a lot. I wasn’t sure what was going on with it and I didn’t want things to get worse.

I immediately was sent to a clinic here in Acapulco to get some X-rays done and make sure that nothing was broken. Luckily it’s not bad and all I need is to rest it for a few days.

I am very disappointed I had to retire because I had big expectations for this tournament. I was really playing well and I thought I could do something good this week. I also feel bad for my doubles partner Sebastian, who I am letting down in this tournament. It’s such bad luck.

Since I am playing in Indian Wells next week, I am going to stay here in Acapulco until Monday I think. I will be taking care of my foot with my trainer who is arriving tomorrow from Argentina.

Chucho

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Player Name: Xavier Malisse
Blogging From: Pacific Life Open, CA, U.S.A.
Last Entry:Tuesday, March 14, 2006



Tuesday, March 14, 2006

This week there's been some discussion in the locker room about the NCAA basketball brackets. You hear the American guys talking about it but it's all a bit of a mystery to the Europeans. My interest is somewhere in the middle because I'm a native Belgian who lives in Florida.

I've been watching the lead-up games like the Pac-10. I'm more into the NBA but I'll take an interest in college hoops when March Madness comes around. Xavier is in there so I have to stick with them. I filled out a bracket the last couple of years here in Indian Wells but I never followed up to check my progress. So while I'll be watching the games I won't be filling out a bracket this year.

I knew I was sixth on tonight against Grosjean, so that gave us plenty of time during the day to do a little shopping - we bought some comedy CDs: Blue Collar TV (that's a show on Comedy Central), Ron White and Dave Chapelle. I like stand-up comedy. I also enjoy Seinfeld, Friends and King of Queens.

I talked to a friend in Belgium via MSN Messenger today. We just had a few laughs. I also talked on the phone to a friend in Atlanta who always comes to a few tournaments. We were just trying to arrange the dates he would come and get the hotel reservations set. My brother is also coming over from Belgium so we talked about his flights.

X




Monday, March 13, 2006

I'm someone who likes to sleep in in the morning, so these 10 o'clock matches are tough for me. I got up around 7.15 and at 7.45 I met with Kristof Vliegen - who also had a 10 o'clock match - and our coaches for breakfast. Kristof and I like to stay relaxed so we didn't talk too much about tennis. In fact we were all still trying to wake up, so there was less conversation than normal. I had some Rice Krispies, a croissant and two pastries, a strawberry yogurt and grapefruit juice. I didn't eat again before the match. I have a hard time eating in the morning because I don't normally wake up before 9.30 or 10.

We were done by about 8.15 and then drove from The Esmeralda to the site. It's just a five minute ride. At 8.40 we broke out the soccer ball and used that to warm up with on the grass field at the site. Kristof is really bad at it but at least it was a good warm up. We kicked it around for 15-20 minutes to really get the feet moving. I was expecting there would be some dew on the ground and it may be dangerous, but the conditions were great.

The setting with the snow-capped mountains in the background is so spectacular. There's a lot of snow on the peaks at the moment. It's a beautiful setting. I live in Florida so I don't get to see one mountain.

I dropped in six or seven racquets to be restrung the night before the match. Normally I would string them on the day of the match but with temperature having been cooler than normal here you don't lose much tension overnight. Now that it's heating up I'll probably go back to stringing the same day. Here I'm stringing at 31 kilos because the balls fly a little more.

I played very well to beat Stepanek today. I saw his serve really well and went up 5-0 in 10-15 minutes. I also won the second set 6-1 but that was a closer set.

Playing so early leaves a lot of time to do something else with the day. I'll get a little stretch in to keep the legs feeling good and Kristof and I will play nine or 12 holes of golf. Kristof has just started. He's been hitting on the driving range but when we played the other day that was his first time on a course. I've got to say it wasn't too pretty. Everyone on the course was in danger. I've been playing six or seven years and have a handicap of around eight to 10, so I've been trying to give him a few pointers. He has a good swing; he's just lacks a bit of direction at this stage.

I have a day off tomorrow and will add to the blog, so please check back.

X

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Player Name: Marcos Baghdatis
Blogging From: NASDAQ-100 Open
Last Entry: Sunday, March 26, 2006



Sunday, March 26, 2006

Today was the first time I had played under the new system that allows players to challenge line calls. The system is being used on just center court in Miami and today I played Nikolay Davydenko. I made two challenges in the match and was right on one. In both instances I challenged a backhand down the line. I was wrong on the first one when the call was out and I thought it was good. But I was right on the second one that was called out but the replay showed that it was actually in. I haven't spoken to many players about their thoughts on the new system but I don't mind it.

I woke this morning at 8 and had breakfast downstairs in the hotel. I had an omlette. I practiced for 25 minutes at 10.30 with my coach. I had three racquets restrung before the match - 24 on the mains and 26 on the crosses. I don't really know why I get the cross strings strungly tighter - my coach told me to do it.

I lost to Davydenko 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. I played very well in the first set and I had a break in the second set. But he broke me back and I started playing very defensively. In the third set I was twice up a break but he got them both back. Then in the last game I double faulted three times, which was very disappointing.

I'm going to try to relax for the next few days and then return to Cyprus next Sunday to get ready for the Davis Cup.

Thanks for reading my blog this week.

Marcos






Friday, March 24, 2006

I've been enjoying my time here in Miami and got the chance to be part of two fun events before the tournament started. First, I swam with dolphins at the Miami Seaquariam. I was a bit shocked at how much power they have - you notice that when they pull you along - and how much they understand. On Tuesday night I went to the Stars for Stars awards party at the Four Seasons hotel, which was a lot of fun. Roger won three awards and deserves them all. He's a great person and player and he gives a lot to the sport.

I was third match on today so I slept till about 8.45. I just had a very light breakfast - two slices of bread in my room. We bought the bread and some Philadelphia cream cheese from a supermarket. I had a sandwich on site around 11. I hit at 12 with Florent Serra for 30 minutes - just long enough to feel the ball.

Then I went into the locker room to prepare. I did some stretching and then strapped my ankles. I started doing that in Australia when I had problems with my feet. Just talked a little bit to the trainer and physio while I waited for my match. I didn't have a great feeling going out to play because of the conditions. The wind made it tough so I just wanted to win as quickly as possible and get back into the locker room I fought hard for every point and was pleased to get a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alex Bogomolov. There were no fans from Cyprus in the crowd today so that atmosphere was very different to what I experienced in Australia.

Tonight we'll probably eat at the hotel and then my coach, girlfriend and a cameraman traveling with me will probably play some monopoly. We bought a small version of the game in France and brought it with us. I'm pleased that my girlfriend can be with me this week. After I won against Berdych in Indian Wells I called her and told her I missed her and that I wanted her to come to the States. It's tough being so far apart. As a model she has a flexible schedule so she was able to get away at short notice.

It's a day off tomorrow. My next match will be against Nikolay Davydenko, so that will be a tough one for sure.

Marcos

[davis]

Player Name: David Ferrer
Blogging From: Valencia
Last Entry: Friday, April 14, 2006



Sunday, April 9, 2006
At the draw with Juan Carlos Ferrero After Miami I went straight to my home in Xavia, 120 kilometers south of Valencia and rested for a couple of days. I just rested and spent some time out with some friends and family in my town. It was nice since it was my birthday this week also. We ate a lot of paella!

Last night, I watched Valencia (football) vs. Celta with some friends. Valencia won 1-0, which is great bacause they are second in the league. And tonight I'll be watching Barcelona vs. Santander.

It is great to be back in Valencia; I really enjoy this tournament, I feel more relaxed and motivated with so many people I know around supporting me.

Today, my coach Javi Piles had me practicing with Alberto Martin at 11am and then again at 2 pm with Igor Andreev, who is also a very close friend of mine, since we practice together a lot.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog this week.
David


Monday, April 10, 2006
My necklaces have special significance to me This tournament is very special to me, because I can stay at my own place and don’t have to live at the hotel. Today I got up at 9 o’clock in the morning and then I went practicing at the club and later had lunch at home. I enjoy having my family and friends around in Valencia; their support is great. In other cities I spend most of the time with my coach at the hotel and on-site. I have a lot of nice memories from this club since I used to play team competition here.

When I’m playing far away from home the three necklaces I always wear remind me of my family. They are gifts from my parents and from my girlfriend. I also wear them during my matches. I see them as a lucky charm and they don’t bother me at all while playing. They are not expensive nor made of gold, but they mean a lot to me. I’ve had them for about five years now and I never take them off!

I recently launched my own web site where you can follow me during the season, check out the pictures in the gallery, have a look at my tournament schedule or ask me questions. The address is www. davidferrer.com. My team thought it was a good idea to create my own web site, so the fans can get even more information while I’m traveling on the tour.

I also like to surf on the internet sometimes, read newspapers and write emails while I’m abroad for tournaments. And of course also to check out my blog on www.ATPtennis.com. I hope you enjoy reading it and check back for more news on Tuesday when I’ll play Thierry Ascione in the first round here in Valencia!

David


Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Receiving treatment during my match with Ascione Last night I felt some pain and after dinner I kept my shoulder warm, thinking about today’s match, hoping that everything would be fine, because people were expecting a lot with me playing at home and being eager to do well.

The problem started a few days ago. I did a bad movement last Sunday and had problems with my shoulder, trying to be fit for today. I went to see the trainer, but when I warmed up with Potito Starace this morning, I noticed after 20 minutes that it hurt quite a lot while serving and this made it very difficult for me. Before the match I went to see the rainier again and he put some hot packs in order to decrease the pain. They also gave me something for the inflammation, but during the match it hurt more and more.

At the beginning of the match it was difficult for me but I was winning my service games and I saw that Ascione was a bit nervous because he got aware of my injury and he didn’t play well. I played with my injury although I wasn’t playing well at all. But when he took the lead in the tie-break, I knew that I couldn’t go on anymore, even if I won it, I don’t think I could have played until the end of the match. It’s really a pity that it had to happen here because it almost never happens to me. It’s the first time that I've had to retire in eight years. I remember having an ankle sprain during a challenger against Volandri eight years ago.

I’m a bit sad because a lot of people came to see me: my family as well as my friends from Valencia and Javea and I was playing at home. In total it was more than 50 people and most of them drove more than an hour from Javea every day to come to see me. They all call me Ferru (¨iron¨ in Valencian dialect). I’ve always had that nickname since a coach called me like that and now my parents are the only ones to call me David.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to play doubles. I talked to my partner and friend Guillermo García López and he understands that very well since health is the most important thing.

Now I have to think about recovering as soon as possible in order to be in form again. I think it will take more or less three days, I’ll be recovering and think that the chances are good for me to be present in the Masters Series event in Monte Carlo.

After this incident I’ll stay at home with family. I suppose I’ll stay in Valencia and might also go to my place in Javea for a few days. I’ll be relaxing and seeing the trainer every day.

Gracias por leer mi blog!
David


Thursday, April 13, 2006
Saying 'hi' to tournament staffers Paloma (left) & Claudia After I got injured on Tuesday, I went to the Salud hospital Wednesday with Nacho Muñoz (tournament doctor). They did an MRI, they touched my shoulder, I stretched and did a bit of rehabilitation. The results of the MRI were good. I’m relieved because nothing is broken; it’s only a sore muscle and I hope to be fit in two days.

I’m still seeing the trainer and doing the exercises they told me to do, stretching and strengthening at the same time, in order to make it stronger and relax my muscle. I want to be fit again as soon as possible.

On Friday I’ll continue the physiotherapy; I’ll go running a little bit on Saturday and I’ll also hit a few balls.

Now that I’m injured my routine is very similar to my routine during competition. I have to eat very well because it’s important; good eating helps you recover quickly. My diet doesn’t change a lot when I’m not playing a tournament, only on weekends I might eat something different. For example yesterday I ate a banana and a yogurt for breakfast, I cooked some pasta and had a lot of water. I didn’t eat a lot for dinner, only a salad and a yogurt. When I’m not playing tournaments I usually don’t eat a lot for dinner, since I don’t burn a lot. Of course when I play I eat more because I need more energy. I eat pretty much anything and drink water and minerals.

At night I like to watch some football or some movie on canal+. I like to stay calm. On Wednesday I watched the final of the Copa del Rey. Español won, but I wanted Zaragoza to win. They’d been scoring good results lately against Madrid, Barcelona and other big teams. I like that team, but it’s a big party for Spanish soccer anyway.

Today I’ll be at the club in Valencia before leaving to Javia. I’ll stay with some kids of the Club in Cullera who’ve always supported me.

I hope that you stay tuned to my blog during my last day in Valencia.

Ferru


Friday, April 14, 2006
Saying 'hi' to tournament staffers Paloma (left) & Claudia On Thursday I took part in a meet and greet session with children from the tennis club Cullera, which is located about 40 kilometers away in the south of Valencia, just in between Valencia and my home in Javea. Juan Oliver (Cullera's club director) was very nice with me; I know him very well and he’s a unique friend. You can always count on him. Juan knows very well my coach Javi and he invited me to some exhibitions and organized for the kids to come to Valencia.

The children who came today have seen me play before during exhibitions that I played during the last two years in Cullera. They were very fun, asked a lot of questions and then I signed autographs and took pictures with all of them. Some of them I know already since they were part of a very nice reception for me last November and I always have a lot of fun there.

In the first exhibition I played against Fernando Verdasco. I was number 50 in the world and he’d just won the Spanish championship. We played a very nice match and I won. Last year I played against Juan Carlos Ferrero. It was a great match because it was in the middle of summer, there were a lot of people and they really enjoyed it. The money from the ticket sales – more than five million pesetas (30,000 Euros) from what they've told me – was donated to the junior tennis development in the region of Valencia.

These days I have more obligations than usual, signing autographs, taking pictures and working with sponsors. It's not really because I'm a Top 10 player, but because I’m at home and I'm happy to do it. Obviously when not playing in Spain I have to do very little things compared to my activities during this week. But being in my country and with my people it goes without saying. Being a Top 10 player has not really changed my routine a lot. Maybe in the court it helps to know that and I see it as a personal goal and great motivation for me to be there, but in the locker room with the other players, everything is the same really.

Something has surprised me a lot: I’ve received a lot of emails on my web site www.davidferrer.com during the last week. I received more than 30 emails a day and I answered all of them. Many of my fans who write to me tell me that they don’t believe that I’m answering them myself, but of course I’m doing it.

Adios,
Ferru

[davis]

Player Name: Jurgen Melzer
Blogging From: Casablanca
Last Entry: Saturday, April 29, 2006




Monday, April 24, 2006
Greetings from Casablanca. I played a Futures event here in 1999 during my last visit and the city hasn't changed very much. Morocco has a completely different feel to the events in Europe, so it's an interesting tournament to play.

Although the country is poor the tournament staff does a great job and the facilities on site are very good. The courts are very nice and there were very few bad bounces out there today. And I like the Penn balls they play with here rather than the heavier balls being used at this week's other tournament in Barcelona.

The city looks a little dangerous to me but we walked to the supermarket on the day we arrived (Saturday) and I may go for a walk tomorrow before my doubles match. Christophe Rochus' coach bought some cheap DVDs yesterday for about 1.5 Euros. So I'll ask him if they work and I may go looking for some myself. At least I speak the local language - French - so I'll be able to do my own negotiating. Although if they're only asking 1.5 Euros I won't argue with them too much.

Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani has given me some advice on the best restaurants to go to. (He is Swedish but his family is from Morocco). I had a good meal at an Italian restaurant last night and I may do Italian again tonight.

After turning around my form last week by making the Houston final it was great to get another win today. It's a little late to be starting the season in April but hopefully I can keep the form going.

Take care, JoJo


Tuesday, April 24, 2006
Tuesday breakfast... sorry about the wobbly photo! You need only one word to describe the traffic here in Casablanca: chaotic. The most important part of the vehicle is definitely the horn. If your horn isn't working then you better not drive. If you tried to drive the way we drive in Europe you would crash every five metres. But there's no way I would rent a car and try to drive anywhere myself.

I don't know if people go to driving school here but there don't seem to be any rules. They cut into lanes, run red lights and blow their horns all the time. You have to pay attention every second and there are so many cars it's a joke. Yesterday we saw an accident driving back to the hotel and we all said 'What a surprise!' The only consolation is that traffic moves so slow here that you're not in great danger of being injured in an accident. And people don't seem to care if they get a few dents and scratches on their cars.

On Sunday it took only five or 10 minutes to get to the site but most days it takes about half an hour. It's like a non-stop traffic jam.

I played and won my doubles today with my countryman Julian Knowle. He seems very quiet bit he's actually one of the funniest guys I've ever met. He's always in a good mood and there is usually a little bit of sarcasm in his jokes.

Since we started playing together a bit over a year ago we've become close friends. And now that he's stopped freaking out on the court we've been playing some good doubles. In the past if he threw in a couple of doubles to drop serve or something like that you could bet that he'd smash a ball out of the court. But these days he has mellowed.

I had breakfast with Julian this morning at the hotel (sorry about the blurry photo!). It was a very busy time around 9-9.30 and a lot of the players had to wait in line for about 15 minutes before we could get a table. I just had some bread and butter and jam. I don't drink coffee.

I've heard that the DVDs at the local bazaar play okay so I'm off to go and buy some.

Take care, JoJo.


Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Today was a very long day for me, playing singles second match on and then finishing with doubles, which was the last match of the day.

Before going out for the doubles against the local Moroccan team of El Aarej and Tahiri, Julian and I were watching the Champions League (soccer) semifinal between Barcelona and AC Milan. I didn't care who won but my partner is the biggest AC Milan fan. We caught the first half of the game and then we won our match in 38 minutes. I'm sure Julian's mind was on tennis during our match but, towards the end, as we were winning so quickly, I'm sure he started to think he may be able to see the end of the match.

We shook hands, ran off the court and headed straight for the players' lounge. We got back at 83 minutes and saw the last 10 minutes of the match. The match ended in a 0-0 draw but Barcelona advanced to the final. I think right now Julian is more disappointed about Milan losing than he is pleased that we won our doubles! But tomorrow he'll be fine.

I was upset with myself today after losing my singles 7-6, 6-2 to Jiri Vanek. I had enough opportunities to win the first set and then in the second I lost it mentally. It was pretty noisy being kids' day and everything was disturbing me. I'm upset because the way I handled the situation was unprofessional. I need to be able to block out distractions like that. At least it's good that kids are there watching the tennis and taking an interest in our sport.

After the match I got a bite to eat and talked to my coach, Lukas Langer. Then we played a little Sudoku, which Lukas introduced me to at Indian Wells. There are lots of levels and I'm now at a medium level. It's great for killing time and it really makes you use your brain.

With two matches today that didn't leave any time to hunt down those DVDs. But I have a day off tomorrow so the plan is to go shopping at the bazaar. I'll probably only hit for half an hour.

Take care, JoJo.


Thursday, April 27, 2006
It was a day off today. I had breakfast about 9.30 am and spent a lot of the morning chatting with my girlfriend on MSN Messenger. Then I spoke with some friends on Skype. Traveling with a computer can be a pain but it is a great and inexpensive way to keep in touch with friends wherever I am in the world. Skype is great for placing voice calls over the internet provided you have a high-speed connection. But if the connection is slow it can get on my nerves if you can't understand what the other person is saying. So in those situations I will just text.

I think more and more players are using Skype. I know Julian uses it a lot.

Today Julian and I planned just to hit for 30-40 minutes but when we got out there we played some games to 11 and then some volley games and we were having so much fun that it turned into an hour and 45 minutes. There wasn't much else to do so that also filled in some time. We had lunch around 2.30 and then sat down to watch the doubles match between Huss/Phillips and Behrend/Petzschner.

Tonight I'm going to hunt down those DVDs - finally!

Take care, JoJo.


Friday, April 28, 2006
I finally made it to the bazaar yesterday with my coach Lukas. I bought my DVDs but I didn't ask what language they were in and I've just found out that only one - King Kong - is in English. The others I bought including Basic Instinct 2, Pink Panther and Syriana are in French. I speak some French but not so good that I can understand too much of the movies. So I may try to go back to the bazaar and buy some DVDs in English. Julian didn't go yesterday so that's another reason for me to go a second time.

I also bought two handbags for my girlfriend. In the beginning it's hard to negotiate over price but by the end it's a lot of fun. Lukas and I had a lot of laughs. We still don't know if we got good deals or not. You think it's a good deal and then the next day someone tells you they paid even less. But the prices seemed good at the time.

This morning I spent a lot of time on the internet again. Later in the day Julian and I were very happy to make it through to the doubles final for our second tournament in a row. Julian and I talk a lot during the matches, not always about tennis, especially if we have a bit of a lead. Playing doubles should be fun if you play with a guy you are good friends with. That's part of the reason why we've had such a good year.

Thankfully my singles form has also taken a turn for the better. I started the year with just one win from my first nine matches. But then I reached the Houston final and this week I made the second round. Things started to go badly for me after Wimbledon last year. I had a two-set lead against Coria in the third round and I blew it. I was so annoyed to miss that opportunity. And for the rest of the year I didn't win two matches in a row.

This year I knew I had a lot of points to defend in the first half of the year and I probably put too much pressure on myself. I came up against a lot of players like Ginepri, Verdasco, Robredo, Ancic and if you're not at your best they are matches you will lose. Then I started to lack confidence. I was playing great in practice but I couldn't bring it on match day.

In Miami I twisted my ankle after winning the first set against Kevin Kim. I couldn't play tennis for 10 days after that. Then I went into Houston - where I had semifinal points to defend - not feeling any pressure because I didn't have any expectations coming back from the injury. Obviously my coach and I found something that worked and now I have to keep it going. You don't want to fall out of the Top 100 having been there for four or five years.

Wish me luck in Saturday's doubles final.

Take care, JoJo.


Saturday, April 29, 2006
It was great to win the doubles title today with Julian, especially because we got revenge for our loss to Kohlmann and Waske in the Houston final a couple of weeks ago. In that match we led a set and 4-1 in the second, but let it slip away. You never want to lose two finals in a row to the same team. And Julian used to play with Kohlmann and me with Waske, so there was definitely pride on the line today. And it's always great to win a final, particularly with a good friend.

The final started at 11.30 this morning and we fly out in the early hours tomorrow morning at 1.15 am, so it's going to be a long day and night. To fill in the time we'll probably make it an extra long dinner and then sit at the bar and just chat. We'll have a proper celebration tomorrow night at the players' party in Munich.

I'm flying to Frankfurt and then Vienna, where my coach will pick me up at the airport. I'll spend a few hours at home and pick up some warm clothes before we make the four hour drive to Munich for next week's tournament. I certainly won't be doing the driving after flying through the night!

I'll also get to spend an hour or two with my girlfriend - we'll probably go out to lunch - and I'll be able to give her the two handbags I picked up for her at the bazaar. Julia is a medical technician assistant; she works with blood anaylsis.

I had some positive feedback about the blog this week and emails from people who said they enjoyed reading it. I certainly had a lot of fun doing it. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Take care, JoJo.

[davis]

PART 1

Player Name: Dmitry Tursunov
Blogging From: Estoril
Last Entry: Saturday, May 6, 2006



Friday, May 5, 2006
Another chance to take out my blogging competition!
So ATP has asked me to tone down on exclamation points! Oh really?!?! You don’t like them?! Maybe that’s how I feel! Maybe I feel like putting exclamation points!!! Maybe I just like them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It smells like Bryanne’s hand has been in it. She’s been turning ATP against my exclamation points!!! The only way to battle it is to put more exclamation points!!!!

Today is a day off, meaning there is no matches for me to play. So I practiced a little bit and the rest of the day Bryanne and I spent taking shots for the videos, some interviews for ATP, etc…

I really have a feeling that the blog is getting popular because of the way drivers act when I get in the car. It seems that they really want to be noticed and try to stand out anyway they can. When we were leaving the hotel this morning another car was driving up. Our driver and the driver from that car both got out as the other car started rolling away. These guys go to extremes to become famous!!!

I guess he didn’t put the car in park and it was pretty funny to watch as the car started moving forward because thirty feet ahead there is a 1950s Rolls-Royce. Ok, ok! I get the point! Sheeesh… You don’t write about them for one day and they get all goofy on you!

At the site Bryanne and I took some photos for ATP and bothered people in the lounge. We also went to shoot the bow and once again I proved to be hopeless. Or so I thought until Bryanne took the bow. I don’t know if it’s physically possible but she shot the arrow into the ground when the target is only ten feet away. Wow!!! That deserves more than three exclamation points but I will resist the urge. Than she had to go type her blog and I was left all by myself but that was until Walt or Waltczek Lantzcerovski saw me and decided to explain to me how your body extracts sugars from your liver rather than your muscles.

Waltczek is a massage therapist and an occasional fitness trainer. This week he works with Nikolay Davydenko. I guess Nikolay hired him to retrain his body to extract glucose from his liver instead of his muscles. Waltczek is Polish. But he is a self proclaimed communist and had to change his name and residence so he can practice his beliefs without Big Brother breathing down his neck. Now he resides in Las Vegas where he opened a small school for marathon runners. After about half an hour of pointless conversation and fruitless attempts to find out why he changed his name I have to go back to the hotel so I get my racquets and go to transportation. Once I get to the transportation desk I get a pen and add couple of things to Bryanne’s “WANTED” poster. She looks so lovely with eyeglasses and mustache!!!

Blogging has been a big hit with the media

When I got back to the hotel I received some bad news. Marat rolled his ankle and pulled out of doubles!!!!!!! S@*t!!!!!! We had such a good chance to win the tournament!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!

How did it happen?! “I was walking downhill to get a haircut at the site and I rolled my ankle!” he says. How is that possible?! I get my injuries off court as well but at least I’m not in semis of doubles when I get injured. You’ve got to pick the right time to get an injury. At least tell me that the excavator ran you over or a kid shot you with a bow. But not rolling an ankle while walking! How can you expect people to respect you on court when you get injuries like that?! Oh well! Hopefully he will get better for Rome so we can win there.

We reserve the plane for Saturday noon so that means that my obligations with the blog are fulfilled. I have to go pack my bags now and get some sleep. It was fun here in Portugal but all roads lead to Rome!

P.S - I’d like to thank you for logging onto this site to read my blog. Thank you for coming out to tournaments, and supporting our sport. It means a lot to us, players, to know that we make a difference, that we are a role model for someone and that we can leave memories engraved with our names, even if it’s just for a little while. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

PPS - Please check out my web site.

PPPS - Oh, I couldn't leave you without one final thought on driving in Portugal!

Let me tell you about roundabouts. Those sections of the trip are the most “exciting.” And since there is plenty of them on our way to the courts you tend to be a bit petrified. It would almost seem that it’s something unnatural for Portuguese. I guess one day they all woke up and there were roundabouts scattered all over the streets so they have no idea what to do once they get to them. Maybe they are like those rings that showed up in the fields for no reason. Maybe those field rings are also roundabouts! One thing I figured out for myself is that it’s actually a game they play here. It’s called “Dodge the Granny”. So here are some rules that I’ve learned by riding shotgun for a few days.

When you get to the roundabout the people that are entering have to yield to through traffic and that’s where the fun begins. You never know if the car in front of you is going to go or not. Of course you don’t want to be sitting and waiting for the next opening so you try to squeeze in behind the car that’s in front. That’s all fine and dandy as long as the driver in front of you takes off. In Estoril it’s not that simple. They floor the accelerator and then the brakes right after accelerator. I guess the whole idea is to lead the person behind you to believe that you are going to go and then stop on the dime halfway through. It’s actually quite amusing to watch. They have bleachers surrounding the actual site, or the “ring” and people come to watch who is going to kiss the airbag on that particular day.

Of course there is always an old lady with a pickup truck. She is about as hyper entering the roundabout as a bear in hibernation. Once she is in, the game officially started. She sits behind the wheel so that you can only see the knuckles on the steering wheel. Her turn signal is on and she is making lap number seven because she forgot where she entered and where she needs to exit. The windshield wipers are on full speed and her pet cat is spread out with inertia on the side window like a Garfield toy. You see that the game has already begun at the other yield signs and there is some honking by which a driver behind identifies a good move by the car in the front. The point of this game is to sneak through to the other side of the roundabout without hitting other cars. It is really an art of modulating the accelerator and the brakes to trick the old lady and the driver ahead of you, and our driver is the best in the game.

Of course it helps that he has better equipment. The desirable C-230 with optional “Acme InstaStop” brakes, five-star crash rating head-restraints and seatbelts. As good as the granny in the pickup was today she didn’t stand a chance. We got through with plenty of margin and not once did I feel like we were in danger. Of course my eyes were closed, so I might be exaggerating…


Thursday, May 4, 2006
Taking out my blogging competition!
I would like to summarize my entire singles match into one sentence, “Clay is for girls!” I have important things on the agenda, like the “Blogging War” with Bryanne and “Cold War” with Katerina so I can’t be losing sleep over some loss. While Bryanne’s weaponry is her laptop and a squad of writers, Katerina is not so fortunate so I feel like I owe her an apology. Really, the only reason why wrote that is that I was extremely jealous that she picked Marat and not me. She should know that! Besides, it’s not like I said anything bad… I think people should be able to laugh at themselves. In any case, Katerina, I’m sorry! Let’s be friends!!! We can practice on adjacent courts anytime!

Now, let’s get to Bryanne. It’s not fair! She gets the whole day to do her blog and I do mine in the evening. I see her with the laptop everywhere! Lounge, press room, even on a tennis court… She should sign up for Blog Addict Anonymous.

So she guessed right about me flirting! Boo hoo hoo!!! Logic shmogic… That’s why I hate combined tournaments. Always some smart girl gets in the way… The only way is to get rid of the adversary. (see photo)

I guess it’s getting fairly late in the week and everyone is leaving. Elena Vesnina couldn’t take any more abuse in billiards, so she left. So did Rodionova, my best friend when it came to gossip. She probably went to see her BF who is a DJ. Now that’s a smart move! If you want quality dance music for free then just date a DJ. Don’t spend time ripping music off the internet like Dinara Safina.

By the way, fans don’t realize how much time tennis players spend online. Dinara probably has every song on the planet into her laptop. Marat downloads so many movies it feels like he is planning to open Blockbuster Video in Moscow. Gael Monfils is nuts over MSN. A couple of days ago he was sitting in the lobby and, I’m not kidding, talking on six MSN Windows at the same time. The guy is like Neo in Matrix. He has no idea what he is writing anymore or who he is writing to. He just puts “lol” and moves on to the next window. The girl is probably telling him that her kittens died and he just says, “lol.” At the same time he is listening to Bow Wow and tries to sing along. The funniest stuff on Earth. A French dude is trying to rap! Impossible to watch without a condescending smile!

Then there is ATP trainer Michael Novotny. Sitting in a locker room staring at the screen from 30 cm. away. Hypnotized by Skype, Yahoo! and MSN. His computer is lighting up like a Christmas tree with all sorts of warnings, new message alerts, incoming calls, etc. Between his computer and sniffing all the glue for the taping jobs he is slowly turning into a zombie.

People in a press room are a different breed. They are more advanced than aliens when it comes to technology. When you walk in there you see a bunch of tables with laptops and people firing away at the keyboards. It looks more like a third world sweatshop. They have a few big screens in front of them, with matches and scoreboards, and one TV in the middle is playing a Walt Disney cartoon. Ummm… are you writing a story on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? They aren’t the eight people who get into Shanghai at the end of the year! But everyone in this room is equipped with the latest gadgetry. They look like Rambo with all that equipment:. Laptop, cell phone, PDA, beeper, Blackberry, Blueberry, even Strawberry! These guys are ready at any given moment to send, receive, print, copy and download any report on Snow White.

Anyway, I had a long day today so I can’t write that much anymore. Two matches, a draining war with Bryanne, and a late dinner with the doubles crew. We went again to the same restaurant and poor lobsters got a heart attack inside an aquarium when they saw us walk in. But it was the crab that should have been scared. I’m sure he’ll be missed!

PS - Please check out my web site.


Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Getting ready for the Players' Party
My day started out with a trip to the hotel’s restaurant. I agreed with Peter, Marat’s coach, to meet at the lobby at 11 to go to the courts so I got out of the room an hour earlier so I could have some breakfast. When I got there I found waiters cleaning up the bar. I didn’t mind seeing the walnuts and Corn Flakes being carried out of the room, but the croissants were the last straw! I knew that they close at 10.30 but its 10 and all that was left was some weird fruit that I still don’t know how to eat. Do you peal it? Do you eat the seeds? Is it a decoration?

So I got ready to lay down the law! I walked up all puffed up like a rooster ready to complain when he tells me it’s 10 past 11! Huh?! “10 past 10?” – I ask. “No. 11.10” the guy says. Hehe! That’s a good one. I’m supposed to warm-up Marat and I’m 10 minutes late without my bag and not remotely ready to go. I sprint to the elevator and catch Marat in it. Thanks to me, we leave at 11.30!

Today I really got some looks from the other guys in the locker room. I understand their concern and it’s kind of expected. I try to play down yesterday's win, saying that the guy is just 15 years old but all of us know that I’m just being modest. You are aware of the tension. The air is electrified. It is like the calm before the storm. I see Jaroslav “Monica” Levinsky putting his shorts on backwards, - he’s so nervous! Gilles Muller stutters “G-g-good match ye-ye-yes-sss-terday!” Guillermo Garcia-Lopez walks into a bench with his shin and David Nalbandian is hiding in the corner trying to cover up with a towel. In the next room I hear people talking of Nadal being dethroned and that a new sheriff is in town but I really feel that it’s too early to be talking like that. I just want to focus on my next match. These discussions don’t really bother me; you know they will happen when you win. Rafa’s got six matches to tie Vilas for the most consecutive wins so I think he’ll be okay. It is what it is and I’m not out to stop someone from getting into the record books but if I and Rafa happen to play I’ll have to do what I’m best at! Seek and Destroy!!! Or we could just battle-rap! Whatever…

The warm-up went pretty well. Not counting Peter watering my racquets while watering the court and a mini cyclone blowing through the tournament site. I even built a sand castle right behind the baseline. With towers and little soldiers in them and everything. But really today I don’t have that much good stuff to write about. I feel like I’ve been talking about my game and how I’m getting used to the courts and bla bla bla...

I was going to talk about a certain female player named Katerina, who has been chasing Marat for the third day now. “Coincidentally” bumping into him, eating when he is eating, lounging in a chair in front of the locker room right after his match and changing practice court from #8 to the one next to his. All of this has been extremely hilarious to watch but what has really been bothering me for two days now is that our physio, Michael Novotny, thinks that my $300 headphones are junk! How can he say that?! He talks about his noise-canceling headphones that require a backpack-size battery to operate for one flight and all they do is just put more noise in your ear so you can’t hear the noise that’s outside. Wow! Yeah, those are great! They make you look like you are that guy at the airport who waves with carrots at the airplanes. You know, the one you see on the ground when you look out the window of the plane, right before you leave the terminal.

Then of course he listens to “Coldplay” so much that no one wants to show up for treatments any more and a few players ended up with depression related disorders. That completely explains why he is incapable of hearing the difference between his BOSE and my headphones with built-in crossover.

Then there is a problem with copycats from WTA. They steal all of our great ideas! Fist-Pumping, Grunting, Blogging, Sleeveless Shirts… They steal everything good ATP came up with. I’m surprised they haven’t stolen Feliciano… Ok, ok! That was uncalled for! But c’mon! Blogging was our idea to promote ATP. Women don’t need that. They have enough fans as it is. They have so much attention and promotion that their fans don’t even play tennis! They don’t know the names, they don’t know the rules, they don’t even care who wins! Hell, they are so consumed cheering for their player they sometimes forget to even watch the ball! That’s what blogging was supposed to do to men’s tennis. Get us more fans. And then cunning Bryanne Stewart (read her blog) tries to steal our glory. And what’s this stuff about me flirting with the driver? Never saw any of this. It must have looked like that from the third row, but you can’t assume things!

Making headlines at the transportation desk

In any case, if it’s war you want, Bryanne, then war is what you’ll have… On the other hand maybe I’m rushing into this whole war thing. Maybe we can combine our efforts to dig up some dirty stuff on players and post it in our blogs. I’m sure the fans wouldn’t mind hearing some gossip from men’s AND women’s locker room.

I also went to a “KidZone” to shoot a bow. Man! I suck at it! There is a little kid with glasses 3 inches thick who is no more than 10 and he hits the bullseye twice out of five and I miss the target completely. Can I feel any dumber?

After massage and press I’m ready to go back home. I go up to the transportation desk and find my blogs on the wall with parts about the drivers highlighted in yellow. Ooopsy! Someone is going to get in trouble... But they all laugh and tell me that they are going to give me the coveted C-Class. Once we’re on the road I realize that we aren’t going to be breaking any sound barriers. Maybe a wind barrier at the most! There is a lot of traffic and the driver is a guy. Man, do men drive slow here! It’s like a twilight zone. I guess they all heard from their boss about driving safe and how Bryanne Stewart was hanging on for dear life and how she wanted to play “Enya” on the radio so he put in some Jack Johnson CD or something similarly depressing and we drove in tears all the way back to the hotel. Thanks, Bryanne!!!

PS - If I haven't talked your ear off by now and you'd like to know more about me, please
visit my web site.


Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Getting ready for the Players' Party
Got up this morning around nine! I have a late match so getting up early doesn’t really make sense because… I don’t like to get up early! I really like sleeping!!! That is quite possibly the only thing I’m really good at and my philosophy is that you should focus your attention on your talents.

I got out on a balcony! The day is beautiful and it’s nice to be able to enjoy the weather and the view and not have to rush out the door to warm up or practice. I also took my laptop with me so I could check up on how my “Magnum” modeling shot (“to anyone who saw “Zoolander”) looked like when downsized to a web page size. I must admit I am a freaking handsome devil! Just not very photogenic!!!

To my surprise there were loads of emails this time and when I opened my mailbox; most of them happened to be from Marat! Apparently he felt I was really downplaying his ability to hit forehands in the middle of the court! I would have to disagree with him on that! I was just being factual. I even gave him a compliment! He did serve a couple of good serves at 7-8 in the ‘breaker! But anyway, I felt kind of bad so I went to have breakfast with him as an apology!

We sat on the terrace and had a good conversation. I ordered hot chocolate and he had coffee with milk. I apologized, and then we talked strategy for our next match and it was so great to really have a good heart-to-heart talk without all the girls running over and handing phone numbers to me and asking me to pass it to Marat! Towards the end of the breakfast we really bonded and I felt like we became a REAL doubles team. I braided his hair and he talked about this cute bag he bought at Louis Vuitton store! Unfortunately he had to leave soon for a warm-up so I hugged him good bye and wished him luck! He is soooo cute when he pouts!!!

The ride to the courts is similar to the one on Monday. We are pushing the boundaries of physics and I can’t help but wonder if we are riding on Firestones. Seems to me that the drivers read my blog and are trying to get their name on pages of my blog by driving as crazy as possible! Surprisingly you never feel like they are out of control. They are very good actors!!!

My first hit of the day is supposed to be with Tomas Zib. I say that because that’s who I signed up with but when I got to the courts I was in for a surprise. Partially it was my fault, like most mishaps, but this one I didn’t think all the way through. You see, on Monday I went to the practice desk to sign up for a warm-up for Tuesday and the girl who works there told me to write my name myself. So I decided to play a prank on her and instead of my name wrote “Thomas Zib + Bill Clinton” and left after that. This morning when I showed up to see what court I was on, I see, “Thomas Zib + Bill Clinton + Nicholas Massu” Apparently, Thomas thought it was a joke, (I guess he was correct in that assumption) and in fear that he was going to be left without a hit decided to hit with Massu.

Thank God, there was my second round doubles nemesis Mariusz Fyrstenberg bumming around otherwise I’d be in trouble. Actually, people always ask me, “Who do you like on tour? Who is nice?” Well to answer your question, Mariusz is a great guy! He is nice and has a good sense of humor. His only problem is it’s impossible to spell his name properly. He should make it like Yeu-Tzuoo Wang or something…

After the warm-up came the usual trip to the lunch table. Got some greens and a little bit of pasta. I had a match coming up pretty soon so I don’t want to eat too much because you only get one toilet break and you want to use it wisely!

Right before the match I tried to do some sprints and some jumps to get the blood going, then I stared into the mirror and said, “You talking to me?!” When you are playing someone who is 15, it’s always good to scare the life out of them the moment you get out on the court!

IT HAPPENED!!! They told me, “Just keep pluggin’ alone and you will win a match!!!” and it happened! Of course the kid was 15 but c’mon! I’m blond! We all have our excuses… I don’t care what anyone says. I matched my best clay court season record so from now on it can only get better! The match wasn’t too long and I tried to work on some things as it progressed. It was a bit tough, though, because the crowd reacted to every mistake by me as if the guy hit the shot of his life, so you don’t want to lose a single point because they are eating you alive. I guess that kinda goes with the territory when you play a local kid and they want to show him that they are backing him up!

After the match I went for a little run in the park and then got a massage and a stretch. I’d say that’s the hardest part of the day. You know… The massage… We are all fighting in there for massage time and fans don’t really see it but there are some scary cat fights between Marat and Massu. Jerry Springer should have a “Locker Room Special”

When I’m finished with that, they take me to the press room for an interview! Today is a change of pace! The lady really felt embarrassed when she found out I mentioned her in my blog so I will mention her again today! Yeah, you know which one!!! The, “What do you think about Marat?!” one. Today she came prepared. She started the interview and today she asked, “What do you think about Gastao?!” Ahahahaha!!! She is going to hate me tomorrow! But it’s true!!! That’s what she said!!! After today’s blog they won’t ask me to show up at press conferences anymore. They will be too scared of me. They’ll just say, “You know Dmitry, just talk about something you want to talk about! We’ll just listen!!!”

Similar ride back! We are at 160kph now! I love it!!! I’m tired of going in a van though! We should take the C-Class. See how fast that thing can go!!! The funny part is that it’s the women drivers that go nuts behind the wheel in this country! So much aggression!!! Maybe it’s because Marat is in the van! Hehe…In any case, no doubt they win “The Best Women” prize in my book! Not only they aren’t afraid to drive that fast but they can also text on a cell phone at the same time!

8:30 Ride to the Players Party! Once we get to the place we get these really cute wristbands. They were orange! Really would look good with Marat’s orange adidas wristbands… Anyway, inside is a lounge filled with glamorous people all having glamorous conversations with each other and couple of crazy photographers running around like tourists frantically firing away at the shutter! I feel like it’s a strobe light at the disco!!! Models scattered all over the floor! Still standing, however! Perched up against the bar and the wall!!! Some players got there early and setting up warm-up times for tomorrow! Lukas Dlouhy, rejected by all the models, is playing Tic-Tac-Toe with himself. Women’s coaches pacing the floor, monitoring their players with proximity sensors. Of course everyone is looking nice and sparkly, but I’m starving!!! At this point the models pose only a nutritional interest and since that is the case I move closer to the chubby ones!

Once they open up the food table, models set a new world record on a short distance sprint and attack the water and salad bar but soon realize that the salad already has dressing and the water is not diet! (I hope I won’t get sued by the modeling agency for this!) Anyway, after we had some food and flirted with random people we had to leave. It was fairly early in the evening but Marat has a match tomorrow and I have to report to you guys!

On our ride back we finally break the sound barrier banging our heads to Guns N’ Roses’ – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Luckily no one answered!!!

[davis]

PART 2



Monday, May 1, 2006
Well, today I had to wake up fairly early again. The previous day I had arranged a hit with Gael Monfils at 10. When you set up your hit, 10 doesn’t seem so early, but not when you just wake up! Well it’s a bit more inconvenient that the courts are a half hour away but at least you can listen to some music on the way there! The day is gorgeous again!

Seems like that’s the only weather they have here. In the morning you open the window and the sun hits the entire room and the air is sooo fresh!!! I can’t wait to get to the courts and slide around on my butt, though, so we get in the car and take off! Today is a holiday so even though it’s Monday, the streets and roads are empty and our driver decides to really take the van to the limit! We are driving about 140kph in a big van that feels like hurling down in a skeleton contest. I like speed so I really don’t mind it; in fact I feel a whole lot safer when the person is driving like Evel Knevil than when there is an old lady holding on to the steering wheel with both hands like it’s a life preserver ring.

The coach next to me definitely felt differently about our driver and was on the phone trying to upgrade his life insurance! The fun began when we got off the freeway and started driving downhill into the area where the tournament site is located. Apparently she decided to test a brand new brake compound called “ACME InstaStop” and we tested the seatbelts as well. Basically any sign of sleepiness that I had in the morning vanished and we arrived at the courts with a pulse of 175.

The first sign that I’ll do better today was when Gael told me that he forgot his tennis shoes. “My chance has come,” I thought! “Don’t choke now!!!” So we decided to start hitting and soon after the warm up he said that he can move okay and we played some points…. Ummmm…… Let’s just skip this part…. Ummmm…. Let’s see…. Oh yes! The lunch was great as always!

Actually, Marat called on Sunday wanting to hit with me at 12 because he was arriving late on Sunday and he couldn’t find anyone else, so me being a nice guy and all I had to fit him into my schedule. So I had to hit again at 12 but it was more of a warm up/photoshoot. Although I felt the attention wasn’t really evenly distributed!!! Perhaps it was because I haven’t shaved for a few days…

After the hit we went to have lunch and just caught up on things since Valencia. Marat was in Moscow at a wedding of our mutual friend, Dennis Golovanov. The guy who we couldn’t picture getting married in a million years, and to those who know him this news will be a shock as well. Anyway, I had to hear it for myself from Marat so we spent some time gossiping again. After that, I handed another round of “whoop-**s” to Vesnina. Now we are tied at 6-6. She is crushed! What does she want though?! She is playing with a pro!!! Of course she’ll get destroyed!!!

I guess I forgot to mention that we are supposed to play doubles today, last match on center court! We started around 6 and there were still some people in the crowd left so my main concern was not to whiff any volleys! It could be me, but judging by the crowd I’d say that in Portugal women make up 90% of population and for some reason they are very keen on Russian doubles teams! Hmmm….

The match was a bit awkward the first few games because this is our first time playing together and Marat doesn’t really understand the concept “my side/your side.” He tends to think that his forehand is much better than my backhand so I had to convince him otherwise. Thanks to me and my ability to convey logic to the two-meter embodiment of a female’s dream, we won the first set 6-3.

Then we got a break in the second and at 3-1 up we lost my serve. Actually, I shouldn’t say we, because I had nothing to do with it! I went to get some water and fresh towels and while I was gone Marat managed to lose the game. I guess if you want things done then you should do them yourself! After a couple of unlucky games (at deuce we play a deciding point) where we had deuces, we lose our serve again and lose the set 6-4.

Match Tie-Break. Not the most pleasant thing because anything can happen and you really don’t want to be the one screwing it up. We traded mini-breaks a few times, mostly because we are gentlemen and generous guys by nature, and end up serving at 7-8. Actually, Marat was the one serving; my mind was blank! I was just praying for two aces! Two really good serves and we are up 9-8. Marat returning and I’m very happy that I’m playing the deuce side! He puts a return in and really creams a forehand that is scheduled to have a rendezvous with a spectator’s forehead in row 27 in the upper bleachers. David Skoch feels sorry for the spectator and reaches for it and his partner screams that it’s going out! David tries to pull the racquet out of the way but since it’s oversized he clips it with his frame and we win the match! Not the best way to win but the spectator is thankful!!!

Now it’s time for an interview. I got held up trying to explain to the kid that I don’t have any racquets to give out so when I got there Marat was already sitting with a microphone lying his shorts off saying how much he likes clay and how he wishes that the US Open series was held on clay. I sat down and was asked about my Tuesday first round match against a Portuguese player who got in as a lucky loser. I had no idea who he was so I said I know nothing about him but I hope I will win the match. And the second question - I’m NOT joking! - was, “What do you think about Marat?” Ummm… I’m speechless…. I wonder if the journalist woke up today and thought to herself… “Hmmm… I wonder what would be a good question for Dmitry?! I know!!! How about I ask him what he thinks about Marat!!! Yes, yes! That is indeed a brilliant question!!! I must write it down before I forget it! How didn’t I think of it sooner?!”

After the interview I went to set up practice for tomorrow and went to the transportation. They gave me a fire-retardant suit, a helmet and put me in a cockpit of a Mercedes Vito. After we got cleared for take-off the driver checked all systems, flipped the switches, lowered the flaps, and turned on the after-burners! Another day at the office!!!



Sunday, April 30, 2006
SATURDAY
Hey everyone!
First off I’d like to say that I’m forced to do this thing and they told me they won’t let me play doubles if I refuse! Just kidding!!! Actually, I think this is a great way for fans to read up on how we spend our days so I’m happy to become Shakespeare for a week. So here we go…

I got to Lisbon from Barcelona on Saturday evening which is fairly late in the week for a player. You try to arrive around Friday so that you have time to get used to the courts the time zone and find a few local bars. I’m sure some of you know that some bars are fairly expensive so you want to look around before the tournament starts so that if you lose in the first round your prize money will cover the drinks.

The flight was uneventful! Just the way I like it. Although when we were landing the pilot seemed to have forgotten that besides the bags he had on board there were also some people! I guess skipping down the runway might seem a little more fun when you are steering up in front and not trying to get some SLEEP in the back!!!!!!

This being the first time in Portugal I wasn’t sure what to expect so I was excited to come here. Plus I like Portuguese better than Spanish so I was fired up to brush up on my swear words in this language. It took us a half hour to get the hotel which is REALLY nice. It looks out on the ocean, well not my room, anyway! I’m sure Safin will have a better view, hehe!

So the first thing I did I got on the internet to see if I have missed anything and of course…. I didn’t. Then, I unpacked. I don’t know why I even bother because I will have to pack again in few days so it seems a bit pointless after doing it every single week. Then, I got on the internet… Still no messages!!! So I went to the supermarket and bought some water and some cherry juice! Why you ask?! Because I like cherry juice!!! Anyway, I went to sleep around 11 and that was the end of Saturday!

SUNDAY
I woke up around 8am and spent some time on the internet downloading some music and replying to all the emails that finally got into my mailbox only to realize that they were junk mail. I’m sad now!!!

Then breakfast! Some tennis players, I won’t name any, get very anal about their food intake! They want to have omelet but just egg whites, not the yolks. They like margarine but not butter. They like their forks and knives balanced to their racquet specs so that it has the same swing weight. While some of those things make sense, some seem a bit bizarre but in general breakfast is very important. Breakfast is also the first battle of temptations vs. sensibility. The battle that will repeat throughout the day almost every time I see food. There is bacon, croissants, meats, sausages, and little cup cakes that are smiling at me and asking me to taste them.

Of course in the other corner there are Corn Flakes, Rye bread, Walnuts, and Diet water. They don’t really smile at me because, unfortunately, I have to start eating healthy because if you want your car to run smoothly you have to put good fuel in the tank. I guess the walnuts know that!!! It is especially tough to eat right and not cheat on the menu because I’m here by myself. Usually it’s my trainer who watches what I eat and here you have the freedom, yet you know you should stick to the diet. Mostly, because my weight won’t lie when I reunite with my trainer, hehe! I do steal one croissant though!!! C’mon, it’s only 50 grams! That’s not too bad!!!

My first hit is with Vince Spadea! Arguably the best rapper on the circuit! Probably because he is the only one who tries it and everyone is too tired of asking him not to. So we just let him do it. We start off by throwing rhymes at each other and after I out-battle-rap him he asks for 2 out of 3. “Time to hit!” – I said and we started. Nothing too hard! We are very fragile, finely tuned machines so killing ourselves in a warm-up is not our style! After we warm up we play some points and… the result is really not so important! The important thing is that we enjoyed it! So, I lost… I hate clay!!!

I was in denial for a while, telling myself that it’s just a phase and that it’s the color that I don’t like but that’s not it! I just don’t like it! I’d say that clay here is a bit slower than in Barcelona and the balls are a bit lighter! FINALLY! Barcelona balls were like little watermelons. Every time you hit you feel your shoulder is going to pop out of the socket! But because there is more clay on the court my socks get dirtier so I’m not sure this is the best solution either! Anyway, I have a second practice so we’ll see how different I will feel. Now it’s time for lunch!

Lunch is really nice again, not mentioning a few battles with foods that were calling me like sirens called Odysseus. I had some salad some pasta and some fish and we had a nice chat with some Russian girls at an “All-Russian” table. Catching up on all the gossip, laughing, and in general making fun of people! By the way I forgot to mention that this is a men’s and women’s tournament so if you lose early and you are lacking confidence there is a good chance to challenge one of the girls to a match.

Second hit is with Lukas Dlouhy. If you can pronounce his name it means one thing. You are Czech!!! His last name won’t save him this time though because I’m ready to practice!!! We warm up and start playing points. He is very cunning player because he likes to drop shot! The first time he drop shots I get there and my foot digs in instead of sliding so naturally instead of hitting the ball I decide to wipe off the court with my back. Hmmmm…. Okay… Now I have clay all over me, half a pound of it in my underwear, and I lost the point on top of it!!! I will not chase those stupid drop shots next time!!!

Two points later I fall down again! This time on my butt! A girl on the next court is really enjoying this!!! So does the kid besides the fence! “Mommy, Look!!! It’s a clown!!!” At least this time I win the point! Who cares, though?! I got a full pound of clay in my shorts now!!! What am I supposed to do with it?!?! Besides the occasional “scooping” of clay, the practice is pretty good! We hit for an hour and I feel a little more comfortable although there is a really long way before I feel at home on this surface. I think the only natural habitat for this surface is on Mars so they should change Roland Garros to hard courts and make a clay tournament on Mars!

After practice I went for a run with another player. We were running on this nice soccer field for about 15 minutes when a man walked up and said that he needs to lock up the field. We pointed at a track behind and asked if we can run there and he said that he needs to lock it up as well but if we wanted to give him one euro we can run for an hour. On a public field?! Maybe I didn’t understand something but in any case, who the heck runs with a wallet?! He didn’t want to take a water bottle as a deposit so we finished on another field right across and then I went to sign up for a massage and to take a shower. After, I got stretched and returned all the clay I took with me to the locker room I had some time to kill so I went to the player’s lounge and destroyed Elena Vesnina in pool! Well I won 1 out of 4 games but that’s because of the stupid rule where you can’t sink the 8-ball until you clear all the other ones… Whatever!

Once I got back I went online and tried to explain to Andreev and Kirilenko how to find your own IP Address. They are hopeless with a computer. They should have bought typewriters!!! I couldn’t take it anymore so I went to dinner with Davydenko to a really good seafood restaurant on a small street not too far from our hotel. The fish was really good and for me being more of a fish eater this means that I will be eating at this restaurant for the rest of the week!!! We had pretty good time talking about the party on Wednesday in Barcelona but that’s a whole different story!!!