The ATP players blogs

[jenhatter06]

here's the first blogger of 2007 ... (Part One)

Joachim Johansson
Next Generation Adelaide International

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Hello from Adelaide! I arrived in Australia on December 23, coming in via Vienna, Kuala Lumpar and Sydney. My girlfriend, Jenny, and I missed the plane in Sydney.

We had to go to a hotel and overslept, missing our scheduled flight. We then got up and took the earliest bus and took the earliest flight possible. Not the best preparation, but it was good to get here earlier.

When we left Sweden it was 8°C, normally it is –20°C when I leave in December. The first day we were here it was 18°C. Not too bad. It’ll be almost 40°C here tomorrow. I normally handle the heat pretty well. I really like it as the ball goes faster and with my game hopefully I can make my opponent run a lot and perhaps get frustrated by standing in the heat.

Since arriving I have gone to a lot of different restaurants. I went to the airport twice, to pick up my coach on the 26th and my physio yesterday. Last night we went to Henley Beach to a Thai restaurant, when the sun was setting. Two days ago, when I had a day off, we went to the zoo – around 20 minutes away – to see kangaroos and koalas.

Despite being kept in an enclosure, my girlfriend, my coach and myself saw emus hunting kangaroos. At one stage the kangaroos were coming towards us. We leapt behind a tree, not knowing what to do, my coach and I were grabbing one another in panic. We left very quickly out of the gate. I like animals but not when they get too close and become aggressive.

Christmas Eve is the big day in Sweden, so Christmas Day was pretty quiet. Everything was closed, but we went to try to eat somewhere. I hit once and did one session of fitness.

Before leaving for Australia, I had a few days with my girlfriend’s family and then spent some time with my family before a little Christmas celebration here in the warmth. In Sweden, although there was no snow, it gets dark at around 2:30pm.

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, but I have another match tomorrow against Florent Serra in the Round Robin stage so I will go home, prepare and have a massage. I know when I haven’t played too many matches in a while you do get stiff.

I don’t think I will be awake at midnight, as I will hit pretty early at 9am tomorrow. When I have not played matches, I need to prepare 100 per cent. Having had all the operations I have had, I do not want to stuff it up by going out the night before a match.

Whenever you come into a new year, you want to start well and get matches under your belt. For me I have not seen many of the guys, apart from when I was in Madrid and Stockholm. Everyone is rusty with a lack of matches; they think they are doing well in practice and are healthy, but in a match situation it is different. I have played an exhibition in Austria a few weeks back, but have not played competitively for two months. That isn’t too long for me. I am used to year breaks.

I try to come first in the morning and I probably leave last at night. Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson always rib me about that. I may be playing last at night and they could play first thing in the morning, but we always try to warm-up and hit together.

I enjoy hanging out in the players’ lounge and trying to catch up and see what has been going on in the last year. Many people ask me about the shoulder. That is not surprising, they care. The players saw I won a few matches at the end of last year and if I win a few over the coming weeks, then the question will not be asked too much. When I beat Rafael Nadal in Stockholm in October, everyone said I was back. Not yet. I expect to get inflammation in the shoulder, my body will take damage but I have gotten used to these questions. I have a long way to go. To play these matches day-in day-out will take a lot of dedication. I have got to prove myself this year.

Of course Adelaide is the first ATP tournament to employ the Hybrid Round Robin format. I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I first heard about it. But having won my Main Draw Elimination match [against Lukas Dlouhy] today, I have guaranteed myself two round robin matches. It felt like I was playing last round of qualies today, but it is good to try something new.

Wish me luck tomorrow. Happy New Year.

Pim Pim

Monday, January 1, 2007

Happy New Year! There weren’t any attacks from kangaroos and emus last night. I can’t remember any dreams. I slept soundly.

Last night we went to the players’ party at the hotel. My girlfriend, Jenny, my new coach, Johan Landsberg, my trainer, Totte, and Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt, joined me for dinner. Lindstedt was sucking in the helium from the balloons and was pretty funny.

I came back at 10pm and one hour later I was asleep. So I did not see in the New Year and any of the fireworks. I would have loved to stay up but I was tired. I needed to get up early this morning.

My mobile telephone started buzzing at 8am with text messages from friends and family wishing me a Happy New Year. Due to the time difference to Sweden, they likely kept going when I was on court playing my match.

This year I am working with a new coach, Johan. He is very experienced, he knows everyone and is good to hit with. He didn’t quit too long ago; in fact his last match was in Stockholm. That match, myself and Thomas Johansson were due to play Jonas Bjorkman and John McEnroe in the first round. But Thomas found out that his wife [Gisella] was going to give birth the next morning, so we pulled out. I telephoned Johan and said: “You’re in!” He had about three hours to prepare. He lost, partnering Andreas Vinciguerra.

I have to tell you another funny story about Johan. When I was turning 18, I played juniors at Melbourne. Vinciguerra was playing, then there was his coach, with Aspelin and Landsberg sitting down too. I came along and watched. I didn’t know these guys were playing, I had heard of the names but did not know them. They had just finished college. So I asked Johan stupid questions like “what are you doing here? How long are you staying?”… Now he is my coach! I thought he was a tourist. We joke about it now and again.

I played an exhibition tournament at the end of the year, where we each played two round robin matches in a group then onto the final. I got through the group. For sure it is different. I don’t love the system, because I think when you are out – you are out.

After my match against Florent Serra today, I was disappointed.

I didn’t use any ice to cool down during the match. I like the heat, but perhaps I will drink a little more water next time. The temperature was 39°C. When I walked out my mouth was a little dry and found it difficult to swallow fluids initially. My girlfriend and the others in the box were in the shade. It would have been funny to seen their faces had they been in the sunlight.

I played well for the first set and a half, then had chances for the break but lost my momentum. But afterwards it means that I am very keen to win my second round robin match here for 20 points. Obviously if I beat Gilles Simon two sets to love, then he might not have a chance to qualify. We’ll then see how friendly the two Frenchman are!

My girlfriend and Totte, my physio, have never been to Australia. Johan has been here as a tourist in 2000, but Totte has slept the last two night since he has been here. He has never been outside Europe, but he has found the time difference no problem at all. :-)

Pim Pim

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

First up, why the nickname Pim-Pim? When I was born my brother, Niclas, was three years old and he couldn’t pronounce Joachim. He could only manage ‘Joa-Pim’. There is a candy in Sweden called ‘Pim-Pim’ so that is how I got the nickname. Now everyone calls me Pim-Pim, but my brother calls me Joachim!

I haven’t heard a lot of gossip from players in the off-season, but whenever I get together with Thomas [Johansson] and Jonas [Bjorkman] they always rib me. But I get back at them too. I think Thomas is on the ATP Players Council, so I’ll be talking to him about the Round Robin format.

The Swedish players try to go out for dinner now and again, but they have girlfriends, wives and kids. So it is not as easy. When I played the futures and challenger circuit it felt like a family travelling around, but these days on the ATP circuit everyone seems to be doing their own thing. The doubles guys don’t have too many people around them, such as coaches, physios etc. If everyone has a girlfriend and coach with them, then when you are on your own they won’t be asking you out for dinner.

Last night I was a little tired after the match, having spent a lot of time in the sun, so I returned to the hotel for a massage and then room service with Jenny. It was good to spend some time together.

Jenny is a 100-meter hurdler for Sweden. She competed in the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg and made the final. She also came second in the European Indoors and raced in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

As it was a day off today I had a relaxing start with breakfast with Jenny, my coach and physio. Followed by some cards and onto lunch at the club. I have talked to a few players and given my racquets to the stringers.

It’s tough to say which player is in the best shape. Peter Luczak and Chris Guccione have been playing well here this week. Dominik Hrbaty always plays well at the start of the year. Although he has lost both of his round robin matches I have heard he has been practising a lot. No one is looking muscle-bound on court, but I know I’m in good shape having done 18 months of fitness work.

When I’ve got some spare time I never spend too much time on the Internet. I go on to check my emails, the [ATP] Players Zone and read Sweden’s two biggest newspapers, but I only do so when I have something to do. I text message friends more than I email, because I always keep my phone in my pocket and don’t always bring my laptop.

However, I do really like to play golf. I’m decent my handicap is six. I didn’t play for almost two years but did so at the start of last year in Monaco. The first 12 or 13 holes I was one-under, then had two bad holes and felt the ball wasn’t dropping. I began to lose interest so didn’t keep the score. It’s always the same story. I really want to have the best results, but my short game lets me down. I’m not sure if I would have liked to be a professional golfer.

I’d like to play more golf, but the way my shoulder has been the last few years it has been tough. When I stop the tennis, for sure I will play more.

I had wanted to go into town, but it is too hot. I think I will spend time at the hotel, drinking plenty of water in preparation for my next match.

Pim Pim

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Hi Everyone,

As I had a very relaxing day yesterday, topped off with a nice dinner with “my family” – coach Johan, physio Totte and girlfriend Jenny – I woke up feeling happy and ready to go!!

We had breakfast at the hotel. I had as usual yoghurt with cereal, bread and of course the fruit that is so good here. Last time here in Adelaide, two years ago, my parents were here with me, and I know they would like to be here now as well. They like travelling, the like the sun (who doesn’t in Sweden this time of the year!!), and they love me!! (Read with a sense of irony...)

So, in the mornings I usually have a few text messages on the phone from friends and family in Sweden (its night time for them), which also makes for a good start to the day!

Next I’m off to the tennis courts for a warm up and hit with my coach Johan. He is still in good shape since he only retired from playing himself a couple of months ago. I really enjoy the warm weather and the sun, but during a match day I try to stay out of the sun as much as possible and to drink a lot of water. But I don’t try to be like my coach – who rubs his face at least every 2 hours with what I suspect is total sun block.

If his skin even comes close to a suntan this trip, I will be very surprised and he would probably consider this trip a total failure even if I win the Australian Open!!!

He also makes sure all of us know how to protect ourselves from the sun…1. Shade. 2. Hat. 3. Sunglasses. 4. Sunscreen, and 5. Protective clothing. He repeats this list like it is some kind of holy mantra

When I came back to the hotel I continued to plan my schedule for 2007, something Johan and I started to work on yesterday (while Jenny had a massage after a tough workout at the track).

When Jenny came back from the beach, we went out for a lunch in town. It is nice to get away from the club for a while when I play so late, - not before 5.30pm today!!

I really like this tournament, not only because I won it two years ago, even though that leaves some special memories! The hotel is located in town, but only 5 minutes walk from the courts. The surroundings are beautiful with the parks and the river. But best of all is the tournament directors – Peter Johnston and Mark Woodforde. Since we arrived early I’ve seen them in action from day one – working with their bare hands! Running, sweating, wearing shorts (not the usual suit and tie-directors), carrying stuff, even doing some light construction, talking on the phone, answering my questions, trying to figure out the hybrid 32 (round robin)…crying… (no they weren’t actually crying – but it did sound good in writing).

The round robin format keeps my coach and I busy trying to come up with new questions to harass Giorgio (Di Palermo, ATP Tour Manager) with. I think I’ve come up with a theory in which you can lose 4(!?) times and still win the tournament!! More about that tomorrow…!

Before my match today when my physio Totte was taping my foot, my friend Robert Lindstedt was telling me how badly he also wanted a physio travelling with him. I said: “If you also fly economy class, you’ll afford to bring your own. That’s when he got his new nickname: Slipsen (The Tie), since flying business class – but you can also use his old nickname – which he likes – BRAD, (I promised him to not write BRAD’s surname, but he is a famous actor and he is married to Angelina Jolie).

I won my match 6-4, 7-5 against Gilles Simon. So tomorrow me and my coach/bodyguard Johan will watch the match between Simon and Florent Serra to make sure that Simon will do his best to beat his doubles partner and friend, even though he has no chance to reach the quarterfinal. For me it’s enough if Simon wins the match to get to quarterfinals on Friday, and have a shot at the title.

I hope you are all cheering for Gilles tomorrow, these 10 extra points mean a lot to me! And the best part is that I can earn them not risking another injury…!

Later
Pim Pim

[jenhatter06]

^^ Part Two

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Straight after my match [against Gilles Simon] last night I went and rode on a bike for 20 minutes and had a quick stretch. It is good to get the lactic acid away from the body, it helps a lot I think, I haven’t always done it but I am trying to do it as much as possible, and if there is not a bike around I try to go for a little jog, not very hard just so I feel better the next day. Then Stephen from the ATP was waiting for me and he took me all over the place for various activities but I enjoyed it.

I did an interview for the French newspaper L’Equipe, then I did a television interview for the ATP Tennis Show and then went to the sponsors’ tents to chat with sponsors who were having dinner and then after that I did an interview with a Swedish newspaper.

Before I did the last interview, my girlfriend Jenny, my coach Johan and physio Totte wanted to go back to the hotel after one hour of hanging around. They said they were going and I told them no I need to do another thing and they said come on we want to have dinner, don’t you want to have dinner!!! I’m like I really want to have dinner but it was tough when I had to do stuff. Even though it was around two and a half hours after my match to go home and have dinner, but it was fine as I actually felt like I was out of the tournament, but today Simon won – so I am still in!!

My ‘family’ went out to dinner at La Tombola for the first time. The owner seemed to know me as had my autograph from when I won the tournament two years ago so that was pretty funny. I got a free meal and yes, it tasted even better because of that. I seem to have been the last player to eat there this week; everyone has been going there every night. It was a little bit outside of town and even though it was 10:30pm, I really enjoyed it.

Today, I was really keen to run into Robert Lindstedt and my coach to see if they had read the blog. It turns out that Robert had as he filled up my bag with around 15 towels. That was the best thing he could do as revenge He was laughing. He didn’t really want to tell me the real story behind it as he said he can tell me on Monday, when I don’t have the power of the blog, perhaps I should buy him a physio for a week!!!

Before watching the Serra-Simon match I had a hit when it was about 40°C and then went to try and have a quiet massage. Mr Djokovic and his coach were kicking a football about in the locker room. It’s dangerous to be there – Novak almost hit me on the head! I don’t know if he thinks he could be a professional football player, but after what I saw and how scared I felt – I know what my opinion is!!!

I know Florent [Serra] and Gilles a little bit. It is always tough seeing players you know playing in the heat. I watched their match and saw them trying to battle it out. Serra put everything on the line and Simon also struggled with the heat. Maybe if it was another match, in normal circumstances without the Hybrid 32 Player Round Robin, perhaps they may have kept playing. Serra played well in the first set, but then it turned around. Both looked as if they might quit, but it was a little shock to see Serra quit due to sickness. For me it is nice, I picked up maximum points and some extra money. I am through to the quarterfinals.
Novak just walked past – I think he wants to jump into my blog!!!

When Jenny was in the hotel there was an electricity cut, probably due to the heat of around 40C. She had been training in the morning and then returned the car at the airport as we thought we might leave tomorrow. My coach and I were already onsite and waiting to go and watch the match, but when Jenny was back at the hotel, the room blacked out. She was a little bit stuck up there. She couldn’t walk down 23 floors, as there was no lifts or lights on the stairs.

It reminds me of a similar thing during the 2003 US Open. I was on the 50th floor sharing a hotel room with Robin Soderling. All the lights went off in Manhattan. I was there in my room by myself, and I was on my computer and the room was dark, but I only noticed when my battery went down. I walked down the stairs in complete darkness – I had to use my mobile phone light to direct me. That was tough. My mobile phone went flat of course. One day later the lights came back on.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying reading my blog this week. Wish me luck for my quarterfinal tomorrow!

Pim Pim

Friday, January 5, 2007

Ah ha! I think I’ve found a way to win a round robin tournament by losing four matches and winning just three! You have to be a lucky loser in qualifying, a lucky loser in main draw elimination and then lose both matches in round robin, but the other two guys both have to pull out before they play each other!! Giorgio [Di Palermo] from the ATP hasn’t got back to me yet on this, but I think I’ll make it my plan for round robins!

Actually, here in Adelaide, I’m the only player to win through to the quarters in round robin without winning two matches. I had to rely on the other two guys to get me through. I hope that [Florent] Serra recovers from his sickness or injury, but I must say that I was cheering for [Gilles] Simon to win that match, but of course I was not cheering to loudly. But I really wanted to get through.

Things are going very well here for me in Adelaide as I make my comeback on the ATP Tour. My blisters on my right toes are now getting better and I can walk on my foot again and the rain delay today allowed me to get an extra days rest. This week everything seems to be going my way. I’m looking forward to winning two matches here tomorrow after the rain delay.

Last night I went to Henley Beach to celebrate reaching the quarterfinals. It’s always great to reach the quarterfinals but it was an unusual way to reach a quarterfinal after losing a match and I had to rely on the other two guys, so I thank them for getting through.

I went to the gym today for my warm up and then I went and hit in the rain. Despite the rain I felt fine and my rhythm was starting to come back after the first few days where I didn’t feel so good. It has been hot here but today was more humid and sweaty. For four or five weeks my coach hasn’t missed a shot when practicing with me but today he couldn’t put a ball in the court! Obviously he doesn’t like the humidity. Maybe I should take him to the US Open in New York to get used to it!

My coach is also a little disappointed because his head has become a little sun burnt! I think he wants to complain about the sunscreen he has been using. The problem is he went down from 35 spf to 30. I’m hoping to win here and claim my fourth ATP title not only for myself, but everybody reading this blog. My coach did a special dance in Sweden in February last year when he was home and a friend secretly video taped it, while pretending to send text matches. He promised me he will let me put the dance on the web, but ONLY if I win! His best friends have the dance on their phones and whenever they feel a bit down, they look at it and it always gives them a laugh and cheers them up.

This year I want to play more doubles but I have to think about my body. Even with the shorter doubles format it still takes the time and effort to prepare before and even if it was just a two-minute match it still takes the time. In the future when I have control of my body I want to play more doubles.

My favorite player to play doubles with is Jonas Bjorkman. I still remember our victory in Davis Cup against Australia in Adelaide in 2004. I remember we won 7-5 in the fifth and I hit a second serve and break point down in the fifth set. I hit it at 245 kilometres per hour at Todd Woodbridge and he still doesn’t know which side it went down!

I was supposed to play with Jonas at the Athens Olympics but he got injured playing soccer/tennis on court and he then lost in singles to Mardy Fish, losing the first set 6-7 before pulling out injured. I would love to have played doubles with him there and I still give him a hard time about that injury when I see him. Now he has promised to play with me at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012! He’s only 35 so he should be in good shape, even for 2012! If we do well in 2012 we’ll see what we want to do after that! But I really do like the Olympics and want to do well there.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow having had to hang around all day because of the rain.

Pim Pim

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Well, I’m finally out of the tournament, losing today to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. And you know, even with this round robin format I think this time I’m finally out of the tournament! I can't see a way back now!

It was certainly tough having to play two matches today because of yesterday’s rain and I have a little secret to pass onto you all. Since Monday I have had problems with my stomach. In fact to tell the truth I think I have spent as much time on the toilet as on the court. I just couldn’t eat or drink anything. In one match I tried to, but I just couldn’t and I finished up having goose bumps on the court. That night at the hotel I’ve never felt worse in my life. I got really dehydrated and I was thinking about going to hospital. I couldn’t even open a bottle of water. But I decided to stay at the hotel and went to bed with my tracksuit on and I was still shivering. In the morning I couldn’t sit up in bed and my girlfriend had to help me.

I went to see the tournament doctor and he sent me to the hospital to get an IV. I did that, but the last three matches I’ve really been struggling, but somehow I’ve made it through.

I have another problem and that is I know have an infected blister on my foot. The blood and fluid is so deep under the skin that I can’t get it out and it is very hard to walk.

I hope you’ll forgive me for not letting you in on this secret, but I didn’t want my opponents to know my problems!

I was struggling in the semifinal today, but it was live on TV and I like Adelaide and everybody here is so nice so I was determined to give it a go. I stayed out there as long as I could, even though I didn’t feel so good. I just did the best I could.

Now I am going to Sydney, but with the way my foot feels I’m not sure if I can play. I still have problems with my stomach too. It will be the first time there for my girlfriend and coach, so maybe we can do some sightseeing and take a little break. My main goal now is certainly the Australian Open in Melbourne and I really hope I am fit for that.

Melbourne will be my first Grand Slam event since Wimbledon in 2005 and I have a lot of happy memories there. I’m really looking forward to it with all the Swedes who go there to cheer us on. I remember when I qualified in 2003 I went out in the tournament to play Mardy Fish on a small court that had only two rows of seats on each side. They where all full of Swedes and they sang the national anthem. A very nice memory.

Those fans got me through one of my toughest matches there too. I beat Lopez 13-11 in the fifth set and even though I was cramping, they kept me going. I didn’t think I could break him but I knew he had trouble breaking me so I knew it would go for a while. Finally at 11-all he made a few mistakes and I could go on and serve it out.

That match finished at about 1 am in the morning. My next match was against Andre Agassi. I remember I was cramping during my warm up for that match!

I walked out on a hot sunny centre court without a cloud in the sky and I knew I was in for a very tough challenge. I served 51 aces that day (a record) but somehow still lost in four sets! I must admit my body wasn’t feeling too good after that tournament.

I must say however that playing here in Adelaide has been great. I’ve enjoyed being back on the tour and playing with the best guys again. This was great preparation for Melbourne.

I also want to say that it has been great writing the blog and I really hope I can do it again one day. Thanks to you all for reading it.

Well now I am off to eat at a Mexican restaurant, the same one I celebrated my win at in Adelaide two years ago.

I promise you one thing though----I won’t be eating anything spicy!!

Pim Pim

[jenhatter06]

Player Name: Kristof Vliegen
Blogging From: Heineken Open, Auckland

Monday, January 8, 2007



Hello! If you’re lucky enough to be here in Auckland for the Heineken Open, you’ll have to be up pretty early to catch up with me for breakfast. I only arrived from Doha two days ago and by seven in the evening I am dead.

At night I am trying to stay awake till 10 but the problem is I wake up at 5.30. Breakfast starts at 6.30 so I’m the first one lined up at the door at 6.20. I took all the same flights from Doha with my countryman Olivier Rochus: Doha to Dubai, Bangkok, Sydney, Auckland. It was a trip of 30 hours.

I’m also here with my coach, Philippe Dehaes, who got married last month. That was a funny story in itself.

On his wedding day I went to the church in the morning and then had to go play an exhibition before coming back for the dinner and party. I had to drive 300 km to do it but I didn't want to miss it. If I knew he was going to get married that day I would never have signed on to play the exhibition. I even had an exhibition the next day so I couldn't stay too long at the party.

The off-season was pretty busy and a little unusual for me after I finished the 2006 season as the No. 1 Belgian. I had to do a lot of things like play exhibitions and the press were always around me.

I had a one-week holiday in the Dominican Republic. I was there with my girlfriend. She also needed some time off because of all the traveling she had been doing and we enjoyed the time together.

I’m pleased to be writing the blog this week. I enjoyed reading the blogs last year and I thought Safin did a great one. I followed the blog of the Xavier Malisse at Indian Wells. He killed me in that one talking about my golf and football. I don't have anything to kill him with just yet. But the week is young!

Kristof

Wednesday, January 10, 2007



Hello again. Carl Maes, the ex-coach of Kim Clijsters, gave me the nickname “Fly” around 12 or 13 years ago. He went on to work for the Lawn Tennis Association in Britain. Flemish people, Dutch and Germans will understand. Players and friends call me “Fly”. I got a tattoo of it on my back. It’s fun. I like the nickname and when people call out “Fly” I normally turn around.

I got the tattoo in Brussels when I got back from holidays. I had been looking to get one for six years. The guy did a good job. It was only a ten-minute drive from my house. I went with my girlfriend, who likes tattoos. She has a sunshine, sunbird. Everyone seems to have a small tattoo in Belgium, so I’m now part of a club. Janko Tipsarevic has spiritual symbols, related to his family. I think Luis Horna has a couple too. It is always personal to them. I would never have tattoos all over my body though.

Yesterday Olivier [Rochus] and myself were supposed to play doubles, but lucky for us they cancelled it pretty early around 2pm due to rain. We came to the club had some lunch and we were waiting, so we played on the Play Station football game, which was a lot of fun.

In the afternoon we went to the shopping mall, not far from the hotel, and found three Starbucks in the space of 300 meters. We only stopped once for a drink. I always take a cappuccino. It’s the only thing I like – maybe a muffin, too! There aren’t any in Belgium. Every player seems to have come there.

I have still been waking up at 6-6:30am, having not gotten used to the hour here. My girlfriend stops working around that time, so I am able to contact her and catch up on the latest news. My Mum always keeps in contact and follows it on the Internet through the live scoring or sometimes on television. I was not the first to breakfast, as I went down at 8am. Some players have been waking up early too!


Whenever I play a match I get my feet taped, so that takes around 15 minutes. Stephane [Vivier] of the ATP helped me. Olivier and I played doubles [against Alberto Martin and Nicolas Massu] at around 2:20pm and were lucky to finish just before the rain. We played really well, winning 6-4, 6-2. Tomorrow I will play two matches, so I will watch what I eat and drink. For sure it is going to be tough, particularly if the weather is bad.

I was talking to Nicolas Mahut today about the Lotto contract he has just signed. I think we signed around the same time. I hang out with the French speakers off the court, as we are all around the same age. Unfortunately Nicolas lost today [against Juan Ignacio Chela], but he is a great player and has a bright future.

Tonight I’ll have dinner with Olivier and our coaches. Yesterday we went to the casino, but didn’t play as I only stayed 15 minutes. Normally I’m a player, but tonight I’m sure I’ll have a go. There will be money on the table, but not too much!

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Fly

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Hello, today I’m writing to you between my two singles matches in Auckland. It’s pretty rare that we play two singles on the same day.

I just played a really long match against Nicolas Almagro [winning 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-5]. It’s the first time it has been hot here, the crowd was large and both of us were fighting to play our best with the last five or six games the highlight. There has to be one winner and I am glad to have survived!

My level was not good at the end of the second set and start of the third. The crowd has been very good this week. They do not support one player, but watch the game and appreciate good strokes from both players. That is nice.

At times I was frustrated and talked to [ATP umpire] Gerry Armstrong, but it was no problem. He is one of the best umpires we have. You can always talk to him and he will always answer you. If you put me in the chair I know I would not do a good job. It is really tough to be an umpire of line judge, or even a player! Sometimes it is tough, things are going bad and I go to the chair to talk to the umpire. Sometimes it relaxes me and gets me back into the game. We talked a couple of times, but nothing bad.

After my match I called my girlfriend, Catherine, who was looking at the live scores online in bed back in Belgium. I always have contact with ‘home’. We don’t talk about tennis a lot, but about things that are happening in Belgium. Catherine told me she didn’t look at the score when I was down 2-0 in the third set. She had seen the final score, when I called her though!

This morning, I didn’t do anything different in preparing for potentially two matches today. But when I was in my first match I did think, ‘If I win this one, I could be playing a second match in a couple of hours’.

Having won I had a massage with Stephane [Vivier], with the ice bags, just to get my legs ready for another match. My next opponent, David Ferrer, will be a tough opponent; he lost one game in his second round win [d. Daniele Bracciali]. If I can start as well as I finished my first match, then I have a good chance.

Olivier [Rochus] was playing next to my match against Almagro. I caught myself watching some of his points. It is always strange playing on open courts. It was special; we spend a lot of time together. He was struggling [against Juan Monaco] when I was too, but as a crowd favorite they gave him their support. I heard he just lost, so that is a shame. He had a long game, but I’ll try to get him through for the doubles either today or tomorrow. Olivier is trying to get his best level for next week, but you can only do that with matches under your belt.

Wish me luck.

Fly

Friday, January 12, 2007

I am happy to have played our doubles match indoors this morning. Olivier [Rochus] and I did not want to hang around after such a long day Thursday. Jeff Coetzee and Rogier Wassen played really well and were too strong [winning 6-1, 6-3]. It was tough to play our best level.

Beforehand, we passed by Stephane before the match. My legs were in a bad state following the [David] Ferrer match yesterday. I was feeling bad physically last night and needed 20-25 minutes of stretching with my lower back. Olivier and I are now in a good state to prepare Melbourne.

It was a hot and long day Thursday, but I know I am good for five-set matches now. Olivier and I had a bite to eat in the hotel restaurant last night and were a little sleepy already. I returned to my room and slept for six or seven hours. I’m still not used to the time difference.

Although we played our doubles at midday, I am flying off to Melbourne in the next couple of hours so this will be my last blog. I’m of the opinion that when a tournament is over it is best to leave for the next tournament. Now we go to Melbourne, which is a main goal for every player. We will try to prepare ourselves over there for a couple of days, where the weather is 36C compared to 15C here.

Right now, I’m not really thinking about the Australian Open, but when I get to Melbourne; into the stadium, the locker room and see everyone trying to prepare for a two-week stay. You’ll see the favorites [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal trying to play their best level, but others are there as well.

When I came off court my coach told me about the draw for Belgium players. I know it a little bit, but we’ll see what happens Monday and Tuesday.

I am playing German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round. He played well here this week. We played once last year, in Munich on clay (head-to-head).

But next week will be completely different. Philipp is a hard-hitter and plays well from the baseline. We played some club matches in France during the winter, so we got to know each other a bit better. It will be 50-50.

The winner will play Nadal, who I played in Monte Carlo last year. Nadal will play [Robert] Kendrick again, who he struggled past en route to the Wimbledon final. Obviously Rafa lost to [Xavier] Malisse in Chennai last week, so he is losing matches, and perhaps we have a chance.

My coach has just gone to collect some sandwiches at Subway, while I need to pack my bags back at the hotel. My clothes are all over the room. After a couple of days, my clothes are normally under the bed, which means I have to really search the room before I leave. I may forget something!

When I came here from Doha I didn’t have matches under my belt, but at least now I have played three singles and two doubles matches in Auckland. Three wins out of five is not too bad. My level is getting better and better and I have a few days to get ready.

Some of my friends have read the blog, as they have text messaged me. I haven’t told anyone really, but friends are following from afar. My first coach I ever had, who gave me lessons at 12 and 13, is a great guy and still supports me. He came to the Roland Garros last year. It’s always good to see him. Also a few basketball players in the Belgium league, who I train with occasionally, are reading it as well.

Wish me luck next week.

Fly

[jenhatter06]

Tommy Haas
Blogging From: Memphis

PART ONE

Monday, February 19, 2007

Welcome to Memphis everyone, where the tournament really knows how to look after its former champions. Not only do I get to drive a beautiful Mercedes S-Class 550 but I also get my own reserved parking space just 20 feet from the front door to the club.

I played qualies back here in '95 or '96 when I was 17 or 18 years old and I saw the people like Sampras, Courier, Chang and Todd Martin who had their name on parking spaces up front and I thought that would be really cool to do that one day. This is where I won my first ATP title back in '99, beating one of my idols growing up, Jim Courier. I remember saying in the final speech that I won't have to worry about parking next year. It seems to be a big deal because everyone keeps mentioning that. But you don't get extra privileges for winning it twice - I still just have the one space despite winning the tournament for a second time last year. But what can you do with two parking spaces, anyway It's a cool thing to never have to worry about your spot.

The only shame is that it's such a short drive between the hotel and the tournament site. You can walk to the site in less than five minutes and everything you need is just around the corner, like the restaurant Houstons and the movie theater (where our badge gets us in for free!) The longest trip we have is a three minute drive to our breakfast hangout, Blue Plate Cafe. So my physio and I joke that we need to go on a road trip and see Graceland or something. But I've been to Graceland twice, so I don't need to go back.

I took last week off after playing in the Davis Cup team that defeated Croatia. Let me tell you a little bit about what happened to me after the tie.

The tie was played in Krefeld, Germany, about 30 minutes from Duesseldorf. The night of the win the head of our new team sponsor, Vivacon, a real estate company, took the team to a nice bar/restaurant, which at that time of the night, we basically had to ourselves.

My goal was to stay awake for the whole night so I could sleep all the way on my flight back to Los Angeles, where I was going for 4-5 days to visit my girlfriend. I had to leave for the Frankfurt airport at 5 a.m., which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. My plan was to stay awake in the car so I could sleep on the plane and it worked very well - I slept for about 10 hours of the 11 1/2 hour flight.

It was tough to keep my eyes open in the car in the early hours of the morning, so I was texting a couple of friends the whole time, listening to my iPod and talking to the driver. You feel a little obligated to keep him company at that hour of the morning, because it was a big effort for him to get up so early. And he also had to drive back! So I gave him a little information on the Tommy Haas life.

They have a really cool first class check-in in Frankfurt. You basically step out of the car, drop your bags and go through a totally different security system without any lines and right away you're there in the first class lounge. They treat you like royalty. This was my first time doing it. On long trips I normally fly business class but on this occasion I flew first.

When it's time to get on the Lufthansa flight they pick you up in a Mercedes S-Class with your own escort. They drive you around the airport and I asked to be driven around a bit more because I'd never done that before. My escort said he could take me the long way round to the plane. They walk you up and escort you to your seat and say 'have a nice flight'. I couldn't wait for the plane to get to 33,000 feet, so I could put the seat back and get to sleep.

This was my first taste of the first-class experience and I have to say the Germans know how to do that well. But so do the good folks here in Memphis. I love my parking spot!

I play my first match here in Memphis tomorrow against Vince Spadea. I'll make a new post after that.

Tommy

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

You don't have to go looking for trains in Memphis. They normally find you. It's a trademark of the city to hear the huge freight trains rumble through the city, sounding their loud horns.

But my physical trainer, Tom Seifert, who is here with me this week, has always been fascinated with trains (He wants to do a train journey through Canada.) So yesterday at Starbucks we stepped outside and we walked a few meters down to the tracks, where he took great delight in showing me the engines and carriages.
Speaking off coffee shops, I must tell you that I need my latte at night or I can't sleep. People say they don't drink coffee at night because it keeps them awake, but I'm the opposite.

Last night after Starbucks as normal we took in a movie. Tom was really tired and wanted to bail out on the movie but I like to joke with him that he's my slave this week and there' was no way he was going back to the hotel. He was coming to the movies. It was a coin toss between Music and Lyrics (Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore) and Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage). I heard Music and Lyrics is more of a 'chick flick,' so I'm going to wait and see that with my girlfriend. The best you can say about Ghost Rider is that 'it is what it is.' It's not my favorite, but it was free!

Two night ago we went saw Breach with my good friend Hugo Armando and Xavier Malisse, who I have a good relationship with. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have enough suspense or action for my liking. I'm a tough critic.

More trains this morning on our way to breakfast at the Blue Plate Cafe. We got stopped at a rail crossing and we must have sat there for five or six minutes as this train with 200 or 300 containers of coal rolled past. We were really low on gasoline - the needle was already on empty, so I was getting a little nervous. But fortunately we had enough gas to make it to the gas station and then after that I had my normal breakfast of pancakes and eggs. We saw Xavier and Hugo. We asked Xavier about the MRI he had on his wrist. It looks like it's just tendinitis and he's going back to Bradenton where we live to take a couple of days off.

I played the night match against Spadea so I had some time to kill during the day. I warmed up a little bit at the club and in the afternoon I took a little nap and then went to Starbucks again. For some reason today I could only sleep for 15 minutes but usually I like to take 45 minutes to an hour.

I got a text message from my Dunlop rep. today. I played with the new color racquet of Dunlop today. I was supposed to make the switch at the end of last year but I didn't fall in love with the colors and thought the racquet was playing a little differently. They prepared a new one for me and those racquets came in five or six days ago. Today was my first test with the new racquets. It's probably just a mental thing but you're thinking that maybe the racquet could play a little differently. He was surprised that I was trying the racquet in a match so soon. But I thought it's better to change early and so far, so good.

A day off tomorrow, so look out for another post.

Tommy

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

I thought it was about time to introduce you to my physio, Tom Seifert. It's just the two of us this week but things can get confusing at times when we're joined by my coach Thomas Hogstedt. Too many Toms! So we have to get some rules in place. My physio goes by Tom, my coach goes by Thomas and I don't really even turn my head unless I hear Tommy. We also have nicknames for each other, but let's not go there just now...

My blood pressure was up this morning straight after breakfast. Here in the States the parking spaces are normally quite big, as opposed to Europe, where you look out for the smallest opening. I walked out of the Blue Plate Cafe and this pick-up truck with all kinds of stuff in the back of it parked so close to my car that there was no way in hell that I could get in. There was a gap of like six inches. This guy was chomping down on his pancakes while I was trying to figure out how I was going to get in the car. I was on my way back into the Blue Plate Cafe to look for the guy when I decided that I'd just go through the passenger seat and jump across rather than make a big deal out of it. I had to roll down my window to get some fresh air to calm down. Oh, how I miss my parking space at The Racquet Club!

Last night I had dinner at a fantastic restaurant, Folks Folly. Once you go there you get hooked; the steak is phenomenal. I always go for the filet. I've been a medium guy but have started to go the little more juicy route with the medium rare.

I woke up to a beautiful Memphis day of about 70 degrees and I almost wanted to play outdoors. I practiced today with my Davis Cup colleague Benjamin Becker, warming him up before his match. Normally I would have racquets freshly strung for practice but unusually I played the whole match last night with the same racquet, so I didn't need to re-string before today's practice.

We joked around a little on the court. Benjamin is wearing the Boris Becker line - he just signed a contract last week in Krefeld, Germany, during the Davis Cup week. I gave him a little bit of s... about his practice clothes. "They're pretty ugly," I told him. "Tell Boris to step it up a bit and not be so cheap with his line. Tell him to work on the quality." Benjamin himself said the hats could be a little better.

After practice it was back to the room for a little nap. I tried to fall to sleep at 2.30 and told Tom to wake me at 4, but then I told him 4.30 and later 5 because I couldn't fall to sleep. I was watching the great trial of Anna Nicole Smith. Where is she going to be buried? Is it going to be the Bahamas, is it going to be Texas? Maybe now California? Who is the real daddy?

And then there's the judge! He's quite funny most of the time and I think he's looking at Hollywood after the case is closed. And most likely he'll get a job there in this crazy world. I've been following a bit of Britney Spears, also. Hopefully she'll come through therapy well and we wish her all the best. Can't wait to watch the news later tonight to follow it more. That's what passes for news these days.

On Thursday I play my second-round match against Amer Delic. I'll talk to you after that.

Tommy

[jenhatter06]

PART TWO

Thursday, February 22, 2007

I hear there was some talk in the press room today about the first serve streak I had going. After winning all 20 points on my first serve in the first match against Vince Spadea I won the first 17 points on my first serve today against Amer Delic. While I was aware I went 20 for 20 against Spadea it really wasn't on my mind today in the first set. I was conscious that I seemed to be winning the point when the first serve went in but it wasn't till after the match that I was told the streak got up to 37 that I was fully aware of it. I'm sure that's not going to happen again anytime soon.

Today's match against Delic was unusual for another reason: neither of us faced a break point during the match. I can't remember the last time that happened. I remember losing to Wayne Arthurs in three tie-breaks at Wimbledon in '99, but he saved one break point and I saved a few.

Tom today was keeping track of how many times I changed the radio between the hotel, Blue Plate Cafe and Starbucks, which at most is 1000 yards away. He told me it was 38 times. He gets quite annoyed we don't listen to his choice but I'm in the driver's seat so he has to sit there and take it. I keep changing until I find something that smoothes my mind.

I was thinking earlier in the day that some items were missing from my laundry bag when it came back. It seemed like I'd only gotten about half of it back and Tom didn't think he'd got his all back either. There's some Calvin Klein underwear I can't find and also some match shirts may not have made it back. I've been on the road a long time and I've probably only got five or six shirts left. I normally like to throw a shirt or wristband into the crowd at the end of a match to give something back to the fans for supporting me but I may have to start rationing that. Laundry Update: It looks like I have all my clothes (and underwear!) back

Benjamin Becker told me he saw my comments about his clothes in the blog and that he'll have a talk with Boris. But he said that he didn't remember me telling him I thought the clothes were ugly. "Well I'm telling you now that they're ugly," I said.

Tonight I'm going to watch some of Benny's match against Roddick. Apart from that it will be a quiet night ahead of tomorrow's match against Sam Querrey.

I'd like to hear from you. Please send me a question and I'll answer the most interesting ones here in my blog. (Editor's Note: Send emails with "Tommy Blog" in the subject field.)

Tommy

Friday, February 23, 2007

I finally managed to get a photo away from the site to show you. Here I am enjoying a latte at Starbucks, which is just up the road from the club and also the tournament hotel. On an earlier visit to Starbucks today (I've lost count how many times I've been there this week!) Tom and I got into an interesting conversation with a group of girls, who were probably around 17 or 18.

One of the girls pulls out this love letter and starts reading to her friends and we overheard some of the lines. We asked them kindly to pass the note over to us and it was a phenomenal letter written by a young guy obviously trying to win the heart of this girl. I remember some of the lines:

I will protect you like a wolf
I will ward off your enemies
God shall be on my side

He was telling her everything he liked to do, his favorite movies, music. It was cute in a way. He is trying to win her but it looks like a tough task, even though deep down inside I think the girl liked the attention. In front of her friends she probably felt like the 'it' girl.

I'm not sure if they recognized me. They asked us what we were doing and we said that we were just spectators at the tennis. Whenever Tom and I sit down we seem to strike up a conversation with people. Tom's not shy! He'll always open the door... it's just a matter of how it shuts on us.

There is a railway crossing just a few steps outside Starbucks. Tom likes to get right down by the boom gate and feel the ground shake as the train roars past. He had me waiting outside in the cold for this train. I was imagining the headlines in the newspaper: "Haas withdraws from semifinals after catching cold waiting for train." In the lead-up Tom get's so excited. "The light has turned from green to red, that means the train is on it's way," he said. Then he's down there touching the track, putting his hear to it. In this day and age that sort of stuff will get you arrested.

So the train finally roars past but he was a little disappointed because the cars were empty and the ground didn't shake like it did the other day when they were full with coal. He takes trains seriously. I think Polar Express is one of his favorite movies.

Anyway, down to business. I promised to answer some of your emails, so here we go...

Tommy, you have been in the U.S. a long time and seem to like it here. Have you ever considered becoming a U.S. citizen?
SPW-Raleigh
I have thought about it but while I am still playing I want to play Davis Cup for Germany. I've been here a long time and probably will spend most of my time in the States when I'm done with tennis. It also depends on who I settle down with.


Wow! You lead a pretty exciting life. Almost ran out of gas! Had to slide into the passenger side to get in the Mercedes! Actually though it made me feel better that I'm not missing anything glamorous. Sounds just like one of my days. Also I wanted to mention that diet of yours. Have you had your cholesterol checked lately? Steak? Pancakes and eggs?
Another Tommy
I haven't had a check lately but to my knowledge I'm doing fine. I have a blood test in Germany every once in a while to make sure everything is in line, and so far so good.


Who's the biggest ladies man of the ATP tour? Dmitry Tursunov and Vince Spadea claim they are but you've done quite well
David
Marat Safin would definitely be on top of the list. Feliciano Lopez would be up there. A guy like Mark Philippoussis, although he's not playing that much anymore. Those guys seem to be having quite a lot of fun.

What do you think you would be doing if you had never played tennis?
Michael Jonckheere
Tough to answer as all along I've always wanted to be a tennis professional. When I was young I thought being a pilot would be cool. My dad always wanted me to be good at judo because that was a sport he did for a long time, but I never saw myself doing that. Right now I'm living my dream. Maybe after tennis I will find something that interests me.


Where is your favorite place to plays, besides Germany. Like what is your favorite tournament? Might it be the Australian Open since you've made the semis three times?
Justin
The Australian Open is one of my favorites and I like the tournaments in the States because everything around is familiar to me. There are so many good ones. There aren't really any that I don't like.

I play my semifinal tomorrow against Mardy Fish at 11 a.m. Hopefully I'll have some good news to report in my next post.

Tommy

Saturday, February 24, 2007

It was an early wake-up call this morning to prepare for an 11 a.m. semifinal against Mardy Fish. Tom and I arrived at Blue Plate a little before eight and there wasn't a lot of conversation over breakfast - it was all we could do just to keep our eyes open. I actually had a chat to the tournament director to discuss the early start and he said that next year the semis would start a bit later.

I was very pleased to get another win today and reach the final here in Memphis for the third time. My girlfriend and her younger sister flew in from Los Angeles today. It's just a quick visit because straight after the final tomorrow I've got to get on a private jet to make it to JFK in time to catch an 11 p.m. Emirates flight direct to Dubai. When I get to Dubai I'll hook up again with my coach Thomas Hogstedt, who is already there spending time with his family. He's been text messaging me every day giving me a few pointers and thoughts on my opponents.

I want you to meet one of the many volunteers who may the tournament tick. This is Jerry (pictured above), a phenomenally nice guy who is always in good spirits and someone you can always rely on. He always looks out for me and my friends when we're in town and he's got up at 4 or 5 o'clock many times to take me back to the airport. One year I remember giving Jerry a call saying my parents were coming into town along with my dad's parents and asked him if he'd pick them up and show them around. He took such good care of them over a couple of days, taking them to Graceland and driving them around Memphis.

I didn't give him much notice. Jerry tells the story that I called him up at work at 10.30 a.m. and asked him to pick up my parents from the airport around 4 the same day. It was a last-minute decision of my parents to go, and then it clicked that I had a friend there who could maybe show them around. Jerry dropped everything he had on and showed them a great couple of days. They went to Graceland, to Blue Plate Cafe, so they got a little feel of what it's like during the tournament week.

Right now My dad is in Florida and I thought about bringing him here this week but he's more interested in getting a suntan and enjoying the beach.

I want to say hi to Glenn Weiner through the blog and wish him all the best for what may be the start of a promising coaching career. He hasn't decided to stop playing but he's had some injury problems with his left wrist since the US Open and the last two or three weeks he's started teaching a bit at the Bollettieri Academy and he has the chance to travel with one of the young rising players, Philip Bester, of Canada. He left a message on my phone Friday saying that he's arrived in Texas - there is a Future there somewhere - and all the players were asking him how he was doing and if he was playing.

Wish me good luck for the final,

Tommy

Sunday, February 25, 2007

I knew I was going to see Andy Roddick across the other side of the net in the final today, but I didn't realize we'd run into each other so early in the day. When I got to the Blue Plate Cafe for breakfast there was a wait of about 20-25 minutes and Andy was already two places ahead of me in the line. I would have been ahead of him had it not been for my girlfriend. Just kidding

It was really busy in there today as people were having breakfast either on their way to church or on their way back from church. So that made us both rush a little bit. We just said 'good morning.' That was pretty much it. He was waiting in a different corner to me. If I had been alone we may have chatted more but I was there with my girlfriend.

Obviously I was very happy to win the title today and with the way I played. It's the first time I've defended a title and the first time I've won a title without facing a break point. It's been a phenomenal week and I've played some great tennis.

You want to enjoy it and not be in a rush but I have a 5.30 flight to JFK (the only way I could make it on time was to go by private plane) and then I have a 13-hour flight to Dubai. It would be nice to stay here the night and celebrate but unfortunately I don't have that luxury. I was glad to see my girlfriend Sara here over the weekend. She's going to drive up to Nashville later today to see her other sister.

In Dubai I look forward to meeting up with my sister and her nine-month-old daughter I don't get to see very often, and seeing my coach Thomas Hogstedt. Rushing to a tournament like this isn't the ideal preparation but what can you do? The time change will be pretty brutal. But I've never been to Dubai before so I'm looking forward to that. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Thanks for reading the blog this week. I'm glad I could keep up the good winning record of bloggers!

Tommy

[jenhatter06]

this is the most recent blog as of today (here's hoping for new ones soon) ...

Player Name: Tomas Berdych
Blogging From: Dubai Tennis Championships

Monday, February 26, 2007

Hello from Dubai! I came here straight from Rotterdam on Friday morning, going from Amsterdam to Munich and Munich to Dubai. It’s not as long, but it’s six hours and six hours during the night is quite tough. I was trying to sleep in the flight a little bit, but the first day was very tough because I was sleeping only three or four hours. But I tried a little bit to practice and get used to these conditions since I came from Europe where it is really cold.

I met with my parents on Saturday, who arrived to be here with me and to have some holidays because in the Czech Republic it was cold and they had some snow coming. For them I think it’s a fantastic week. They did the same thing last year. They really liked the place and everything, and they like to see tennis. They want to go somewhere with me and see some matches, so they’re going to be staying here with me all the week. I’ll be here until Saturday for sure, and then I’ll be going to the States – to Indian Wells – and that’s the long trip! If it’s just straight from Dubai to Europe it’s okay, but when it's more than 12 hours it’s going to be tough.

On Saturday, I did the draw ceremony for the first time at a tournament and it was something special. I expected I would be somewhere in the office and just take numbers and they’d do the draw. I didn’t think it’d be so huge with a press conference where they’d ask you something, and so many people like the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates. It was very nice.

Before the draw, we were talking who was going to play Marcos because he was one of the guys who is not seeded, so he could play Roger or play Rafael. It turned out that his was the last number to stay in the trophy from where we were taking the numbers, which meant that he would play Rafael. We were talking how once here Federer and Safin played in the first round the year Safin won the Australian Open. They are very interesting matches, and it’s just good for the tournament.

Today, I had my first match. I just came to the club in the morning to have some warm-up, then just ate quick lunch to be ready for my match. Somebody said you’re just playing with a wild card, and it’s somebody who is not traveling to many tournaments. And then you come to court and he’s playing really well – last year he played a great match with Roger – so it was very tough. Also, when you come from the tournament indoor, that’s something tough. But I’m very happy that I made it.

My parents and I want to go back for dinner tonight to a really nice place close to the Burj Al Arab, the Madinat resort, where you sit in some small boat and they take you to some restaurant. We went to a Japanese restaurant on Saturday, and today we are going for steak. Because I’m not going to play tomorrow – it’s my day off – then we have some more time to spend. When you’re traveling, there’s some traffic, so it’ll be good not to spend all night in the car!

I was told that there is some tradition that player who does the blog wins, like Tommy Haas did last week from Memphis, so if it’s tradition, it’s going to be great for me especially when I’m right now in Dubai and the draw is so tough. If it’s tradition and if it works, I’m going to be very happy. But, I need to have a great week.

Tomas

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

We changed the plan for the dinner last night, but we still had a nice evening yesterday. My parents and I went to the Emirates Towers where we found a beautiful restaurant for sushi. We went there with Petr Pala, and he’s spent some more time than me here in Dubai so he took us to the really nice bar on the 51st floor in the building. It was with a beautiful view for the whole city and everything, so it was really nice.

With the Czech guys on the tour, we are getting close every single week because it’s many of the doubles guys and the singles guys, and we’re spending so much time. Especially for the dinners and everything, we’re going often together.

Today was good, just with one practice around lunchtime. I hit one-and-a-half to two hours with Petr, who is my doubles partner, and I had one interesting conversation with Jacco Eltingh from the Player Board. We were talking about some new rules and new schedule and I got a lot of new information.

Now I’m enjoying this nice evening at the Player Party for the tournament. I’m already here for the third time and every year it’s better and better. This year for the first time, I was riding on the big camel, so it was really interesting. It is always interesting if you can do something for the first time.

My parents are with me here tonight, and they were here last year for the party too. My mother was for the first time also on the camel. This is fantastic for them – and for me, too – because we're from a small city. I've already spent so much time on the tour, but for them it’s so much experience, so much new things to do. That’s nice for them. Maybe they want to go on some tour, like go to the desert, so that’s going to be also something interesting. I’ve never been there, so if I can – maybe if I’m going to be out of the tournament – then maybe I can spend some time there. But I’m on the blog and last week Tommy won the tournament, so I’m trying to keep this going!

Tomorrow is going to be a long day because I’m going to play singles 4 o’clock in the afternoon, take some rest, and then I’m going to play doubles. So I’m going to play pretty long, but that’s our life.

I will stay at the party just a little longer and then go back to the hotel. It’s 9:30pm already, but with the time difference for this zone, I don’t like it. From Europe it’s just three hours. If it’s five or six, then you are dead the first day, and the next day it is better and you are used to the time. With three hours, I cannot sleep in the night and then in the morning I will sleep till 11 o’clock. That’s always a problem, here and in India. When I’d been last year in Mumbai, I just stayed on European time. I went to sleep 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, wake up 12 and my matches start at 5. So it was like a normal day in Europe. But I still did well – I made the final – so maybe I should keep doing this!

Tomas

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I had two matches today. One I lost, one I won, so this day was fifty-fifty – it can be better but still it can be worse. If I could choose, for me maybe it would’ve been better to win the singles one, but Mikhail was too good today. He was playing with a lot of confidence from the last week when he won the tournament.

Of course after the match I was sad and thinking what I should do better, but for me, it always takes like half an hour and then everything is fine. We also had one match before our doubles, so I stayed in the players lounge and watched some news from what’s going on in my country. I try to follow the news a lot so I can know all the things what are happening in the time when I’m not at home.

Yesterday was also the last day with the trades between the hockey teams, so I checked what happened there, and none of my friends were traded – just the guys from Canada and other countries. For tennis you know you’re traveling every single week, going to another city, another place, but your base is still the one place. But for ice hockey, you’re staying in one team for one, two, five, ten years and then one day they’re going to say, “see you and you’re going to the other part of the States.” You can play in New York and the next day they want you in Los Angeles. They have to be used to this situation, but it could be strange.

When we went to the court for the doubles, I was talking with one of my friends here and was asking if we’re going to lose, what am I going to do with my day off. I really like kart racing, so I asked where is some race track, and he said there is a fantastic one half an hour away from here. He said I could call him and he would arrange it, so I said fine, that’s great. I told him that we had tough opponents (Martin Damm and Leander Paes) who also won last week. But we just went to the court and won, so all the plans are different now! I played with Petr once before and we lost so easy, and today it was completely different and also really great. The blog streak is still alive. Even if it’s for doubles, it still counts!

On Monday, I played doubles with one of the ball kids and we also won. It was good, and they gave us an award – it’s not a poster, but like a picture on the wall but bigger and has something inside Arabian-style. It’s pretty nice. It’s something special that shows you’ve been in Dubai and these are the special things we did. We also got a gift package when we arrived with a small shisha in the framed box, so I already have two of these! Some people have tried shisha and somebody said try, but I have never even tried smoking. I don’t like the smell. It’s not for me!

I just saw the schedule and we’re going to play 4 o’clock tomorrow, so it won’t be so tough or strict for the schedule. So maybe in the morning, I’ll go to look at the shops, maybe buy some new games for the PlayStation.

Tomas

Thursday, March 1, 2007

The first half of the day was just sleeping because yesterday we stayed in the Irish pub on site. We were sitting there with our friends who are living here in Dubai and watched the end of the match of Nadal – but on the screen, not on the court. It was a long evening, so I was sleeping until like 11 o’clock in the morning. Yesterday I said I wanted to go shopping, but the time in the bed was more important!

Because I was sleeping long, there was no time for breakfast because everything was closed so I just came to the site. I went to the gym, had lunch, and went to the warm-up before our match. We started 4 o’clock our match, and it was my last this week, but what can I do. That’s the sport. We have to just be ready for the next matches, next week in the season. Now it’s like better part of the day for me. Petr made reservations for good restaurant in Jumeirah Beach so we’re going to see how is going to be the evening there and I hope I’m going to enjoy it.

I’m going to leave Sunday morning because I’m going to go straight from here to Munich, and then Munich to Los Angeles. In Munich, I’m going to meet with my coach. Also, Lucie, my girlfriend, we’re going to meet in the plane on the way to Los Angeles. So we’re going to be a big party and we’re going to take the car in Los Angeles and ride to Palm Springs.

Lucie and I text message, make phone calls, and now all the time use Skype. It’s very good. You can spend so much time on that. That’s only way how we can talk and communicate when we’re not together. We go to some tournaments together during the season, like Indian Wells, Miami, then all four Grand Slams. We try before some big tournaments like the US Open to go one more week before. So, I think anyway it can be better, it can be worse. But if it’s like this, I’m happy with that.

Tomorrow it’s going to be definitely one day off because I’m little bit feeling not too well – something from air conditioning – so I’m going to be resting. But Petr just told me to say that my schedule for tomorrow is you’re going to start on the skis, then you’re going to go to the water park, and then you finish the day on the kart racing. I don’t know it’s going to be so busy how he said, but I think one from these three options is going to be there for sure! I would say it’s going to be the kart racing. It’s always fun, and everywhere I have a chance, then I’m trying to go. When I saw the racing here, it looked pretty nice. Everywhere in Europe it’s just indoors so it’s small, but here it’s outdoor and nice race track, so I hope also I’m going to take some pictures from there.

That’s really good with Petr because he can organize for me all the schedule. It’s good he’s now on just the doubles, but he’s traveling with us for the Davis Cup team, and he’s doing all the stuff around the team if we need arranged around the practice and all the things. So now we are taking him back on the tour and we’re just asking please just make the reservations for the restaurant, and you know, I would like to go there, please can you arrange it for me. And he says, "No, this is not Davis Cup. Now it’s all your way, and if it’s going to be Davis Cup I’m going to be doing it for you, but not now." But he always wants to make sure that we can go places and it’s going to work and everything.

I usually don’t have so much time to go out when I’m on the road, but it depends. Last year, I’d been in Rome and we went to the Coliseum and all those places. So, sometimes it’s good and sometimes when you lose, then you want to go as soon as possible home and then there’s no time to see anything. Here in Dubai there’s so many things to see and so many things to do. I always like to coming back here.

I’ll post one more entry since I’ll have more pictures and more interesting things that aren’t just tennis. For sure we’re going to something from those activities. I have to fight for the kart racing, that’s for sure, and then if Petr wants to go the aqua park, that’s no problem!

Tomas

Friday, March 2, 2007

I promised pictures from our day, but my mom has the camera right now and she is still shopping so I will update the blog with my photos later!

Last night at Jumeirah Beach was fantastic. We were sitting on the restaurant that was part of the Jumeirah Beach hotel complex with all the pools. On the right was the huge Burj Al Arab hotel, so it was a beautiful view and nice weather – not so cold, not so windy. There was some Thai and Malaysian buffet, so it was something different. Then we finished again with Petr in the bar. It was in the Jumeirah on the top floor, where there is small balcony with a couple of tables. We were just sitting there with a view of the entire city.

Today I was a little tired because at 10 o’clock we went to the Emirates Mall to see the ski, but it’s not for me because I’m still not feeling well for skiing. To go there was too cold, and I didn’t feel enough ready for it. But we went around shopping and we took the lunch there. For the afternoon, Petr’s friend who’s living here took us to the Dubai Autodrome which is about 15 minutes from the Emirates centre. We just came there and it was quite busy so we had to wait a little bit. There are two courses: one is for normal, big cars, and one is for kart racing. So we went to see what was going on on the big one. There was some races on the motorbikes, so we just watched this and it was pretty exciting. Then we set the time for our racing. We went for 15 minutes, had off 15-20 minutes, and then went once more for 15 minutes.

I was first time on the kart which is under open sky because in Europe most of these circuits is in big garage which is indoor. This was something absolutely different. It was pretty nice. I like it, so I can enjoy it a lot. First time it was getting used to it and our time laps were getting better and better. There were about 20 people on the track at the same time, so we could be racing and you had some people passing, so it was pretty exciting. It was quite big – it’s 1.3 km long, so we just don’t go around or something. You have some opponents, people in front of you, some people behind you. It’s pretty good. We didn't race against each other, so if somebody made mistake, we just waited for the other from us. Then for the times, in the first 15 minutes I was the best. In the second 15, Petr was the best. It was quite good also with the weather because it was not so hot.

And also, it was the first time I went and I see just the desert with nothing around. It’s a little bit from the city, but just from the city where it’s not the buildings. That’s really nice. Something different.

Now I’m trying to get the plane for tomorrow morning. I want to try and go home for one more day, then take the flight Sunday to Los Angeles. If it’s going to be available, then I’m going to go tomorrow morning around 9 o’clock. Some of the flights are busy and full, but maybe I’m going to get my place. Still I have to pack all my stuff, and that’s the worse thing from the traveling for me. But, it’s every week the same so I’m getting used to it.

So we have last night here and I think Petr organized some dinner at the Creek, which is not so far from here, and it’s like nice place – something around the water – so we're going to see some new place again.

Thanks for reading my blog this week, and follow more of the tennis. If there's more fans, it’s just even better for the sport.

Tomas

[Dina]

thanx sweety!

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Tommy Robredo is doing the next blog, from the Monte Carlo Masters...... He's the first tennis player who is blogging for the 2nd time (apart from the residential bloggers ofcourse )
Maybe Marat will do a 2nd blog too ;D





Player Name: Tommy Robredo
Blogging From: Masters Series Monte-Carlo



Sunday, April 16, 2007



Hello everyone,

I'm happy to be writing the blog again this week and hopefully it will again bring me good luck. Last year I did the blog from Hamburg and I won my first Masters Series title there. after that i started to blog a little bit on my own web site (http://www.tommy-robredo.com/) but never good enough to win another master series. i think it's a great way to interact with the fans and let them know a bit more about us and what we're doing.


I got a little bit of help today but from tomorrow I will be doing all the writing myself... so don't be too hard on me if some spelling mistakes creep in

It's so nice to be back in Europe after a month and a half in the States.

It's been seven or eight months since I've played on clay. The last time was Sopot last year and now we're in the middle of April. It's nice to be sliding again and playing high balls to the opponents!!!! I haven't had a lot of time to prepare on clay, because of last week's rain in barcelona, but it's still my favorite surface and i hope to get the ryhthm quick.

I arrived in Monte-Carlo Saturday evening, got a massage on my legs and had room service while i was waching 24 on a dvd. The last thing I did before going to bed last night was to call reception and ask what time breakfast closed. They said 10.30, so I set the alarm for 10.15. I had breakfast with my coach and Tursunov. I didn't tell him I was doing the blog this week... maybe he'll find out tomorrow. In the morning I'm not a good talker so I let Tursunov and my coach do most of the talking. I prefer to listen.

Today I practiced with David Ferrer for an hour, then watched some of the Formula 1 race and i had a practice with rafa in the afternoon before to get to the hotel for a shower and a massage with ivan ( is david ferrer and myself physio for this week and hopefully for the future but now he is under exam ... jejeje).


At the moment we are following the TV show '24' with Kiefer Sutherland. a friend of mine made a present to me six months ago and it was the first edition of 24, but i didnt startto watch that till indian wells) and right now after a month, I am on the fifth season !!!

this 24 show is like an addiction to chocolate, as you start waching then you cant stop!!! even my coach watched a chapter in miami in an apparment that we rented there and after that he didnt let me watch a chapter without him. then at davis cup fernando gave the first season to david ferrer and he got crazy about that as well..after dinner every night david was going to his own room to see it and pepo and javi piles were coming to my room. i recomend you all to watch it!!!! its so good!

my coach call me Jack Bauer and I call him President Palmer. Then if you want a make him happy start talking to him as president david palmer

I am now a few chapters ahead of my coach because we took different planes back from Davis Cup and he fell behind. So I make jokes with him saying that President Palmer is dead, Jack Bauer is dead but he somehow survives… It makes my coach crazy.

so im gonna leave you guys for today because i want a see whats hapening today in next chapter before i see ivan in my room for the massage and the bath... what a hard life eh!!!!!

That's all for today. Look out for my next post Monday night.

jack bauer as tommy in motecarlo open






Monday, April 17, 2007




hi everyone,.... here i am again and today writing by myself so, i want to apologize for my further mistakes...
yesterday i left you to go dinner.... and here i am going to start today!

yesterday morning i had a phone call from ana cronwall from bastad, a lady who all the players who goes year by year to play in bastad as i do.... love her so much and noone will say a bad word about her! she is the best player service lady i ever known and she just told me she was in monaco with anika, another lady from bastad staff and i arrange a dinner with them!

then me and my coach went with them to giannis for dinner.when we got there we saw a lot of people from tennis, there was a table of all the employees of the atp, umpires ,trainers, refrerees,...and as well thomas and christer the two men in charge of the bastad tournament... and we joined them for dinner....

im not going to say what we were talking about in the dinner - thats a bit private..im joking!! but what i can tell you for sure is that im going a be in bastad for sure this year again!!!! after that we just went back walking to the hotel and then of course i couldnt go to bed without a chapter of 24!!!!

this morning i got up early because of a press thing nicola told me to do!!! 9.45 i was in the tennis answering questions to the press! nicola dont do it again to me please!!!!!!! you have to know i hate to get up like that!!!!! as jason statham says in the movie transporte, quiet in the morning!!! and obviously what was the first question they did to me???

what do you think about downgrading montecarlo of a master series...?? what a way to start the day... i think they knew i was one of the players trying to protect clay court tournaments in the players meeting we had in miami last month...

then i had practise at 11 with fernando gonzalez for an hour, a bit of stretching and i went to have lunch at the player restaurant where i met nanette, one of the ladies who works for the atp staff and is going toa be taking care of promoting some players in spain and italy, it means she is going to be the one who will help me to be a star!!!!! oh my god!!!!!! from monaco to hollywood! while i was in the lunch the great stephan vivier (trainer of the atp) arranged my computer. he is great with computers as well!!! what a man!

after that lunch a bit of dead time in the tennis waiting for my second practice of the day with gilles simon at 4pm for an hour again before to get back to the room where i am right now doing the blog!

in a couple of minutes ivan will come to give me the massage... today its going to be legs massage because i will play on wednesday against clement, and i dont like to get a legs massage the day before, it makes me feel a bit slower and i want to be so fast for my first match on clay!

after that i will have dinner with alex corretja. as most of you know he is now working with tve (spanish television) and gerard a friend of his and soccer player who was playing on barcelona team (my team) a couple of years ago. i met him yesterday night while i was walking back from the restaurant and he offered us a dinner, so we arranged for tonight. he is playing in monaco this year

before i let you guys see what my coach (president palmer) says i just want to say thanks specially to a girl, a chinese girl who gave me a present yesterday in the tennis.... i told her thanks in person, but anyway i wanted to do it again. the chinese fans are so great doing presents and supporting tennis as i could see in shanghai. thanks to all of you as well to all the other fans of tennis! without them tennis will not be a great sport!

.......................................................................



hola amigos, how is everybody? this is jose clavet, president palmer, and i'm so happy to be with all of you.

this is the first time i write in the atp blog, but montecarlo is a very good tournament for doing that. we got here on saturday a little bit worried cause the tournamant starts on sunday and tommy was waiting for the winner of clement serra match, who played on sunday. so tommy could have played on monday, without enough practice on clay. we arrived from usa last tuesday and in barcelona it was raining almost every day, but now he doesn't play till wenesday,so if we had known that, we would've stayed longer at home!!!!!

anyway this tournament is really good, so is not a problem to be here at all. i'm very happy the way tommy is practising all these days here, and i think he's ready to do a very good tournament here, even when the last tournament he played on clay was last year in sopot.

yesterday we had a very funny dinner with almost everybody from bastad, and today we have another with mister alex corretja and gerard, so as you can see we have a busy day, which is good, so you can do different things but tennis, and on wendesday we have the players dinner!!!!!!

i would like to go to the casino one night, to play a few euros in the black jack, but my bet usually is 5 euros and here the minimum i think is 25, so i think i'll go there as a spectator.

today we had a pratice session in the morning with gonzalez, and his coach larry was there with the prince racquet he used to play on the tour, around 20 or 25 years ago, and i was wondering if prince doesn't want to give him a new model, you know a little bit more from nowdays.

ok i think is enough for today, besides i have a bit of flu,so i have to rest for the tournament.

a big hug to everybody i go to watch a new 24 chapter!!!!!!

Tommy's web site: www.tommy-robredo.com/

Official Masters Series Monte-Carlo Web Site






Tuesday, April 18, 2007




hi everyone again.

today its tuesday and because of my late schedule with a wednesday start :

yesterday night i could go to dinner with alex and gerard the soccer player from monaco. we went to zebra square, a really nice restaurant with great mozarella with prochuto di parma and great calamari fritti. it was a really nice dinner, sharing information about different sports as futbol and tennis!

after dinner gerard showed us his apartment here in monaco and made me a present of one of his shirts. then he droped us back in our hotel because day after both of us have practice sessions.

today i get up at 10 and after a baguete with butter and honey and a little of juice (what a diet!!!!) me and my coach got a car to the tennis to prepare my big day of work! i just practised for an hour with nova djokovic and then a bitt of massage on my foot as every day. that was all my practise day! of course i get the ice bag on my foot, stretch and warm up with the (gomas) i dont know whats that word in english... some like elastic band for warming up the shoulder and not much more.

it seems amazing but thats the way i like to prepare a tennis match for day after!

anyway that was not the only thing i can tell you that i did today, luckily for me i did a lot more interesting things.

first of all stephan helped me to copy 2500 songs from his computer to mine... now on i would not have excuses to have a lot of music on my computer!

and then i got to the hotel because i had a meeting with thomas johanson! most of you would think why that???

the answer is so easy to guess. tomorrow night is the players night and here in montecarlo tournament we make a party in a place call the cabarette where we have dinner and then some players make shows on stage...for example some players go on stage and look like another player and make the same rituals, or he dresses like him, then some players play a song changing the words and saying things from tennis, things like that.! last year for example jonas and max mirnyi made a great show looking like feliciano lopez and verdasco... and i will be making a show with him as a partner. i can not tell you who are we going to look like because its a surprise but we hope it would be good!

luckilny for us there will be no press there and no people outside our tenis world because then we both wouldnt do that!



while we were practising, there was some other players preparing for tomorrows show and here you can see a picture of jonas bjorkman and the doubles players erlich-ram practising a dance with our teacher!

trust me you'll miss it!!!!!

and that was all my day. now im here in my room waiting for an early dinner because tomorrow im playing clement 2nd match after 10.

if the atp statistics doest lie i have played him 3 times with a 2-1 for me, but no one on clay.

what am i gonna do to try to beat him???

i could tell you but i prefer to see all of you tomorrow in the central court, but even if he is french and all the people here support the french players, please remember to support me as well, spain is very close from here! and also remember im one of some of the players who is trying to support montecarlo in being a master series after 2009. as well if you support me i would give you presents after the match! hahahhaha is this a way to buy fans?? hahaha

i hope to be writing you again tomorrow after a good day with a victory over clement and getting ready to go to the atp players night show!

see you tomorrow on the stadium

Tommy's web site: www.tommy-robredo.com/

Official Masters Series Monte-Carlo Web Site






Wednesday, April 19, 2007



hi again to all of you guys who follow the blog this week.

it has been a good day for the moment... hope it can fnish great after the show tonight... but im starting to be nervous... this thing of having to go on stage and try to look like another person.. its dificult but ill try my best!

this morning i got up at 8 and after my typical breafast i took one of the cars and arrive to the tennis. i supposed to play second match after ten, it means i like to be ready around 10 in case something happend in the first match and for that we made a reservation of the central court at 9 to warm up with djokovic!. i couldnt practice in all the week in the central and i like to play once there just to be sure i like the court and to get used to it! imagine how sleepy i was at that time in the morning that when i was going to get into the court, arnaud clement who had the same court to warm up with llodra, came to me and told me.... tommy what happend to your shirt?? i looked at that, and it was in the wrong way!!!! as i always say, i hate to wake up early!

after practice i just get a shower and get ready for the match!

the match started pretty good for me with a break and i get a 42 lead, and after that i think the match was under control and i could beat him 63 62! for the moment the day was going perfect, but after shower and while i was eating i played a chess match agains salva navarro(guillermo garcias coach) and he beat me!!!!! i have to say it was a close match but anyway at the end i lost!!!! and i hate that!!!!!!

and now im here in the hotel, relaxing to be focus for tomorrows match against berdych but also for tonight show!

im lucky, thanks to benito perez barbadillo (the man who works with rafa with the press) is helping me with the clothes i have to wear and i hope that toomas has all his clothes ready!.




also tomorrow we have another dinner but this one is going a be for the children of libano! all the players have signed a poster (see the photo) of that event and also i think there will be a interesting dinner to get funds for creating a hospital that can help to save lives!!!

anyway i have to tell you guys to dont show up in the lobby of the hotel often, because there are a few players (i will not say names to protect their reputation) that plays with playstation at pro evoution every single day close to my room.... i can assure that they scream like crazy and they are playing with a big bet: the loser team has to go in the reception only with underwear and make a few turns over a fountain while the winner team just scream to ensure that more people will see that!!!!!

as you can see players we do crazy things sometimes as well as normal people!

i still dont know when im playing tomorrow yet, pepo for sure is taking good care of practice court and all the rest of the things and im gonna a start waching another chapter of 24 before going to the dinner. im in the 4th cd of the 4th season and i cant stop waching it!!!!! i have to see how jack bauer plays the show to see if it can help me for tonights show!!!!

ill be writing back tomorrow with nice pictures from the players party!!! im rto be bad with you but you ll miss a great show!!!!

hope this is enough! see you in the party and bring the camera!


Tommy's web site: www.tommy-robredo.com/




Friday, April 20, 2007


sorry all of you for not writing back after losing, but when i lose a match i have not the same humour and i was missing that blog for a day, but im here back to explain my last hours in monaco!

as i told you the party was great, there was a of of acts, (7 in total, but i have to tell you that novak djokovic was great looking like jessica simpson in a clip, thomas johansson was great looking like rafa, and couple more were great.



walking to the cabaret, where we had that party, i was so nervous and i nearly didnt get any dinner, its a lot different to be playing tennis in front of 5000 people than to make a show in front of 100 people that you know them! but i think i did well....maybe they can show you a bit in atp site, but im not sure if atp will let it happend! jejeje

as you know i asked benito to lend me the clothes, that was because i had to look like him, but he didnt know it before to see me on stage. and as he always does, i was taking care of the tickets for david beckham, raul, all the famous players of soccer of real madrid as he always does in madrid , and also helping rafa preparing for the match!



after my act i just get away because the next day i had to play early against berdych and i wanted to go and get some rest.



yesterday morning wasnt a good day. i started the match against tomas pretty good with a 6-1 and chances to break him again in the first game, after that he just started to play better, hitting harder and harder, and i couldnt handle till the end, anyway i played a great first part of the match i will try to keep working to see if next time i can keep playing the same level all the match.

after the match i just get into the room and watch 2 and a half dvds of 24,... i just finished the fifth chapter and im so disapointed because now i cant see the 6th one because its not in dvd... so if some of you have a pirated copy just send it to me please - ill apreciate it so much!!!!!!

last night there was the party for the children of libanon, but if i have to tell the truth i wasnt getting much fun.... everyone with suite, jacket,... and i was with a normal shirt and jeans, i had no clothes for a diner like that, but anyway it was for a good reason and i went there.... and as i heard they get 700.000 euros for the children of libbano and im happy to have helped in a good way for that!

then this morning... well today what a day!!!!!

at 9.20 i was in the airport and the first thing i saw: flight cancelled. it means we had to wait till 2 pm to get a flight via paris and arriving to barcelona at 9pm.. and of course i did the same as chela team and gaudios team who where on the same flight as me... we rented a car a drove back to barcelona!!!!! 6 hours in a small car and finally pepo and me get here at 6.30 pm and im destroyed now writing all of you!

but now im goin for a pizza and some croquetas and see a movie in my room.... and trust me im going to sleep till 11 am,

it was nice talking to you ... this time i couldnt win the tournamentas i did last year in hamburg, but i hope you guys had fun reading the blog and youll keep supporting me on the tour!

see you


Tommy's web site: www.tommy-robredo.com/

[Dina]

crazy guy this jack bauer!thanx frensje!well i hope he won't be the winner this year coz, well we want someone else to win though we looooooooove tommy!!!!!!

[Dina]

um...? did tommy post today?

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Nope, not yet....

As soon as I see the post, I'll post in my Tommy blog above ;D


Done ;D

Hope he's going to post some pictures from that players party tomorrow... Sounds like fun

[jenhatter06]

frensje said:

Hope he's going to post some pictures from that players party tomorrow... Sounds like fun

their party & little cabaret show sounds like so much fun ... too bad they don't show it - it'd be fun to see, no matter how goofy they looked ;D

[Dina]

yummy wondering if anyone try himself on a PussycatDolls song!!!!!!!!!!i'm sure Marat would perform iot perfectly!

[Mrs. Fabregas]

Wednesday is posted in his blog now ;D

and now im here in the hotel, relaxing to be focus for tomorrows match against berdych but also for tonight show!

im lucky, thanks to benito perez barbadillo (the man who works with rafa with the press) is helping me with the clothes i have to wear and i hope that toomas has all his clothes ready!

He's taking it very serious ;D.... Lets all hope for some pic's in his post tomorrow

anyway i have to tell you guys to dont show up in the lobby of the hotel often, because there are a few players (i will not say names to protect their reputation) that plays with playstation at pro evoution every single day close to my room.... i can assure that they scream like crazy and they are playing with a big bet: the loser team has to go in the reception only with underwear and make a few turns over a fountain while the winner team just scream to ensure that more people will see that!!!!!

as you can see players we do crazy things sometimes as well as normal people!

;D ;D ;D Wow.... Wanna see that ! Looks like they have a lot of fun there

[Dina]

oh tommy why being so faithful they're all trying to beat ya! sell the names let us fantasy about big russians and hotty butts!