Day 10

Today was a day of learning and some relaxation before the junior tournament begins here in Melbourne. We woke up early to go down to Melbourne Park to get our credentials which is what allows us into the tournament. The process went relatively fast and as a result, Vinh, Vinh's friend Pete and I went to this Italian breakfast place that was simply amazing. I had strawberry crepes and a croissant which was very refreshing! We returned to the tennis center to watch some matches. The first match we watched was a doubles match with Rajeev Ram and Eric Butorac taking down the seventh seeded Polish team of Frystenberg and Matkowski. The highlight of the match was the American cheering section that incredibly loud in support of Butorac and Ram. It was an amazing atmosphere for an outside court match. After the doubles match we checked out all the junior arrangements at the tennis center. Our locker rooms and lounge are all under Hisense Arena, the second largest stadium at the Melbourne Park tennis center. At about 1 pm we ate lunch and checked out some more matches, which included Gonzalez against Korolev and a bit of Isner vs. Monfils. Unfortunately, our credentials don't get us into Rod Laver Arena (the biggest stadium) or Hisense Arena; although, we can request tickets. I really like the atmosphere at Melbourne Park; it reminds me a lot of the US Open. At about 4 pm we went out and hit at the practice site for juniors called Albert Park. I hit with Nick and I played very well once again, which is very promising since I will need to be in good form for a deep run here. For dinner, we went back to Federation Square and enjoyed some Italian food which was quite good for the price. Federation Square is the equivalent of the Georgetown area in DC. It has wonderful places to eat, a nice waterfront view and a large screen TV that shows all the action from the Australian Open. It was great, other than the fact that Clijsters got destroyed by Petrova 6-0 6-1. Today is the last day that I can really relax before my Australian Open starts. To prepare for it, Pat Cash (A Wimbledon champion) and Wayne Arthurs (a former top doubles player) have asked Nick and I to play them tomorrow afternoon. It should be a good experience to be around such great champions. By watching the pro matches, you can really learn a lot about how to deal with certain situations that you may face. For example, none of the top pros ever panic nor do they fear the other players. Even if Rafael Nadal is down two sets he continues to force his game on the opponent. Juniors often make the mistake of changing their games when things aren't going well. I will continue to learn about how to mold my game for the highest levels of the pro tour while I am here!