Day 3

Day three in Traralgon was a rough one for all seeds, unfortunately including myself. After finishing breakfast at Chachi's, we went over to the courts to warm up. I hit with the number 3 seed here, a Chinese Taipei player by the name of Liang Chi Huang. It was a really good hitting session and I felt good for my match. The day started off with the quick exit of number 1 seed and Orange Bowl champion Gianni Mina. As I walked on to the court to play against James Duckworth, an Australian wildcard who had been ranked as high as 20 in the world, I could feel the usual nerves of beginning the tournament. As a top 5 ranked player in the world, there are two things that you can always be sure of when facing an opponent: 1) the other guy is going to play well 2) the match will be a battle and you have to be ready to play from start to finish. The match started well as I broke in the opening game to go up 1-0 and we held the rest of the way which resulted in a 6-4 first set victory. Although I was able to win the first set, my footwork was not feeling great which was problematic for the windy conditions. The second set was a struggle, but I found myself serving for the match at 5-4. I had yet to be broken, but that would change as I found myself scrambling and ended up getting broken to even the match at 5-5. I had a break chance at 5-5 and couldn't convert and before long I found the match even one set apiece. I was beginning to go man vs inner man and man vs nature which is how matches go downhill quickly and sure enough this one did as well. The match slipped away as he cruised to a 6-0 third set victory. I was rather disappointed with the result but more disappointed with my level of play. I am down here to win the Australian Open and I did not play anywhere near the level that would allow me to do so. So what now most people would ask? There is a saying "little time to celebrate, no time to cry," which is exactly what I must follow. I have eight days to be in tip top shape for the Australian Open. The match is in the past now and my focus shifts to being ready for the Australian Open. There will be a lot of sweat this upcoming week, a lot of running, a lot of practice until I don't make the junior mistakes that I have made over the course of my last three grand slams and here. To win the Australian Open juniors will be hard, but it is attainable. Nothing good ever came easy, and there is a ton of work to be done before I play my first round next Sunday. It doesn't matter who wins this week, it is all about who wins next week and I feel confident that if I get my level of play up, I can pick apart opponents as I did in the fall and spring of this past year!