Day 5

Day five of our adventure in Australia was the craziest one yet. The day started off normal with the exception of the fact that Chaci's wasn't open today! I warmed up Nick Chappell for his singles match for about 40 minutes and then went into town to eat breakfast. At 8:30 in the morning, there was only about one coffee shop that was open and so we were forced to eat there. It turned out to be quite good and we looked through the newspaper that included a 12 page preview of the Aussie Open. In addition, it glorified Bernard Tomic as the next god in the tennis world after he beat Djokovic in an exhibition match that Novak didn't give his all. We went back to the site to watch the matches there and unfortunately Nick lost in straight sets to a Dutch kid. However, there was a rain delay in the match at 5-5 in the second and the weather was quite chilly for the average Australian summer day. As I went to get more gatorade for my practice, I got into a conversation with a couple of the Australians who worked the kiosk. They questioned me about life in the United States and couldn't believe that I had never been to Disneyland! After that conversation, I went out and practiced with an Italian player by the name of Matteo Civarollo. He was pretty steady and the wind made for lots of footwork throughout the practice. Overall, it was a solid practice and I was beginning to strike the ball better. After the practice, we walked to a small cafe and ate a lunch of pizza and pasta. Meanwhile, the weather outside was going crazy. One minute it would be raining and the next it would be sunny. The bugs here are so strong that they attack even when the winds are strong, which resulted in the purchase of lots of bug spray. Since I had to do some schoolwork, Vinh and I headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours after lunch. The schoolwork was boring as usual and I was excited to get back out there at 4:30 to practice with Nick. When we arrived back at the courts, there were no open courts because there had been a rain delay which had pushed back many matches. We booked at court for 5:30 and went to the nearby track to do some fitness. The footwork drills were tough, especially because it was difficult to get footing on the grass but they definitely helped. Just as we were walking back to the courts a major wind gust hit us and with it came a downpour of rain. The rain drenched the courts, and only a couple of minutes later the sun was back out. We waited for the courts to dry and at 5:30 we headed out to the practice courts. Just as we had put down our gear, another rain shower soaked the courts, forcing us to wait even longer. In the meantime, our first sign of good luck to come was signified by a rainbow that overshadowed the tennis center. Ever since I had arrived in Australia, nothing had seemed to positive and perhaps this rainbow is a sign of good things to come or at least let's hope so! Nick and I had a short, but high quality practice and we went out to dinner at a Portuguese place called Nando's. It was good, but the portions were small and since I can eat all day, Vinh and I picked up some Chinese food to take back to the hotel for a snack. I just finished doing some more homework, but as I was working I realized that a week from now I will be playing my first round match at the Australian Open. It seems so close and I am really excited to play the match, but there is still work to be done before then. As I mentioned in an earlier post, everyone is going to play well against me as I will be seeded number 4 at the Australian Open. They have no pressure, which means that I am going to have to be playing well and with confidence to make the deep run into the tournament that I am prepared to do. One of the things that Coach Kriese, a leegendary coach for Clemson, has always told me is that the hardest part of winning a big tournament is dealing with the pressure that each round brings. You can be the best ball striker in the world, but if you can't handle the pressure then you will be broken down. That is one of the key aspects I am trying hard to prepare for now!