Australian Open

Day 15

2010-01-30T20:43:00.001-08:00

I ended up losing a really tough match to Tiago Fernandes, the number 14 seed, here at the Australian Open. First set he played lights out and beat me 6-3 and while I broke in the first game of the second I didn't hold the break for long before he broke me back. Finally at 4-4 in the second I broke once again and served out the second set. I followed up the previous break with another one to start the third set but once again this one didn't last long. We would hold serve until 5-6 in the third, when I held a game point. Unfortunately I couldn't convert that, and he went on to take the match 7-5 in the third. He would go on to win the tournament. Perhaps I made some strategical mistakes during the match, but the point was that I played a very solid match and merely a better player beat me on that day. It is hard to regret a match like that where the guy just makes you feel a bit helpless on the court. While my run ended in the round of 16, it was a positive step for me as I had gotten my first two wins at a grand slam and I look forward for more success in the next three and hopefully as a pro. So as I finish my last blog, I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout this trip and next time hopefully I can take home the trophy! Thanks everyone.

Day 14

2010-01-26T02:38:00.000-08:00

Today was another good day for me as I was able to pull out another win in the second round. I played a Tunisian player by the name of Slim Hamza who fought to the end. I started off a little shaky, trading breaks and then holds until it was 3-3 in the first when I got on a roll and broke, held, broke to win the first set 6-3. The second set started off well as I gained a 3-0 advantage before things went downhill. I got a little nervous and started to hit the ball shorter which allowed him to take the offense and come back and win 6-4 in the second. In the third I got back to playing my strengths and with a little help from him, I eased to a 6-1 third set win! I was excited to have won, but I know I will have to pick it up tomorrow as I will be playing 24th ranked Tiago Fernandes from Brazil. He is very solid, but I look forward to another great match. For those who want to follow the match on slam tracker, I will be playing at 11 am on court 8. The rest of the day was relaxing as I watched the Roddick-Cilic match which I couldn't believe Roddick lost and then went out and practiced a bit. Overall, it was a successful day for me and I hope to have another one tomorrow!!

Day 12 and 13

2010-01-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for not putting up a post yesterday night, but we lost all internet in the room. So as I am sure many of you know on Sunday I won my first round match here at the Australian Open. I beat a young Australian wildcard 6-2 6-1. It was a pretty solid match for me as the kid obviously had a large crowd in support of him. He started off strong as we remained on serve until 2-2 when I finally broke him at love. The balls are quite hard here which makes them shoot through the court really quickly. After consolidating the break to go up 4-2, I won a long game to break him again and serve out the set. Of course when I started the second set, I was a bit nervous because in my other matches in grand slams I had won the first set then choked away the second. Luckily, I broke him early and since I was serving well I felt confident that I could continue to hold. Finally at 5-1 15-40 on his serve I hit one final slice that ended the match. While I was pleased that I had won, I knew that I had to continue my high level of play to go deep in the tournament. So today I got up relatively early and warmed up Nick for his match and then hit once more before I had to play doubles. The format for doubles is best of two sets, no ad scoring and a third set 10 point tiebreak. This makes every point so incredibly valuable. For Micke and I we just couldn't win the important points, going 0 for 6 on deuce points and eventually losing 6-4 6-2. While I was not happy with the loss, I didn't dwell on it too much as I have my second round singles match tomorrow. Vinh and I practiced a bit this afternoon just to make sure that everything is clicking for tomorrow. I play a Tunisian player by the name of Slim Hamza. He has been playing pretty well in recent months and I am looking forward to the match tomorrow. I play at 11 am, so 7 pm eastern time if anyone is interested in following it on slam tracker. Let's hope for another good day tomorrow!

Day 11

2010-01-23T01:45:00.001-08:00

Today was the day before the first matches at the 2010 Australian Open Juniors. I woke up early to practice with Nick at 9 am under overcast skies. It was a very solid practice and I was feeling very good for the tournament. After practice I went back to the hotel room where I did some homework for a couple of hours. By 12:30 I was getting hungry and I had to wait until 2 pm before we went over to the tennis center. We arrived and quickly found the players cafe and enjoyed a good lunch of pasta, corn, and some rice. Then we saw the draws which was the usual scramble to find my name. I am on the bottom half of the draw and I play a young Aussie by the name of Jay Andrijic tomorrow. He is solid so it should be a good match and I am really looking forward to it. I will be playing on Court 7 starting at 11 am Australian time if anyone wants to follow on Slam tracker! After examining the draws, Nick and I got a chance to practice with Pat Cash, the famous Aussie player. What an experience! He has the most ridiculous volleys I have ever seen; its like hitting against a wall when he gets up to the net. A lot of Aussie fans were watching and it was really fun. He helped me out a bit on my volleys which I saw improvement on just from his advice. Following practice we headed back to the hotel and went out to dinner at Nando's, the Portuguese Barbeque place we had been to in Traralgon. It was solid as usual and after we headed back to the hotel for the night. I feel pretty confident going into my match tomorrow as I have been doing well for the past six months. The kid is obviously going to play well since he has no pressure but I know that I can get it done, its just about executing. Hopefully I will have some good news for tomorrows post!

Day 10

2010-01-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

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!

Day 9-Melbourne

2010-01-21T03:07:00.000-08:00

Today was a very eventful day for me here in Melbourne. When I woke up I found out that Bernard Tomic, an up and coming but very cocky 17-year old Australian, had lost 6-4 in the fifth to Marin Cilic, the number 14 ranked player in the world! Vinh and I went and got some breakfast from this cafe nearby which was very good. Then we met up with an Australian friend of Vinh's who took us to the practice site which turned out to be very far away. I practiced with Nick for about 2 hours in the morning on the blue plexicushion courts at the Maccabi Tennis Center. The plexicushion courts play a lot like the deco turf courts from the US Open. Nick and I did some footwork and balance drills in the first session, and it turned out to be a very high quality hit. Nick, Vinh, Hector (Nick's coach) and I all walked to a nearby restaurant/casino to eat lunch. The food was actually very tasty and to make things better, bread and water were free!!! Vinh and Hector then tried to figure out how Australian gambling worked, but were unable to solve the mystery. We headed back to the Maccabi Tennis Center for our second session, which would consist of us playing practice sets against the British players down here. In the first set, I played Jack Carpenter who I had lost to at the Eddie Herr International tournament in an extremely bizarre match. In that match I had won the first set 7-5 and was up 5-1 in the second. After some bad calls and a some better play by Jack he brought it back to 5-4 30-30 when the match was stopped for rain. We ended up finishing the match indoors and although I had four match points, he pulled it out in the end. So today in the practice set I focused really hard and played extremely well beating him 6-2 3-0 before we had to stop. Everything was clicking! We then switched and I played Oliver Golding, a young British player, who I had beat at the Orange Bowl 7-5 7-5 in a closely contested match which included me saving about 8 set points in the second set. I played pretty well in this set as well and won 6-4. Overall, it was a good day. We then headed back to the hotel in a taxi which cost about 60 dollars since the practice courts were so far away. After showering, we headed out to dinner with Vinh's friend and enjoyed the scenic view on the Yarra River. Following that we headed to Federation Square where a big screen TV shows all the major action at the Australian Open. It was an amazing atmosphere there! However, the highlight of this very eventful day has to be that we finally figured out how to play Cricket! The Brits explain the gist of the sport and it turns out that it is not that hard! Basically, the pitcher bowls 6 pitches and if it hits the wicket thing, then you are out, or if it hits your leg and it would've hit the wicket. Then if you hit a ball and it is caught, you are also out. So to score, you have to hit the ball and run as fast as you can back and forth between the wickets before they can get the ball back to the wickets. If you hit the ball over the fence (a home run) you get 6 runs and if you hit the ball and it hits the fence then it is 4 runs. All I know is that when you have a pitch called a googaley and the guys wear a vest, you know the sport is quite exotic!

Day 8-Melbourne

2010-01-20T02:16:00.000-08:00

Today was a travel day for Vinh and I as we left Traralgon and went over to Melbourne. We got up early and had an hour hit with Nick Chappell. Following the hit there, where it was surprisingly not that windy for once, we watched a bit of the final where Ben Mitchell, an Australian wildcard was crushing Justin Eleveld 6-4 4-0. We left and headed to the train station where we boarded the train to Melbourne's Southern Cross station. After a quick nap on the train and a little bit of Star Trek, we arrived in Melbourne. It was already about 2:30 pm so we headed over to the tournament hotel which is very nice, except for the fact that it is not located near any restaurants really. Vinh and I went out and got lunch at a Chinese place that was one of four restuarants near here. The food was actually pretty good and not excessively expensive! While we were at the Chinese place, Vinh and I played a game in which we had to guess the prize money of certain players. It was actually hard, considering that who would have thought that Santoro has made 8 million dollars and has played since 1989! After eating we explored the area a bit and watched some of a cricket game. I can honestly say that cricket is the SLOWEST sport I have ever seen in my life!!! It is crazy that it takes like 5 minutes in between "bowls" or pitches as we would say in English. I still have no idea how to play but it was interesting to watch these men in vests play an athletic sport. However, although cricket is the second most popular sport in the world after football or soccer whichever you want to call it, it requires much less skill than baseball. Following the cricket game, we went back to the hotel and I did some homework. Also, I checked the Loy Yang website to see the final score only to be thoroughly shocked that Justin Eleveld had won 4-6 7-5 6-1! One of the things I forgot to mention the other day was that everyone at these tournaments has American footballs to warm up their arms. Yet, it is ironic since watching the foreign players such as Liang Chi Huang throw is more painful than getting wisdom teeth pulled! The kid throws the ball like a baseball and can't throw a spiral to save his life. Another funny story from the day was that the Australian Open provided a bus from Traralgon to Melbourne, but we had heard that the bus was a bit unreliable in the past. Sure enough, the bus broke down which delayed the arrival of the majority of the players. Good thing we didn't take the bus!

Day 7

2010-01-19T02:21:00.000-08:00

We have been in Australia for a week now and there are two things that have become clear about this country: 1) they LOVE sports here and 2) it is impossible to figure out how cricket works! Today was a tough day. I woke up early and ate breakfast, which consisted of crumpets, granola bars, and some chocolate milk, in the room. We then got on the shuttle and headed to the courts to practice at 9:30. I practiced with the Slovakian player Filip Horansky who I had lost to in the first round of the French Open 8-6 in the third set. We played a set in very windy conditions, which has become the norm here. After the practice, we went back to the hotel and relaxed before we headed back to the tennis center to practice at 2 pm with Nick Chappell, the other American. We practiced for about 45 minutes before we were basically forced to stop due to the winds. The winds today were gusting up to 70 mph, which made keeping the balls in the court impossible. Nick and I ate a hearty lunch at the site and watched the first set of the Andreev-Federer match, which went to Andreev. I went back out and practiced with a Finnish player by the name of Micke Kontinen, who I will also be playing doubles with at the Australian Open. We practiced for about 45 minutes before we played a practice set of doubles with John Morrissey and Bartozs Sawicki, a Polish player. It went pretty well even in the windy conditions, and after the doubles we played best of 5 sets of mini tennis volleyball. It was intense to say the least, and Micke and I lost 10-8 in the fifth set in an absolute heartbreaker! We pulled all the tricks with stalling, fist pumps, and the occasional argument over a close call. Vinh and I went to dinner after that with Nick and his coach to a chicken place which had surprisingly low prices and large portions. One of the surprises of the day didn't come here in Traralgon, but rather in Melbourne with a Colombian by the name of Santiago Giraldo. He beat Tommy Robredo 6-4 6-2 6-2 today, which was an upset since Robredo was seeded. However, what made me feel good about this result was that I played Giraldo at the Legg Mason this year and had given him quite a battle losing 6-2 6-3. While you can't do indirect results in tennis, it just gives me confidence about playing at the next level. One final thing I'd like to say is that tennis is a sport where the difference between winning and losing is quite small. In a sport where this is the case, you have to be sure to take care of all that you can control. You have to respect everyone but not fear anyone. Anyone can beat anyone, so it won't matter that my name is in red and I have a number next to my name. But then again if I can put everything together, there is no reason why I can't succeed against anyone!

Day 6

2010-01-18T01:12:00.000-08:00

Today started off as a dreary day as the unpredictable weather forced us to cancel practice in the morning. We woke up to rainy conditions which lasted until about 9 am, after which the sun came out and began to dry everything. Our practice was scheduled for 10 am and it looked as though we may have a chance to get it in. Only ten minutes later, it began to pour once again! To say the weather is peculiar is an understatement. As a result we stayed in our hotel room for the rest of the morning and I did lots of homework. We watched some of Sharapova's match with Kirilenko before we had to practice with Nick Chappell at 4 pm. It was quite windy once again, but at this point that is a given. I am beginning to play better and better which is obviously good, but the important thing is maintain it so that I play my best next week. Following the practice, we went to the nearby track to do some fitness. We ran some short sprints and did some footwork for about 35 minutes before we headed into town to meet up with Nick and his coach for dinner. Apparently today is Australia day so we ended up having to eat chinese food since nothing else was open. I am beginning to wonder why we don't have America day? It seems that these people work 4 days a week and rest 3 days, compared to the lack of rest in the United States. After dinner, we came back to the hotel and watched the Nadal-Lucsak match which is quite interesting. One of the things that it interesting about the international competition is the different ways the various countries' players practice. The Koreans, Chinese, Colombians and many other South American countries are on the all day practice schedule. They are the first to arrive at the courts and last to leave. They practice ALL DAY LONG it is insane. The Australians practice quite leisurely as they show up late sometimes and only really practice when they need or want to. The French are perhaps the most interesting as they only practice when they really want to. However, what sets them apart is that they want to look good when they practice. They are always very loose which makes for a very relaxed practice atmosphere. This can be good and bad as while they always make tennis pretty, they struggle in less than perfect conditions. The Czech team keeps to themselves and no one really talks with them. While they are not very sociable, they practice hard although neither of the two Czech players look like they should be playing tennis. The Brits are very focused in their practices and work hard but you can be sure to hear screams of frustration throughout their practices. This is one of the major differences that you can see between the countries and while all seem to work, some are more effective than others. We will be heading to Melbourne on Wednesday so I am looking forward to that!!

Day 5

2010-01-17T02:39:00.000-08:00

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!

Day 4

2010-01-16T01:27:00.000-08:00

Our fourth day in Traralgon was a tough one. We woke up and went to eat breakfast at Chaci's and while Vinh didn't get his usual iced coffee, we both ordered the scrambled eggs. They lived up to their hype and it turned out to be a good way to start the day. Once we arrived at the courts we scouted players who will be major contenders at the Australian Open, including Henri Laaksonen, Liang Chi Huang, Justin Eleveld, Kevin Krawietz and Dominik Shulz. The seeds here at the Loy yang tournament continued to struggle as only four remain in the round of 16! That is basically unheard of at any tournament. I warmed up for doubles with a Russian player named Valdimir Dubinsky who I believe is ranked about 55 in the world. He barely spoke english which was a bit problematic for figuring out what he wanted to do to get ready for his doubles match. Following the warm up, I went and ate lunch which consisted of lots of potatoes and some pasta. It wasn't the best food, but it was free and thats quite a relief for down here! I played doubles with the other American Nick Chappell against two Czech players by the names of Jiri Vessely and Robert Rumler. Vessely is just as awkward as his name sounds, and his game also is awkward as well. Although Nick and I started off well, we lost the first set 7-5, but quickly regained our focus and won the second 6-2. The momentum had shifted in our favor only to be taken completely out of play due to the third set 10 point tiebreaker. Before we knew it we had fallen down 9-4 facing numerous match points. We saved two on our serve to make it 9-6 and then broke them twice to make it 9-8. At 9-9, Rumler had a volley but got a bit tight and gave Nick a second chance at the pass. He ripped a forehand passing shot to tie it up at 9, giving up hope. Luck would not prove to be on our side as on the following point, the Czech team received a volley net cord and while we saved two more match points, at 11-12, Nick's forehand tipped the net and fell on our side. It was still a great comeback though and I'm looking forward to playing doubles at the Australian with a Finnish player by the name of Micke Kontinen. Our day was far from over as we later went to practice with an Irish player by the name of John Morrissey who is ranked about 30 or so in the world. He is a very solid player and the practice session was made difficult by the strong winds that ripped across the courts. Since I am out of the tournament, Vinh and I went to eat Thai food (my favorite) and while it wasn't as good as Tara Thai back home, it was pretty good except for the fact that they didn't serve Thai Iced Tea! It was very disappointing to be at a Thai restaurant and not to see Thai Iced Tea on the menu. Now we are back at the hotel and trying to figure out what we will do in regards to when we will head to Melbourne. Just to give everyone an idea of how ridiculous prices are down under, we learned that not do nail clippers cost $9, but that Australian drinks that are imported to the United States cost more down here than in the US! I have no idea how this is possible but apparently Australia is just quite weird in their prices.

Day 3

2010-01-15T02:03:00.000-08:00

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!

Day 2-Traralgon

2010-01-14T02:50:00.001-08:00

Our second day in Traralgon went pretty well as we geared up for the warm up tournament, the Loy Yang Tennis Classic. We woke up at about 8 am to go about town in search of a "go-to" restaurant for breakfast. After a couple of minutes we had hit the jackpot in finding Chachi's Cafe! In fact, it turned out to be our best meal since arriving here in Australia. The bacon here is exceptional and the eggs were as light as clouds. The combination, along with some toast, turned out to look and taste amazing. After finishing our delicious breakfast we made our way over to the tennis center to practice. The morning was a bit cool for an Australian summer and sweatshirts and sweatpants were necessary to stay warm. At 11 am I practiced with a very good Filipino player by the name of Francis Alcantara who is ranked around 30 in the world. It was a pretty good session as we warmed up then played points virtually the rest of the time. While the game has become more of power battle, Francis is unique in that he plays with more finesse and volleys better than just about any other junior. Following the hitting session, I went to sign in for the tournament and pay the entry fee. After finishing with that Vinh and I walked into town for lunch before we had to venture back to the courts by 3 pm to hit with the other American player here, Nick Chappell. That session was definitely my best session so far and I felt pretty good by the end. Of course, the training was far from over as I had to do some fitness. Today's workout included a two mile run around a grass track. I mean this is like nowheresville so the grass track is to be expected. For dinner, we ate at a Vietnamese restuarant which had pretty good food as well. Searching for a dinner restaurant was tough because all the restaurants in town open at around 8 pm, which is absurd!! Thus, we were left with the Vietnamese place. We then proceeded to go back to the hotel and prepare all the gear for tomorrow before Vinh allowed me to write my blog. The draws just came out and I play an Australian wildcard who was formerly around 20 in the world in juniors. It is going to be a really tough match but I'm not too nervous as every match can go either way. Lets hope that tomorrow I can pull out it! I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow!

Day 1-Traralgon

2010-01-13T02:10:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! My name is Mitchell Frank and I will be blogging from Australia during my three week trip for the Loy Yang Tennis Classic and then the Australian Open Junior Championships. Before anything else, I would like to thank everyone who helped fund my trip to Australia because I wouldn't be here without that help! Just a little background: I am from Annandale, Virginia which is just outside Washington D.C. and I train at the Junior Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. This is my first trip to Australia and hopefully there will be many in the future. I arrived on Tuesday morning with Vinh in Melbourne after about 28 hours of total travel. We stayed overnight in Melbourne and looked around the city just about all day yesterday to stay awake. This is one of the keys to getting adjusted to the 16 hour time difference that my body is not used to. It was quite difficult to stay awake but today I woke up refreshed as could be after a really good night's sleep. After eating breakfast we took a two hour train to the remote city of Traralgon, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. This is where the warm up tournament for the Australian Open will be taking place. While the town is small, the people are extremely friendly but just another downside is that the prices are unreasonably high. It makes for an expensive bill for any meal considering that I eat all the time! After we arrived, we quickly took the shuttle over to the tennis center to practice. I hit with a Brazilian kid for about an hour and a half in very breezy and unseasonably cool weather and later practiced again with the only other American men's player here for about an hour as well. Getting used to the conditions was tough but then again no one plays their best in these windy situations. When we arrived back to the hotel, Vinh and I devoured a dinner of pasta and as a result I was forced to order a pizza as well to calm my hunger. The food was pretty good but it really wasn't up to the 15 dollars that it cost; I mean this is NOT New York City dining here! Now I have to do some homework before I fall asleep, but I will be back tomorrow with the draws for the warm up tournament.