Almost Done..

Homework all day.. I’ve got about one more full math assignment to do. Besides that I have some reading and an essay to get started on. I don’t think I really have to do anything else tonight if I finish that, which is good. I get a chance to sort of relax and get prepared for the week ahead.

 I finished an SAT practice test thismorning that I started a while ago but never really got around to doing. I just got back from brunch but I don’t plan on going on any of the trips today because of how much work I have to get done. I don’t want to get distracted so I’m just going to get everything done while it’s quiet in here. Most of my roommates are gone but they will be back by 6 or 7 so I’m going to finish my work and be able to hang out with them when they come back.

Going To Hit

I’m about to go hit with  my roommate for an hour or so, I’ve done some math homework thismorning already. I think I’ll be doing a lot more today but I hope to be done with everything by 9 or 10pm so I can relax for a little while. I’ve got to keep reading my extra credit book for English, my assignment is due around the 11th or 12th of October, and I’ll be gone at that time so I willl probably be starting it earlier.

 I really have done zero spanish homework in the past two weeks. My teacher’s website is pretty vague, he’s a pretty wacky guy but hopefully I can get everything under control in there, figuring out what we have been doing if anything since I have been gone. Anyways I’ll probably figure out exactly what I need to have done for Monday by tonight, planning out how much I need to get done on Sunday.

Winn-Dixie

I need Gatorade, Propel, and water for monday. It’s going to be a change playing tennis in such hot weather, but I think I will be prepared by being properly hydrated. I’ll probably bring four or five shirts to practice, because I think I will be sweating more than usual. Hopefully we aren’t playing matches, because I need to practice some things and really tune my game before leaving again next Friday.

This weekend I really think I am going to be locked in my room doing schoolwork, I have to make sure I’m completely caught up with everything. I have a lot of math to do still, but I think that If this weekend I devote to homework I’ll be ready by friday to leave again and be able to focus on my tennis tournaments entirely. I won’t have to be distracted by schoolwork if I’m caught up.

Steakhouse

Last night we went to the steakhouse called J. Alexanders. It’s an awesome restaurant, with excellent steaks and very good salads. We had a fun time, one kid from our academy (Filip Krajinovic-Piscovic) is still in the tournament and he’s probably going to end up playing my opponent in the finals. He’s coasted to victory his first three rounds and he is playing well enough that people think he’s going to be very hard to beat.

 We were way too full to eat dessert, but we heard that they had some very good desserts. I didn’t want to eat too much and Filip has a match to play tomorrow so we just said forget it. We went back to our rooms and ordered a movie, Oceans 13, which was pretty interesting and altogether a great movie. I liked the first two and I think this one was even better.

Tough Practice

We practiced pretty hard today. Me and my roommate Sam Morris hit for at least a few hours and really worked hard to perfect our technique and get grooved on the court. After we did some drills for two hours or so we played a set, and I won 6-1. I think I outlasted him, he sort of ran out of gas and I was able to grind it out. He was hitting with less pace, and I was able to capitalize on the weak balls.

We’re leaving tomorrow morning I believe. I’ll figure out later tonight if we have a flight for sure, but I am pretty sure that we do and I’ll be back to the academy by 7 or 8pm.

 I watched the kid I played (Takyani Garanganga) play his third round today against the kid who won Winter Supernationals. He got off to a rocky start but ended up coasting to a win. He’ll most likely win the tournament without much trouble.

Doubles 1st Round

Well me and my partner played today at about 2pm. He had just won his 2nd round, and was pretty tired. Our opponents were pretty tough but we stayed with them pretty good in the first set. They managed to break us at 5-all, and served it out to take the set 7-5. Unfortunately, the second set didnt go as well for us. Our opponents really weren’t missing any easy balls at the net, and really making us work for every point. They ended up winning the second set 6-3. I was fairly happy with how I played, but it’s just frustrating that we ended up losing first round.

 We’re going to dinner in about a half hour, a great steakhouse that we went to a few nights ago. I’m really hungry, we did a lot of running today after practice, so I am really looking forward to it.

First Round

Played a real tough match today. Obviously a kid who’s ranked 51 in the world is going to be very hard to beat. But I really played well, had a lot of pretty amazing shots and made him work for everything. I lost the first set 7-6, with a very close tiebreak, 8-6 to him.

 The second set started off well, I held serve three times, then managed to break him for a 5-2 lead. He held easily and I went to serve up 5-3, and he hit some amazing shots. His forehand was definitely of a professional level. Without a doubt he hit as hard and with such form that many professional players aren’t capable of. The reason he’s not that good yet is because he’s a bit inconsistent, and his backhand isn’t quite developed. The next four games lasted over half an hour. Everything was so close, but he just had a little edge. I couldn’t close any of the games out even though I had the chance. I had two set points on his serve at 5-4, but he came up in the clutch to save them. Final score: 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

Number one seed

I play the number one seed tomorrow, a kid from Zimbabwe who is ranked 50 in the world, and has played a few professional tournaments. I’m going to go out there and play hard, nothing is expected of me so I have nothing to lose. Hopefully I play well and maybe frustrate him a bit, perhaps give myself a chance to win the match. He’s a very aggressive player but if I serve well, he’s still going to have a tough time getting my serves back.

I think I play at 8am but I’m not sure. We are going to head to the courts pretty early to warm up but hopefully I play a bit later and can concentrate and focus before my match. I’m going to figure out a gameplan and really try to execute the things I’ve been practicing.

And Another Practice

Most of the courts were taken today, it’s really tough to be able to play for more than half an hour at a time, because we get kicked off by another tournament that is going on right now. There are a lot of courts here so they have the ability of running more than one tournament at once. We’re going out to eat in a little bit now, but probably not the same place.

I’m going to try at least a couple new rackets when I get back and possibly some new strings as well. Hopefully I find something that I really like and that lets me play to my full ability. Right now I feel as if I could be playing with a better racket, although I’m fairly happy with how my racket plays right now. I might try out some new strings as well, but I’m pretty sure I’m using the grip that is perfect for me. (Tournagrip II)

More Practice

We hit for a few hours today at about 9am. We had lunch at the club and it was really a pretty good place, their sandwiches were pretty good. After that, we played some points and really got a good rhythm going. I dropped off four or five rackets to get strung, I’ll get a few more done when I have a good feel for the right tension here, it’s a little colder in Georgia so I may want to hit with some looser strings.

 There is an AWESOME italian restaurant here. We went last night and we’re going again tonight. It’s really filling food, but it’s very good. Both my parents are italian, and we love italian food, homemade pizza, spaghetti, stromboli. We’re leaving in a few hours to go there again and I’m really hungry already. Luckily I don’t have to play until monday so I don’t have to worry so much about what I eat tonight.