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Player Blog
#1
Ik vind dat het tijd wordt om hierover een apart topic te openen.
Ik vind het interessant om te lezen hoe een speler zich voorbereidt en hoe zijn mooie leventje er tijdens een toernooi uit ziet.

Deze week is Grosjean aan de beurt.
Hieruit komt onder andere naar voren, dat Safin veel over auto's praat. Dit verbaast me trouwens niks :8:
Hoeveel ferrari's zal hij hebben..... :Big Grin
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
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#2
Hello everybody,

Yesterday afternoon, after leaving the site where I did my first blog post, I went back to the hotel and then headed to the mall to do some shopping and also watch a movie.

Initially I wanted to watch Miami Vice, however when I got there it was too late so I ended up watching Superman which turned to be a pretty good movie.

The cab driver that drove me back to the hotel was from Lebanon. I started talking with him and found out that he had just been released from jail after spending one year ‘behind the bars’. To be honest, I didn’t want to know many details why did he end up in jail. I’m pretty sure he must have done something pretty bad to end up arrested. :roll:

Back in the hotel I had dinner with Arnaud Clement's brother Brunno.

This morning, after having a good breakfast at the hotel, I went to the site to warm up with Arnaud. We hit for about 45 minutes and then headed back to the hotel to rest a little bit.

During my free time I enjoy watching movies and listening to music. This afternoon I watched a clinic with Tiger Woods at the Golf Channel. I’m not a very good golfer myself, but I do enjoy watching the majors on television.

I also started watching “Meet Joe Black” but couldn’t see the entire movie as I needed to get back to the club. Maybe later tonight I can watch the end...

I don’t have any rituals before my matches. I like to go to the training room and get a good warm up before jumping on the court. As you can see in the picture, Marat Safin was at the training room with me getting ready for his match. Marat just loves to talk about cars! He must have some pretty cool cars himself! :8:

Today I lost my first round match against Wesley Moodie. I think it was a tough first round match for me because this is my first tournament since Wimbledon. I didn’t play badly. I just need to play some matches before I can be at my best. Wesley is a tough guy to play against, especially in a first round, because he doesn’t give you much pace. I must give a lot of credit to Wesley who did play well today.

Tomorrow I play doubles with Arnaud. I will also be practicing sometime during the day to get ready for next week. I’m planning on visiting a museum as well, but I will decide which one tomorrow morning.

Thanks for reading my blog and log on again tomorrow for some more.

Sebastien
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#3
Grosjean is een drol.

Die van Tursunov was meesterlijk. Russen zijn sowieso altijd enorm interessant. Niet voor niets is mijn persoonlijke favoriet een Rus.
Feyenoord? Het enige dat ik van Feyenoord weet, is dat ze uit het land van Ajax komen - Fabio Capello
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#4
buurs Wrote:Ik vind dat het tijd wordt om hierover een apart topic te openen.
Komkommertijd :Big Grin
Feyenoord? Het enige dat ik van Feyenoord weet, is dat ze uit het land van Ajax komen - Fabio Capello
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#5
Ad Wim Wrote:Grosjean is een drol.

Die van Tursunov was meesterlijk. Russen zijn sowieso altijd enorm interessant. Niet voor niets is mijn persoonlijke favoriet een Rus.

Wordt idd tijd voor Safin...wordt vast lachen.
Grosjean heeft me vannacht ook aardig in de steek gelaten :|
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#6
Ad Wim Wrote:
buurs Wrote:Ik vind dat het tijd wordt om hierover een apart topic te openen.
Komkommertijd :Big Grin

:wink:
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
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#7
En het Britse contingent aangevoerd door Henman, Murray en Rusedski dient natuurlijk een blogverbod te krijgen. :razz:
Roofmagic
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#8
Dacht dat jij zo druk was, Buurske!
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#9
Aap Wrote:Dacht dat jij zo druk was, Buurske!

Vakantieperiode... :wink:
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#10
Ze moeten Tursunov gewoon wekelijks laten schrijven.
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#11
Deze week Hrbaty:

Hi everyone,

I arrived into Toronto Friday evening from Washington and basically it was my day off. In Slovakia we have a celebration on the Catholic Calendar - it was my name day, so I celebrated over a sushi dinner with my coach Tibor Torth.

Having battled the heat and humidity in Washington it's like a holiday to come here. When I walked onto the court for my first practice Saturday I sat down and thought to myself that I could just sit here, drink a coke and do nothing other than enjoy the sun. It was around 29 Celsius and dry. Just perfect. In Washington the humidity was so bad that I needed to change my shirt after the warm-up!

I knew that I was playing a qualifier most likely Monday, so on Saturday I had a couple of easy practices for an hour - with Bjorkman in the morning and later with Grosjean.

In the evening we went to a restaurant in Masaryk Town where they have really good Czech food. I love it and there are very few times in the year when I can find a Czech restaurant. I went for the roasted duck with a big apple dumpling cut into pieces and some sweet cabbage. I ate like half the duck so my coach had to roll me back to the hotel.

They are closed on Monday and Tuesday so we'll have to find somewhere else to eat the next couple of nights. Unfortunately I'm not a big enough star for them to open the restaurant up for me especially. Maybe if I win the tournament they'll open it up next Monday night for a celebration!

The restaurant is owned by a Slovak person but he has Austrians, Slovaks and Czechs working for him. One of the guys in the restaurant said he saw our Davis Cup semifinals and final - I'm not sure if he was on site or if he saw it on TV. But I got him a ticket to the Rogers Masters and he came out to support me today. There were quite a lot of Czech people in the crowd today. Where ever you are in the world you'll find Czech people supporting Slovak people and Slovak people supporting Czech people.

On Sunday night we went to a modern Italian restaurant where they gave you giant plates with tiny meals in the middle. I'd need to eat five main courses just to get a decent feed at this place! I felt like I needed to call into McDonald's on the way back to fill my stomach. We won't be going back there - that's not enough food for a sportsman.

Today after my win I received text messages from my family and girlfriend. I switch my phone on straight after I finish a match and either start reading or sending a message on the way back to the locker room. Ninety-nine per cent of the time I normally send a message to my parents and girlfriend first and, depending on how long the walk is, I may have sent a message before I even arrive at the locker room. I just say basically the result and what I felt I did well in the match. I also usually talk to my father.

I play doubles tomorrow, third from 11, so I'll make my next post after that.

Thanks for reading.

Dominik
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
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#12
Is ook weer een echt feestnummer :roll:
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#13
Zitten deze keer leuke stukjes tussen:

After I made my post yesterday I had a great conversation with Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer in the player lounge. Lendl has always been a big hero of mine.

I had just finished dinner and was walking back to the player lounge with two chocolate cookies. I'd eaten one and was holding the other one when I saw Ivan and Roger. I didn't want to eat the other cookie in front of two guys who own 16 Grand Slam titles between them, so for the 45 minutes we were talking I held it in my left hand. By the end there was chocolate all over my hand, but fortunately I could still shake hands with a clean right hand.

It was funny for me to see Lendl's youngest daughter ask Roger for an autograph. I guess Lendl's kids just think of him as dad rather than as one of the game's great players. In my country Ivan is considered the greatest tennis player ever. When I was growing up he was No. 1. And for me there is an extra connection because our games are similar with a high toss on the serve, we play from the baseline, try to have fast rallies and we rely a lot on fitness.

I'd say for 90 per cent of the time Ivan was doing all the talking, but that was fine with Roger and me. He had so many funny stories to tell. He also was teasing Roger a little about the fact that I have a 2-0 record against him and giving him tips on how to beat me. Roger was like 'Tell me what I need to do' and I was saying 'Don't tell him anything!' As if Roger needs help, anyway!

Ivan also told us about his oldest daughter who is now about 16 and she's just won a golf tournament. You can tell he loves his kids very much and that he's very proud of them. I'm also sure he makes them train very hard!

I made a picture with Ivan today and I will put that in a special place. I also asked him if we could play together one time for 30 minutes. He promised he'd hit with me, maybe at the US Open

It was great to hear from a legend and when you talk to a former great you probably pay attention twice as much.

Today I played (and won) a doubles match with Wayne Arthurs. We practiced together in LA and he knew I was looking for a partner in Cincy and Toronto and he asked me if I wanted to play here. He's about 35 in doubles so I knew it would be close and we were the last team in here. Next week it may even be tougher to get in in Cincy.

I played with him once before when we reached the Tokyo semifinals. He's a great doubles player and he has one of the best serves of any singles or doubles player in the world. Today against Acasuso and Nalbandian they were just laughing at times about how good Wayne's serve is. It's just amazing how he spins the ball both sides with slice and spin. You never know what you're going to get.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dominik
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#14
Mooi stukje!
Goed om te lezen dat Ivaneen stuk geestiger is dan hij vroeger leek op de baan...
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#15
Blijkbaar moet je als blogger een beetje inkomen, want dit stuk is echt prima!

Overigens opvallend hoeveel Lendl adepten er rondlopen. Ik heb zelf niet zoveel met hem op..
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#16
Weer een mooi stukje van Hrbaty:

I had some quick pasta and a good rest between my singles and doubles matches today. It was only 1 ½ hours between matches, so there wasn’t time to do too much. I talked with Wayne about tactics. The time flew by fast.

During the match we try to concentrate on our opponents. But one time today Wayne was saying he should have a two-handed backhand. And I asked him: “Wasn’t anybody playing with a two-handed backhand in Australia when you started playing?” And he said, “No.” Usually we talk about how we should play the next games, what we should do on the return of serve.

Today we played a good match – our second match decided by a Match Tie-break. With the way we play, it’s nice in the tie-break, because with his serve, he can hold so easily. That gives us a mental advantage over the other guys, because they know it’s not easy to get a point on his serve.

I served well too today and yesterday in the Match tie-break. Then we concentrated on the return – to steal one or two points from the opponents’ serve. The tie-break goes fast, so you have to concentrate on every point, especially at the beginning, to get an advantage.

I’m not a very big fan of the Match Tie-breaks, because a lot depends on luck. With one or two good shots, it can all turn around. With a full set, if you play better, you win. In the tie-break, even the guys not playing well can win by hitting one or two lucky shots.

After the doubles win, I went for a massage. I still have to practice for tomorrow evening. We play on the Stadium Court, so we get to use Hawk-eye. I like it. Tonight I’ll go out to dinner. It’s probably the only thing off the court I can do this week because I’m playing singles and doubles. So we’ll go for a nice dinner with my coach and Jan Hernych.

The hotel is very nice. Tennis players usually get a good hotel. So they all seem the same. But at this one, the breakfast is good – very European, good bread. It’s much different from breakfast in U.S. hotels – scrambled eggs or pancakes. I’m not a fan of those breakfasts. I like European bread with ham and cheese, maybe tuna. To start with, I’ll have some cornflakes, good fruit, a little bit of vegetables like tomatoes.

Coming to Canada from the first couple summer tournaments in the U.S. always gives me a boost from the food – that it’s more French and European. That makes it very nice to come here.

I don’t have a favorite hotel on the tour, but my favorite place to go is Melbourne. That’s because I’ve stayed with a Slovak family for many years. They cook for us and come support me. We are great friends. They call me “son,” and I call them “father and mother.” They are beautiful people. These are the two weeks on the tour I enjoy the most.

I always take presents, and we have a very good time. That’s maybe why I always play well in Australia – it feels like home. They had a relationship with Miloslav Mecir in the 1980s. So for about a quarter century, they have been hosting tennis players. Every generation there comes a new player. Maybe after me there will be some other young player who will go there, and this tradition will continue.



Talk to you tomorrow,

Dominik
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#17
Robby Ginepri:

If it’s Sunday, it must be Cincinnati. Hello to all you blog readers.

I got in Thursday from Toronto. At first I was thinking flying would be impossible with the enhanced security, so I was going to rent a car. But then Sebastien Grosjean told me flights were going fine, so I went ahead and flew.

We were expecting to wait a couple hours in line in Toronto. But we went right in. The only problem was I couldn’t take my Evian water past security, so I chugged it down there. We had to unpack our bags because you couldn’t carry on liquids, and my trainer had to take out a lot of creams and lotions.

Once we got to Cincinnati, I was working out in the gym, and who should walk by but a fellow American who you probably know of – James Blake. He asked me if I wanted to get some grub. So we went to Carrabba’s for a good little shmeal. I had veal piccata.

I want to be a cook in the future, so I often try to get some pointers and tips on how the food is prepared and served. It’s cool to see that around the world. There are completely different tastes and styles. I had to go for desert because they had tiara misu, and I’m a sucker for it. Then I had a little café latte to clear the palette.

On Friday, the USTA had a court dedication in Cincinnati. I got to go back to my roots – high school arts classes, as I had to paint a little of the doubles sideline and sign my name to it. It’s cool that everyone playing on public courts will see that I was there. I talked with a local high school team and got to interact with the kids who play on public courts.

It reminded of my days growing up and how I would go to the public courts to hit against the backboard. And now people will be stepping on my name for years and years!

On Friday I hit with James Blake. It’s not too tough finding a hitting partner before the event starts. Sometimes you see guys at the airport and line something up for the next few days. If not, you can just sign up for a partner.

Friday night we went to a Mexican restaurant. It had unbelievable guacamole, though in all modesty, I must say that I make a better one. The Dos Equis beer was pretty good too!

Saturday night I hung out with the boys. We played poker. Mardy Fish, James Blake and Paul Goldstein were part of the game. I came in fourth. James won it. He was lucky as usual. He called Mardy in an all-in hand. Mardy had a better hand, but James popped a trump card at the end to win it. Mardy was furious and wouldn’t stop giving James a hard time.

Yesterday I played two hours with James. We played a few sets, and I lost. We do this thing we call hozelrocket. Whoever loses has to stand at the fence facing it. That was me. James stood at the other baseline and fired a ball as hard as he could at me. Fortunately, his aim’s not too good, so he missed. That game isn’t so much fun to play with Andy Roddick.

We involve the coaches too. And mine – Diego Ayala – wasn’t so lucky. He got hit in the back. He’s going to coach me at Cincinnati and the US Open. We go a long way back and played doubles together. It’s good to have someone here who’s a good friend and keeps it chilled and relaxed, the way I like it.

My dad is here. Pops has come every year I’ve played. My mom’s a little sick, so he needs a break. Last year he had an unbelievable time. Of course, that’s pretty easy when his son is winning – I made it to the semis.

Today I hit with Bjorn Phau. I asked him if he wanted to play hozelrocket. And he said “hozel what?”

I’m undefeated at the Golden Tee video game. I don’t play golf too well, so this works out a little better for me.

I’ve been going to the Waffle House every day, but tomorrow I won’t be able to, because it’s not so healthy before a match – I play Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round. They have one about every mile in Atlanta (my home town), and I love it. I usually go late at night. It’s a good shmeal.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my near car wreck. The tournament gave us a nice rig for the week: a Mercedes S550. There’s not a better car to drive. I was working out at Gold’s Gym with my trainer. I was driving and pulled out, and we gassed it a bit. Some guy swerved into our lane, and we had to pull off the road. It probably wouldn’t have been so good to destroy the tournament car.

Fortunately, we all made it out unscathed! So I’ll be back to blog to you tomorrow. Have a good night!
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#18
:lol: Wat een leven die gasten!

Beats the office...
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#19
Dat dacht ik ook al toen ik het las...
Kaarten, trainen, reizen en af en toe een wedstijdje... :|
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#20
Mooi stuk! hij kwam hier vorig jaar heel ver. toch te duur om te nemen, ook omdat ie bij federer zit en nog niet top is.
Niets is sterker dan dat ene woord...
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#21
Weer een leuk stukje:

Hi everyone from Cincinnati, where the tournament started with a bang for me.

Last night I had a big dinner before my afternoon match. I went to my favorite restaurant, Benihana. It’s gotten me through some tough matches. I went there six out of seven nights one year in New York – when I lost to Andy Roddick in the final of the US Open juniors (2000).

I can trust that meal. It will withstand the beating on my body the next day. My dad came along, which was very nice.

The chefs often provide entertainment while they cook out in the open at Benihana. But the guy didn’t do too many tricks last night. It was a little disappointing. As someone who wants to be a cook one day, I watch what ingredients they use. I would have them cut down on the amount of butter, though that’s probably what makes it taste so good.

It’s cool when you walk in – you see the pictures of all the famous people that have been there: George Bush, Michael Jordan, even Pete Sampras.

I woke up at 10:30 this morning – I like to sleep. I ordered pancakes, egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast from room service.

I warmed up at about 12 with Paul Goldstein. He’s a bit similar to the guy I played today – Paul-Henri Mathieu. After that, I had a bite to eat, and then all of the sudden the clouds opened up, and the rain came. We left the site, which I almost never do. We went to the UPS store where my friend had to drop something off. And we listened to some tunes. That got my mind off the match a bit.

Then I came back and suited up for the match. It rained while we were playing, which is a royal pain. Tennis is so mental as it is, without rain. To have to go on court and off and then back on… I lost nine straight points when we came back. That shouldn’t happen to any professional tennis player. And I’ll try not to let it happen again.

After matches, I usually hop on the bike for a few minutes to cool down from the match. I talk to my coaches about the match. We went over a few things. Then I showered, cooled down and got a little massage. You gotta rub out that lactic acid in the legs. And you need to eat 30 minutes after the match or your body will break down. I had a banana and a shake.

I did my press conference. Dealing with the press comes with the territory. A lot of the questions are easy. You can avoid them by talking about whatever you feel like. It’s pretty easy. I like off-the-wall questions. That’s better for the fans. They know tennis and can see that you didn’t make enough first serves or made too many unforced errors. Questions about my cooking or my support of the Atlanta Falcons would probably be more interesting for them.

There will be no Benihana tonight, since I’m not playing tomorrow. I’m not sure where I’ll go. But I’m definitely leaving the tennis center. I’ve been here for about eight hours. That’s a long time to be at work for a tennis player.

I’ll tell you where I ate dinner tomorrow. After all, I have to give you a good reason to keep reading!

See you then.

Robby.
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#22
Hello folks from Cincinnati Day 2.

You may be wondering about the picture in this blog. I always love checking out the gift bags at tournaments. This one's pretty solid. By far the best thing is the flip flops. I've been sporting those since I got here.

I left you hanging last night about my post-match dinner plans Monday. We dined at the Montgomery Inn. It's the most famous place in town. The last couple years we've heard about it, so four of us had to go. I put down a full slab of ribs. It was very filling.

With the rain, it was pretty late when we got back. I got a little bit of treatment from Jamie and then played some poker on-line. I won one game but lost the other.

I talked to my Mom, my sister and my girlfriend when I got back as well. My Mom is usually watching on-line, but she couldn't because of the rain delay. She's a second grade teacher, so she sweats a lot of little things. When I dropped the first set 6-1, she would been really nervous watching it.

The highlight was breakfast this morning. With an off day, it was back to Waffle House, and who was there working, but Holly, Miss Waffle House USA. My Dad, Jamie, Diego and I all called her that because she's got to be the best looking girl to ever wait tables at a Waffle House. I've been to plenty of Waffle Houses in my day, and I've never seen anyone look that good.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not that superficial. She was an excellent waitress as well. Every order came out right, and quickly. It's not all about the looks, ok?!

I had to call one of my boys who is a frequent Waffle House eater in Atlanta to tell him about Holly. He didn't believe it. The whole drive to the courts, we were a little struck by what just happened. You just never expect something like that.

The biggest blunder of the day is that none of us had a camera. We were going to come back to the hotel to get it, but we were running a little (but that wasn't Holly's fault!).

We rolled up to the courts and hit with Diego. We just worked on a few things. He's big time out of shape, so it was pretty easy for me. He's been off the tour for a couple years, so he's put on the pounds. He's not at his sparring weight.

With the afternoon off, we check out a putt-putt golf course about 15 minutes away. We had a foursome and hit the course. Diego and my Dad actually tied. I got a hole-in-one on the 18th and went in to get my free game, but they said they don't do that anymore. What's that about?! It was just a friendly game, I save my wagering for poker.

Alex Colbalt from Under Armour flew in today because he had some work to do with the Cincinnati Bengals. He invited me out to check out their practice, but I just wanted to chill out and relax.

Instead, I watched Andy's match on TV. I was a little shocked, but I was glad Andy could pull it out, especially after him being injured. After a quick stop in the gym with Jamie for some light cycling, I got a massage on the legs to get them ready to go for Wednesday.

It was off to Embers for dinner -- it's a steak, seafood and sushi place about 15 minutes away. I crushed a medium-rare, 22 oz bone-in ribeye. I like putting away a steak the night before a match because I like to get the protein in me.

Got a night match tomorrow, so I'm in no rush to go to sleep. I'll have plenty of time to check in with the lady back home.

Til tomorrow

RG
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#23
heb roddick-bracci opstaan op Sport1, ben ook ''a little shocked''. dat roddick nog heeft gewonnen welteverstaan. hele dure pot dit. al blijf ik er bij dat roddick ook zomaar van vliegen kan verliezen. roddick speelt gewoon slecht, kon braccie niet breaken in 20 servicegames, maar dan die service he, die is zo goed, hij is gewoon zelf ook niet te breaken. gelukkig serveert vliegen ook goed.
Niets is sterker dan dat ene woord...
Reply
#24
centre court Wrote:heb roddick-bracci opstaan op Sport1, ben ook ''a little shocked''. dat roddick nog heeft gewonnen welteverstaan. hele dure pot dit. al blijf ik er bij dat roddick ook zomaar van vliegen kan verliezen. roddick speelt gewoon slecht, kon braccie niet breaken in 20 servicegames, maar dan die service he, die is zo goed, hij is gewoon zelf ook niet te breaken. gelukkig serveert vliegen ook goed.

En Chela zal hem anders wel pakken, die kan meer dan serveren :wink:
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#25
aan de andere kant is Bracciali al eerder lastig voor Roddick gebleken, dus dat hij het moeilijk zou krijgen verbaast mij niet
Reply
#26
tegen een goeie serveerder kan hij gewoon moeilijk breaken, dat gaat hij ook krijgen tegen vliegen dus daar houd ik me dan maar aan vast.
Niets is sterker dan dat ene woord...
Reply
#27
Hello again from Cincinnati, where I won my second-round match today.

This morning I kept my eyes shut for a while -- rolled out of bed about 11:15. I wanted a good night’s rest, because I knew I was playing tonight. I hit at about 1 p.m. with Diego Ayala. It’s good to get some blood flowing and a sweat going before a night match. I don’t like to sit around and get cold.

We went back and stopped at Chipotle restaurant on the way. The boys got a big burrito, but I didn’t think that would be the best for me.

I watched some of Federer’s match against Andy Murray this afternoon. I wasn’t really scouting them, because I never look at the draw. So I didn’t know I’d be playing the winner. Of course, I’ve seen Federer play many times before, and I’ve played against Andy. So it’s no secret how to play him, though he’s playing a little different now that he has Brad Gilbert in his corner.

Also this afternoon, I played a little paradise poker. It took a little longer than I expected. So I had to bag it, even though I was the chip leader, because I had to come here for my match. That was a little disappointing, but you have to have your priorities, which is obviously tennis for me.

After beating Dmitry Tursunov tonight, I think it’s on for me again. I felt good tonight and am pretty fired up to go tomorrow against Andy. It feels like last summer, when I was winning so much. If I can put another match like this in the books, it’ll be only straight up from here.

I’m antsy to get out there and get that winning feeling back. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. That’s why I do this. The anticipation before the match is always fun. And once you get a “W,” it’s like a drug. You want more and more and more. It’s a great release in the brain. It’s good to be this hungry again, and I’m looking forward to playing match after match.

In case you’re wondering, I did not go to see Holly, Miss Waffle House USA, today. She was probably working but did not receive a visit from the four stooges. The Waffle House isn’t on the agenda for game day. The grease wouldn’t exactly let me fly around the court.

I was flipping through the latest Men’s Vogue, and who did I see but my buddy James Blake. He’s not as preppy as they made him look, even if he did go to Harvard. I was featured in Atlanta Peach Magazine myself, but this is a little bigger.

It’s cool seeing the boys when I look through a magazine. I saw James once on Celebrity Poker, and that was cool. In case, you’re wondering, I’m still waiting for my first TV show appearance!

See ya tomorrow, Robby
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#28
Ik hoor vaker spelers zeggen dat ze niet naar de loting kijken, maar hij zegt gewoon glashard dat ie voor zijn partij tegen tursunov niet wist dat ie tegen de winnaar van Fedex-Murray moest. :eeeek:
Niets is sterker dan dat ene woord...
Reply
#29
centre court Wrote:Ik hoor vaker spelers zeggen dat ze niet naar de loting kijken, maar hij zegt gewoon glashard dat ie voor zijn partij tegen tursunov niet wist dat ie tegen de winnaar van Fedex-Murray moest. :eeeek:

Dat gaat toch nergens over....
Ik zou het wel knap vinden als het waar is, maar kan het me niet voorstellen.
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".

Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.

Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Reply
#30
ook niet echt professioneel lijkt me. hij kijkt nu naar een pot zonder te weten dat de winnaar zijn volgende tegenstander kan zijn. daarnaast is ie dan ook geen echte liefhebber, zelfs als wij een toernooi spelen kijken we naar de loting en wie we snel tegen kunnen komen.
Niets is sterker dan dat ene woord...
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