USA Tennis - Mallorca, Spain

Blog from Mallorca, Spain – April 2009

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009----
We just received our USA warm-ups, shirts, player-to-player gifts, and banners I depart for Mallorca, Spain on Thursday, April 23rd. The Opening Ceremony is on April 26th. Team play is from April 27th - May 2nd (Rain date for the Finals is May 3rd).


Sunday, April 26, 2009----
Have arrived here at Club Font de sa cala on the east coast of Mallorca, which is a Spanish-owned island off to the east of Spain. I am part of the USA Italia Cup Team (Men´s 35 and over). I am getting ready for the Opening Ceremony tonight.
Here are the latest updates:
* We are at Hotel Beach Club Font de sa cala.
* We are playing out matches at Tennis Club Au guait (don´t know the exact spelling so you might have to check it out.
* We have pictures for the USA Teams (in uniform, with hat, and flag) here at 6:15pm at Beach Club Font de sa cala.
* We have the Opening Ceremonies on Sunday for all teams here at 6:45pm at Beach Club Font de sa cala.
* We got the 5th seed. There are 8 pools, each with 3 teams. Since we are seeded 5, we got a bye on Monday. Therefore, we will watch and practice, and then start play on Tuesday. The other teams in our pool are Sweden and Lithuania.

Well, I´m heading off to the pictures and the Opening Ceremonies....




Tuesday, April 28, 2009----
Today we played Switzerland . We knew this would be a tough match within our pool and looked to finish them off as soon as would could. So Dougal Williams started us off at the #2 Singles match with a great lead and finished strong, winning 6-2, 6-0. Then, our #1 Singles match of Willie Dann continued the strong tennis with another win, 6-1, 6-3 to seal the USA victory. We continued to play out the remaining Doubles match, where Lew Miller and I won 7-6 (6), 6-2, and a final result of 3-0 over Switzerland .

Today was also the Photoshoot for the USTA with Christy. We met poolside with Christy Radecic and Marianna, then woke Willie from a nap, grabbed Dougal who had just finished playing a little tennis with his wife, Katie, and head out to the courts. With our USA /USTA gear on we took some action photos on the courts, and headed to the beach. On the beach we also we joined by Peter Markes and Ross Persons (Men’s 50’ Fred Perry Cup Players), and also with Gretchen Majors and their friend Mary-Clare. One of the jokes among the players that we started calling each other by their Calendar Name, such as Mr. June, Mr. July, while others preferred to be more clothes and called themselves, Mr. November and Mr. December. You can check out these photos at the USTA website…or maybe in the upcoming Player Calendar! Christy Radecic was great! Thanks, Christy!

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009----
Today we played Lithuania and handled them pretty good. Lew Miller won in the #2 Singles 6-0, 6-1, and Dougal won the #1 Singles 6-3, 6-0. Willie Dann and I played the Doubles and won 6-1, 6-1. We had won our pool, thus enabling us to move into the Quarterfinals pool, against France on Thursday.

Also, today I also borrowed Michelle’s (Lew Miller’s wife) bicycle and took a ride into Cala Ratjada. This is a beautiful 2 mile bike ride along the coast from our hotel into this quaint seaport. Leaving the hotel and the street, I jumped on the path, which is more like a rustic boardwalk and rode seaside. Absolutely beautiful and easy, pleasant bike ride! There and back, a bit of shopping and all within a wonderful refreshing 2 and a half hours!

Today, I also met and then talked extensively with Alex Lopez and Oscar Martinez, Spanish tennis players in the Men’s 35 division. We congratulated each other on tennis during the week and discussed results, opponents, tennis federations/associations in Spain and in the US and Missouri , and talked a little about family and life in the countries. Alex is married and his wife and 2 children (ages 4 and 2) are here also, and I talked about my upcoming marriage to Stacy this summer, life in Kansas City .

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Thursday, April 30, 2009----
Today we played France and lost 2-0. Dougal Williams played the #2 Singles and lost 6-0, 6-3. The French player, Bruno, was a strong lefty, who preferred to stay back and grind away clay-court style, and also had penetrating groundstrokes. Tough loss. Now, the pressure would be on Willie Dann at the #1 Singles spot to win, and push the match into the Doubles. If we can make it into the Doubles, all 4 of us are tough at Doubles and we feel like we can win it against any team. Unfortunatley, Willie lost today to their top-ranked French player, Arnaund, who was ranked as high as #120 in the world ATP 6-4, 6-1. With the match lost 0-2, the French agreed to play out the Doubles, and Lew and Dougal won a great match on center court with 75 spectators 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Great USA Doubles! Tomorrow we will play Sweden , who lost today in their match against the host team, Spain .

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Friday, May 1, 2009----
Today we had rain in the morning and matches were pushed back until 2:00. Lew Miller played the #2 Singles slot today and is a great clay courter. That is, he has a very consistent first and second serve, not flashy but very consistent from the baseline also, he is patient, a great defender, and strikes the ball excellently with great topspin, high over the net, deep into the opponents court keeping him pinned on his baseline also. This was a 3 and a half hour battle but Lew on the losing side of the match. He lost 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Next up came Dougal Williams who came out storming, winning the first set 6-3, but then lost the next two sets, 3-6, 4-6. The first set was awesome tennis by Dougal, and great tennis all the way through. This match went on close to 3 hours also. So, with the sunset upon us, both teams agreed to not play the Doubles, and so we departed on the shuttle bus and arrived at our hotel at 8:50pm. What a day of tennis! Great matches, but unfortunately we lost. Tomorrow, we will play Argentina (who lost today to Croatia ) for 7th or 8th place.

Thanks for the ITF for letting me use their internet access to put this blog together.... more later...

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Saturday, May 2, 2009 ---
Today we played Argentina . The winner of this match will be the 7th place team.

First, I started play today in the #2 Singles spot. I went down early in the match, but rebounded quickly and took the first set 6-4 against the Argentine. Then, I lost the second set 6-2 and also the third set 6-3. Then, Willie Dann played the #1 Singles match next. He had a slow start, losing the first set 6-3. He then came back and won the second set 7-6 (4), and continued on to win the third set 7-5. With the match now equaled at 1-1, Dougal Williams and Lew Miller came into play the Doubles. We handled the Argentines pretty cleanly, winning the match 6-2, 6-2, earning us the 7th place team finish. It was a great time with these teammates and I look forward to playing more with them and representing the USA in the future!

As for Championship match between Spain and Austria , it had great tennis, powerful shots, and yet smooth also on the clay. Spain won the #2 Singles first 7-6(6), 7-6(5), but Austria equaled the match score by winning the #1 Singles 7-6 (4), 6-0. Oscar Martinez ( Spain ) had a pulled muscle in the second set of this match. The Austrian player in this match, Werner Eschauer, has consistently been ranked in the ATP #200-#300 in Singles. His highest year end ATP ranking was in 2007 where he was #65. Then, Austria also went on to win the Doubles match, thus beating Spain 2-1.

To conclude the Team Championships, my friend, Alex Lopez (a Spanish Team player who played the doubles against Austria ) and I exchanged Team warm-ups, as a demonstration of camaraderie and good relations in international tennis. Alex now proudly wears his Team USA warmup top and bottoms, and I the same --- sporting his Team España top and bottoms. His wife and child came to Mallorca as well, and Alex’s highest pro ranking was #71 in 2003.

Thanks to my Italia Cup Teammates---Dougal, Willie, and Lew!
Go USA!!!
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