Tennis Warehouse Blog

I recently tried the Pacific ATP Poly Power Pro and the Poly Force. Of the two, I enjoyed the Poly Force more.

ATP Poly Power Pro

The ATP Poly Power Pro I actually did not enjoy hitting with very much. There was a significant initial tension loss in the stringbed, which made it feel extremely loose when I first picked it up to play with. The tension was also not very well distributed throughout the stringbed, and thus the play off the stringbed felt inconsistent. Sometimes I was able to keep the ball in play, and sometimes the ball would just fly on me unexpectedly. It did have nice “pop” however, with a good amount of power for a polyester. It also was relatively easy on the arm. I was able to generate good amounts of topspin and slice when needed as well. The durability was good too, as it lasted almost a week with daily wear (Editor’s note: Andy has broken co-poly strings in 30 minutes of hitting, so that is very impressive).

Poly Force

I enjoyed playing with the Poly Force more than the ATP Poly Power Pro. I felt it was a little softer, and thus had nice feel and touch off the strings. I was unable to generate as much spin however, and the ball did not stay long on the strings. The tension throughout the stringbed was nice and consistent. What stood out to me was the excellent control I was able to have, while also being able to generate ample power on my shots. Durability and tension maintenance was excellent. Overall, a 7 out of 10.

Till next time,

Andy

It was the summer of 2008; I was in Beijing, China, at an Olympic beach volleyball event. I was watching these world-class athletes walk onto the sand court with their shoulders and/or legs taped in what looked to me like athletic tape. But it wasn’t the standard issue athletic tape that I was used to seeing. This was the first time I had seen Kinesio Tape.

Since then, I started seeing these colorful tapes pop up on athletes from all genres of sports, from basketball to football to tennis. Curious as to what it was, I had to do some investigating into this mysterious tape. After some googling, I learned that this was not just any regular athletic tape, this was supposed to ease pain and rehab muscles and joints. Sounded too good to be true, but since I was having shoulder problems of my own, I had to try it out.

About 6 months ago, I finally got my hands on some Kinesio Tape. With the samples, I was also sent a booklet on how to properly apply the tape. This booklet was no joke, I felt like I had to go to medical school to understand the big eight syllable words. Where exactly is my coracobrachialis muscle? Luckily for us non-Ph.Ds, there are easy to follow pictures. I grabbed some of the hot pink tape (brings out the color in my eyes), and had someone tape me up. First impressions: this felt weird. My shoulder felt like it was supported and tight, yet I had a full range of motion. The real test would be during and after my hit.

Wow, I was flabbergasted at the results. Yes, flabbergasted, astonished, shocked (thank you, thesaurus). Was it a placebo effect? Or did it really work? Perhaps a combination of both? Whatever it was, I was hitting almost pain free for the first time in a long time. I had to share this miraculous find with the rest of my ailing office mates. In the next few weeks, we used this to treat a hurt wrist, tennis elbow, and another hurt shoulder. Did this tape work on those conditions? Check, check, check and check. We were sold.

Exactly, how it works, I have no idea. What I do know is that without the tape, every time I swung a racquet, especially on the serve, it’d feel like my shoulder socket was filled with glass shards. With it on, it was like putting WD-40 on a rusty joint. A magical tape it is not, but the Kinesio Tape does minimize the pain enough to allow me to continue playing. What’s great about this tape is that there are so many applications it can be used for. From head to toe, this tape has got you covered. Literally and figuratively.

Don’t believe me? Great. I’m actually glad you’re not just taking my word for it. I think with the Kinesio Tape, it’s like The Matrix, you cannot be told of how it works, you’ll need to experience it for yourself. Luckily for you, a roll of Kinesio TEX tape only costs $12.99.  That’s cheaper than most tennis equipment you’ll ever buy. Take it to a personal trainer familiar with the Kinesio Taping Method or get the booklet and tape yourself up. Either way, I think you’ll be glad you did.

Have any of you had a chance to try out some Kinesio Tape? Share your stories; I’d love to hear them.

Jason, TW

In just a couple of short weeks, Tennis Warehouse will be heading down to Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open. We’ll have our tent and demo court set up as usual, and Jason will be working in the tent so if you drop by you might see him. However, Chris, Spencer and I are on a different mission for the annual trip to the desert. We travel with a member of our video crew and try to land as many interviews with pros as we can. I know, I know, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I’m curious what questions you would ask an ATP or WTA pro if you got the chance to do an interview. If you’re looking for some ideas, here are some of the videos we’ve done in the past.

So drop us a note. We’d really like to hear what you’d like to ask the pros.

Happy Hitting!

Tiffani, TW

In any sport, when you reach a certain level of competition, the physical demands of the game take a toll on your body. That’s when you must also strength train for injury prevention, increasing muscle strength, and improving stamina.

My thought of hitting through the pain ended up with a physical trainer telling me I had to take a whole month off. That meant no activity that would agitate my shoulder. No tennis, no playtesting, no new products. So what did I do for the whole month of December while the others playtested new 2010 products? I playtested my appetite!

Since my hour break didn’t consist of tennis anymore, I gladly took part of real lunch outings. Not playing tennis surely made the days longer, but experiencing a lunch away from my computer was a different joy. Nonetheless, a month passed by and I knew I was out of shape.  It was finally time to give my body a shock and hit the gym!

As most of our followers know, I’ve been known to say that almost every racquet I’ve playtested has been difficult for me to swing because of the weight. The word has been that even a feather would be too heavy for me. Well, it’s been three weeks in the gym; three times a week, averaging about two hour workouts. Let me tell you, the shock value my body endured the first week was a 10! Everything hurt to the point where people were asking if I needed help putting my jacket on, standing up, sitting down, and trying not to laugh for the sake of saving my abs the pain.

My workouts continue with my friends who push me to get into shape and I’m loving it!  Sure the first two weeks was a drag, but now that I have surpassed the unbearable muscle shock phase, I can feel my body, especially my shoulder, getting stronger. My energy level throughout the day has increased and I just feel healthier! In parallel to the workouts I’ve been playing tennis three times a week. Props to the Volkl V1 Classic as I’ve made it my official racquet! I’m still cautious about serving, but the pain I grew so accustomed to in my shoulder has dwindled to the point where I’ve entered a tournament coming up in two weeks! I’m taking a crack at Open Singles and Mixed Open Doubles hoping if I take it easy with the serving, I can make it through my matches!

Below is the current workout plan. Some of the exercises are subject to change (lower weights, more reps, different exercises, etc.) to keep it interesting, but still target the same muscles. What’s your workout plan or are you planning on strengthening your game outside the court? If you have any work out suggestions that would be fun to try out let me know!

Peace Sign,
Kana

Monday (legs)

15 minutes cardio (elliptical)

- 4 min @ level 4 - forward

- 3 min @ level 5 - backward

- 3 min @ level 6 - forward

- 3 min @ level 6 - backward

- 1 min @ level 7 - forward

- 1 min @ level 7 – backward

– 3 sets of 10 –

Leg press and calves

@ 90-100 lbs

Leg Curls

@ 40 lbs w/2 legs – 20 lbs w/1 leg

Hamstring Curls

@ 10 lbs w/2 legs

Front Lunges or Side Lunges

@ 10 lbs for front, 5 lbs for side

Wall Chair * Subject to substitution *

- Both legs @ 60 sec

- Right @ 15 sec

- Left @ 15 sec

– 3 sets –

Straight Leg Reverse Crunch on Bench

- 10

Planks

- Straight @ 60 sec

- Sides @ 30 sec each

Ball crunches

- 30 total – 10 for front, side, side

– Finish –

10 minutes cardio (elliptical) @ level 6

Tuesday (chest & back)

15 minutes cardio (elliptical)

- 4 min @ level 4 - forward

- 3 min @ level 5 - backward

- 3 min @ level 6 - forward

- 3 min @ level 6 - backward

- 1 min @ level 7 - forward

- 1 min @ level 7 – backward

– 3 sets of 10 –

Flat Barbell Bench Press

@ 12.5 lbs

Incline Barbell Bench Press

@ 12.5 lbs

Decline Barbell Bench Press

@ 10 lbs

Elevated Push Up (Wide Stance)

- Until failure

Cable Cross-Over

@ 20 lbs

@ 10 lbs (upward)

Lat Pulldown

@ 50 lbs

Seated Cable Rows

@ 40 lbs

Dumbbell Bent-over Row

@ 15 lbs

Back Raises

@7.5 lbs

– 3 sets –

Planks

- Straight @ 60 sec

- Sides @ 30 sec each

Ball crunches

- 30 total – 10 for front, side, side

– Finish –

10 minutes cardio (elliptical) @ level 6

Thursday (arms)

Superset and Regular interchange every other week

*Bicep and Tricep exercises subject to substitutions

15 minutes cardio (elliptical)

- 4 min @ level 4 - forward

- 3 min @ level 5 - backward

- 3 min @ level 6 - forward

- 3 min @ level 6 - backward

- 1 min @ level 7 - forward

- 1 min @ level 7 – backward

Warm-up bicep curls with 5 lbs – 10 each side

– Super Sets — 3 sets of 10 of 1 & 2 – repeat 4 times –

1. Cable Curls

- 30 lbs, 20 lbs, 10 lbs

2. Tricep Push Downs

- 30 lbs, 20 lbs, 10 lbs

– Regular –

Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curls

@ 7.5 lbs

Lying Tricep Curls

@ 7.5 lbs

Preacher curl

@ 30 lbs

@ 10 lbs for reverse grip

Tricep Cable Extensions

@ 20 lbs

Front Raises and Side Raises

@ 5 lbs

Bicep Curl to Shoulder Press

@ 5 lbs

– 3 sets –

Planks

- Straight @ 60 sec

- Sides @ 30 sec each

Ball crunches

- 30 total – 10 for front, side, side

– Finish –

10 minutes cardio (elliptical) @ level 6

We walked through the doors this morning refreshed, ready to go.

The HP Pavilion, not so much.

We live in an age where we really, really, really depend on technology. Don’t believe me? Try going a day without your cell phone. Can’t do it. You shudder at just the mere thought. I know I do. I’d be totally discombobulated without my connection to the outside world. There is a point to this rambling, and here it is. This morning the Internet was down at the HP Pavilion. Isn’t it ironic that the Internet would be down at a building sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and a tournament sponsored by SAP? It’s like the Staples Center running out of paper, AT&T Park having no cell reception, The Pepsi Center going bone dry on soda or Madison Square Garden having no square garden. Wait, forget that last one.

The way our system works, no Internet means no way of charging customers, which means no sales. Which is fine for an hour or two. But this time period (which I call the Dark Age), lasted for 7 hours. That’s a long time to be left in the money-making dark.

However, there is a bright side: I got to watch a good amount of tennis. Sure, they weren’t the Federers or Nadals of the world, but there were some great, well played matches. I also got to watch the Bryan Brothers, the No. 1 doubles team in the world, play. Those guys are always fun to watch because of how good they are. Their reactions and hands are almost video game like.

6pm. And we’re back! Internet is up and running! Just in time for the night matches and autograph signings with Taylor Dent and Fernando Verdasco.  Shockingly enough, our only two female employees wanted to be the “security” when Verdasco signed. I wonder why? If they stood any closer to him, we would’ve needed security for our security. “He’s so much dreamier in person.” Their words, not mine.

After the feeding frenzy died down from the Verdasco signing, we were ready to wrap it up. What started off as a pretty bad day ended up on a high note….. at least for two women in particular. (Hi, Steph and Ali!)

Thoughts and Observations:

1 - I’ve watched the Bryan Brothers play quite a few times now, and it always amazes me how in-sync they are. Have you ever noticed that when they are returning, they both do this bouncing/shuffling thing with their feet, and then, at the same moment, drop down into this crouching tiger/hidden dragon position? How do they know?! Is this a twin mental connection thing or do you think they spend the last 10 minutes of each practice perfecting their routine?

2 - Call me Captain Obvious, but professional tennis players are really good at tennis. I mean, I watch these journeymen players, and they are so impressive. They don’t seem to have any weaknesses in their game. So much more impressive than Division I college players, yet, these guys are routinely getting bageled by the top 10, top 20 guys. It really puts things in perspective of how crappy of a tennis player I am in the big scheme of things.

Jason, TW

San Jose, CA. Up till this point, we’ve (Tennis Warehouse) only participated in Southern California tournaments, BNP Paribas at Indian Wells and the LA Open at UCLA, but it was about time we started representin’ for those Nor Cal tennis fans. So here we are, San Jose, California. At the HP Pavilion, aka, The Shark Tank.

Since we’ve never done this tournament before, I didn’t know what to expect. The draw seemed pretty good with players like Roddick, Verdasco (for the ladies), Querry and the Bryan Brothers. Not to mention, Pistol Pete was playing an exhibition match against Verdasco tonight!

We rolled up around 12pm to a fairly calm Pavilion. We have 4 retail booths set up on the north and south entrances. On the North end, we have Nike and Lacoste apparel.

Yes, I said Lacoste. We will soon be carrying Lacoste items on our website. Lacoste at last, Lacoste at last, thank God almighty, we have Lacoste at last! On the South end, we have racquets from Wilson, Head, Babolat and Prince (The Big 4) and adidas shoes and apparel. Anyways, back to the tournament. There was definitely a match going on but it certainly didn’t seem like it. I took the liberty of peeking in, and I have to say, I’ve had more people watching me play 4 Square in 3rd grade than what these guys had. What a bummer. This tournament wasn’t off to a great start.

Then the night session began. Doors opened at 6pm for Sampras vs. Verdasco match. People started pouring in from every entrance like it was 6am on Black Friday and there was a sale on flat screen TVs. So that’s where all the tennis fans were. After all the pandemonium died down, I got to take in a little bit of the exo.

We interrupt this blog for some late breaking news:

Verdasco is now with Yonex?!?! Saw him carrying a Yonex bag and what looked to be like the RDiS 200 racquet. I’ll have to do some investigating, but I’m sure the folks over at Talk Tennis already have more info than I do.

Back to your regularly programmed blog.

Sampras looked off or old, I don’t know. But he didn’t look like the Sampras that played the exhibition match against Safin a year ago at the LA Open. I don’t think Verdasco was taking it too too easy on him either. He cranked some 130+ MPH serves and hit a few amazing returns/passing shots. For the most part though, Pete was just misfiring on his forehands and backhands. The match was over quickly, 6-2, 7-6. Apparently, Verdasco didn’t get the memo to let Pete win a set. Oh well, it was fun to watch a legend play, nonetheless.

Day 1 is in the books. After the night session, this tournament looks promising. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s adventures bring me.

Thoughts and Observations:

1 - Does anything smell better than fresh baked cinnabuns? They have a stand here and must be pumping air straight from the oven into the air ducts because I could not escape that smell all day! This is not good for the diet. Must. Stay. Strong….

2 - The Maria Sharapova Dress: either people love it or hate it. There is no in between. Kinda like The Jersey Shore.

3 - At age 38, Sampras was still clocking serves near 130 MPH. That’s just unfair. I predict that when he is 65, he will still be hitting his serves harder than I ever could’ve. He’s a better player than me, I can accept that now. I know what you’re thinking, “that’s an awfully close race Jason.” And to that I reply, “you’re right, I mean, we do have 14 Grand Slam titles between the both of us.”

As I am writing this on the plane back to Europe, I am reflecting on the past 48 hours in Australia. The last entry was that we were looking forward to the match between Serena and Justine.

When we came back to the hotel we were just in time to get our dinner consisting of snacks that are served between 6 and 8 at the Hyatt Business lounge. The Lounge is on the 31^st floor of the Grand Hyatt on Collins. The hotel I have stayed in for the past 5 years, while working with adidas. The hotel is located just a ten minute walk to the site as well as a 5 minute walk to the (in)famous Federation Square. It also just a short walk to all the best shopping streets in Melbourne. We have our breakfast there everyday as well as our team meetings and management meetings for the duration of the tournament. Since it is the official hotel most of the players, manufacturers and the management companies are staying there. This is the 2^nd year of the fully refurbished hotel that has a great history together with the tournament. In the past, the lower lobby consisted of large food court that since has turned into one of the hottest night clubs in town “the Spice Market.” This year “Spice Market” took the effort with Henri Leconte to organize a charity event for the victims of the earthquake of Haiti. Prior to the tournament we attended the 2^nd annual “taste of tennis” which has been for many years the main attraction of players and sponsors during the US open at the “W Hotel 49^th and Lexington” in NY. The Taste of Tennis was also organized in of the greatest ballrooms in the Hyatt which in the past was the place for the Players Party.

While making ourselves comfortable in the lounge we settled down in the TV room where Serena and Justine had already started their 2010 Women’s Final. As it turned out it was one great final and I was impressed with the quality of tennis that both players were able to reach in a final. It seems that Justine really was the one that should get the credit for getting the most out of Serena. After a long battle and at times it looked like Justine was going to do the same as Kim did at the US open, Serena was victorious and the winner of the 2010 Australian Open.

I believe that Justine is a better player than when she stopped at top of the women’s ranking. She showed improvement in all areas. The only part that she might have been missing was the lack of match play over a longer period of time. So I tell you right now that we have to really consider that Justine will be favored for the next Slam of the year at the 2010 French Open at Roland Garros.

Day 14

Sunday the 31^st of January 2010

Mats and I had a sleep in and went for a walk on the town and guess where we went. Yes! We went to the adidas Store and looked at the product and the layout. Around the corner was a nice shop with some cool trainers and since we are not going to support any other casual sports shoe, Mats and I both bought some cool trainers. This was our treat to ourselves for a successful 3 weeks in Melbourne.

adidas ended up having 4 finalists in the Women’s, Men’s, Girls and Boys events. Tiago Fernandes, the first Brazilian to ever win a grand slam junior event was the sole victor of this years’ finals. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to watch much of the wheelchair championships this year but I am looking forward to getting back on court with Esther Vergeer when I get back to Amsterdam (Esther is the tournament Director at the ABN-AMRO Wheel chair tennis event, which starts on the 8^th of Feb, simultaneous with the ATP tour tournament).

We got to the site around 3 for our workout in the players gym which was totally empty and we got a chance to have our last work out in total peace. Mats and I were also invited by the team of Andy to attend the Final of that evening. I ran into Darren Cahill who was getting ready to sit court side, for ESPN, during the match and give a detailed and specialist analysis during tonight’s final. Darren and I also are working on finalizing the list of players that Mats is compiling and doing the full admin of communication and organization for our Indian Wells Prep in Vegas — from the 25^th February through the 5^th of March.

7:30 p.m.

The forecast for the evening was not looking too good as rain had already forced the roof to be closed during the mixed finals that took place prior to tonight’s Final. Two friends were going to watch the final from The Oval, but were forced to go home because the rain had forced them to go inside.

When both players walked on court at 7:30 p.m. the roof was half way opened. There was still some daylight left over and as the match progressed clouds were moving quickly across the sky with the sunset turning the sky above the court into an orange blanket.

I could not tell before the match who was going to win because I felt that Andy was ready for his first win in a Slam. The only person that could stop him from reaching his (and that of the whole of Scotland and the UK) ultimate prize, would be Roger Federer.

Before the match I sat down with Tony Godsick (IMG Manager of Roger) and we chatted about what was ahead of us that evening. Tony is also helping me with a letter of Reference from Roger in my quest to create a High Performance Center in Amsterdam together with Ex Player John Van Lottum. Tony and I both felt it was going to be a great final and it was going to be a toss up. Not only did Tony and I think this, but also when I spoke to the Sports Marketing Director of Nike he thought the same. The only argument I had was that I felt that after Roger’s victory over Davydenko had given him a boost of confidence. Especially in his interview on court with Jim Courier, he was so relaxed and confident in the words he choose that I felt he reached a victory not only over Davydenko but more importantly over himself.

So when I saw how the level of Roger was from the very beginning of the match, I knew Andy would have to come up with his best tennis of his career. Unfortunately, Andy was not able to maintain the level he needed during the match and at times where he had a chance he was not able to capitalize. I think the tie-break in the 3^rd was the shorter version of the whole match. The game of cat and mouse during the match was won by Roger and the level of tennis that was reached was far above my expectations. Where normally you will see that players would try to neutralize each other in the exchanges they have, in this final, the players were not going to play passively or wait for the other to make the mistake. Both choose to go for their shots and it turned out to be 3 great sets of tennis and some of the best tennis (point by point) I have ever seen.

Yes it would have been great to see Andy win the 3^rd and go into a fourth set and challenge Roger’s nerve a little. As we all know, it means so much to Roger winning in Australia and nerves do tend to come in toplay in the latter part of a match. I do not know and I could not tell you for sure but I think it has to do with his respect for the sport and the history of the game that Australia has. I also know that Roger still has a close bond with the family of his former coach, Peter Carter (who was also my colleague during my time as the Head of Swiss tennis in 1997/98.). This makes it the slam which he may see as part of his tennis roots.

I would have loved to see Andy win his first Slam and it would have been great to have broken the dry spell for GB tennis. However I am proud of Roger and his achievements and of the player he has become, but more I am proud of Roger for who is even after all his success.

Therefore, I congratulate Roger and his whole team for the 16^th Slam of his career, however, I am proud to be in the corner of Andy as I believe he shows the same qualities as Roger. I know he will succeed in his quest to win a slam.

This was the Australian Open 2010 and I want to thank on behalf of Mats and myself, all of you who have taken the time to read our blog. We look forward to many more to come and want to thank TennisWarehouse.com for showing the interest for the Game of tennis and given us a chance to share our days with you.

Thank you to all of the people at the Australian Open — especially to the people behind the practice desk, Gym/Fitness area and the people in the player’s restaurant. All of them have made it possible for us to do our work and helped us everyday to make it fun.

Sven and Mats.

Day 12 and 13

This entry is a combined entry of the past 2 days of watching the future of tennis. As Mats had mentioned about the locker room yesterday, I am not quietly sitting down and reflecting on the past month. We have now been in Australia for 2 months and if you have never been I can suggest coming to this wonderful country. The people are very friendly and the Australian Open is the best tournament in the world. You would not want to miss this if you are a big fan of tennis.

Yesterday we watched the semi finals of Tiago Fernandes and Laura Robson. It is interesting to see their developments and they both won their matches and made it into the final. Tiago beat Giani Mina from France and he was almost down and out being down a set and 2-5 in the tie-break but when Tiago hit an on the run forehand passing shot you could see the momentum change. Mina is going to be a player of the future to watch as well and maybe that matchup should have been the final.

Laura made it a little easier into the final and beating Kristyna Pliskova 3 and 1. It was very windy today and you could see that there was little rhythm so when I sent a text to Laura to congratulate her on her win she told me she was going to go for a hit with Martijn Bok, her coach, on a indoor court to get some rhythm.

Since the semi final of the men’s did not take place until the evening at 7:30 p.m. we had a chance to go into the gym again. I must say that I have missed the workouts and I am trying to get in shape so I can start hitting some balls again. Yesterday Mats and Martijn had a hit on the indoor courts. Since it is so quiet now, it almost seems like a different tournament. Now we get all the freedom to move around the facility and have a chance to relax a bit. Some of the fans were watching the tennis but also prepping for their main man in making their fan signs.

After getting back to the hotel Mats and I changed quickly to walk over to Federation Square to watch the match between Federer and Tsonga. And again Federer was just too good and made Tsonga look bad. After the match Federer gave an interview and he was so relaxed and confident that I have to say that it is going to be a tough match for Murray. Ever since I met and worked with Federer in 1997, this will be the first time that I will be cheering for one of Roger’s opponents instead of Him. Andy is a new member of the adidas team and it would be great to see him break the British Grand Slam drought of the past 74 years.

DAY 13

Today we got a chance to sleep in, after the past 3 weeks we did not get a chance to do so and this time we took advantage of our time off. Yes believe it or not we are now not working for adidas and we are now on our own bill. You would think that maybe we would go home as soon as our responsibilities were over. Instead we stay around because both Mats and I enjoy and love the sport we work in and it would be a shame if we would not be here and see the finals of the 2 juniors that we have been following for the past years.

Tiago started today at 1 p.m. and he won his first slam of his young career. He turned 17 yesterday and had a very good win on his birthday but today he outperformed the finalist from Australia. I believe Tiago is making great progress and he is getting stronger every time I see him. In his speech he thanked everybody from his coach and the tournament sponsors and officials. He took the time to even thank Mats and I when he stood on center court holding his trophy of the 2010 Australian Open championships.

Laura was not at the winning end today as she faced a very strong opponent in the twin sister of the girl she beat in the semi-final. Karonlina Pliskova is defiantly a girl to watch for the future of the women’s game. She has a big serve and for being as tall as she is maybe 6’2”, she was retrieving extremely well. Laura lost the first set in 22 mins and this was much too fast for a final. Because of the weapons and the powerful game of her opponent, it took Laura far too long to adjust and she could not find her rhythm. She was not able to get back into the match until the middle of the 2^nd set when she broke back to get back on serve. So when it came to the tie-break it was Laura who was leading and had changed a bit of the momentum of the match as she was leading 4-1. However, she lost the next 5 points in a row and this a little too much of course, but she did get to 6 all. In the end she hit a double fault and handed the win to Karolina who was very lucky to get away with this win.

Mats and I thought we would walk over to get our stamps made, a nice souvenir of this year’s Australian Open and as I am writing today’s entry Mats is back on court and having another work out with Martijn.

I am looking forward to the match of Serena and Justine and I am sure many of you will wonder about the state of tennis in the women’s game. However, I want to give the credit to Justine instead because she stopped as the number 1 player in the world and she has come back as strong or maybe even stronger than before. So may the best one win today and enjoy a great match between 2 great champions.

Tomorrow we hope to get a chance to go to the match of Andy versus Roger and if we do we will make a full match report on that match. All the best for now and look forward to another day off at the tennis.

Mats and Sven

The Locker-Rooms

Sometimes it is great to hang out in the locker rooms. You get to hear some funny inside stories and see things you usually wouldn’t.

There are 2 different locker rooms at the Australian Open — Locker Room A and Locker Room B.

If you work on the ATP side you receive a credential that allows you into Locker Rooms A and B. Locker Room A is a bit smaller, and only the player and one member of his support team are allowed in there. The players are usually preparing themselves for the match. They are preparing their special drinks, putting new overgrips on their racquets and getting ready mentally as well. It is very special to see how they have some rituals in common and how each player does his own special thing prior to the match.

Last year when Fernando Verdasco made it into the second week and advanced to the semis here, Sven and I got our credential changed, so we could get access to Locker Room A. We only could get this access because it was quieter in the second week and fewer players and support team members were there. Last year, we initially had our credentials with Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic.

Working on the WTA side with a player means you only have access to Locker Room B because you are not working with a male player.

However, Locker Room B is sometimes more popular than Locker Room A because you have more space, and you are not sharing with too many other players. Andy Roddick, for example, had his locker in Locker Room A. He was always preparing for his match in there with his coach, Larry Stefanki, and also doing his physio.

To make sure nothing is stolen or disappears, there are two gentlemen, Anthony and Ross, who are in charge of unlocking and locking the lockers. They basically share a 24/7 job during the tournament. Their day starts at 6 a.m. and ends two hours after the last match has finished. If you want to know about long days, you should ask them. They are doing an unbelievable job and whenever I walk in there, one of them is there and asks me the question, “Unlock 53, Mats?” So obviously after a certain time they know you and your locker.

Jobs like this are often underestimated, and I think we owe them a big thank you for the great job that they do. They must be exhausted after those more or less three weeks of work.

Apart from hanging out in Locker Room B, we also got to watch some junior matches. Laura Robson and Tiago Fernandes, both with adidas, were playing, and we were watching some other very talented players as well of course.

Maria Kirilenko also was on to play her doubles semifinal together with Agnieszka Radwanska. They were playing Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Unfortunately they lost in three sets. It was very windy and Black/Huber are not easy opponents. They were really in Maria’s and Agnieszka’s face the entire match even when they lost the second set 1-6 Black/Huber were running back to their bench, as if they had won the second set 6-1. That’s also why they are so good at what they do. They are very professional.

But I think Maria should still be confident with a quarterfinal in singles and a semifinal in doubles, she had a very good run over the last two weeks. Let’s cross fingers for her and hope she won’t get injured and will be able to maintain that level of very good tennis.

Have a great day,

Mats

Since our time in Australia is coming to an end, Mats and I will be reporting a little less news on the blog. We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our daily activities, and because we have only one of our players in the tournament we will be slowing down a lot.

Yesterday was a day of walking around the grounds, and in the second week there are fewer players in the tournament and fewer people roaming the grounds. It is always a special feeling in the second week of a slam.

When you arrive at the site and are walking in the corridors, it is much more quiet, and it is also a sad feeling because you realize it is coming to an end. Everything becomes easier, from booking practice courts to getting transportation to getting new balls for practices.

We wanted to watch some juniors because this is where the new generation is preparing for the big world of tennis. They are playing on the outside courts, and you have to do quite a bit of walking to cover all the courts from Court 20 to Court 10. Rod Laver Arena stands between these courts, and it takes at least 10 minutes before you reach the other side of the site.

The weather has been extremely mild this year, so it has been very pleasant for fans, players and coaches and has been one of the best in the 19 years I’ve been coming to the Australian Open.

We wanted to watch Laura Robson again, so along the way we also passed Court 4 where Andy Murray was having his day of recovery. It is always strange to congratulate somebody if they have won through retirement, but this one is special because it is his first semifinal here in Australia. There is a slight possibility that Mats will be hitting with Andy in the next few days because his coach Miles has a sore back.

Laura won her match and was not the most energetic on the court. I spoke to her after the match, and she said she had slept poorly and her mind was thinking of her whole day. She had to play her quarterfinal (open division) women’s doubles match, which was scheduled to be after Tsonga-Djokovic at 7:30 p.m. I fully understand that a 16-year-old can get tired and her mind may wonder.

After her match, we decided to have a quick sandwich before heading to The Oval, where there is a big beer garden and other activities for the fans with live music and bars and restaurants. We wanted to watch the Serena and Roger matches there. We ended up staying there until about 6 p.m., and Roger had just won the second set before we walked over to Maria Kirilenko’s at 6:30 p.m. warm-up for her doubles match.

We watched the end of the Federer match in the lounge, and we had a nice dinner in the players’ restaurant before we headed over to the night match of the day: Tsonga vs. Djokovic. The first two sets were spectacular. The women’s doubles match that was originally planned after the match was moved to the Margaret Court Arena at 10 p.m., and I was getting updates from Laura Robson’s coach. She and her partner were leading 4-0 in the first. So I decided to walk over and watch a little from the side of the court. (I am not supposed to be in the player’s box of either of the players, but I am allowed to sit and watch neutrally.) I came in at 4-3 for Robson and Peers, but Kirilenko and Radwanska turned it around and won the set 6-4. I stayed for one more game before heading back to center court. I watched as Tsonga was fighting his way back after losing the third, and Djokovic was running of the court because he seemed ill. At the end Tsonga won the battle and put another adidas player into the semis.

Today is going to be a bit slower, but I look forward to see Justine Henin play her comeback semi and roam the grounds again and in between have a personal workout in the gym.

Another day of Paradise is beginning.

Sven