There is a constant energy given off from this concrete city they call “The Big apple”. You would think that being from Toronto I would be use to the chaos and hustle, but instead it only makes me realize just how small my city really is. I felt like an ant in a hay field. Something people need to definitely get use to before they feel comfortable. However, even though I felt small I definitely felt at home.
We stayed at the ever so extravagant Parker Meridien right on 57th ave in the heart of NYC. If you walked out and went left you would run right into Central park where you had a chance to step on Horse S#%T and if you walked right, you ran straight into Time square where whether or not the sun is out you will still be getting a tan from all the lights… literally minutes away. You had your choice of food from every different kind of culture. I tend to stay away from Chinese food in big cities because I witnessed rats being captured once and brought in the backdoor… You do the math. The real surprise was whether or not you would be eating on the main floor or at the top of a sky scraper? The city is so packed that they make use of all spaces. A great example of that is when Aleks and I went to go practice indoors one day when it was raining. We pull up to this beautiful apartment building and were completely confused…Where is the tennis club we ask? Take the elevator to the 3rd floor and you’ll find it they replied. They actually had a 2 court indoor facility in the middle of an apartment building. I can go on for hours about the most random things I encountered but I’ll leave you with an example and have you venture off and find out for yourselves. This way I won’t get myself into trouble ;)
After the Rogers cup in Toronto, Aleks and I decided to take the following week off to regroup and train like animals to get ready for the last major of the year. She worked her butt off with her new fitness trainer Denis and of course out on court with me. We flew a few days prior to the event as usual to get settled in and use to the courts. The first few days were so busy. I felt as if we were at a carnival minus the carnies. Very tough to get court time alone and have a very routine day. Always have to be on your toes at the big events due to the fact that anything can change. We definitely made the most of it and Aleks was feeling great going into her first round match against the American Laura Granville. The first set was very routine winning 6-1 with very few unforced errors. The second set was more of a battle. Laura tried to dig deep and add some pressure to get her self into a third set but as always, Aleks enjoys to step her game up at these moments taking the second in a solid tiebreak.
That afternoon after her match I went to go scout her next potential opponent, Amelie Mauresmo of France. I knew this wouldn’t be an easy match as Amelie had just made the semies the week before and has a ton of experience under her belt. I was confident though that Aleks would come out on top if she stuck to our game plan which she did, winning in pretty much a knock out match on the ever so famous Arthur Ash Stadium 6-4, 6-0. Im not going to lie, I definitely felt like streaking after this win. This match was a great experience for her not only because she won and would advance into the third round of the open but because it was her first big win on such a grand stand. Let me just say that it is not easy getting out there in front of thousands in an arena as big as that one let alone play as well as she did. This was a great step forward in her career which will now allow her to go win bigger and better matches to get her into the top 10 one day.
The following match up was against Flavia Penetta of Italy who has been on a crazy win streak this summer playing off a ton of confidence. They played a tight first few games on Louis Armstrong but with all of Flavia’s momentum and confidence from this summer she was able to dominate the match beating Aleks unfortunately 6-1, 6-1.
As always we had a great time and worked out butts off and will continue to on our climb to the top. We are off to Quebec City in a week for the Challenge Bell. Like I’m not going to eat a Poutine everyday I’m there. Can you say FAT KID.
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There is a constant energy given off from this concrete city they call “The Big apple”. You would think that being from Toronto I would be use to the chaos and hustle, but instead it only makes me realize just how small my city really is. I felt like an ant in a hay field. Something people need to definitely get use to before they feel comfortable. However, even though I felt small I definitely felt at home.
After the Rogers cup in Toronto, Aleks and I decided to take the following week off to regroup and train like animals to get ready for the last major of the year. She worked her butt off with her new fitness trainer Denis and of course out on court with me. We flew a few days prior to the event as usual to get settled in and use to the courts. The first few days were so busy. I felt as if we were at a carnival minus the carnies. Very tough to get court time alone and have a very routine day. Always have to be on your toes at the big events due to the fact that anything can change. We definitely made the most of it and Aleks was feeling great going into her first round match against the American Laura Granville. The first set was very routine winning 6-1 with very few unforced errors. The second set was more of a battle. Laura tried to dig deep and add some pressure to get her self into a third set but as always, Aleks enjoys to step her game up at these moments taking the second in a solid tiebreak.
That afternoon after her match I went to go scout her next potential opponent, Amelie Mauresmo of France. I knew this wouldn’t be an easy match as Amelie had just made the semies the week before and has a ton of experience under her belt. I was confident though that Aleks would come out on top if she stuck to our game plan which she did, winning in pretty much a knock out match on the ever so famous Arthur Ash Stadium 6-4, 6-0. Im not going to lie, I definitely felt like streaking after this win. This match was a great experience for her not only because she won and would advance into the third round of the open but because it was her first big win on such a grand stand. Let me just say that it is not easy getting out there in front of thousands in an arena as big as that one let alone play as well as she did. This was a great step forward in her career which will now allow her to go win bigger and better matches to get her into the top 10 one day.
The following match up was against Flavia Penetta of Italy who has been on a crazy win streak this summer playing off a ton of confidence. They played a tight first few games on Louis Armstrong but with all of Flavia’s momentum and confidence from this summer she was able to dominate the match beating Aleks unfortunately 6-1, 6-1.