There comes a time in everyone’s life when they ask themselves whether or not they have seen the places they have always wanted to see. In all my years of travel The mother Land, Russia, has always been at the top of my list for so many reason’s and now being 29, I thought it was a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone, win some tennis matches and look for a wife. Ok, so maybe the wife thing was just a joke but I do have to say that Russia is a country that is not reserved when it comes to producing beautiful women. I didn’t know whether I was in a country or a dang Victoria secret fashion show.
We stayed at the ever so luxurious Ritz Carlton right in Red square. The weather was a cool 5 degree’s everyday which was a big change from the heat we had in Asia but none the less a nice transition into fall/winter for us to help us get ready for what awaits back home after this. We had a chance to walk around the city a couple days before we started the event. It really was something to get a chance to walk around Red Square and experience the Russian lifestyle. We took it all in, sights, Sounds, smells, foods, Women; I mean I heard about the women. When we weren’t gallivanting around the city you could find us riding to the courts in the range Rover sport… of course the red one Aleks, It was her favourite. The courts were only about 15 min away but due to the 24 hour traffic grid lock they have going on it took anywhere from 45 to an hour to get there and another to get back to hotel. Like I said, we were in New Range Rovers… we let it slide. The tournament was held at the Olympic stadium which was this massive complex. They specifically build 6 courts indoors for this event each year for the Kremlin Cup. There was one massive centre court with two other side show courts and 3 practice courts. It was a weird rubberized surface that absorbed the ball’s which made it hard for them to bounce.
Even though there were only a few practice courts between the Men and women’s event we were still able to get practice time when we wanted to. How is this possible you ask? End of season is your answer. It was like being back in grade school when little girls are smiling talking about some big secret they have between them but in this case it was their vacation spots. It’s actually pretty cute as they all deserve it after a long hard year’s worth of work. Needless to say everyone’s mood was cheery and outgoing making this one of the most enjoyable week’s to play tennis.
With this said, Aleks played Sara Eranni of Italy. Aleks was on fire hitting bombs; in fact hitting so hard and deep it dislocated Sara’s shoulder and forced her to retire after the first set 6-1… or something along those lines ;) She faced the most outgoing girl on tour Maria Kirilenko in the next round. That was for hitting balls at me in the warm up before the match Maria, I’m a sensitive guy you know ;) We had a great warm up and were ready to go but while we were waiting to go on, they decided to replace the old Center court with one that favoured Maria giving all the bad bounces in her favour, hahaha. I’m sorry Aleks but it’s the end of the season story and I couldn’t resist. With this said, they still had a great first set but Maria seemed to be the one who was able to dictate that day making it very tough for Aleks to find her game. Maria definitely turned it up this week and played some great tennis. Aleks had her chances early in the first set as well as in the beginning of the second but was not able to convert loosing 6-4, 6-3. It’s ok; we traded that loss for a new friend who goes by the name of Lucie Safarova a.k.a kiddo! She has now teamed up with us and will play Doubs at the first slam of the year in Aussie. I like this!
So our adventure stop’s here as we have the next two month’s of off season where we will use that time wisely to fine tune and add weapons of mass destruction to a game that will lead to the top 10. The adventures of Steckley/Awoz start up again Jan 1st Down under in Australia. Be sure to hold on tight as a whole new year of surprises a waits.
I might do a story on our off season training so STAY TUNED….
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There comes a time in everyone’s life when they ask themselves whether or not they have seen the places they have always wanted to see. In all my years of travel The mother Land, Russia, has always been at the top of my list for so many reason’s and now being 29, I thought it was a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone, win some tennis matches and look for a wife. Ok, so maybe the wife thing was just a joke but I do have to say that Russia is a country that is not reserved when it comes to producing beautiful women. I didn’t know whether I was in a country or a dang Victoria secret fashion show.
With this said, Aleks played Sara Eranni of Italy. Aleks was on fire hitting bombs; in fact hitting so hard and deep it dislocated Sara’s shoulder and forced her to retire after the first set 6-1… or something along those lines ;) She faced the most outgoing girl on tour Maria Kirilenko in the next round. That was for hitting balls at me in the warm up before the match Maria, I’m a sensitive guy you know ;) We had a great warm up and were ready to go but while we were waiting to go on, they decided to replace the old Center court with one that favoured Maria giving all the bad bounces in her favour, hahaha. I’m sorry Aleks but it’s the end of the season story and I couldn’t resist. With this said, they still had a great first set but Maria seemed to be the one who was able to dictate that day making it very tough for Aleks to find her game. Maria definitely turned it up this week and played some great tennis. Aleks had her chances early in the first set as well as in the beginning of the second but was not able to convert loosing 6-4, 6-3. It’s ok; we traded that loss for a new friend who goes by the name of Lucie Safarova a.k.a kiddo! She has now teamed up with us and will play Doubs at the first slam of the year in Aussie. I like this!