Difficult times

I never updated what happened after doubles. My partner Nicole and I ended up losing in the semi's. We definitely didn't play our best but it was a close match. We lost 3-6, 6-4, 10-6. The team picked their game up a bit in the second set. The 10 point tiebreakers are always hard. Things can go so many different ways. A few mistakes and you can find yourself very down. If we played out a set and made a few mistakes that could mean we were only down a game or two. But in this case we have to play the tiebreaker to decide the match and we came up short. It still was a good tournament for me. I made a run through the qualifying and made it through one round of the main draw. I was proud of the way I was playing. Even after the singles loss I wasn't to upset. Normally no one should come near me for a little while after my matches. I'm not the nicest person after I lose ;)   This time I knew the mistakes I made and I knew in the end I could win. Those propel me further into believing I can make it and do better and better as the year goes on.

Onto Surprise, Arizona....

After such a great week with a wonderful housing family it might have been inevitable to have a bad housing experiences. Sure enough I had one this tournament. My friend and old teammate Nina and I drove out with another player Elizabeth out to Surprise. Only about 4 hours from where we were in Rancho Mirage. Nina and I made arrangements to stay with a couple near the tournament. Long story short the couple ended up being a man in his 70's and his wife about 20 years younger from Brazil who spoke some english with a strong accent. To make it worse, there were two other people staying with us. So in all there were 4 people from the tournament staying in just one house. Normal circumstances there is only one or two players in a house.

Nina and I were almost on top of each other in the tiny room with one bed they had us sharing. There was no space to put our luggage or walk around and to even breath. We decided to stay there for one night and stick it out. They weren't going to cook meals for us so we went out to eat dinner and then onto Wal-Mart and bought some groceries for the week.

We woke up the next morning both hating life because we didn't sleep well at all. Nina had a match that morning and had to play off of about 4 hours of sleep. I fortunately didn't have to play until Wednesday because I got a wild card into the main draw. I knew I wasn't going to sleep well at this house and after our experience that night we both decided to move to my mom's friends house who lives in Phoenix. It would be about a 30 minute drive to and from the courts, but we both didn't care at this point. We need rest and some sanity.

Nina ended up losing so it even made more sense to move to the house in Phoenix because it was closer to the airport to take Nina the next day and I at least new who I was staying with for the week. I've stayed with her (Norma) before and knew what her house was like and what to expect. You may think I would have had more space now that Nina was gone in the original house which could be true but the other two people staying were a couple and kept to themselves. I would have felt very isolated and lonely. I decided to go with what I knew would make me feel ready for the tournament.

I practiced the next few days before my doubles and singles match. I wasn't feeling my best. Overall, I was feeling tired mentally and physically. I thought the couple days off from the qualifying rounds would help but it felt like it was just prolonging the feelings of tiredness.

I was pretty upset after the doubles match. I rarely blame my partner for a loss, but this time there is no other reason. She was on a different planet that day. She made so many mistakes and mentally was down on herself. I tried and tried to get her to move on and keep playing but in the end we came up short. We should have beat the team. We had a good draw. If we would have won, the next round was a team we had beaten the week before. And I'm not saying she played bad because we lost. She kept telling me and apologizing the whole match and even the next day! She's a great player and one I want to play with again. I just hope she can keep herself from going so up and down.

Singles was tough. I thought I played pretty poorly but the scores show a very tight match. I lost the first set in a tiebreaker, won the second, and then lost the third with just one break of serve to lose 6-3. My coach helped put it into perspective for me. This year I haven't lost to anyone I shouldn't lose to. Not all those matches have been easy or pretty, but I've overcome and came out victorious. And all the players who have been ranked ahead of me, I've either been up in both sets or have gone to three sets with them. I'm competing with top players and winning sets off them. I didn't do this last year. I was up and down winning and losing to people I shouldn't lose to.

When he said this, I gained some perspective and recognized I have improved. There are a few things I need to tweak to beat players ahead of me but it's nice to see I'm almost there. I'm not far off. I need to keep playing with my strengths, keep believing, and keep looking at the positives.

The next few weeks I'm at home resting, recovering, rehabbing, and preparing for my next few tournaments. I haven't decided where I am going yet. The options are California for a big opportunity tournament but LOTS of matches to achieve the opportunity, go to Mexico, or go to Mexico and Bahamas.

There is a lot to think about and I have a week to think about it until the deadline comes. I would appreciate prayers.

Catch ya later,
Macall

housing adventures

I haven't posted much about where I've been staying. To tell you a little about it...I have the best housing ever! I stayed with the family last year and they are so great. They have 3 girls and all of them play tennis. It's nice they know about tennis. Sometimes it's difficult when I stay with a family and they don't know what to do with you or what to cook, etc.
They have a huge house, a pool, and a jacuzzi in the backyard. Two great dogs and a big tv. What more could you ask for! Ha ha.
Here's some pictures of the dogs and the house.
One dog is named Ben. He's seriously like a big bear. And the other is named Cassie. She loves sleeping on my bed :)

Frustrating and Encouraging

Today was frustrating.
I finally played like I knew how to play. I felt the ball and swung through the shot.
But...I lost. It was one of those matches I should have won. In the end I just made more errors than she did. She was ranked about 250 in the world. She was ranked as high as 128 at the end of '09.

I know with all of myself I could have won. It's encouraging to know I believe I can win. I know I can beat girls that are at least 250 in the world. I've improved so much from last year. My mental game has gotten a lot stronger, my defense has improved, and the way I see the court and what's going on has massively improved. I'm able to analyze what I'm doing and what my opponent is doing on the court instead of looking back after the match and knowing what to do.

On the other hand, my partner and I won our doubles match today. That puts us in the semi's. My partner's name is Nicole Rottman. Her and I played together in Mexico and won the tournament there. This is only our second time playing together. So that means we haven't lost a match together! Hopefully I didn't just jinks us :)

We played really well today. Another encouraging thing...my doubles has improved.
Hooray for improvement!

So far, the start of the year has been tough but a great start nonetheless. I didn't know what to expect since I didn't get to practice much over the break. I had to take time off to get a cordisone shot, take time off from a pec strain, take time off from my shoulder hurting. There was a lot of resting involved during the break. Since I wasn't up to where I wanted to be going into the year, I didn't really know what to expect going into my first few tournaments. But I'm happy where I'm at. I always want to improve and wish I could have won. But it's a good start to the year.

Here's hoping for more improvement the rest of the year!

Doubles tomorrow!!

I like California

It's nice to be in California. These first two tournaments are great to play because they are driving distance from my house. Having the ability and freedom to drive and have go home in between tournaments has been amazing. Some of my support/cheering squad has been able to come out to watch me play a match or two. Hooray for being close to home. I don't get this very often.

Now I'm in Rancho Mirage playing another 25K. I just finished the last round of qualifying. I haven't been playing my best tennis but it's been good enough to qualify again and make it into the main draw. My body has been feeling much better than last tournament. I got a new protein powder to drink before and after matches. It has been doing wonders for me. I think it's part magic! Each day I feel rested and refreshed from the previous day. Last week I could barely stand and run around when I got into the main draw. Drinking the protein shake has really helped me recover. Now, this won't make me play any better but I'm glad it's making me feel good!

Instead of focusing on the negatives like I mostly do, let's focus on some of the positives. I've been feeling refreshed each morning. That's a positive. I've been doing very well mentally.  Another positive. I absolutely know if I played these matches last year, I would have lost them. I've learned so much from last year and past experiences I went through. I'm mentally stronger and can push myself to a new place that I couldn't get to before. I'm focusing and forgetting about bad points, bad line calls, pressure situations, etc. I'm very proud of myself :)

I have a few aches and pains but nothing serious. My quads have been really tight. A little to tight to which I almost feel I'm about to cramp up. There are been a few points I play and if I have to push off real fast or bend really low and push out of the stance I can feel my quad scream a little at me. I've gone to the trainer and she has done a great job at rubbing them out. P.S. Love this trainer at this tournament. She actually goes deep when she massages you!

My shoulder has been doing very well this week. Last week it started to hurt quite a bit at the end. This week I haven't had to many problems with it. I'm still icing after every match, getting it worked on every day. There hasn't been any sharp pain when I serve which is fantastic. Only some tightness occurring after the match is finished and I've cooled down.

Stretch Stretch Stretch! Right everyone? ;)

My friend Nina and I have been staying at the same housing together. It's so great to stay with a friend at housing. You not only have a person you get a long with but it's also a friend. It makes being on the road a lot less lonely. The family is also wonderful and have two dogs to keep us company. One is pretty much the size of a bear and then other dog a lab. So great!


I'm off to bed. Time to get ready for my matches tomorrow.

First tournament of the year

I'm currently in Rancho Santa Fe playing my first tournament of the year. I'm haven't had internet for the first few days I've been here so I haven't been able to update on my first couple of rounds.

I qualified which means I won three rounds to get into the main draw. I didn't have to much trouble with my first two matches. I played two young girls, the first a young American girl and the second a young Russian. My third match was tougher. She was from Turkey and ranked ahead of me. She had a nice one handed backhand and used a lot of slice and drop shots. I now know what it's like to play against an effective slice and drop shots. It'll motivate me to work on my own! After more than 3 hours, I won in 3 sets 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

I don't know what it's like for every other player, but after 3 matches I'm mentally and physically tired. I was able to get a massage the night before my main draw match. I felt so much better going to bed that night. As I woke up and began my day, I knew it would still be tough to get through the match. My legs were still drained and moving slower than they had been the previous days. I don't know if I'm missing something that the other players are doing but I was competing around 50%. My tank kept feeling lower and lower.

What do other players do to compete at a high level day in and day out? I keep feeling less and less at my best as the tournament rolls on. So when it really count I fail. I qualify and get into the main draw where the points are, the good competition is, the do or die of it is right there. That's where I'm going to get my break. If I could just win a round or two in the main draw I would be moving right along. But I'm so tired by the time I reach that part that I can't seem to get past it.

I know it's about pushing yourself to a new level. I've really been working hard at mental toughness along with physical fitness. I worked out very hard these past two months. In my head I think I'm at a good level physically. Of course there is always room to improve, but I don't feel like I should be feeling this empty after three matches.

The main draw match was against an opponent I played last year. I knew what to expect. I knew she was beatable. But from the beginning I struggled physically. I knew it would come down to how well I could mentally stick this one out. I had my up's and down's. I would focus and fight hard for a string of points and then I would drop and make some sloppy errors. Being so drained makes it hard to mentally focus for a long period of time especially when you're also physically exerting yourself.

In my mind, there are no excuses unless you're injured. I have no excuses today. I know what I need to work on. The main issue is mental toughness. The next is to work on nutrition. I need to see if I can feel any better by getting on a "diet" of foods and nutrients that will help me recover and perform at my best.

I was pretty defeated after my singles match today. I know it's my first tournament of the year. I know I have a lot more tennis left in me. It's just hard when I know I can win and I don't. I'm not a happy camper when I lose.  On a positive note, my partner and I won our doubles match today. We beat a very talented Japanese team. I looked at their past record and one of the opponents was ranked in the top 75 in doubles a few years back. They really had some talent. It was nice to get a win after a loss in singles earlier in the day.

On to tomorrow....