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April 16, 2009

Ashley In Hvar, Croatia

Hi Everyone,

Here’s a more detailed post about my matches yesterday. My singles play wasn’t as solid as my doubles. I fell behind early in both sets and was coming back, but could never gain the lead. I had a few missed break point opportunities here and there. I struggled with my serve more than anything though. I had a very low first serve percentage and more than a handful of double faults. It’s hard to hold serve when I’m having a hard time even starting the point. Then that adds more pressure for the need to break my opponents serve as well. My serve is usually an anchor for the rest of my game and it let me down today. I beat myself more than my opponent beat me. She had a big forehand at times and a consistent backhand. But I continue to struggle to develop points the way I want and limit my unforced errors. It’s a hard loss to swallow while realizing that this is my third singles loss in a row since I’ve been over here. This is not anywhere near the results I was expecting out of myself on this trip.

As far as my doubles goes, I was fairly happy with the way I played. I still could have served better, but everything else was pretty solid. In my last two doubles matches I’ve noticed that the things I worked on with Kevin the other week are becoming more instinctive. I’m more observant of my opponents and what they are more than likely going to do based on the ball they’ve received from us. Therefore I am adjusting my positioning on the court and using my movement more efficiently. I was also committed to serving and volleying on 1st and 2nd serves which I think is improving. I tried to be at the net every single point which is what doubles is supposed to be all about, right. Now I just need to find a good consistent partner to play with and it will be all good.

Today I walked all around the island taking pictures. It was a beautiful day, perfect temperature and sunny. I caught a few rays on the rocks…it wasn’t really a beach because there was no sand. The water was many different blues and crystal clear, but it was way to cold for me to go in! I went for a little run in the hills also. There doesn’t seem to be a weight room anywhere on this island because no one knows where one is. I’m going to hit a couple times tomorrow and hopefully get a practice set in with someone. I’ll probably head to my next tournament in Bol on Saturday. Supposedly it’s only a 15-30 minute ferry ride over, but for some reason the departure time is 5:10am from the hotel and the ferry leaves at 6am. I think there’s only one ferry a day from here…that sounds a bit ridiculous if you ask me. I’m still at the same hotel with no heat/air so I’ve been wearing multiple layers of clothing to bed because it gets sooo cold. It’s been pretty boring with no TV also. I’ve tried to change hotels a couple times, but they won’t take any more reservations even though they have rooms…stubborn! I may get some dinner in town tonight because the food at my hotel is starting to get more and more difficult to eat…similar to Spain last year. Ok, I’ll let you guys go now. Next I talk to you I’ll probably be in Bol. Hopefully they have internet access there! Cheers,

Ashley

Posted by Jack Newman at April 16, 2009 2:04 PM