Andrew, Ephraim and I had a hit at the Thurgoona tennis courts yesterday. Andrew got Ephraim 6-3 and he beat me 3-6. We then proceeded to play some American doubles which was quite fun. As per usual, we have the highlight reel of the day.

Andrew and I filmed another one of our matches last week but instead of uploading several games, I decided to compile a highlight reel of the match. Andrew beat me 6-4, 6-1 but I was sort of biased towards putting good points that I played in the video. Enjoy!

This Queen’s Birthday weekend has been the most grueling and energy draining weekend ever, however it was quite enjoyable. This is basically the first, relatively major tournament that I’ve participated in other than the tiny Sportspower draws…in which people my age don’t play in them anyway and the 16 and under age groups are probably the strongest. Dylan and Kristen came along with us for the ride.

Firstly, let me fill you in on Dylan’s weekend. He was entered in Open Mens Singles, Doubles and Special Mixed with Kristen. His first match was against Andrew Noad - a coach at Griffith. As usual, Dylan began his grinding and eventually got him to win the 1st set in a tiebreaker. In the 2nd I think Noady just played a little better and Dylan started to cramp. I remember Kristen asking me if I had an energy drink but I didn’t and Dylan had already eaten all his bananas. Unfortunately, this ended his journey with Noady finishing off the third 6-1. Kristen was defeated in her specials by the number 2 seed 8-2.

Andy was on at the same time, playing a local - Keith Wells. This was Andrew’s first Open Singles match and he fought his way to a 3 set victory that lasted about 3 hours. After coming away with a win, 40 minutes later, he faced the number 1 seed, Danny Dossetor who was basically fresh! unfair! lol. Andy got a double breadstick (1-6, 1-6). Later on the day, Dylan and Andy played Juston and Chris. They enjoyed a thumping of 3-6, 3-6.

Now onto my 1st day journey. I had the B grade singles that morning. I felt pretty good. I got up 3-0 and then from that moment, I lost the plot. My opponent got back on serve and before I knew it, I was trying to hang in there at 7-6. Hoping to get it into a tiebreaker, I was brushed aside 8-6. I didn’t think much of it and just prepared for my next match with Kristen. Kristen and I got off to a shaky start but got through our first mixed, 8-3.

That night, Andy played his first 16’s match against James Taylor (lol). He got a walk over because he did a no show. He also won against the other opponent on his card shortly after.

The next morning, Dylan broke the news to us that his leg was in no condition to play for at least 6 weeks. Bummer. Ross decided he would fill in for him in Kristen’s special mixed match on the Monday. I started off my specials singles match that morning against Juston. For some reason I was not really in the zone to play. I got brushed aside 8-2. Oh well. I was more focused on performing better with Andrew in our doubles. It was really great how we motivated each other to get through our first round against the Gordon brothers. That night, we also played the next round and we got through that quite comfortably. Andy also played on the “show court” in his 16’s semi’s and came away with a 6-0 win. Also during the day, Kristen and I lost in our mixed. We got off to a slow start and our opponents came out the better team that day.

Day 3. Overcast conditions. Little bit of rain. Andy vs Farsaci in the 16’s finals. Andy played really well, kept the ball deep and in. He came away with a 6-2 win and the 16 and under boys crown. Shortly after, Andrew and I played our double’s semi’s. Unfortunately, we got bagled (6-0). I basically fell apart and failed to make the ball go in. I guess you win some and you lose some. A great lesson to learn.

The ride home was long, but at least it was daytime and we saw the countryside. Andrew and I will definitely be back next year. Watch out, a lot can happen in a year

In the car after some McDonalds

Dylan…clearly interested in the current match

Taking a practice smash

Changing ends in the 16 boys singles final