Getting a Feel

I went to the courts late morning and saw a lot of my friends...some I haven't seen since Turkey. Of course the first question I'm asked is about Phil! So to get that out of the way with anyone else who wants to know.....he's great and "we" are doing even better! He just won the Grass Court Nationals in New York last week! He's been such a wonderful influence in my life both on and off the court. I only hope I can play with half the intensity that he does. Then the second question I'm asked is "is your Mom here too"? Mom has become quite a hit at these tournaments! Since she was in Houston and Philadelphia, all the girls are looking for her here too. She would absolutely love it here. I have a feeling she'd have us doing a lot of sightseeing, because this area is so beautiful! Thankfully though, Mom is in Destin taking care of Augie and Chatum for me.
I had a good warm up in the fitness room before Susan arrived. We hit for a little over an hour. The first day of practice at a tournament is sometimes a little awkward. Just getting used to the surroundings, the courts, the atmosphere. These hard courts are a medium pace surface. Not super slick where the ball skids, but not rough and slow where the ball sets up. It took a few minutes to find my timing. I think as the week goes on and I get some play in, the surface will suit my game very well. The club is in a beautiful setting and everyone I've come in contact with that is either working the tournament, an employee of the club, or club member has been extremely nice and seem to want to go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. The week has gotten off to a good start!

pictures below