Catching Up

Wow...it's been a whirlwind the past few days. First of all, I tried to access my blog, as I did daily, and since Thursday of last week a message kept coming up saying the website had been denied access by the criminal defense court of Turkey. So I haven't been able to keep in touch and report all the latest results...so here goes...

On Friday Phil and I both played our semifinal doubles matches. We watched the semifinal singles matches being played that morning before warming up midday for our afternoon matches. Fran was playing Christine French, who I lost to in singles and who was one of my doubles opponents for the afternoon. They started at 10:30 am and had an incredible 4 hour 10 minute match with Fran losing to Christine 6-4 in the third set. The only positive was that Christine was tired and hurting a little after her marathon and had to come back 2 hours later for our doubles match. Mariana won her semis a little easier and was feeling ready for our match. Phil and Tom went on first so I was able to watch the first set before my match was called. We finally went on around 4:30 and after waiting and watching all day I was ready. Both Christine and Brenda (from Australia) are tall girls who play great doubles. I felt sharp from the beginning and we knew that Christine didn't have much left in her tank after such a long singles match. We played a lot of balls to her, plus we just played good doubles and won 6-1, 6-2. Phil came over mid way through my second set and gave me the thumbs up sign...they had won their semis. We were both in the finals of Worlds! I could hardly believe it...we had both worked so hard with the Worlds being our ultimate goal this year. Mariana and I be would playing our close friends and teammates, Fran and Susan. It was exciting that we had an All American, USA Margaret Court cup team final! Since I knew them both so well, I already felt relaxed about playing in the final. Phil and Tom would face a very tough Australian in Max Bates and Brazilian Roger Gueddes. My match was scheduled for Saturday after Mariana's singles final and Phil's final was scheduled for Sunday. It gave him and Tom a day off and the opportunity to watch my match.

Saturday morning Mariana and Christine started their final at 10:30 am and once again, over 4 hours later they finished with Mariana winning in the third set. I was excited that Mariana won, but I was afraid her long battle may have tired her out. We started our match at 4:30 in the afternoon. Mariana had good energy and I was focused and ready to play. The days had been getting shorter with light each day and by the time we started the late afternoon sun was dropping fast. We were the last match of the day on, and there were quite a few spectators watching, especially American teammates who knew all four of us and wanted to support our efforts. Mariana and I started out strong and went a up break early to lead 3-1. I then played a few nervous points and games and we lost the break, then went down a break to trail 3-5. After fighting off a couple of set points on Fran's serve, we broke, held, then went on to win the set 7-5. I could feel my confidence rising with each point played. Dusk fell quickly and seeing the ball became an issue. The lights were on, but of poor quality, so we really had to focus on the ball every point. We stayed focused, worked hard, played slowly and methodically through each point and game. I never thought of the score until we went up 5-2 in the second set. Mariana was serving and we went up 40-love quickly. One point from being a World Champion. We lost the next point, and at 40-15 I hit a backhand up the middle of the court that they missed and we won!! I couldn't believe it! All the hard work had payed off. I hugged Mariana, then we met Fran and Susan at the net for handshakes and hugs. I sat in my chair in disbelief....then the tears came. Tears of joy, relief, and a little bit of sadness. Sadness that my Mom and Dad weren't physically there to share one of my biggest accomplishments of my tennis career. I know they were there in spirit. That I could definitely feel. Phil came on to the court and hugged me as my tears wouldn't stop. We both were crying, knowing that this was the result of many days and months of hard work and dedication. Phil never stopped believing in me and has been so supportive in our common goal. After the awarding of the medals and back in our room, he asked what it felt like to be a World Champion. Numbness was all I could describe it as. The reality hadn't had a chance to set in yet. Plus we still had to get through Phil's doubles final the next day. In my mind I still had one more match to play, by watching he and Tom.

Sunday started early with breakfast and a warm up for Phil and Tom. Their final was scheduled for 9 am. I still was pinching myself to make sure the day before had really happened. I kept checking the draw sheet to see the results in print to make sure it wasn't a dream. There were only a few final singles and doubles matches left to be played. Phil and Tom were on the same court that we played on the night before and won. I took that as a good sign. The match started and was very tight. Phil and Tom went up a break, then held, only to be broken back again. The points were great, but the guys couldn't hold on and lost the first set 6-4. I wasn't worried...the difference was only a few points and I knew they could catch some breaks and win the second set. I know how hard Phil had been working and how badly he wanted this match. The second set stayed tight all the way to a tiebreaker. Phil and Tom fell behind in the breaker and I could feel the match slipping away, along with the hopes of both of us winning in the Worlds. Phil and Tom lost and my heart was just broken for them. They have had a phenomenal year by winning all three Nationals they've played in, and I know they had set their sights on winning the Worlds, but fell short of their goal. I know the huge disappointment and let down that Phil was feeling. After matches like this, there is nothing anyone can say or do to make you feel better.

We spent the afternoon with Fran and Willie in the ancient town of Side, about a 20 minute cab ride from Manavgat. I knew that walking around shops and sightseeing was the last thing Phil wanted to be doing, but he did it for me. I think it did us good to get away from the courts and players and in a different environment. Besides, we were in our last day there and had not left the resort in over two weeks. We both needed a change of scenery. It was a fun afternoon and after we returned, we had the last two massages that we had pre booked. Our time was quickly coming to an end. We had to pack up and be ready to catch the 2 am shuttle back to Antalya to begin our long journey home. After dinner and saying goodbye to old friends and new acquaintances we finished packing, and tried to rest a couple of hours. Fortunately there were other players on our same exact flights from Antalya all the way to Atlanta, but first changing planes in Istanbul then Paris. It was an excruciatingly long and exhausting day. Phil and I had to say a quick good bye after passing through customs in Atlanta. My flight was in a different terminal than his and I had a close connection. Needless to say, I felt a great sense of sadness when I walked away. He has been of such great support, inspiration, motivation in my life these past 17 months. We were so happy to be able to return to where we met, and share the experiences of the past 2 weeks together.

Scott and Chatum were at the airport to meet me! I was wiped out, but happy to be home. Without Scott to take care of Chatum, Renee and Jerry to take care of work, plus all the other wonderful friends I have to offer to cover work, or do anything else that needs to be done, none of this would be possible for me to do. Knowing that I can leave for this length of time, and not have to worry about anything but hitting that little yellow tennis ball, gives me the peace of mind to focus on the goals I've set forth for myself.

I'll be posting some new pictures in the next day or so. It's time to get back to work and set new goals for the next year.