Finishing in the Rain

The day started with still winds and partly cloudy skies, but as the morning went on rumbles of thunder started over the water. Mariana went on her singles first, as I sat on her court with her. She played well, and beat the number 3 German player, who moved into the the number 2 spot, 6-2, 6-4. By the time her match ended the skies had darkened and lightening was cracking everywhere around us. It was really scary. Matches still played. Fran warmed up, but by the third point of her first game, the matches were called in due to the dangerous weather conditions. After about a 20 minute rain delay Fran went on to finish and win 6-2, 6-3. Just before our doubles started there was another 20 minute steady rain shower. It's amazing how much rain the red clay can take in and still be playable. Susan and I won our doubles 6-2, 6-3 to finish off our win over Germany 3-0. We now move into the semifinals against a very strong Italy team. Defending champions France will play the Chech Republic who beat Great Britain today. I'm not sure, but we may have an off day tomorrow...no official word on that yet though. Because I was sitting on Mariana's court, I was not able to watch Phil play his match. They started at the same time we did. Fortunately they were playing on a court nearby, so Fran was the messenger and kept me posted on his scores. He won his match 6-1, 6-4. Larry won at number 1, then Tom and Lenny won the doubles making it a clean sweep against the Netherlands. The guys play Germany in the quarters tomorrow. I haven't heard as of yet, how the rest of the American teams have done today. I do know the 35 women won. We'll all meet in the dining hall tonight to catch up on each others results. The camaraderie amongst the USA contingent is strong. I love getting to meet and know players whose names I've only seen in different draws throughout the year. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and we'll be able to resume play as scheduled. The big players dinner is tomorrow night.