Long Hard Day

Our day started with a team warm up at 7:00 this morning. Mariana was first match on at 8:30. She played a big strong Czech girl that went to great lengths to only hit forehands and was very effective with it. Mariana won the first set 6-3. Then the Czech player begin to find her groove and won the second set 6-0, but the points and games were long and hard. The third set was another tough set of hard fought points, but the girl was just not missing and Mariana lost the third. After about a 15 minute break Fran started her singles. Her opponent made the first set an easy one for Fran to win because she made tons of unforced errors. The second set was tight, and the Czech player started making a few more balls and won the set 7-5. Fran came out strong and broke early. She played great and went on to win 6-3 in the third. We were tied going in to doubles. The team that won would move on to the finals to play Italy for the Margaret Court Cup. We talked as a team and decided that Mariana and I would play doubles. I was a little nervous, but ready to play. By the time we got started it was 3:00...the sun was in a tough place, plus the afternoon winds were blowing. We played the two girls who played singles...very strong hitters. The crowd support from the US contingent was loud and proud. Our points were long and hard and we lost the first set 6-4. Mariana and I dug deep, played great and pulled out the second set 6-4. Just like last year, we were down to a third set to decide which team moves on the finals. Our points were awesome and we fought so hard. We left everything out on the court but came up short in the third and lost 6-2. To say I am disappointed is an under statement. But I'm very happy with the way I played and the team effort that Mariana and I put forth. We finished our doubles match at 6:00, which made for an extremely long and tiring day. Now we play France tomorrow for third and fourth place. For the good news.....Phil's team defeated France today to move to the finals of the Austria Cup on Saturday. Because our teams played at the same time today, I wasn't able to watch his matches. He lost his singles, but Larry pulled out his singles in three sets. Then Phil and Tom clinched the match with their doubles victory of 7-5, 7-5. They now face Australia....a rematch from last year.