Catching Up From Yesterday

This picture pretty much sums up Saturday....cold, dreary rain all day and all night long. We hung around the hotel, kept checking the tournament website for updates, hoping for some news on playing indoors. Finally around 1:30, it was announced that indoor courts would be available starting at 3:00 at a facility about an hour away from us. I was picturing watching tennis indoors, in a warm place...yea!!

Phil's match was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Since we were unsure of exactly where we were going, plus we were having to navigate in pouring rain through Atlanta's infamous traffic, we left early to make sure we got there. The facility was nice enough, but my dreams of watching from a warm and cozy indoor spot were shattered when it turned out the there was no viewing area except on the court...and what appeared to be "indoors" was covered courts with with windscreen fences for the sides, which meant the cold from outside penetrated through to the inside. Towels were on the ends of each court so that players could mop up the small puddles from the leaky roof on each changeover. The worst part of it all, was the horrible lighting...a dark undertone of weak lights that made seeing the ball as it travelled across the net near impossible. Matches played, better than the alternative of not, but it wasn't under optimal conditions.

Phil finally got on around 7:00. Luckily he was on the first court in a row of three. I was able to sit court side to watch, and I was bundled in layers of sweatshirts and jackets....still freezing! He played number #1 seed Fred Robinson, who is a very good player. Under normal conditions, Phil would have been thrilled to be indoors against Fred, but these playing conditions were not ideal. Phil got off to a slow start, and Fred won the first set 6-2. Phil hung in there and played really well through the second set and was able to break to take a 4-1 lead. Fred broke back to stay in the match, and Phil lost the second set 6-4. I thought Phil played well, particularly in the second set. They finished their match after 9:00, and there was a question as to whether the doubles would play afterwards. The indoor facility closed at 10:00, so it was decided to wait until today.

So now Phil has a singles 3 & 4 playoff to play, a semifinal doubles, and hopefully a doubles final today...all weather permitting again. We will delay our flight this afternoon, or stay over one more night if necessary. I can't wait to get back to Naples to get my bones warmed up again!


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