Change in doubles teams

The doubles pairings were changed last evening after practice.While I was supposed to partner Sania and Poojashree and Ruishmi would be together, there was another issue with that since I dont have a good ranking in doubles. If Sania were to partner me, we would not get seeded and could draw a tough team in the 1st round itself. So Rico decided that Rushmi and Sania will pair up and Poojashree and I will be the other team.It is a fair decision and keeping the country's medal chances in mind should be the only goal for anyone in the team.
Apart from that,I have to say something regarding the facilities,the stadium looks fabulous.We practiced under lights yesterday.The atmosphere looked electric, but for the bugs that were flying around. The lights attracted so many bugs, that it looked like a snowfall of bugs!!!
The other show courts are equally well done and the locker rooms and physio facilties are top notch. The doctor and physios are such a cool bunch and are so helpful,its actually amazing.I will be checking into the village today.
The draw will also be made today at 11 am.After that, we will know a lot more about schedules and such.
Sanjeev and Sahana are trying to keep busy by going to a park nearby that has some deer,peacocks and bunnies. They might go to Appu Ghar(amusement park) today. Sanjeev will get more help in 2 days when his parents arrive.....

Its a new day!!!

I am in Delhi right now waiting for my accreditation to arrive,so I can be allowed to enter the stadium.And practice...
Day before,I received he good news that I would be playing the Women's doubles as well apart form the mixed event.It was Sania's decision if she wanted to play 3 events because she hadnt 100% recovered from her wrist injury. I am, of course, thoroughly excited to play 2 events.
I am currently staying in a hotel close to courts as Sahana and Sanjeev are here and I am just getting set up here.I might move into the village in the next day or 2.I will post some pictures too soon.Do post your comments here instead of facebook....

Coimbatore exists in a time warp

Now I understand why I even left this place. Coimbatore is in a time warp and is as if it was 20 years ago. The thinking, the mentality, the chauvinism, nothing changes here. Its as if clock froze twenty years ago!!!
The good part though is the tennis culture here.The clubs here are full of tennis enthusiasts who genuinely want kids to play tennis and will do their might to make that happen. There have been many times when members of Cosmopolitan Club would sacrifice their tennis,so I could prepare for a tournament.

But part of the reason why I even left this town was being taken for granted.Believe me,it is'nt fun trying to prove yourself on a day to day basis. And many times, it could also be the familiarity,that made people take you for granted. Just because I was their next door neighbor who won National titles didnt mean that standard of tennis was poor. Of course, everyone isnt like that.There are exceptions....

Countdown begins

I am now in India and getting geared up for the CWG 2010.
The most common (totallly obvious) question to me-is about the preps and all the hoopla about the Games and the actual problems that surfaced in the last few days.
My answer has been the same from the first time somebody asked me- The Games will happen. And everything will come together!!! It always does! But, will it showcase our might as a super power in the Sports Arena?? That, is for another day:)

Oh well

Today was a big let down, to say the least. I wont mince words here- I probably played the worst I have played since I started playing again.I held my serve ONCE the entire match!!! Can you believe it? My movement was sluggish, my serve was totally off and I was missing way too much. And she, played steady and focussed tennis every single point.
If I had played my best, I might have had a good shot or at least playing 3 sets, but with my serve all broken down and me not winning any easy points off it, I really had no chance at all whatsoever. Amanda Mcdowell beat me 6-2,6-1. That was it-plain and simple.
The most touching moment was when Sahana started crying after my loss. She was feeling way worse for me than what I felt myself!! These are small things that makes it all worth it. Of course,I would have preferred a win, totally!! But hey, what the heck.You win some and you lose some....thats life.
Tomorrow is a new day and we play our quarter-finals of doubles. Cheerioooo

doubles is fun

Ellen Tsay and I won our first round against 3rd seeds. Ellen and I started out in good nick right away. We broke them the very first game and then had our noses in front the entire first set.Ellen is great at the net, very adept at putting away volleys while I am quite decent at setting up those volleys.So,I guess, we make a good team.Lets see how far we get.
One thing thats annoying though, is that I only play one match a day.After last weekend's outing where I played 10 matches in 3 days, this seems a bit slooooooooow. But, I am not complaining.
Tomorrow,I play singles against Amanda Msdowell,another qualifier who won the NCAA title a couple of years back.From what I hear,she is a hard hitter...should be interesting and I can't wait. I will be on 1st match at 10 am...and if you are reading this, please post your comments/wishes on the blog itself.I would love to know what you think!

Was'nt as easy...

Today,I qualified into the main draw of the 25K in Redding. This will be the 3rd of the main draw tournaments I have played in the past year which mean this-I WILL BE ON THE COMPUTER RANKINGS IN A WEEK!!!! I am surely thrilled beacuse after 7 yrs,I will enter the frame. I surely have no idea if I will be able to keep this ranking... but hey, have to start some where, no??
Yesterday's match was a breeze,I actually wasnt even timing the ball good. But today,I played decent, but my opponent was this 6 foot lanky lass from Southern California- one of the top juniors in the state. I have to say- she really impressed me.
Brianna Morgan served and volleyed on her 1st and 2nd serve the entire match. Her serve was surely powerful with a kick and believe me,I wasnt passing her as much as I'd like to. The thing that was a stand out aspect was how she stayed mentally with me even in the 2nd set when I was up a break.I was a bit nervous by the way she was so free with her stroked and her game. If she is groomed properly- she could be top 50 in the WTA's no doubt.
Tomorrow I get a day off from singles and play doubles first round main draw with Ellen Tsay-another girl who is half my age!!! Might be helpful to run down the lobs:)...

Terrible Modern Day Journalism

Venus Williams, as you all know, lost in 3 sets on a windy day to Kim Clijsters. Kim, fighting from jaws of defeat, fought her way back and raced to the final. In the post match press conference, some crazy dude asks Venus-if her career is over?? Now- hello!!!! This is just one match and its the semi-finals of US Open where Venus just lost to someone who handled pressure and winds better on that day...So what kind of a stupid question is that?? Quit tennis-because of losing one match??? Venus herself, may have doubts after this loss, no doubt. And then Martina Navratilova comes on tennis channel- Oh-I know what it feels to hit 30 yrs old, now it is very tough for Venus. Where is the gray area here?? As I have said before- it doesnt have to be black or white always!!!

Now this is something else..
There was an article in a pretty low profile paper in India and trust me, it was pure coincidence of a rare kind that I even came across this particular news piece.

This was about more than 3 weeks ago while I was training 5 hours a day at the tennis camp in Balewadi.
The article was quoted as " Nirupama Sanjeev as she now prefers to be known was Nirupama Vaidyanathan when she was at her peak and studying in the United States. Some nine years ago when she was most sought after woman player in India Nirupama found no time for the country. Those days we had very few ITF tournaments and national championship was prestigious at least for the sentimental value, but Nirupama’s patriotism never showed up then. No doubt she came once in a while but then those were prize money tournaments and then she vanished only to reappear last year."

Needless to say,I was livid. Apart froma personal attack on my patriotism, this author seemed to have taken a personal grudge against me.
*Firstly, He never bothered to research his article-Any quick google on me would have showed up that I had most appearances for Fed Cup for India, played 2 Asian Games and Olympics for India. Does this dude even know what it is like to do something without ever getting paid for it?
*Secondly, if writing about CWG Games and its preparation- wont a responsible journalist at least come to watch us and then write opinions?
* I dont recall playing ANY prize money tournaments in India since 1994.I quit playing seriously in 2003.
* I think if he ever wants to feel "PATRIOTIC" ( sorry-I am still quite edgy with that word), he should start by being a responsible journalist first. What do you all say???
Can somebody like him even understand what it is like to play 12 years for India without any expectations??????

The author, who I am told, is even the Sports Editor of that paper!!!!

Good outing on the weekend!!!

My match against the 16 yr old prodigy and "Lady McEnroe" started at 9 am. Arun, my mixed doubles partner warmed me up for 10 minutes and I felt ready. Desirae Krayczak aka Baby Bullet( she supposedly acquired that name when she was 7 yrs old ina tournament as she was hitting a really hard ball), is a very talented young girl.A lefty with such crafty hands is definetly a rarity, so I have to admit- she is a good doubles player. But will she beat me in singles??? That was the question nagging me throughout.
We started out quite even, her lefty serve was tricky.She kept jamming me by serving into my body. But very soon, I held my own on my serve with 3 aces. I soon acclimatised and was starting to drive my groundies totally out of her reach. I soon raced to a 5-2 lead.then she started wilting.And started almost handing me points in a plate. After that there was no stopping me barring a couple of games which went to duece.I beat her 6-2,6-0.
The big pitfall with talented players these days is that, tennis comes so easy to them that, they forget the amount of hardwork that has to go into this. She wasnt willing to grind out the big points with me and opted for low percentage shots like drop shots,etc.
But coming back to the dad, he was'nt as crazy as I had earlier thought him to be. But by now,I hope he gets it, that talking his head off isn't a great idea all the time. He should even realize his own daughter might be embarassed by these things.

I then partnered Desirae to play a seasoned Cal Poly doubles team in the final.We won it 6-3,6-3. Arun and I joined to play the mixed where we lost the 1st set, but recovered well to win the 2nd and 3rd set. I had played 10 matches in 3 days...so how is my body feeling?? Sore, I can assure you, but not as bad as I had expected.I feel like I could easily play another couple of sets today. But then I didnt. I relaxed on my day off and got some household work done. Now,I surely feel rejuvenated. I have my next tournament in Redding,CA this upcoming weekend.

Annoying Dad

I don’t ever recall a dad of an opponent telling me that I would lose to his daughter the next day. But today I did meet one of most bizarre people on this planet, a guy who is so annoying and eccentric all at the same time.
First of all,I did start off by winning 2 singles matches. I can fairly summarize that I played well and was settying up points beautifully. My first opponent Lauren Stratman was 16 yrs old and I beat her 6-1,6-1 and my semi-final opponent was a seasoned Cal Poly college player Suzanna Matenzauer.I was leading 6-1,4-0 when she retired.
Then I played womens doubles with Desirae Karyzwak and we beat 2 teams and will play our final tomorrow. But the match of the day was the mixed doubles one where I had to play against my doubles partner and tomorrow’s final opponent. Arun and I were down 1-6 when she turned the match around and beat them 9-8 in a tie-break.The doubles matches were all 8 game pro sets. That did feel good, but luck is a huge factor too…
That’s when my partner/opponent’s dad tells me that I will lose to his daughter tomorrow in singles and how she is a female version of McEnroe!!! Can you believe it? I just smiled and told him”Dream On”. I hope I can bring it on tomorrow and keep up my words…
Finally, how is my body actually feeling? Yes,I am hurting.Yes I do need painkilers. But, I will have a few days break before the next tournament.So I am going to try to push myself today.Will post everything tomorrow…

Milk Powder comes in handy

Today was an interesting one with us taking a trip down to the Central Coast for a weekend tournament. While I was so diligent in packing things for my daughter, I was totally careless and utterly unplanned with regard to myself. I have told many of my students how prepared they need to be for a match, but today I was possibly the worst in that regard.
I started playing a singles match against a 15 yr old junior player. Halfway through,I felt a bit weak and needed energy. Poring through my racquet bag, I could not find anything to eat.I did'nt even pack a gatorade....hmmm.This was interesting. Then, out of the blue, I dig out Sahana's milk powder packet.I scoop a few spoonfuls into a cup and mix water to get my energy level up. I ended up winning the match 6-4,6-0. That girl did play well in the 1st set.
In the afternoon,Arunprakash and I won our first round mixed doubles against two top juniors in this area.Thankfully doubles and mixed are a 8 game pro set format. If i keep winning,I may end up playing 5 matches tomorrow.God Save Me!!!!!