Writing from the train from Zurich Airport to Lugano
Yesterday involved a lot of tennis! Rosemary and I warmed up around 11:30…a late start because it actually rained in Barcelona overnight and the courts were a bit damp at 11 (no puddles though). Though I got in quite a few serves before anyone arrived (after grooming the court, which seemed fine).
Matches started at 5pm. In between warm up and catching a 4pm bus to the courts, I ate, wrote and packed, since I had a 6am flight this morning (and a 3:30 am taxi).
I played Kim Reed. I won the first set pretty comfortably 6-1 and in the first game of the second set she ran for a ball at 40-30 on her serve and slipped on the line and fell pretty hard. Fortunately, other than a scraped knee and elbow she was ok…she is a much better faller than I am! The physio took care of the bleeding and after a couple of games she played a lot better! I won the second set 63 to win the title. We finished around 7pm (there was a pretty long delay for the physio to arrive), and after photos and a shower, played doubles without much of a break, since it had been scheduled at 6:30. We got on around 7:45 pm and finished about two hours later. Rosemary and I played Africa Sanchez and Kim Reed, who beat the #2 seeds yesterday, and won 63 64. Rosemary played great, and was very positive. Actually Kim and Africa also played really well.
I collected my prize money and trophies…by that time it was close to 10pm and headed back to the hotel to finish packing, stretching, etc. I got a couple hours of sleep then headed out to the airport.
The 1:45 hour flight to Zurich was smooth and on time (Swiss precision). We landed around 7:40 and I was able to get an 8:15 train and make my connection. Going up and down the escalators with my luggage was not much fun, but I managed. Once on the second train, I realized I had not purchased a ticket yet, but quickly used the SBB app to buy one from the train. I arrive in Lugano in about 3 hours, where the temps are quite a lot warmer than the refreshing ones in Zurich.
More on Lugano tomorrow…and I play my first match tomorrow at 5:30 pm in Lugano!
Carolyn, you are simply amazing!!! So happy and proud of you! Keep up the good work!
Nice to hear from you! I have told so many people about the first nationals I played with you…and how you won the gold slam…I was in Fresno in April but ME told me you were abroad…hope to catch up another time.