It was another busy day in Turkey and the penultimate day but one before the World Championships begin here.
My team practiced at 10-11:30 and we started a bit early. Since no one had reserved a court today for 8:30 we had to wait till just after 9:30 to get a court but we had a good court and good practice of both singles and doubles. After practice I picked up my team’s badges and shirts and walked back to my room…only to realize when I got back that I had left my warm up clothes at the check-in desk. I dropped my stuff off in front of my room (or so I thought) and ran back to get my warm up clothes (I thought I had left the key in my pocket) but ran into my friend Jenny Cerff who was checking in. Eventually I did find my clothes and I got a new key and ran back…and my racquets etc were not in front of my room! I have been thinking all week that building 14 is building 13 so I walked to 14 and there was my stuff in front of someone else’s room…sigh of relief.
By that time it was time for lunch and a change of clothes. The women’s teams all had matching ibkul red/white/blue shirts and I had organized a photo shoot of the players wearing them and red skirts. We thought Lori (whose bag is in Munich last I heard) would wear her warm up instead but Jenny K had an extra shirt so we all matched. We tried photos by the pool first …too sunny and then by the beach…just right and the photos came out well, everyone looked good. See for. yourself!
Andrea, Tina, Betsy and I then quickly changed (while the other teams practiced) and did a quick trip to Side to see the Roman ruins (Andrea’s first trip to Turkey) and Betsy and Tina shopped for purses. I got pomegranate tea which I am sipping on right now and it’s very good. Tart and flavorful. Side (meaning pomegranate in Turkish) was founded in the Iron Age around 7th century BC then survived the Hellenistic age when conquered by Alexander the Great, flourished during the Roman era till about the 4th century after which it had a steady decline. The great ruins there are amongst the most notable in Asia Minor. The include a Roman amphitheater, an agora (Market) and street lined with pillars, city walls and a 30km Roman Aqueduct.
I went to the gym when we returned and then to dinner (thank you Tina for saving me a spot at the table!
Tomorrow we have early morning (8:15) practice then at 2pm there’s a captains’ meeting (where the draws are done) then the opening ceremonies around 5pm. Sunday play begins! Really looking forward to it.