I played my first match at the GMP Cup in Umag today, and beat an Austrian player, Ingrid Bruggraber. We played on Grandstand Court, and the match was live streamed and umpired, very unusual for a senior event. The courts here are really slow and have a lot of clay on them. (I know I wrote that before but it’s worth repeating daily). And the balls, Head ATP are pretty heavy. I hit a lot of successful dropshots today.

After playing and lunch (and a massage!) I rented a bike and with another American, Joann Nicodermus (the massage therapist) rode to a Croatian Lidl and also to a Spar. It’s really interesting looking at grocery stores in different countries. The Lidl format is similar but the foods are different (alas, no carrot salad!). The Spar, which is more of a traditional grocery store had lots of pate; the Lidl specialty seemed to be ice cream and ice cream bars. It was a nice ride and I was happy to be back on the wheeled transport of my choice, a bike, rather than driving a car!

There wasn’t a lot more to the day today but I have a couple of matches tomorrow, singles and doubles. The tournament is trying to finish by Thursday, then I’ll have some time to explore the area more.

The tournament website (including a link to matches which are being live streamed) is here: Tournament Web Site and Live Streaming Links