Draws are here.

I arrived yesterday in Lexington from California…if it’s Wednesday it must be Kentucky? Or at least not the same state as the week before!

I haven’t seen much of the state or city yet…but it seems like a nice city and the airport is small and convenient, no rental car shuttle and one terminal. There were horse and jockey statutes outside the airport and bourbon caskets inside.

The tournament is being played indoors at the Lexington Tennis Center which seems to have about 15 indoor courts and 5 or 6 outdoor clay courts which just opened for play today. There’s also a pool, fitness center, tennis shop and snack bar.

Susan Wright and I are playing doubles but have a bye tomorrow. The draws are small as is typical for indoor tournaments held not during the indoor season…the weather today was gorgeous, 80 degrees, sunny and calm winds to go with the blue skies.

The courts seem nice…climate controlled, well lit and pretty good ceilings.

Susan and I hit today and played a bit of doubles with some 45 year olds, Michelle Moutappa and Laura Ruben from the Central Valley of California (where I grew up), though both moved away (Laura is back though).

The streets here are often named for race horses…or I assume they are, that’s the only explanation for some of the names, and I know Man O’War was a race horse and I am staying on a street called Pink Pigeon Parkway…Pink Pigeon was a 7-time stake winning filly from the 1960s & 70s. Another nearby street is Sir Barton…who was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown back in 1919.

Lexington is known for horse farms and bourbon. It’s in the Eastern time zone though part of Kentucky is in the Central time zone.