It was a beautiful day in Bordeaux. We took the bus to the club midday and began a day of waiting to play. I was a “2nd match after a not before 11:30 match” and the fourth match on Court 1. The matches went fast…one was Heide Orth’s match and one was King Van Nostrand’s, both of whom were efficient. I got on before 1pm against Dagmar Anwar. Dagmar is pretty short, maybe around 5” tall and in warm up the ball was hopping over her head a lot (I blame the wind).We had some good points but I won 61 61. I play Hildegarde Bruggaber from Austria  in the final on Saturday. It’s been hard to get a match rhythm here…I played Tuesday then Thursday and next Saturday, and there are no practice courts (well there is one indoor court but it’s pretty dark, slippery and hard). After my match the 50s doubles draw was posted and Erin and I found out we had a doubles match today, the last match of the day as it turned out. We started the match, on an unlit court at 8:15pm and managed to finish it before it got dark. We play the semis tomorrow against the top seeds late in the day again. I even hit an ace, my third on this trip. The other two were in Barcelona and were slow wide serves that bounced twice before our opponent could make contact, but today I hit a kick serve that bounced over our opponent’s head! Erin said it hit the line…Erin also hit an ace, a wide slider which was pretty impressive. The doubles match had a lot of kooky points which left us laughing. We finished the match just before the sun set, after 9pm.

We all hit the sandwich shop before we played. It’s just down the street from the club and has great French baguette sandwiches and pastries…the baguettes here are terrific and cheap! The food at the club is good too.

Erin played well in singles and won her match to advance to the semis against the #2 seed. The consensus is that Erin will win this match and I think that’s a correct prognosis.

King Van Nostrand, pictured below  is in the 80s singles final. Also pictured, an old house in a block of newer buildings and a view from the gym of the courts.

Photos from Bordeaux: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ty4X78LOmIxqKDnv2

Draws: Bordeaux: http://www.itftennis.com/seniors/tournaments/tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100039294