• Tag Archives red clay

  • Last Practice Day, Santiago

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    Today was a pretty mellow day. I practiced with Andrew M and Marc P in the morning, ran a few errands…got a little currency, hit the Unimarc supermarket, and did some tennis writing.

    Tomorrow I play the final around 10:30 and there’s a paella party after, which is fun.

    I heard rumors of protestors marching in this area, but didn’t see any. However, walking back from the club I saw two policemen who were standing at the rear of the car with the trunk opened. One of them bashed his head on the trunk lid, which doesn’t bode well for their ability to protect citizens.

    A couple more photos from the club. You can see how near the tall buildings are to the club. The jacaranda trees are in full bloom.

    Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)

    First Practice in Santiago

    Practice Day 2, Santiago, Chile

    Practice Day 3, Monday, Santiago

    Santiago Tuesday: Last Practice Day

    Wednesday: Singles & Laundry Successes

    Santiago Tennis: Into the Final


    📂This entry was posted in Chile ITF Tournaments Santiago Santiago Chile Grade A Tennis Travel 📎and tagged

  • Santiago Tennis: Into the Final

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    It was another beautiful day in Santiago, perfect for playing tennis. I played Graciela Donoso early and won 60 62. Afterwards I watched some tennis and warmed up my opponent from yesterday for her mixed doubles match. There is a kiosk here for tennis clothes and now I have a new Chilean skirt at a very reasonable price, a good souvenir.

    The score cards here are interesting…the cards swivel so the score is always showing who is ahead correctly, and instead of having a marker showing which player won the first set, in the middle are numbers I-V, indicating which set is being played, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.

    Today the club was making good use of their multipurpose covered area. Tennis was being taught on one court; girls were doing gymnastics in the middle and basketball practices were on the front court, with music (for the gymnastics), shouts and whistles (basketball).

    I walked back to the club after dinner and matches were running about an hour late, with the lights coming on as the sun was setting.

    Potted plants on walls is a very Spanish way of displaying flowers…I found a couple of walls of potted geraniums today. The flowers and trees in general are very pretty here.

    I have a day off tomorrow since the other round robin group didn’t start till Wednesday. We could have played the final tomorrow…the #2 seed won both her matches so has won her group, but they have an awards ceremony on Saturday and play most finals then.


    📂This entry was posted in Chile ITF Tournaments Santiago Santiago Chile Grade A Travel 📎and tagged

  • Wednesday: Singles & Laundry Successes

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 3 Comments

    Santiago, Chile

    Today I played my first match, against Austria’s Shirley Friedl. She is a nice lefty player, but I played pretty well and the altitude helped my high balls jump a bit and I won 60 60. It’s always an enjoyable, fair match. We played on Court 1 and again, the courts this year are playing much much better than five years ago. I don’t know what they’ve done but kudos to the grounds people for making them so nice to play on.

    After the match (and a short massage, $8 for 15 minutes and the guys working in the massage area are good and seem to be pretty knowledgeable physical therapy.

    After lunch I decided to see if the app I downloaded to pay for the laundry machine worked. What one does is open the app, give it access to your camera and then point it at the QR code on the machine you want to use. The laundry is in the basement, but there was some cell service there (this wouldn’t work without it), but it was slow. It took a few minutes but I managed to get both machines working, so I will have no more issues with a lack of coins for the machines.

    While I was waiting for my laundry to finish, I went to the Unimarc for some food and sunscreen. The packaging all has warnings (not the carrots I bought of course)…the chocolate says high in calories, saturated fat and sugar. As a result it’s quite good.

    I think I figured out why the stores were all closed early yesterday…buses stopped running at 5pm, and the metro shortened its hours, and there were more demonstrations at the Plaza Italia, and also in other cities in Chile. But there’s not much in the English language newspapers I can find. In Las Condes today, it was business as usual, and calm. But downtown, in the center, it’s a different environment.

    Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)

    First Practice in Santiago

    Practice Day 2, Santiago, Chile

    Practice Day 3, Monday, Santiago

    Santiago Tuesday: Last Practice Day


    📂This entry was posted in Chile Grade A Tournaments ITF Tournaments Santiago Santiago Chile Grade A Tennis Travel 📎and tagged

  • Santiago Tuesday: Last Practice Day

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    What a match between Thiem and Djokovic! Incredible offense and defense. Pleasure to watch both players compete (thanks to atptennistv app…worth it).

    Onto info from Chile. I scouted tomorrow’s opponent (she won pretty handily), had a light practice in the morning and then watched some of the tennis, chatted with players, before heading back to my apartment. The street market by the subway was open, so I picked up some strawberries and blueberries, which are mostly missing from the grocery store. They smell good!

    Later on I walked over to the club to try and find a warm up for tomorrow. I play at 10:30 against Shirley Friedl from Austria, who won the ITF Grade A in Brazil last week. I did find a warm up partner, and stayed to watch the first match on TV of Thiem/Djokovic before heading back and watched the third set on a tablet.

    I saw a lineup of Lime scooters by the bus stop. I haven’t seen any Lime bikes…the scooters look like fun and I’ve seen a lot of people on various scooters, but I don’t think the time to learn to ride one is during a tournament (it was perhaps 40 years ago instead). There are docked city bikes somewhere but they aren’t so convenient.

    In the afternoon the stores in the subway, even the OK store (which is like a 7-11, but owned by unimarc, a big supermarket chain) were all closed early. I haven’t figured out why but the produce market was still going strong.

    The jacaranda trees continue to bloom and are very pretty. In the evening there were a lot of players watching matches; matches go on into the night with some starting around 7:30pm. It’s a really nice environment at the club, quite a yin and yang between the city life with it’s hustle and bustle and skyscrapers and the oasis around Estadio Espanol.

    Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)

    First Practice in Santiago

    Practice Day 2, Santiago, Chile

    Practice Day 3, Monday, Santiago


    📂This entry was posted in Chile ITF Tournaments Santiago Santiago Chile Grade A Travel 📎and tagged

  • Practice Day 3, Monday, Santiago

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    The tournament started today in Santiago, but the women don’t begin play till tomorrow. I play I presume on Wednesday. There are three players in my round robin group A and three in group B. The other two players are playing tomorrow morning. I play them the next two days.

    I was able to practice a decent amount today though always with three to four players on the court. I hit with Andrew Moraghan from GBR and an Italian, Marco Catelli, (I’m pretty sure…). Andrew and I hit a second time on Court 11 which was a mess of bad bounces, likely because it was a practice court all day and there hadn’t been an opportunity to groom and water it much. But the bounces were interesting, most creating no bounce situations but a few bouncing sideways.

    Where there was an empty garden yesterday, today there was a beehive of activity, with a trainer/masseuse, mobile pro shop (they even had Volkl racquets and bags!), a sitting area sponsored by what appeared to be a travel or tourism site promoting Chilean tourism (it’s really a very long and skinny country), and a display of old racquets for sale.

    I paid my entry fee, and got my player badge, which will be useful as it has a barcode to get into the park, and read the security recommendation, the last sentence of which is “They should avoid going out at night, especially alone.” Yet 7:30 matches are scheduled. So I didn’t sign up for mixed. It was played under the less than luminous lights five years ago.

    The weather today was great, cooler, only around 80, and cool by the time I left around 7:30 or so. I went by the grocery to get a chicken and a drink and the line for quick checkout was about 20-30 people, but moved very quickly and took only about 5 minutes.

    The jacaranda trees are almost in full bloom now, with the heat of the past three days and are very striking. The plants growing here are very similar to those grown in California.

    Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)

    First Practice in Santiago

    Practice Day 2, Santiago, Chile


    📂This entry was posted in ITF Tournaments Santiago Chile Grade A 📎and tagged

  • Practice Day 2, Santiago, Chile

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    It was another warm (90ish) late spring day in Santiago. I practiced twice today, with a pro at the club and then with a Canadian I ran into. He’d come from Brazil where he said the courts were soft & wet and there was no altitude and seemed surprised by how differently the courts played (keep in mind it’s his 4th time here..). Today the courts were drier and were playing pretty fast.

    As was true yesterday, the restaurants were busy in the afternoon, and again there were basketball and volleyball games going on, though today the basketball game was being played by men, not boys.

    After leaving the club, I walked back to my apartment, stopping along the way to buy water. In front of the big OK store, there are always many motorbikes with cases on the back for deliveries and their owners just hanging out waiting for a delivery. The streets were quiet today, but it’s Sunday.

    I decided to do laundry. The laundry is in the parking garage. There was no signage, so I asked and finally found it. I was hoping there would be a coin machine there (it takes 1300 Chilean or just under $2 a load, only 500 and 100 coins). There was not, and the person at the desk had no change. Since all the washers were full, I took the laundry back upstairs and went down to search for change and to figure out how to add money to my Chilean SIM card. At my third stop, the OK store (very similar to a 7-11), I found someone who knew what I was talking about regarding the SIM card. So now my phone works, though I’m not sure how much data I purchased! But they had no change. I only needed about 400 so I went to the grocery store and got an item I wanted and which would give me that amount of change, and successfully figured out the laundry instructions…you’ll be glad to know I now have clean, albeit wet laundry (not enough coins for the dryer!). Next time it will be easier.

    The difficulty for me has been that very few people I’ve run into speak English and my Spanish is pretty rudimentary. But now my phone works (google translate is my friend). I am really wishing I’d paid more attention in Spanish class!

    The tournament begins tomorrow but I think I won’t play till Tuesday or Wednesday…I’m in a round robin of three people and the other two seem to be playing Tuesday. My first round match is likely to be a good one.

    Tomorrow I am going to try and find some practice and watch a bit of tennis.

    First Practice in Santiago

    Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)


    📂This entry was posted in ITF Tournaments Santiago Chile Grade A 📎and tagged

  • First Practice in Santiago

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment

    Santiago, Chile

    The tournament I am playing next week is called the Alfredo Trullenque, an ITF Grade A. It’s been going on for a long time. It’s being played at Estadio Espanol, a club built along Spanish lines,with many interior courtyards, lovely gardens and many clay courts along with pools (indoor and out), soccer fields, a covered multipurpose area (tennis, and today basketball and volleyball games were going on) and more.

    There are many dining areas, formal and informal, indoors and out and all were being used today.

    I hit for a while with one of the pros at the club, and then hit some serves and ran some sprints afterwards. It was warm but there was a nice breeze and it’s very dry. There’s a bit of altitude, not much though, somewhere around 710 meters or about 2300 feet. So the ball carries some but not excessively. The court I hit on today was much better than any I remember from five years ago, there weren’t any more bad bounces than are usual for a red clay court.

    The draw is now published. There are six players in the draw, so we have two round robin groups of three players. There are two seeds, one for each group, but it doesn’t mean much…one of the players in my group just beat the second seed in Brazil 62 61 today.

    Here’s a link to the draws and results.


    📂This entry was posted in ITF Tournaments Santiago Chile Grade A Tennis 📎and tagged

  • Santiago, Chile (Las Condes)

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 4 Comments

    Santiago, Chile

    I’m on the bottom half of the world now, in the Las Condes part of Santiago.

    The flight from Houston was delayed…not because the plane was late (it arrived around 5am; our flight was scheduled for about 10PM), but because no one brought it to the gate in time and when it arrived…it hadn’t been cleaned after the flight from Australia! It makes me wonder what the plane was doing…did it have an invisibility cloak? Did it decide to make a quick trip to Florida or Cancun? Anyway, we only arrived a bit late though it was a loooong walk from the plane to passport control. (Hint…there are about 10 restrooms along the way, so if there’s a wait at the first, keep walking). There were a lot of signs advertising this climate conference which has now been moved out of Chile due to the riots in late October.

    I had a taxi waiting, which I was happy about since several people approached me who weren’t official taxi drivers. There’s been a lot of vandalism here and rioting but honestly, we went through a lot of tunnels and I kept falling asleep, so didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary on the drive from the airport, but it was midday, not when the unrest has been occurring.

    I was able to enter my apartment and after putting my bags away, went to the bank (where there was an armed guard who was quite alert, by the door), and managed to get some Chilean pesos out of a machine which had instructions only in Spanish. Then I went to get a SIM card for my phone, in the subway area. It was humming, full of open shops in the middle and both sides of the passage. Then I went to the grocery store. The grocery seemed pretty normal. But there was a guard at the entry, and the entryway windows were covered with plywood. There was a very large area for avocados, another for citrus, and juice oranges, but overall the produce section was small. The refrigerated beverage section was huge and I even found bags of ice. Cookies seem very popular, chocolate bars less so.

    After I put my stuff away I decided to try and find the tennis club. Google took me to the parking garage. Instead walking a bit farther the same direction (which would have led me to the entrance), I walked around the opposite way which was over a mile, but I know now how to get to the club tomorrow for practice. (Turn right by the McDonalds).

    There were a lot of boarded up stores along Apoquindo Ave. but overall everything seemed here like business as usual. The area around the club had some really nice houses. A lot of them were in the half-timbered style of Normandy, and all had high fences with spikes on top. The club had a double fence.

    The weather here was nice today, warm but not humid and overcast so it didn’t feel very warm.

    Buenas noches.


    📂This entry was posted in Chile Grade A Tournaments ITF Santiago Santiago Chile Grade A Travel 📎and tagged

  • McColskey, Van Nostrand Win World Singles Titles; USA Shines in Doubles at World Championships

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment

    Writing from California, USA

    The ITF Individual World Championships concluded yesterday in Umag, Croatia. Though there weren’t many Americans in the draws, those that were there came home with many gold, silver and bronze medals.

    Wendy McColskey won her first every world championship, the 65 singles, the hard way, beating her Kitty Godfree Cup teammate Tina Karwasky (holder of two consecutive 65 Gold Slams in singles and winner 11 straight 65 national singles championships) in three sets. Earlier in the year Karwasky beat McColskey in the final of the 65 Clay. Karwasky was a doubles finalist too, with Jan Kirkland-Cochran, losing to Aussies Helen Worland and Adrienne Avis. Avis won the mixed too, with Marc Renault, FRA over American Danny Shaw and Hildegard Bruggraber, AUT.

    In women’s 70 doubles, Liane Bryson, playing with Germany’s Heidi Eisterlehner were silver medalists, also losing to and Aussie, Kerry Ballard (who won the singles) and Shirley Fox (GBR). Bruce Barrett, USA and Chris Ornstein, GBR, the defending men’s 70 doubles champions reached the final but fell to Petr Kolacek, SUIand Jairo Velasco Ramirez, ESP in the final.

    In the 75s, Dean Corley/Michael Stewart won the doubles in an all-American final over Jimmy Parker/Don Long. Heide Orth, GER won the 75 singles and doubles (with Petro Kruger, RSA); Kruger won the mixed with Peter Pokorny, AUT (who won the singles).

    In the 80s, Herm Ahlers/Wilbur Jones fell in the final to the Aussie duo of Bruce Rehn/Bob Howes. Inge Weber, CAN won the women’s singles. In another all American doubles final, Dorothy Wasser/Burnett Herrick beat their Doris Hart Cup teammates Sheila Palmer/Carol Wood. Palmer/Jones were 80 mixed finalists, falling to Aussies June Simpson/Don Biddle in the final round.

    King Van Nostrand continued his dominance of the men’s 85 division, winning the singles and doubles, with John Powless of the USA. They beat their Gardnar Mulloy Cup teammates, George McCabe/Joe Russell in the final.

    Bronze medals went to: Dorothy Wasser, W80 singles, Bruce Barrett, 70 Mixed, Suella Steel, Corley, 75 mixed, Bryson, 70 mixed, Cathie Anderson/Carolann Castell, W75 doubles, Jimmy Parker, M75 singles. Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone!

    Draws are here.


    📂This entry was posted in 2019 Super Seniors ITF Individual World Championships, Umag ITF Individual World Championships Tennis 📎and tagged

  • USA Men’s 75 Advance to Final in Umag; Men’s 70 Fall to Denmark; Women’s 80 Fall to Argentina; Men’s 65 Down 0-1 and Men’s 80 Up 1/0

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Reporting from California, USA

    I will update the results of the Men’s 65 & 80 later today.

    Update, 10 pm CET:

    USA lost 2/1 to Chile in the M80 and 3/0 to France in M65. Both teams and M70 play for third tomorrow.

    W65/70/75 play for first along with M75 & 85.

    W85 have won their division.

    The Bitsy Grant Cup team, Men’s 75, led by Jimmy Parker, won both singles against France to advance to the final on Thursday in Umag. Don Long put in a gritty performance against Francois Pierson, winning 76 (5) in the third set to give the USA a 1/0 lead. Parker sealed the win with a 64 63 win over ?Serge Andres to send the USA into the final. Dean Corley/David Dollins were scheduled to play the doubles.

    The USA Men’s 70 team (Jack Crawford) fell to Denmark in two tightly contested singles matches. Brent Abel lost 64 in the third to Claus Peterson at #2 singles and Bob Litwin fell to former top 50 player Kasper Rud 63 in the third. They will play for third place tomorrow.

    The Men’s 65 team (Britannia Cup) is down 1/0 to France. Bruno Renault, last year’s world champion, playing #2 singles, beat Geoff Cykman handily; Mark Meyers is playing Didier Kaisserian at #1 singles; if he wins, he’ll play the deciding doubles with Tom Smith.

    The Gardnar Mulloy (M80) team is up 1/0 vs Chile behind the strong singles play of Lester Sack at #2 singles. Bob Quall is playing the very tough Jaime Pinto Bravo at #1; Wilbur Jones/Sack are scheduled for doubles.

    The Doris Hart Cup team (W80) lost 2/1 to Argentina; Burnett Herrick won at #2 singles; Dorothy Wasser lost at #1 to Romero and Flint/Romero beat Herrick/Wasser 76 75. Argentina plays Great Britain tomorrow in the three team round robin. If Argentina wins, USA finishes second. If Great Britain wins, then it will come down to sets and games to determine the order of finish. The USA will finish 1, 2 or 3.

    The following teams are off today: Kitty Godfree (W65); Althea Gibson (W70); Queens (W75); W85 (who have already won their division) and Men’s 85. All play for gold tomorrow and are guaranteed silver. In fact, all 10 teams will medal in Umag, what a great result for our “super” Super Seniors!

    Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted


    📂This entry was posted in Super Senior USA Teams Super Seniors 2019, Umag Tennis USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • USA Wins Inaugural Women’s 85 Cup in Croatia

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 2 Comments

    As told to me by Margaret Canby, W85 Captain:

    “We have won,  today Rose [Austin] and I won the doubles 6-0 6-1.  Really played well!
    Yea USA 85 Women Cup winners 2019!”

    Congratulations to Margaret, Rose and Irene Bretzel!

    Irene, Margaret, Rose


    📂This entry was posted in 2019 Seniors, Portugal ITF World Team Championships Super Senior USA Teams Super Seniors 2019, Umag 📎and tagged

  • USA Men’s 70s (Jack Crawford) Wins RR Group on Wednesday in Umag

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Reporting from California, USA

    The USA Men’s 70s team beat Ireland 3/0 today, winning their round robin group. They move into the quarterfinals which begin tomorrow.

    Brent Abel #2 and Bob Litwin, #1 won the singles; Geoff Moore and Steve Gottlieb won the doubles point.

    Photo from Brent Abel.

    The remaining US teams (other than Women’s 85) had the day off.

    USA Women’s 85

    Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted


    📂This entry was posted in ITF World Team Championships Super Seniors 2019, Umag USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • USA Women’s 85

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 2 Comments

    Reporting from California, USA. The women’s 85 division is new in 2019. Some teams pulled out and only USA and Argentina are in Umag this year. Below is a report from Margaret Canby, captain of the USA Women’s 85 team which is playing in Umag, Croatia.

    USA players (l-r) Rose Austin, Margaret Canby, and Irene Bretzel 
    ITF has us playing Doubles on Monday, 2 singles on Tuesday, Doubles on Wednesday, 2 reverse singles on Thursday and another doubles on Friday.  We won doubles yesterday 6-3 6-4 and today Irene won her singles as her opponent had to retire for illness and Margaret won a nail-biter 11-9 in the tiebreak 3rd set.  If we can win one more match, we will WIN!


    📂This entry was posted in ITF ITF World Team Championships Super Seniors 2019, Umag USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • USA Wins RR Group in W65, 80, M65,75; First Monday Update; 2nd Monday Update: W75, M80 Win RR Group

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Writing from California, USA around 5:15 pm Croatia Time

    Update 7pm Croatia time: USA Men’s 80 finished a 3/0 win over Sweden; Quall won 10-4 in a match tiebreak and Ahlers/Jones won the doubles point. USA won its round robin group

    USA Women’s 75 defeated Canada 3/0; Hillebrand won in straight sets as did Cathie Anderson/Suella Steel in doubles. USA has won it’s round robin group.

    Still no score for women’s 70 doubles.

    The USA won the Women’s 65, 80, and Men’s 65, 75 three team round robins today. The women’s 70 split their singles against Germany and the Women’s 75 & Men’s 80 are up 1/0 after #2 singles. (They may be done but I’m only going from the scores reported on the ITF website). The men’s 70 are also undefeated but are in a four team round robin. The men’s 85 team is in one, five team round robin group and are 2/0 so far.

    Kitty Godfree (W65): The USA beat So Africa 2/0 behind the singles play of Wendy McColskey (#2), Tina Karwasky (#1) and the doubles play of Lil Peltz-Petow and Jan Kirkland-Cochran.

    Althea Gibson Cup (W70); Judy Dixon beat Barbara Van Ende at #2, but Toni Novack lost to Heidi Eisterlehner (multiple world singles champion) 63 63. Dixon/Liane Bryson are set to play the doubles.

    Queens Cup (W75): Carolann Castell won a tough three setter against Canada (Claude) and Charleen Hillebrand was next to face Gisela at #1 singles.

    Doris Hart Cup (W80). The USA beat Australia 3/0 yesterday. Carol Wood and Sheila Palmer did win the doubles point late in the day after the USA won two marathon singles matches. Today in contrast, they beat Ukraine 3/0 without losing a game in any match. Wood and Burnett Herrick won the singles points and Palmer/Dorothy Wasser won the doubles.

    Britannia Cup, M65. The USA handled Poland easily, behind the singles play of Geoff Cykman at #2, Mark Meyers at #1 (who won 60 60) and Gary Jenkins/Tom Smith won the doubles.

    Jack Crawford Cup, M70. The men’s 70s team is looking strong so far. They are ahead 2/0 as of now, having won the #2 singles (Brent Abel) and #1 singles (Bob Litwin) handily with Abel/Gottlieb set to play the doubles point. They played Italy today. The photo is from Brent’s FB page.

    The Bitsy Grant Cup team (M75) beat Sweden. Don Long won at #2 and Jimmy Parker at #2; Dean Corley/Dave Dollins were set to play the doubles point. They won their group with this win.

    The men’s 80, Gardnar Mulloy Cup, won at #2 singles (Lester Sack) and Quall was to face Gaba from Denmark at #1 singles. No results reported yet.

    The men’s 85 Cup team beat Great Britain 3/0. Today George McCabe played #2 singles, Van Nostrand won at #1 and John Powless/Joe Russell won the doubles point. D

    Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted

    Super Seniors Umag 2019 Information (links to blog articles, players and more)

    Photos


    📂This entry was posted in ITF World Team Championships Super Seniors 2019, Umag USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • USA Super Senior Teams Go 9/9 on Day 1 in Umag

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    California, USA, Reporting from Afar

    The opening ceremonies of the ITF Super Senior World Team Championships (ISSWTC) in Umag took place yesterday, as well as the captains’ meetings, during which the draws were made.

    Photos courtesy of Carol Wood, Bob Litwin and the players’ facebook posts!

    The USA is seeded in each category and all teams, other than the Women’s 85 (a new division which only has 2 teams, USA and Argentina).

    The most dramatic tie of the day was that of the USA Women’s 80 team vs Australia. Both singles matches went to match tiebreaks (match tiebreaks are only used in the 80 & 85 divisions). First Burnett Herrick won 64 46 1/0 (6). That match was not exciting compared to the one Dorothy Wasser won. Dorothy, playing on her first ever cup team, debuted at #1 singles! She dropped the first set 62, won the second 76 (4), then squeaked out the tiebreak 13-11! I wasn’t there but imagine she held off some match points along the way. That gave the USA, the #2 seeds, an unassailable lead. Carol Wood and Sheila Palmer (another woman making her Cup debut in the 80s), were scheduled to play the doubles point.

    In contrast to the women’s 80s, the women’s 65 (Kitty Godfree) easily beat Croatia, dropping only two games in beating the host country. Wendy McColsky & Tina Karwasky played #2 and #1 singles respectively, while Jan Kirkland Cochran made her Cup debut alongside Lil Peltz-Petow in doubles.

    The women’s 70 (Althea Gibson), beat Sweden convincingly. Judy Dixon made her singles Cup debut at #2 and Toni Novack, fresh off winning the 65 singles at the GMP Cup in Umag the week before, won at #1 singles. Brenda Carter, returning to competitive play after a knee injury, combined with Liane Bryson, the 2018 world doubles champion, to take the doubles point.

    The Queens Cup team, W75, took on Argentina. Carolann Castell at #2 and Charleen Hillebrand at #1 prevailed in singles and doubles.

    The Britannia Cup, M65, beat Hungary 3/0; Geoff Cykman played #2, Mark Meyers #1 and Gary Jenkins/Tom Smith won the doubles point.

    The Jack Crawford (M70) team easily beat Australia in the singles behind the play of Geoff Moore (#2) and Bob Litwin (#1); Brent Abel/Steve Gottlieb dropped the first set in doubles before rebounding to finish strongly 26 62 61.

    In men’s 75 (Bitsy Grant) play, USA beat Zimbabwe 3/0; Don Long won at #2, Jimmy Parker had a tough 2-set tussle with Roger Dowdeswell at #1 and Dean Corley/David Dollins took the doubles point.

    USA won 3/0 against Croatia in the Gardnar Mulloy Cup (M80). Lester Sack at #2 and Bob Quall at #1 played singles; Herm Ahlers/Wilbur Jones won the doubles point.

    The very strong men’s 85s team, led by legendary Kin Van Nostrand, beat Australia 3/0. Joe Russell held on to win a tough 2nd set 76 at #2 singles while King at #1 and George McCabe/John Powless (another legend) completed the win.

    Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted


    📂This entry was posted in Super Seniors 2019, Umag Tennis Travel Umag, Croatia USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Please click on the following links below to view the final draws for the 2019 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.

    Kitty Godfree Cup, W 65 (USA is in Group A); USA is in the 1-4 playoff

    Althea Gibson Cup, W70 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-4 playoff

    Queens’ Cup, W75 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-3 playoff

    Doris Hart Cup, W80 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-3 playoff

    Britannia Cup, M65 (USA is in Group C); USA in the playoff or 1st

    Jack Crawford Cup, M70 (USA is in Group F); USA in the 1-6 playoff

    Bitsy Grant Cup, M75 (USA is in Group B); USA in the play off for 1st

    Gardnar Mulloy Cup, M80 (USA is in Group B) USA in the playoff for 1st

    Men’s 85 Cup. (5 team round robin)

    More information here including links to blog articles and players.


    📂This entry was posted in Croatia ITF Individual World Championships ITF World Team Championships Super Seniors 2019, Umag Umag, Croatia USTA Super Senior International Teams 📎and tagged

  • Hungarian Doubles Champion; Mixed Final Friday: New Balls Please

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment

    Keszthely, Balaton Lake, Hungary

    I played the mixed doubles semis and our first and last women’s doubles match today.

    Our mixed was scheduled yesterday for “not before 2 pm” but this morning it was changed to “not before 12;30 pm”. Good thing my mixed partner looked again at the time. Today there were no practice courts.

    We got on a bit early and played the #1 seeds who were better than they looked. Before we took the court I asked the referee if he’d given our opponents balls. He said yes. Then I asked if he’d given them NEW balls and he said no. So I asked for new balls. After a big sigh and and eye roll I got them. (See the photo…the balls at the top were the ones we were supposed to use for our match; the ones below were the new ones after we played nearly two hours with them. In other words, they not only expected us to play with used balls, they expected us to play with really bad used balls!)

    Our opponents formed a yin/yang team, the guy was a runner and steady, and pretty much played back the whole match, while the woman whacked her forehand and overheads and was not a runner. We lost the first set 62, made some adjustments, went up 42 and won the deciding point to go up 52 (we are playing no-ad in doubles). We circled the correct mark and our opponents came across to our side (allowed in ITF tournaments), found another mark (also out), complained to the referee…who looked at the second mark, said he wasn’t sure if it was in our out (to be clear, the referee was nowhere near the court during the point in question, so did not even know which mark was the correct one). The referee then told us we had to replay the point! After more argument, we did and lost the point and therefore the game and then lost two more games to go down 54. However, we ended up winning the set 75 and the tiebreak 10-3. We play another unseeded team in the final, my doubles partner Eva and her partner.

    We played doubles about an hour later. The time was a TBA time, after suitable rest. “Suitable rest” turned out to be 10 minutes after my partner and one of our opponents finished their mixed match. We won the match 60 64. We were down 43 but played a good last three games. We beat Sylvia Singer and Encarnita Gomiz Ruiz. My partner was almost mummified…she had both quads wrapped, her back wrapped and both knees. So I played singles and covered the lobs and she did a good job whacking her forehand and hit some nice volleys too. We got a default from the third team in the round robin, so are Hungarian Champions.

    After the tennis, I biked to the train station and bought my ticket back to Budapest for tomorrow. The ticket seller didn’t speak English, but I managed to convey the information than I needed the train times and to buy a ticket for tomorrow, and bought the ticket.

    We play not before 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, and then I will bolt for Budapest right afterwards.

    Draws are here.


    📂This entry was posted in Hungarian Grade A Hungary ITF Tournaments Keszthely Tennis Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged

  • Tennis & Hiking, Fornalutx & Biniaraix, Mallorca

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Mallorca, Spain, July 29, 2019

    This post was lost in the Ethernet the last month.

    My last day in Mallorca was a busy one! I hit tennis balls or 90 minutes, all was good, so I decided to visit Fornalutx, another mountain village near Soller.

    I did some research and read that the hike to Fornalutx was a pretty easy one, about 45 minutes. I parked about 15 minutes outside of downtown, adding to the walk, but it was an easy place to park and not a bad walk into town.

    I apparently missed the route that wasn’t on the main road. The walk, though pretty, wasn’t particularly relaxing because the roads are so narrow, there’s no shoulder at all and no sidewalks. So I stayed quite alert and avoided being hit by a car or more likely, by a motorcyclist, they ride fast and loudly here.

    The scenery was pretty, orchards, almonds, olives, lemons, oranges, and even a few pomegranate trees were nestled up against the dramatic mountain background.

    When I got to Fornalutx (it was well over and hour, since I stopped and took photos and was meandering), I found the main plaza, got some water, and found the route for the next part of the walk. It was an uphill route for a long ways, up uneven and rough stone steps. But the views were beautiful. At the top I was on a main road for a short while, then found the path down, which wound through olive orchards mostly, and was quiet and free of cars.

    On the way back, I detoured through the tiny village of Biniaraix, which still hard a small plaza by the church. There weren’t many cars on that detour either, and once I was past Biniaraix, I was only 20 minutes from Soller.

    Soller was really hopping at 8pm, the plaza was packed with people having drinks (a bit early yet for food, though some were eating). I walked through the main shopping street and back to my car.

    I leave Mallorca tomorrow for Lisbon. It’s been nice getting to know a different part of this diverse island.


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  • Singles Done & Won; Mixed Semis and Doubles Await; Biking Around Keszthely

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Keszthely, Balaton Lake, Hungary

    It was an early start today at the Hungarian International Grade A. I had a “not before 9:30” match and warmed up around 8:30 and we started a little early. I played Maria from Venezuela and won 60 60 to finish first in the four player round robin. Later in the day Yanos and I played Maria and her husband Ricardo in mixed and won 61 63. Ricardo was given used balls for us to use in our match. All ITF tournaments which give ranking points are required to give players new balls…long story short, I asked for new balls and with some reluctance, was given them. However, the tournament continues to give players used balls unless they insist on new ones for doubles. The doubles and mixed format here is no-ad and if teams split, a match tiebreak. We started off using ad scoring but the referee came out and told us to switch. I also found out today that Hungarian players pay only 45 euros entry fee while non-Hungarians pay 90 euros. Players 80+ pay no entry fee. So younger and foreign players subsidize the tournament for Hungarians.

    Tomorrow we play the top seeds in mixed and play one of the two other teams in women’s doubles.

    In between singles and mixed, I biked around a bit. I finally saw the Balaton Sea. It was pretty calm at the courts, but only a few meters away, it was windy on the water. I was surprised that the water was so green. Also, though I read it was shallow, it was odd to see people 50 yards from shore and not waist deep in the water. School started here already and so many of the restaurants and shops were closed already for the season (or at least during the week). There are one-hour “cruises” on the Sea available at the pier, which is not far from one of the tournament sites.

    I visited one more grocery store, it was a small one and pretty much a miniature version of the Spar…lots of ketchup, mustard, mayo, drinks, a small deli and a big bread area. There were some seasonal fruits and vegetables..but no apples! So far here I like Lidl the best of the grocery stores I’ve visited.

    Draws are here.


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  • Windy & Cool Tuesday in Keszthely

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Keszthely, Balaton Region, Hungary

    Today was very cool and windy, quite a change from the mid 90s on Sunday! There are two venues here, the Fonix venue and the Ady venue. The Ady venue is bigger, with six courts outdoors plus two (not very good) practice courts and a bubble over two courts. From the patio overlooking the courts one can see the big church in the distance. As you can see the courts are in a long line and on a windy day such as today, there’s not much wind protection.

    I played Sylvia Singer from Austria. She speaks several languages, German, English, Italian and seems to understand Spanish pretty well too. The other interesting thing about Sylvia is that she’s a diabetic and has a port in her arm for insulin and she tests herself pretty often to see if she needs to eat or needs insulin. She’s pretty high energy too. I won 60 61…the one game I lost Sylvia was convinced I’d won when it was deuce, but I wouldn’t win a game that way…and she ended up winning the game with a nice smash and was so happy. I play Maria Faria tomorrow in singles and in mixed.

    Sylvia is the tall woman in purple; Eva, my opponent from yesterday is bottom right; and Maria, my opponent tomorrow is top left with Eva.

    I watched a couple of matches today; there were two American guys playing, both lost, Janos lost in 3 sets to the 5th seed and had 2 match points (the Hungarian guy was a very good counterpuncher, who footfaulted 90% of the time at least); Aussie Alan Walsh beat Hans Webber who played a good match; Alan was simply too good.

    Warming up this morning there were more Aussies on the court next to us than Americans in the entire tournament…four. And none were under 75.

    Draws are here


    📂This entry was posted in Hungarian Grade A Hungary ITF Tournaments Keszthely Tennis Travel 📎and tagged

  • Train to/for Success in Hungary

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 2 Comments

    Keszthely (pronounced “Kes Kay”) Lake Balaton, Hungary

    Yesterday was a pretty long and tiring day…travel can be stressful in new places and Hungary is definitely a new country with a confusing and difficult language, at least for me. It’s not as foreign as China, but the communication is nearly as difficult. Thank goodness for Google translate!

    The train trip from Budapest was nonstop, but nearly three hours, and with outside temps in the mid-90s, it was a warm trip as there was no AC on the train (I know, first world problems..and I did have an open window). The owner of the apartment I rented picked me up. (I recommend the Dora Holiday house in Keszthely.) The apartment is is great and there’s Eurosport so I can watch some of the US Open, and a bicycle to get around…perfect!

    The couple staying in the upstairs apartment are from Florida and the husband, Janos, is playing in the tournament and speaks Hungarian. He’s a nice lefty player, and was nice enough to warm me up today for my match, which as it so happened, was against a lefty. We are going to play mixed here.

    Anyway, yesterday I set out to 1: find the Lidl before it closed at 5pm and 2: find a racquet stringer, as my strings were starting to look like Susan Wright’s strings did in Portugal…ie one racquet with broken strings and another an hour away from breaking (though I had three racquets with me, not two). I succeeded in finding the Lidl, though I’m not exactly sure how I got there. I biked by the Festetics Castle on the way to Lidl and down the market street (a pedestrian street lined with souvenir shops, restaurants and a copious amount of ice cream vendors) on the way back. The market street ended at the big church, “Our Lady of Hungary Church” set in a large plaza. So I pretty much hit the highlights of Keszthely in one bike ride, other than Lake Balaton. .

    I next went in search of a racquet stringer. I went to the courts nearest my apartment, where I could see the ITF Seniors and Tennis Europe signs going up. But no one there really spoke English, though I did learn that the tournament office was in a hotel, not at either tennis venue. He said the Krystal hotel and pointed. I found the hotel, but somehow went to the back of the hotel, tried a door and it was closed, and the hotel from that side appeared to be closed. I never looked on the other side, which had a patio and was clearly open. I ran into a couple of Aussies, one of whom had been there before, and he led us to where the tournament used to be. So I did see the lake (it’s the largest one in Central Europe, about 50 miles long, and fairly shallow, so it warms up nicely in July and August). Finally I looked again at the fact sheet, entered the hotel name into the maps app, and we walked in a big circle to, you guessed it, the Kristal hotel, this time to the front side. We checked in (the tournament is giving each player a nice vest…nice for the men as they are not even unisex in size and the men’s small was huge, even on me…would be nice if they had women’s sizes too as we pay the same entry fee). I was told to go to the venue I first saw on Monday (venue #1) to get my racquet strung. And we also found out information about practice courts, and where the Fonix courts were (venue #1) so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

    I warmed up today with Janos at venue #2, and then biked to venue #1, where I was to play, to try and get a racquet strung. At venue #1 I was told to go to venue #2. I went back to the hotel, and the referee again told me to go to venue #1…where after more confusion (apparently the racquet stringer was not answering), someone came to pick up my racquet and it was done by the time I finished my match. Stringing was 2000 HUF or about $7. As confusing as Hungarian is to English speakers, English must be equally confusing to Hungarians.

    My match was at not before 11:45, but since the previous match was scratched, we were set to go on a bit early…..then it poured for about 20-30 minutes. And 15 minutes after it stopped raining we were playing! Amazing. I played Eva Bogar Szabo, who is a nice player, with a good attacking lefty forehand that was very effective on short balls (such as my second serve). She won the first game and I won the rest of them, but we had some deuce games and good points. The training in Spain was helpful. The other two 60s players had an occasionally dramatic match next to us, Sylvia Singer from Austria and Maria Faria from Venezuela. So our draw is small but quite international. I play Singer tomorrow not before 1:30.

    After our match, we stayed for a while, and I offered to buy Eva a drink but ended up with Eva and her husband buying me a drink (cola zero of course) and strudel. The cherry strudel was good, not quite as sweet or rich as strudels in the USA.

    Today I hit the Spar market. Judging by the aisles, Hungarians like ketchup and also like sweets; the fruit flavored soft drinks were in the same aisle as the hard liquor and wines across from them.

    The weather has really changed, from the 90s the past three days to low 70s tomorrow for a high and very windy. Fall is in the air.

    And that’s a wrap on Day 1 of the Hungarian Seniors…back to watching Schwartzman hit winners against Zverev (7-5 in forehand winners at the moment, midway through the second set).

    Draws are here.


    📂This entry was posted in Hungarian Grade A Hungary ITF Tournaments Keszthely Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged

  • Adios Mallorca, Hello Hungary

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    On an airplane somewhere between Mallorca and Munich….

    I had my last training in Mallorca today, then quickly made it to the airport. I checked in and then went to the first security station I saw and was surprised it was so empty. I used about 4-5 bins for my various electronics, hats, etc…never having noticed it was the security for only the Balearic Islands…Mallorca, Menorca etc. So I packed back up and went upstairs to regular security. I picked the expedited security line, because I had Gold status with Lufthansa, and the gate opened…followed by an alarm! But the security person waived me through and I did quickly make it through security the 2nd time. Moral of the story: pay more attention to the signs and pick out the English explanation among the four languages shown.

    My trip to Mallorca involved a lot of tennis; 12 hours to be exact and not a lot else, partly because I rented the aftorementioned electric Renault Zoe which demanded to be recharged frequently and which took it’s time to recharge. It spent a fair amount of time at the Lidl charging in the evenings so I could get to tennis practice and back a couple of times the next day!

    Inca was a fairly industrial town in the center of Mallorca…not one of the lovely mountain villages of the west coast or one of the beach towns on the east coast. It was convenient but not noteworthy. I did go into Inca to do laundry once. I went in the middle of the day, thinking the laundry would be quiet that time of day, only to encounter someone washing load after load for some local hotels (small ones, with 15 or fewer rooms he said). He left one small machine open though so I got my clothes washed and dried them in the car and later, in my hotel room.

    I finally tried the surimi shaped like eels that I kept seeing in tapas and at the stores. It was in a garlic/olive oil mixture and was pretty good in a salad.

    I didn’t get back to watch Andy Murray because if I had I would not have had enough charge for the next day to drive to Global Tennis Team…needless to say, I’m not renting an electric car again till there are fast chargers galore and at all gas stations! Andy by the way lost in the quarters 76 in the third and cramped in the third set, so for him it was a successful venture I imagine…he got matches and knows where his fitness level is.

    I had a great time practicing though and learned a lot. I watched the kids hit more this time. They work so hard, and the instructors do not let them get by with anything less than 100% effort…..those who put in less effort find themselves running laps at a minimum. The instructors never have more than four players to a court and often have more than one instructor on court for 2-4 players. And they are watching intently or feeding. The players are the ones doing the work and hitting. One warm up involves cross courts with 3 players and one ball..hit it into the net and the player runs to pick it up. A player not hitting is shadowing a stroke. The two players alternate for a certain number of balls or time, then one goes to join the solo player and the remaining player hits solo for a while. It’s high energy.

    Next up for me is a tournament a couple of hours outside of Budapest…but first a couple of nights in Budapest, in Hungary, a country I’ve never before visited. It’s a part of the European Union and Schengen (unified passport) area but still uses its own currency. The exchange rate is $1 to 300 Hungarian currency, so I’ll be doing math in my head a lot this weekend.

    Hopefully I’ll have wifi this week in my room. However, the sim card I bought in Madrid, $20 from Orange for 20-25 GB of data for a month really came in handy this week. It works as a hotspot too, so I can write my blog on an Ipad and upload it by connectiing it to my phone’s data via wifi. Not a new thing but magical anyway.

    And that’s a wrap on Spain for this year.


    📂This entry was posted in Inca Mallorca Pro Tournaments Spain Tennis 📎and tagged

  • Mallorca Encore: Training and Watching Andy Murray

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols 2 Comments

    Mallorca, Spain

    This trip I am staying in a completely different area from Bunyola, north of Palma in Inca. However, the hotel is in the middle of orchards and very quiet (completely the opposite of where we staying in Madrid for sure).

    I got to the airport and found out I’d reserved an all electric vehicle. It took Hertz a while to put in the SD card that had the navigation and for someone from Hertz to explain how to charge it. It had a range of 180 KM and they said no problem, Mallorca is small…well, it’s down to about 80km and that included a 30 minute charging stint at Lidl today, so I’m going to have to leave it there for a few hours tomorrow in between practice sessions. I don’t think I’m quite ready for a full on electric vehicle as range anxiety is real. On the other hand, the cost to refuel it this week is zero.

    I checked into my hotel…my room wasn’t ready but I was able to change and get ready to practice for 90 minutes. Then I charged the car a bit and shopped at Lidl more before getting ready to go watch Andy Murray. Murray has been one of my favorite players since I first saw him playing Clement at the US Open when he was 18. He is playing the Mallorca challenger this week in Manacor at the Rafael Nadal Academy. It’s about a 30-40 minute drive but it was a zoo parking. Entry is free and the center court was SRO. I got there about the middle of the first set but the match was quick. Murray was playing a 17 year old, Imran Sibille of France…with career earnings of $150. He was overwhelmed, couldn’t handle the pace of Murray’s shots and hit a much lighter ball than Murray. Murray looks a little rusty on the short balls, but then it was such a lopsided match, it was hard to tell. The crowd was very vocal every time Sibille won a point and when he won his only game…at 06 05 down, the crowd really roared! It was a fun atmosphere. Murray plays again at 6pm CET tomorrow.


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  • World Championships: The End; Barker Wins EIGHTH! Singles Title & Wright Wins 7th Doubles Title in Portugal

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Somewhere between Lisbon & Barcelona

    Saturday August 17, 2019

    The World Championships ended in Portugal today. They were a great success. This is a partial overview of the final day; I’m on an airplane en route to Barcelona…no internet. All matches described were finals.

    60s:

    Diane Barker played a near perfect match to beat Susan Wright 62 63 and win the 60 singles.

    Robin Harris and Ross Persons lost to Ros Balodis/Peter Hampton in 60 mixed. Ros and Peter played an excellent match.

    Mark Vines and Glenn Busby fell in the doubles final in a match tiebreak 10-8 to Aussies Peter Hampton & Michael Ford, and Glenn won the singles in men’s 60s.

    Wright/Pat Medrado beat us in the women’s doubles final 63 75; we nearly mounted a successful comeback in the second set because we were down 40 and just trying to get a game…we got more aggressive, I served and volleyed and came into net all the time (Robin already does that) and it changed things. Susan was a rock, didn’t really miss a ball all day and Medrado was also solid and mixed things up. It was again extremely windy…we were both covered in red dirt by the end of the two hour match.

    55s:

    Klartje Van Baarle won the 55 singles, dismantling yet another opponent with the loss of only four games (Marie from France). She added the 55 doubles with Mary Dailey,
    USA, 63 76 over Fran Chandler/Shelly Works.

    Brenda Foster and Berend Betz won the 55 mixed. I don’t know who won the men’s singles but I believe he was from Germany. The 55 men’s doubles was ongoing when we left, with Polo Cowan/Dan Grossman (USA) winning the first set 76. UPDATE: They won 76 75, so Grossman has a 55 doubles world title to add to the 65s world title he won two years ago in Orlando.

    50s: Taras Beyko won the 50 singles, his second world title. He’s a Canadian. Theresa Catlin from GBR won her first singles world championship. Later in the day she won the doubles too with Siobhan Nicholson over former world champions Lesley O’Halloran/Olga Shaposhnikova.

    The day was hectic; it started with getting all of our luggage out of the apartment and to the club via Uber. We had a super nice Uber driver who went out of his way to get our stuff close to the office where we stored our luggage for the day. Jenny Cerff and Susan Wright went earlier because Susan had to play her singles. Then Susan played singles, Robin played mixed and Susan and Pat played Robin and me. As soon as we finished, realizing it was 5pm, we showered and then had photos taken and booked out of there via Uber.

    Jenny’s Phone Update: Jenny got the Portuguese tennis federation and Uber involved in retrieving her phone from Gabriela, the Uber driver who had it. She was to return it to the tennis club but in the end Jenny’s friend from So Africa who lives in Portugal had to go to her apartment and retrieve it. Jenny does now have her phone and is not letting go! She was politely persistent and it paid off.

    We arrive in Barcelona sometime around midnight (plane delay currently).

    And that’s a wrap on the 2019 ITF Seniors World Championships. I’ll update this with final results soon.

    Draws/Result are here.

    2019 ITF Senior Team & Individual Information, Draws, Results, Photos


    📂This entry was posted in 2019, Lisbon ITF Senior Individual World Championships ITF Individual World Championships Spain Uncategorized 📎and tagged

  • World Championships Day 7: Doubles 👍 Singles 👎; Wright, Harris Into Two Finals Saturday

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Friday Night Aug. 16

    Lisbon, Portugal

    Writing about losses is not particularly fun. But I can do it as long after my match as I wish (or not at all), which is not the case on the pro tour, where they have to explain losses (and wins) only moments after they occur. Anyway, Susan Wright ended my singles tournament with a solid performance. I warmed up again with Jenny Klitch, which apparently worked well for me since I had many chances in the first set. I even led 65, but Susan hit one of her patented backhands an inch from the line (along with a couple others at deuce that were brave and accurate) and played better the whole match. It’s hard to believe she once had a 2-handed backhand that she was reluctant to abandon since her one handed shot is great. Tomorrow morning she plays Diane Barker in the final. Barker took out France’s Betty Michel 63 63.

    In 60 doubles, Susan and Pat Medrado played Tracey Thompson/Jenny Cerff which was won 64 63 by the defending champions (Susan/Pat). By all accounts it was a great match, lots of great volleys, overheads and lobs. Robin and I beat an Aussie pair, Fiona Walker/Rosemary Everett 60 63. Robin played fantastic and we won 60 63. It was somewhat windy but nothing compared to yesterday. We play Pat and Susan tomorrow afternoon.

    Thompson, Cerff, Wright, Medrado
    Shelly Works (not in gray!)/Fran Chandler

    Walker, Everett, Harris, Nichols

    Robin is into the 60 mixed final with Ross Persons against Ros Balodis and her partner. They received a default in the semis from players who didn’t anticipate doing so well in the tournament and had booked flights for today. Ross fell in men’s doubles in the semis. He said it was a really fun, good match and he played well.

    Mark Vines and Glenn Busby are into the doubles final, but Busby crushed Mark in singles earlier in the day (then they crushed their British doubles opponents).

    In the 55s, Fran Chandler/Shelly Works are into the final. They played Brenda Foster and her partner and were down 84 in the match tiebreak and came back to win it! They face Mary Dailey/Klartje Van Baarle in the final, who were lucky to be there…Van Baarle was over an hour late for the match but Vicki Buholz/Gayle Prejean agreed to play them anyway, which was quite sporting of them.

    Vicki and Jerome Vanier lost a tight semi to Brenda Foster/Berend Betz, in the match tiebreak in 55 mixed. NorCal players Polo Cowan/Dan Grossman are in the 55 doubles final. Grossman has a 65 world title to his name, so it’s impressive that he can give up 10 years and still reach the final of the worlds in doubles. They beat Betz/Frans Grimbergen of the Netherlands.

    Jenny Klitch fell in 50 singles to a French player…she too had a set point in the second set but fell just a point short of forcing a third. Canada’s Taras Beyko is into the men’s 50 singles final.

    Finals tomorrow then off to Spain.

    Draws are here.

    2019 ITF Senior Team & Individual Information, Draws, Results, Photos


    📂This entry was posted in 2019, Lisbon ITF Senior Individual World Championships ITF Individual World Championships Lisbon Portugal Travel 📎and tagged

  • World Championships Day 6: Americans Dominate Women’s 60s on a Sunny WINDY Day in Portugal

    Posted on by Carolyn Nichols Comment

    Thursday August 15, 2019

    Lisbon, Portugal

    Today I played two matches in one day, doubling the amount of matches I’ve played in the tournament to date. I warmed up again with Jenny Klitch (who had the day off) and then played Leanne Scott of Australia. It was very windy at 9am and we were on a shady court but after a slow start I adjusted to the wind and shade and won 62 60. Susan Wright beat Elena Polyakova of Russia 63 61 a tough little player. Diane Barker beat Fiona Walker of Australia 61 63. The fourth semifinal was between #4 seeded Betty Michel of France and Carmen Lang Verdugo of Spain and was very competitive. Michel started slowly (or Lang started quickly), dropping the first set 60, but rebounded to win the final sets 64 61. Diane plays Betty and I play Susan tomorrow.

    In doubles, Susan and Pat Medrado played a pair of Aussies, Wendy Harrison and Scott; unfortunately, Scott hurt her knee at 05 down and had to retire. Robin and I beat Annelies Simons, Netherlands and Penny Smith, NZL, and won 62 61. It was super windy though, and dusty. I was covered in clay by the end of the match, because of the swirling dust that enveloped the court. The groundskeepers couldn’t keep the clay wet enough, and there were dust clouds over the courts in the afternoon. Robin played great (to no one’s surprise) and it was a good match. We play the #3 seeds, Walker/Rosemary Everett tomorrow after they beat a pair of South African players in a match tiebreak. Tracey Thompson/Jenny Cerff beat Hazel Lindfield (GBR) and Christiane Deryckere (BEL). 76 62. They take on Susan/Pat tomorrow.

    Jenny & Tracey
    Christiane, Hazel, Tracey, Jenny
    Carolyn, Robin, Annelies, Penny

    After the doubles Susan was snacking on her lunch and a bee flew into her mouth and bit her on her tongue! Fortunately, she’s not allergic to bees and it only stung a bit (pun intended). A couple of Advil in the afternoon and she was almost as good as new.

    Robin and Ross Persons, USA won their 60 mixed today over Stephen Dance/Walker of Australia 62 76. Ross is also into the men’s doubles semis along with American Mark Vines (playing with Glenn Busby, AUS). Vines is into the semis, getting a retirement win (pulled muscle) from his opponent and plays Busby tomorrow. Diane and Jack Baker