Tuesday, April 29

Reporting a day late,  due to playing tennis matches in the evening. Started my first round singles match at 10:30am. Judy Newman also had a 10:30am. We played at PGA National Resort. We met after breakfast, we’re in different Hotels, across the street from each other. Grabbed our Starbucks, and headed out to warm up before our match. The venue is beautiful. I was on an end court, and there was a lagoon next to us. My opponent from Sweden, started off a bit nervous, and made some quick errors. She was also not accustomed to the heat, and humidity. Not that I was feeling any better, coming from San Francisco fog !!!! I managed to win the first set 6-1, but the points got longer, and she started to get grooved. Hitting big shots, when needed. We were tied at 3-3, when I broke her in a close game, and held to go up 5-3. I didn’t play aggressive enough, and lost the next, for 5-4 and played much stronger to finish 6-4. After the match, I walked over to talk to my doubles partner, Anne Kerwin-Payne, who was watching. And behind us, in the lagoon, there was a big splash, and birds were squawking. I said it was probably an alligator, and it got a bird. Anne looked at me, like I was crazy, and sure enough, there went the alligator swimming away in the middle of the Lagoon. It was about 4-5 feet long. I asked about it, and the maintenance man said he is too small to be a threat, but when he reaches 6 feet, they pull them out. We won’t be walking too close to the lagoon. Judy finished her match before me 6-1, 6-3. She said she was down 3-0 in the second, but quickly turned it around, with 6 straight games in a row. We headed back to our Hotel rooms for lunch, and a cool down. We had to get ready for mixed doubles at 5:30pm. They were running late, and at 6pm, and 100 degrees !!!! We got on the courts. My doubles partner and I lost the first set 6-2, won the second, 6-1, and played a 10 point tie-breaker for the third, winning it 10-7

Judy and her partner also split sets against the #4 seeds from Brazil, and won 11-9 in the tie-breaker after being down 9-6, match points against them. It was a great match. But, we finished late, and didn’t eat dinner until 9pm. 

Today, I am playing three matches, singles at 10:30, doubles at 1:30, and mixed at 5:30. Who said love means nothing in tennis ?!! Or, I must be crazy !!! Judy also plays singles at high noon, and mixed at 6pm, she has a bye in the doubles. Wish us luck

Update from Carolyn Nichols: Tracy won her singles; Judy lost 76 in the third; Oren Motevassel from NorCal won his singles but Fanny Gamble from NorCal lost in three sets and Judy and Tracy won their doubles easily.