Well it has been a successful couple of days on the tennis court.  Jordan Cox and I won our first two rounds of doubles to move into the semifinals tomorrow.  I won my singles first round today against Mac Styslinger (USA) 6-4 3-6 6-4.  It was interesting being out on the clay for the first time in about a year.  It was drizzling most of the day, which made the conditions extra slow.  That is not exactly ideal for my game, but I got through it so I can't complain.  I play second round of singles at 10:00am tomorrow so hopefully I will have more good news to report on Friday. 

     I am going to bring you some more pictures of the site and things on Friday.  For now I will give you my first video entry.  If you had any doubts pertaining to Jordan and I's chemistry and intensity, this video should put those doubts to rest.  I want to introduce you to BroxEW (Britton and Cox Entertainment Worldwide).  I apologize in advance for my shirtlessness.  Nobody was harmed in the making of this video don't worry.  We created this beauty a couple of years back when we were bored at a tournament.  We try to keep people on their toes.  Please refrain from judging if at all possible.  I understand if you can't hold it back though.  That is understandable.  Enjoy.

     That is all the entertainment I can give you for tonight.  It has been a long day so I am going to go get some rest and relaxation in before I get some sleep.  There has been a new edition to the website.  You can now subscribe to the blog along with a couple of other things.  It is under the Stay Connected header, which is just below my rankings.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Anyways I hope you all had a great day.  Thanks for reading.  See you all on Friday.

All the best,

DB

     Well I made it back into the USA safe and sound.  The flights went smoothly for the most part.  I had an hour layover in the Houston airport.  With immigrations and another security screening it proved to be just enough time to get to my gate.  I got a decent jog in down the airport hallways.  There is nothing like getting a good sweat in before a flight.  I felt bad for the lady next to me.  I probably should have packed an extra deodorant in the computer bag.  Oh well, you win some you lose some.  I was just happy to be there.  Luckily all of my bags made it to Tampa.  One of the main problems with flying out of Mexico is that they do not let you carry-on your tennis bag.  Tennis rackets are apparently a form of weaponry down there.  Tennis players generally do not like to check their tennis bags.  I personally don't trust the airport to get it there on time.  If they lose your tennis bag you are in pretty bad shape for tournament time if you know what I mean.  Also the extra $40 isn't much fun to hand over.  Airports these days right?  Luckily they came through this time so props to United Airlines.

     My brother from another mother Jordan Cox (Old school picture of he and I below) picked me up from the airport.  I roomed with Jordan and his brother Brad for three and a half years in the dorms here at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy before I went to Ole Miss.  Anyways we went straight to the beach from the airport.  We played a little beach volleyball mixed with some frisbee action.  It was a little cloudy, but overall a pretty nice first few hours in Florida.  We had a incredibly nice home cooked meal afterwards courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Cox.  We had a little steak, lamb chops, sausage, potatoes, broccoli, and an incredible salad.  I enjoyed the heck out of it.  It was a great first meal in the USA.  I couldn't have asked for much more. 

     I got a good practice in on the clay courts with Jordan today.  It is always interesting going from altitude back to sea level.  It feels like the ball weighs about ten pounds.  In a couple of days I will be feeling normal again.  The 10k futures tournament in Tampa, FL is starting tomorrow.  Luckily I have a Wednesday start for singles so I have an extra day to get acclimated.  Jordan and I are playing doubles together this week.  We are playing our first round not before 3:00pm tomorrow.  I am looking forward to a good week of clay court tennis.  This will probably be one of my only weeks of the year on clay so it will be a short clay court season this year. 

     Anyways this will have to be a shorter post since I do not have much to report.  On Wednesday I will have some results to report though so be ready for some good action then.  I hope that you all had a great day.  I am off to Carrabba's to get myself some good Italian food.  Don't forget that comment questions are welcomed.  Also a few of the other pages have had some updates so check them out when you get a chance.  Thanks for stopping by. 

All the best,

D Britt

     Sorry for the delay on the blog post everyone.  I had the unfortunate luck of playing the doubles finals at 10:00pm last night.  I did not arrive back to the hotel until roughly 12:30am.  At that point all I could consider thinking about was sleep.  We won the doubles final 6-3 5-7 10-4.(Darian King and I with our trophies below)  So at least I went to sleep on a good note.  I am wide-awake now though and will try to bring you up to date on the past couple of days. 

     I played a tough quarterfinal of singles yesterday.  I won 6-4 6-7 7-5 in a pretty solid battle.  It was extremely windy out there so it wasn't especially pretty tennis.  I can't complain though because I got the job done.  Today was a different story though.  I lost the semifinals of singles against Antoine Benneteau 6-3 5-7 2-6.  I had chances in the second set but just couldn't convert.  Also my serve let me down a little bit in the third set.  That was pretty much the decider.  Overall it was a productive week though.  I wish I could have taken this one to title town, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.  Either way, I am going to take the positives away from it and keep working.   

     The week may be over, but there are a few things that I feel that I need to address.  This may not be necessary information.  However, it is info I think is worth telling.  Just trying to give you a little closer look inside the tournament and Mexico itself.  First of all, I want you to check out the lunch spot for this week (below).  This place was pure gold.  I ate lunch here just about everyday and the food was beautiful.  Chicken with sides of pasta and salad (below).  How can you go wrong?  Plus you get bonus tortillas and a fruit drink of your choice on the house.  The total price of this whole lunch fiasco was 45 pesos ($3.50).  See what I am saying? PURE GOLD. 

     If you have read the previous blog posts you will realize that I take food pretty seriously.  Anybody that knows me knows how I feel about food.  I am known to tear up during a good meal simply because of how much it means to me.  Okay maybe not tear up but you get what I am saying.  I dream about food on the reg.  To be completely upfront and honest, I want to be the guy in Man vs. Food someday when my tennis career is over.  For now I will stick to the healthy stuff though.  This is just your standard random "about me" paragraph. 

     If you have ever been to Mexico you have probably seen a stray dog or cat around.  It is pretty sad to see the stray animals running around for the most part, but one of these pups is running a system on Guadalajara, Mexico (below).  His name is Archibald aka Archie.  You are probably thinking, "Archibald doesn't sound Spanish."  Well that is probably because I made the name up myself.  I claimed him as my mascot for this week so I felt the need to give him a blog shout out.  This dog is living at the tennis arena here in Guadalajara.  He gets frequent food handouts from the restaurant here and plenty of attention from the youngsters around.  Not to mention scattered naps in the shade during the day.  Keep living the dream Archibald.  I am going to miss you bro. 

     Last but not least, I want to tell you guys about crossing the street in Mexico.  It sounds like a pretty standard task right?  Not quite.  It is always an adventure.  Crosswalks are a rarity here so you just have to wing it.  It is pretty much a real life version of frogger and let's just say that I have almost lost on a couple different occasions.  The cars like to speed up when they see me for some reason.  I don't know if it is because I reek of America or it is just the standard procedures to try and take out pedestrians.  Either way it is a thrill though.  There is nothing like a good rush every now and again. 

     So this is it for Mexico posts.  I am headed to Bradenton, Florida tomorrow morning to get ready for the Tampa, FL 10k on clay that is starting on Tuesday.  I have enjoyed Mexico, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the US of A.  I will be staying at my brother Jordan Cox's place for the next few weeks in Bradenton to train.  So my next blog will be coming from the home soil.  I am pretty excited about it.  Anyways, that is all I have for you tonight.  I need to get some sleep in as I have a 7:30am flight.  That means a 4:30am hotel departure.  I love me some international flights.  Thanks again for reading.  See you guys in the States!

All the best,

Devin

     Well Darian King and I got the job done in the doubles today 6-2 6-0.  I watched The Avengers last night so I was pumped up and ready to go to war.  I highly recommend it if you are into the whole superhero thing.  I mean who doesn't like a good superhero flick?  Somebody told me I have a similar physique as Thor.  You check him out and decide for yourself.  Ok fine, nobody said that.  It would be awesome if they did though right?  That guy is a beast.  Anyways we are on to the semifinals of doubles tomorrow.  Second round of singles will be tomorrow at 1:30pm followed by doubles not before 4:30pm.  Hopefully I can keep the momentum going.  That is about it on the updates on the business end of things.

     It was a pretty uneventful day for the most part.  I had a good hit and got a decent workout in.  I am pretty drained from all the sun today.  That is what I have come to expect here in Mexico though.  I did experience my first licuado this afternoon.  It is pretty much just a smoothie but Mexican.  The ingredients were banana, granola, and one other that I couldn't identify.  If I had to guess I would say condensed milk. I tried asking the lady exacty what it was, but once again the communication barrier proved to be too much.  I am not exactly sure I want to know what it was either.  It was being scooped out of what looked like a paint bucket.  I don't discriminate against containers though.  It tasted pretty awesome so I was a happy camper. 

      I will give you guys some more entertainment on Friday.  There will be a possible short post again tomorrow since I play singles and doubles.  I am pretty whipped at the moment though so I am going to get some much needed beauty rest.  I hope you all had a blessed day. 

All the best,

Devin

     So I am going to jump right into the business.  I got the win today against Andres Alvarez Cerdan (MEX) 6-1 6-3.  It was pretty windy out today.  So the tennis wasn't especially pretty, but I got the job done.  That is about all I can ask for.  My second round of doubles is tomorrow, and my second round of singles will most likely be on Thursday.  Either way I am ready for some more action.

     In other news.  Jon Wiegand (USA), Darian King (BAR), and I recieved a default in the pick up basketball game against the New Yorkers Adam El Mihdawy, Kirill Kasyanov, and Robert Ferrante.  I decided that I would publicly call them out on the blog since they didn't even bother to show up for game time.  The trash talk has been rolling in for a full week now, and when it comes time to hoop these guys are nowhere to be found.  A win is a win though.  I knew that my squad was an intimidating bunch.  I just didn't realize how intimidating.  I want to send out a special thanks to my teammates though. 1-0.  Undefeated and it feels so good.

     I started out this week rooming with a friend of mine Mark Verryth (AUS), but he got injured in his match yesterday.  So he headed back to Bradenton, FL (where he trains) today to try and sort everything out. I knew Antoine Benneteau of France (former Florida Gator bless his heart) was staying by himself.  I immediately asked him and then just like that the problem was solved.  Needless to say, I came up big in my roommate recruiting abilities this week.  This is a key skill to have on the futures tour.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

     That is all I have for you guys today.  Nothing too crazy going on around here, but if it does I will be the first to tell you.  I hope you all had a great day.  Keep it real.

All the best,

D Britt

     So I survived my first full week as a blogger.  I am feeling loose as a goose and ready for week two.  Can you feel the intensity in the air right now?  I know I can.  I am ready to snap some necks and cash some checks.  Let's do this thing. 

     I had to throw in a little motivational speech in there to make sure you guys were awake.  Ok, on to the updates.  So I took the bus from Celaya to Guadalajara yesterday at 4:30pm.  First off, the bus was incredible.  The legroom was off the charts.  The seats reclined into semi-beds.  There were footrests that folded down from the seat in front of me.  Not to mention that the views were incredible since it I was on the road during the sunset.  I snapped a couple of shots that I have to share with you guys (below).  I couldn't decide which one was more awesome.  So I am just going to throw a duo of pictures at you.  All of this action came for the beautiful price of 410 pesos ($32 roughly).  The only down side is that I was forced to watch Eat, Pray, Love followed by Pretty Woman in Spanish.  I decided to watch Zoolander just afterwards on my computer to try and balance things out. 

     The facility here in Guadalajara is pretty incredible.  They held the 2011 Pan American games here so it has all sorts of different sporting setups.  I haven't gotten around to seeing any of them besides the tennis courts just yet though.  They have a pretty good-sized stadium court (below) and multiple smaller stadium seated courts.  It would be one hundred times better if people were actually here to sit in the stands.  Unfortunately in futures tournaments that is something you rarely find.  Although in Mexico you will usually find about as big of a crowd as anywhere else in the world.  They love their tennis here.  I will give them credit for that.  Anyways the setup is pretty awesome.  The one real downside is that there is no grub to be found anywhere on site.  I plan on packing my own lunch tomorrow.  Subway is just across the street from the hotel so problem solved.  It is also roughly 90 plus degrees during the day. Shade is not something that is easily found.  The sun is pretty brutal I am not going to lie.  It is not all that humid here.  It is mostly just purebred heat.  I am definitely getting a good bronzing.  I did lather on a little 100 SPF sunscreen to try and avoid getting scorched today though.  Overall this place is pretty sweet.  I can't complain.

     I start playing singles tomorrow at 12:30pm.  I play the same guy as I played first round last week.  This is pretty rare but happens every once in a while.  They make the draw by choosing two players to randomly draw chips out of an ITF official bag.  So it is purely the luck of the draw.  I am playing doubles with Darian King (BAR) again this week.  We played our first round of doubles today and won 6-4 6-3 so on to the second round on Wednesday.  That is about all the info I have for you at this point in time.  I will probably throw a shorter post in tomorrow after my singles.  I believe the comment section is up and running perfectly now.  So feel free to say hello, make fun, or just like and share with you friends.  Any of those options are cool with me.  Anyways it has been fun.  You know what they say, "Monday, fun day."  By they, I mean nobody.  For real though I am out of here.  Have a good one people. 

All the best,

DB

     I have good news and bad news for you guys.  I am going to start off with the bad news because I need to get it off my chest.  Plus I am a big fan of ending on a good note.  So let's jump right into it shall we?  I lost my singles today to Miquel Gallardo-Valles (MEX) 5-7 6-4 5-7.  I got broken first game of the match after playing a pretty poor game.  From there on I was putting way too much pressure on myself to get a break back.  I was making some pretty bad shot selections and was just not being nearly patient enough.  We got deep in the set and he was serving up 5-4 40-15 when I decided it was time to play.  So I won four quick points in a row and got the break back I had been looking for.  Unfortunately the next game was a disaster.  I made zero first serves and missed a couple of early balls in the rally and got broken right back at 30.  He played a pretty solid game at 6-5 to close out the set.  The second set was more of what I was looking for.  I was playing much better overall and was just more relaxed in general.  I had break chances early in the set, but I did not panic.  At 5-4 I played a really solid game and broke at love for the set.  Going into the third I was feeling pretty confident.  I played a really solid game to open up the set holding at love.  It took a pretty rough turn after that though.  I went down 5-2 double break in what seemed like no time at all.  I wasn't finished just yet though.  The next game I played really well and broke at love.  The hold came with a little bit of a struggle, but I got through it either way.  The 5-4 game was huge.  I played some clutch ball and got a break point at 30-40.  I have never been so relieved to see a double fault.  It was the first real gift of the match.  I thought to myself, "I have come this far.  This must be meant to be."   Not quite.  I played a pretty rough service game to go down 30-40.   I decided to throw him a gift-wrapped double fault in there as well just to be a nice guy.  He played a pretty solid game to hold to win the match.  Needless to say, I had plenty of opportunities.  Just wasn't good enough when I needed to be. 

     It feels good to get that off my chest.  Let's move on to the good news.  Darian King and I won the finals of the doubles today 2-6 6-4 10-4.  I was pretty sluggish in the first set due to the lengthy singles match and quick turn around.  Darian played some good ball and I was lucky to get it going in time to pull out the win.  Overall it was a pretty good week.  I wish I could have gotten through the singles today obviously, but it happens.  On to the next. 

     Tomorrow I am headed to Guadalajara, Mexico for the next tournament.  It is roughly a four-hour bus ride away.  Most of the guys left today so I will be riding solo on this journey.  Guadalajara is a much bigger city (population of roughly 1.5 million) so there should be a lot more going on.  Which means a lot more to report.  Which also means more entertainment for you all.  So be ready. I am going to keep the post today short but sweet.  I will most likely be going to sleep at 8:00 tonight so I can get a good twelve hours in before I hit the bus station up.  That is about all I have for you today.  I will post again on Monday and let you know how awesome Guadalajara is.  Don't miss out on it. 

All the best,

Devin

     Well today was a beautiful day here in Celaya, Mexico.  The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the ball was going in between the lines.  That last one is a key ingredient.  I won my singles 6-0 6-2 against Mauricio Astorga (MEX).  I played well and did the things I needed to do to get through.  Darian King and I also won our doubles 6-0 3-6 10-7 (super tiebreaker for the third set).  It was a pretty strange doubles match.  We came out pretty hot.  We were making every return and getting all the lucky breaks.  Then boom second set hit us like a sack of bricks.  Our opponent played a good return game at 0-1 to break.  Just like that the momentum shifted.  Momentum is a very fragile thing in tennis.  It is something you really have to take care of.  If not, then someone is always waiting to steal it from you.  We were luckily able to raise our level of play in the tiebreaker and get it done in the end.  My semifinals of singles will be at 11:00am and our doubles is not before 3:00pm.  So it will be another full day of tennis tomorrow. 

     One of the more funny things I have found at the futures here in Mexico are the practice balls (above).  In every other country that I have been to you get one new can of practice balls every day.  Here is a whole different story.  You have to give a deposit of fifty pesos in order to get four practice balls.  As you can see, the selection is stellar.  I would say fifty percent of the balls in the bucket are already popped or within two minutes of popping.  So you must choose your four very wisely.  I usually spend about five minutes shuffling through the bucket hoping to find a hidden gem somewhere.  Let me just confirm to you that it's not there.  During the matches we change balls every eleven and thirteen games.  So since I only played fourteen games, I shook hands with my opponent and the referee.  Then I jogged out to pick up the somewhat fresh balls on the court.  I threw them in my bag and went on my way.  I consider that a big win in itself.  It is the little things in life you know?

     On to the serious stuff.  This bad boy (above) aka the gym is where all the magic has been happening this week.  You should have seen the before picture.  I have pretty much left the gym in shambles.  You might notice a white piece of paper on the far treadmill.  Most likely says out of order due to over use.  You're welcome.  Seriously though.  It may not look like much, but it has everything you could possibly need minus a underwater treadmill (only joking, underwater treadmills aren't a necessity).  It is tough to really get a good work out in during the middle of a tournament.  So you have to get a little in here and there in order to stay on point with your fitness level.  I try to get some mini workout sessions in each day just to keep everything up to date.  So far it is working like a charm.  I am also a little bit superstitious (by a little I mean a lot), so if I do something one day and win.  You can expect me to do that same thing every day after until I lose.  Thus why I have had Subway for dinner every night before a match.  Like I said in my previous post. Us athletes are a strange breed. 

     Side not for the day.  Spanish speaking people really struggle with the name Devin.  I have been called David, Dave, and Davin up to this point.  It keeps me alert, that much is for sure.  I find it pretty entertaining myself.  It is always good to be called a few different names for a few weeks to keep things fresh. 

     Anyways, it is dinnertime.  I am off to Subway to get myself a foot long pechuga de pollo (grilled chicken).  There have been a few little problems with the comments section, but it should be all good now.  Some of your comments may have been lost in mix.  I promise they have not been forgotten though.  I hope everyone has had a great day and have an even better weekend.  I will post again tomorrow night after all the action is over with.  Thanks for hearing me out. 

All the best,

Davin

     Well it was another successful day here in Celaya, Mexico.  I was able to get through my singles 6-3 6-2 against the number six seed Luis Diaz-Barriga (MEX).  It was tougher than the score says, but I was able to raise my level on the bigger points, which is always a nice bonus in any match.  Doubles went well as Darian King (BAR) and I were able to get through 6-1 6-3.  So I am on to the quarterfinals of singles and semifinals of doubles on Friday.  It is always nice to get another day off in between matches. 

     Well that is enough of that.  Let's move on to the exciting stuff.  Since my singles today was at 12:30pm, I was starting to get a little bit hungry after the first set.  So I kindly asked the referee on the changeover for a banana.  Which is usually a pretty standard mid-match snack.  So he made the call for some bananas to be sent to the court.  When they arrived I was just a little bit confused.  They threw me a serious curveball with this one.  Mini bananas? (below) Probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while.  The Spanish word for these bad boys is chiquita which means mini.  Therefore in English we call them mini bananas.  They taste pretty similar.  You just have to eat a few more of them.  Anyways, I thought they were awesome so I decided to share them with you.

     You might also notice the Pedialyte in the picture.  That is the official sports drink of this tournament.  Sports drink is questionable at best, but I have to admit it is pretty tasty.  It is actually one of drinks to have to avoid cramping.  Most people associate it with babies and stomach issues, but not us athletes.  We are a pretty strange group.  I can tell you that much is for sure.   

     Like I said before, I was getting a little bit hungry during my singles match.  So I decided after it was over I would treat myself to a hearty lunch.  Also I was happy about getting a W so I went all out.  I went up to the guy and said, "Carne asada y pasta con salsa."  Then he looked at me with a confused look so I tried it in English, "Steak and pasta with sauce."  So he replies with a, "No problem man."  Moral of the story is that my Spanish is still terrible.  At least I tried I guess.  You have to take the positives out of these kinds of situations.  Anyways, take a look at this meal (below).  It cost me a total of 80 pesos for everything.  I calculated it, and that is roughly $6.15 in the US (13-1 exchange rate).  Not to mention it was incredibly delicious.  They know hot to cook some incredible food here in Mexico, and to me food is almost everything.  You can quote me on that one.

     When I originally arrived at the club here in Celaya one thing really stood out to me.  Obviously, it was the basketball court (below).  I saw this beauty and I thought to myself, "This court has no idea what is coming its way."  I hate to toot my own horn but let me just tell you this much, they don't call me Lebron James for nothing.  I am a well respected street baller and if you don't believe me... Well I don't really have any proof, so just take my word for it.  So needless to say, on my day off yesterday I let it rain out there.  There is nothing like throwing in a different sport every now and again to keep the mind fresh.  Also I have a challenge from my friend Jon Wiegand (you can find his link under the 'Friends" tab) in a game of horse at sometime this week.  So stay tuned for the results.  I think we all know how that is going to end up though. 

     On a side note, my roommate lost yesterday in the first round so I am a loner for the night.  I am busy trying to recruit a new one.  However today there was no luck.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring better results. 

     That is enough action for one day I think.  I don't want to overwhelm you guys.  I will be back on Friday with some more news though.  Thanks again for tuning in.  Adios amigos.

All the best,

D-train