Well I started the week off right with a couple of wins on Tuesday.  I won my first round of singles 6-3 7-6(9-7) to keep the dream alive.  It was a pretty up and down match, but I was lucky to squeeze it out in the end.  I am going up against Denis Lajola of the USA in the second round action tomorrow morning at 10:00AM.  Doubles was pretty shaky for the most part, but we were lucky to find a way through 3-6 6-2 10-3.  We will be playing second round of doubles tomorrow as well not before 3:00PM.  I am looking forward to stepping the level of play up from the first day. 

     One of the strange things about this tournament is that they use two different types of courts for the same event.  This is pretty much the only tournament of the year that I have seen this happen.  One of the surfaces is a standard hard court that is green with red (below).  The other is a soft hard court that is green with blue (below).  When you step on it you can literally feel the cushion on the court.  It is sort of spongy like the surface they use to use for the Australian Open.  It is definitely not something you see a whole lot of in the USA.  The two surfaces play completely differently so hopefully they will keep me on one side for the entire event.  Unfortunately they are both pretty slow, but the blue side is the slower of the two without a doubt.  I have only had to play on the red side so far and am scheduled for red again tomorrow so that is good news.  I have heard quite a few guys complaining about the difference in courts.  It is what it is though.  I am happy with it so far.

     I had a day off today from matches.  I got some good practice in this morning and then it was off to the races.  The lake was calling my name (below - I was in the water before the awesome sunset obviously.  I will get an action shot during the day sometime this week though don't worry).  The water was a little cold, but the overall experience was pretty great.  I attempted my first ever front-flip into the water, but just about when I thought I had it my face broke my fall.  It wasn't the most pleasant experience of all time but an experience nonetheless.  I backed it up with a little bit of basketball action in the driveway to dry off.  It was pretty much my ideal off day.  I couldn't have asked for a better one.  Not to mention the steaks the housing cooked for dinner.  These things were absurdly good.  I almost didn't want to finish it because I was sad to see it go, but my taste buds reassured me that it was worth it.  I don't mean to rub it in, but I felt like I needed to express it to you guys. 

     Anyways, it is time for me to get some snooze in.  I appreciate you stopping in for a quick read.  I hope that your day was equally as good as mine and that there are plenty more to come.  I will give you guys an update again on Friday.  Hopefully I will have more good news to report.  Be blessed.

All the best,

DB