Davis Cup/Dubai In Review

I can't believe it's already over. Despite the heaviness in the air, all the ups and downs and emotions flying around on the court, I find myself thinking back to last week, browsing through the pictures and wishing it wasn't over. That isn't to say I have any regrets, just that it was truly an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every second.

        Melting in the hot hot sun. 

On top of the tennis, we were in freaking Dubai, home to the Burg Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, many fancy hotels that don't look like hotels, and pink Ferraris. Unfortunately there wasn't very much time for us to sight see since we were literally playing until midnight the entire week, some nights not going to bed until 2 or 2:30 depending on how excited we were (which was probably directly correlated to whether we won or lost). But, we did have one morning and a little of Monday afternoon after we were totally finished with the tournament, for a little fun at the Wild Wadi Waterpark!!!

      The Burg Khalifa, 124 stories tall!

This is a blog, and I'm just writing about whatever comes to mind, so my organization is all screwed up. Anyways, lets talk about the tennis now! Our first match was against Vietnam, and we got to play on the stadium court at the Aviation Tennis Club. Was an awesome feeling just being there, but getting to play my first Davis Cup match...priceless baby! Too bad I lost 3 and 4...and 2 and 2 in dubs with Chub...It was clearly a battle of nerves with me and nerves won out that day. 

     Stadium court: Aviation Tennis Club.

Chub started at 2 singles the next day against UAE, the host country. He flew to a 6-3 win in the first and slowly lost his legs in the 2nd. Cramps would then creep their way into his legs late in the 2nd, and after putting all his energy to swing out on a forehand he went down screaming in pain. Since they were in the middle of the game the trainer couldn't help him out so he just lay there until he could get up again. Losing the set 6-4, Chub would attempt to fight through the pain, but the cramps didn't go away as he was pulled out wide and forced to hit a backhand down the line on the run which brought him to the ground once more...crazy fool made the backhand! It took him longer to get up this time so the chair umpire was forced to give him a point penalty which meant it was game for his opponent. Now down 2-0 and deciding to take his time to get worked on by the trainer he was penalised another game putting him down 3-0 in the 3rd. His last attempt was short lived, and this time he was carried off the court to his chair by our non-playing captain. Unable to walk due to cramps in his groin and both calves he was carried out on a stretcher and straight into the physio room, pretty crazy stuff. Kenny Bun, the kingdom's #1 player would go on to win his match after being down a set and a break. Tied 1-1, Kenny and I hit the courts a half hour following his singles match. Playing a lot looser, I was able to play a complete enough match and help Kenny for the doubles win to clinch our head to head against our hosts!!!

           Chub serving against UAE. 

Not really sure if he was quite ready for another match, our coach and captain took a risk in playing Chub. He did not upset. Cruising to a 2 and 2 win over his Pacific Oceania opponent. Kenny was next up against a 42 yr old! In control early on in the match, his seemingly young legs won him the first set and an early break. Once again Kenny overcame his nerves and emotions for another comeback victory, taking the 3rd set for his own at love! With a win over UAE and Pacific Oceania, we secured a 2nd place finish in our pool behind Vietnam, and in so doing secured a spot in Group III for the upcoming year. Though our spot secure, a 2nd place finish in our pool moved us into the playoff pool where we would play against the top 2 finishers in Pool A, Hong Kong and Malaysia; under the right circumstances (us winning convincingly and others losing in the same fashion), there was a slim chance we'd be promoted to Group II. With a 2-1 loss to Hong Kong, and 3-0 to Malaysia in 3 tightly contested matches, we finished out the tournament 4th out of 8 countries. Not bad for our first showing in Asia/Oceania Group III. 

    The team alongside our support crew!

Wild Wadi Waterpark, a mouthful of a name, was our last adventure in Dubai! Not wasting anytime, our group went to the tallest slide in the park. After the 10 minute climb up the stairs we awaited the drop at the top. Stepping onto a platform with back against the slide, a clear door was shut, and suddenly there was no floor. The first 50ft was a freefall with water all up in our faces, we couldn't even feel the slide on our backs. I was very confused with whether I should close my mouth, but I couldn't really stop screaming so I continued to take water in through my nose and mouth. In a matter of seconds the slide curved and after another fall we were at the bottom, me gasping for air. The rest of the park was kid play after that. A few hours later we were in the Dubai airport, getting our fill of McDonalds after a week of not being able to eat anything fried, sweet, or anything else I deemed delicious. Before we knew it, we were midair headed towards our one stop at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. 

     Lunch time at Wild Wadi Waterpark!

It was just yesterday that I met with my new boss about the specific duties attached to my job. With a studio of my own and a moto-bike to use I'm nearly set to start on the 1st of October. My first project will be to assist my boss with the visit of 1987 Wimbledon Champion, Pat Cash. Which happens in about a week! Wish me luck :) 

    The hotel with the overhanging court!

Big thanks to Sandrine Bury and mother, Goodwill Ambassador to the TFC, Hisae Arai and sister Kiko, Christina Ingmire, and Lavie Sak for their unconditional support throughout our Group III Davis Cup Campaign. Goodnight to all!

      Saw a handful of these babies. 

Back in Cambodia and Here to Stay?

The answer's yes! I've taken a job here where I will be based in Phnom Penh working as one of the coaches in the Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) program started by the TFC (Tennis Federation of Cambodia). Because we have the Davis Cup bout closing in there hasn't been too much conversation about the details of my job. So far I know that my job will require traveling to the other provinces in Cambodia, working alongside other JTI coaches, and giving my input on the programs ran and how to improve on the things that might need change. Not too much, but enough for me to be excited! 

I want to give an apology to my followers for cutting my blog short and quite abruptly in April. My brother Pun and I were here earlier in the year to compete in Davis Cup, which was going to be held in Myanmar, but due to a security threat in the country, the tournament was canceled. Then we played the waiting game and about 2 months ago my brother and I found out our new destination - Dubai! We will be competing at the Aviation Tennis Club, which hosts an ATP 500 event. Pretty cool. The date is set for September 11th -16th. Training here in Phnom Penh the last two weeks has been a tough affair but we're feeling better and better and are anxious to be Dubai bound come September 8th.

Pun is actually arriving tomorrow. He stayed behind to attend the wedding of very close friends Peter and Liz Nguyen. Congratulations!!! Also want to give a huge shout out to newlyweds Steven and Amy!!! It was a wedding for the history books! 

I can't even begin to explain how I feel right now. Those of you who know me well are probably thinking I'm not thinking at all, which is true most of the time, especially on the court : ) definitely when the plane touched ground at Pochentong I felt something. This is my new home for possibly the next two years. A very curious Patrick Quinn asked me at the end of this summer, "why are you leaving?" And I think I told him it was a really great opportunity for me to take this job. Is that how I really felt? Who knows, sometimes I feel even less than I think if that's possible. What I do know is that I'm here, I'm having a good time, and that I'm excited for what lies ahead. 

Shout outs : ) In no particular order!

Mom Dad: Please come visit me soon! 

Vetu: Start training for the Futures

Michael: Goodluck with the job search!

Minh: Be patient dawg, be patient. 

Pat: How's my check looking?

Ro: Good time to start that documentary!

Pat Girls: Monkey sighting over weekend 

Marco: Top 100 national ranking=qualies

Jimmy: Sorry I didn't wash the team gear

Family: Come visit anytime!

Friends: where you at, I'm all alone here!

PHPT: Y'all killed at sectionals, so proud!

Chucky: Charles likes the c==8

LC Tennis: You're lucky to make the shout out list! NOT! Missing all y'all fa sho

The first day and I had Buffet on a boat!!!

Raining w/ the sun out at Stadium Courts

Kien Sway, market and picnic destination 

View from the Sky Bar, top of PP Tower!

With new Little friend Chouy at Koh Pich!

Acclimating to Humidity Round II/ Khmer New Year!

Suor Sdey (hello) everyone! I'm back in Cambodia, and once again with younger brother Chub! We are here to compete in Davis Cup: Asia Oceania Group III. WE ARE PUMPED! Chub and I arrived in Phnom Penh on the 5th of April and just like last time it was a battle against getting used to the humidity right as we left the entrance of Pochentong Airport. It was super nice of Rithi (the Secretary General of the Cambodian Tennis Federation and Non-Playing Captain for us Davis Cuppers) and his son Timothy to receive us upon arrival, since it was around 11:30 on Friday night and a couple hours past Timothy's bedtime :) All in all it was good to be back and we were ready to slug it out in the heat.

Unfortunately our National Head Coach, Braen Aneiros, was not in Phnom Penh yet, but traveling around Vietnam with Cambodian #1 Kenny Bun and Samneang Long; fellow national team members and good friends of ours. For the first 4 days we were on our own. In the end it didn't turn out to be so bad :) The last time we were here to play the futures events we were not so fortunate in terms of having enough time to train before competition. In November we had about a week to get ready before our first Futures, and most of the time it felt like catching up; mostly because Chub and I hadn't been playing much beforehand, oops. This time around its very much different since we'll have 3 full weeks before we head out to Myanmar, where Davis Cup will be held for Group III, at the end of this month. So getting back to what I was saying, having 3 or 4 days to hit on our own time and pace, acclimating to the weather and surroundings, was a luxury. Many of you reading might call our fortunate beginning here laid back or even lazy (of which I am most of the time as LC Head Coach Pat can confirm), but I call it getting situated strategically, haha. The first 2 days back we hit once a day for an hour, directly followed by a mile in the track. Going from 50 degree weather to highs of 90 AND humid, an hour was tooouuugh. The last two days before Braen arrived we hit twice a day, in the mornings for an hour followed by a set in the evening and a light gym workout right after. We felt better and better each day and were ready for Braen!

On Wednesday and Thursday we did 2 a days, and though they were a little rough, we felt pretty good for the most part. Chub and I have been taking a recovery drink after each practice and it's been helping out a lot. This is a practice we've picked up from our Uncle Sithi and very good friend Michael Au! Michael was going to join us here in Cambodia for a week, but sadly it did not work out :( Back to what I was saying, it's more or less a protein shake and it's great for recovery and rebuilding. If you've been following me on Twitter, you'll know that we've been doing a little bit of Insanity! Great name for the workout, because I thought the warm-up was the workout, and when Braen told us that we weren't done and were just getting started I almost flipped over and died. We started out easy with Cardio Recovery on Wednesday, and on Friday we attempted Pure Cardio, which is a freaking amazing workout, but hell, all at the same time. Haha, "I hate it, but I loooovvee it."

Friday morning was an early one, but I didn't mind getting up because I was going to get to see the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen! We were up at 4:30 in the morning and at the Olympic Stadium by 5. Also at the stadium, were all of the National Team Athletes who were in town. It was a pretty cool sight because all the athletes were advised to wear their Sea Games track suits, so it was a sea of blue and red, the colors of the Cambodian Flag. The reason for the gathering was to celebrate the Inauguration of the new National Sports Complex. In Southeast Asia, there is a huge event called the SEA Games, an olympic-like event for all of Southeast Asia, and Cambodia is set to host the Games in 2023! Despite the earliness of it all, it was a really cool experience for me, getting to see Hun Sen for the first time, and all the other national athletes.

Just as things were starting to heat up for us tennis wise, the life of the city slowed down a bit. Today is the first day of Cambodian New Years! Joul Chnam Khmer everyone! Just as any other holiday, it is spent mostly with family. Everything here has been shutting down and a lot of people have left for their home provinces for the Khmer New Year, which started today and will last until Tuesday. A few hours leading up to New Years, Chub and I had a great New Years dinner with Braen and his friend Ploy, who is visiting from Thailand. She is a former top 200 WTA Player, aka baller status. We went to a Brazilian Steakhouse, and though it was $35, every little bite I took was worth it! In an hour or so Chub and I will leave to Kep, a city on the coast of Cambodia, where we will spend the New Years training and playing with Rithi's various toys, which include motos, atvs, and jetskis!

I want to give a shout out to all my friends and family back home. Miss you Mom and Dad. Maiko, tell Joshua not to touch my stuff! To the LC Men's Tennis Team: great season boys, we are going to be filthy next year! Cole, great way to end the season baby, see you at graduation! Ryo Ryo: Don't worry, we will meet again my friend! Itsumo Zela Seshi! To the LC Women's Tennis Team: Goodluck at Conference next weekend girls, I know you'll do well! If any of you would like to keep track of the girls team, you can follow Pat or Marco's tweets next weekend or visit LC's Athletic site at: http://www.lcpioneers.com/landing/index. The girls will be going into the conference tournament as the 2nd seed, behind the hosting team for the conference tournament, Whitman College. Izzy, see you at Graduation! Gillian, where are you going again!? See you in a year!!! Hope everyone is doing well, here are some pictures I've taken. For my Khmer followers, if  any, I will try to add more Khmer since I have a new friend that's going to help me out :)

Joul Chnam Khmer!!!

Yum Bai, lunch!

The ground plan for the National Sports Complex. Blue Tennis Courts?!

The National Team and some of the coaches. 

Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia!

Funnily enough, the first day we swam was while it was raining!

Nice try Braen, you got owned by P number 2, ME!