Week 33 - Challenger (€42,500 +H) - Trani, Italy - red clay (again)!

alex03maccy · Grand Slam Champion

RE: Week 33 - Challenger (€42,500 +H) - Trani, Italy - red clay (again)!

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Taken them a while to find some form, but great for them to finally do so and get the title.

Hopefully it will help to turn their season's around and they'll get themselves back up the rankings.

DUSTY DICK · Club Coach

Congratulations to the two J's. Pleased to see Murray back in the winners circle.

wolf · Tennis legend

This is Jamie's blog on his website:

Guys!

I have been away for the past few weeks in San Marino and Italy playing some Challenger events with Jamie Delgado - trying to get some wins under our belts and strike up a good partnership together.

The weather was a farce the whole trip and I think I peaked with my tan!
Definitely almost achieved the sought after golden brown tinge! Haha.
Having said that I was a comfortable third behind Delgy and Alan in the tan stakes.
Any opportunity to go skins and they were all over it!!

Trani was definitely our most successful week of the trip where we managed to win the tournament.
We played a couple good matches during the week and I felt it was deserved after the previous few weeks work on the practice court.
Delgy played great that week and I was really happy to see him out there playing well and being rewarded for his hard work because he had been struggling as much as me this year.

The final ended in a farce as we were 9-8 down in the tie break and the guy hit a stretched lob return that Delgy left only for it to drop right next to the line...there was a little silence and I said to him "was that in?" to which he replied "yeah, I think it was" so I ran up to the line to check as there was no way I was gonna shake hands and concede the match without checking. But as I went to the mark the umpire came over and pointed to what he thought was the correct mark - but was actually nothing really there - and gave us the point.

So we changed sides and the other guys went nuts when they went up to see the mark and there was no mark and there was one barely touching the line!

We then won the match 3 points later when Delgy hit a stone dead netcord with a volley - unbelievably lucky way to win and end the match!!

I got back home at the end of last week after finishing in Manerbio where we lost rather disappointingly in the quarter finals.
I took 4 days off to relax and recharge the batteries after a long stint away from home.
I got back to training this week and even partook in a fitness test this morning set up by my Mum....thanks mum!

I am going off to play with Jonny Marray next week before teaming up with Delgy again for the rest of the year.
I feel like I am getting my game back and playing how I want to play on the match court which is a good feeling and I am looking forward to the rest of the season and trying to give myself the best possible platform to start 2010 with.

Jamie