For the first time in Madrid, so ofcourse also the first time in the Madrid Tennis Tournament.
This gorgeous brandnew venue just outside central Madrid was founded by Emilio Sanchez and his sister Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, former well known pro players.
We played on the hardcourt outdoor courts in the scorching heat, and not on the covered clay courts.
Amazingly, after some poor results last and this year so far, I was still seeded nr 2 in D-Singles:
My doubles partner was Borja, a local guy who I was paired up with.
Even though there were 8 players in D-Singles, there were 2 groups of 4 and the Final was the winner of each group against each other. At least 3 matches for everyone: for me that was more than most previous tournaments in the last 2 years...
There were 5 pairs in D-doubles and therefore a round-robin: also good, because I played guaranteed 4 matches.
I don't think I ever played 4 doubles matches in any tournament before.
My first Friday match, was a Singles match against Paolo from Milan. I won 6-3, 6-2, at my first matchpoint, which is some achievement for me...
My second Singles match of the day was against Borja, my doubles partner. I won 6-1, 6-3.
But in the 2nd set I was 4-0 up and the heat got too much. Imagine, it was 2PM and on the court it must have been close to 40C. Borja came back: 4-1, 4-2, 4-3. But then Borja lost his serve and at my own serve, I finished the match and won at my 3rd matchpoint.
The evening match was our first Doubles match, against Spanish guys Fernando & Fernando. They were better, and they deservedly won 1-6, 3-6.
On the photo the 2 Fernando's are on the left, and Cesc Fabregas look-a-like Borja is on my right.
I don't think I ever played 4 doubles matches in any tournament before.
My first Friday match, was a Singles match against Paolo from Milan. I won 6-3, 6-2, at my first matchpoint, which is some achievement for me...
My second Singles match of the day was against Borja, my doubles partner. I won 6-1, 6-3.
But in the 2nd set I was 4-0 up and the heat got too much. Imagine, it was 2PM and on the court it must have been close to 40C. Borja came back: 4-1, 4-2, 4-3. But then Borja lost his serve and at my own serve, I finished the match and won at my 3rd matchpoint.
The evening match was our first Doubles match, against Spanish guys Fernando & Fernando. They were better, and they deservedly won 1-6, 3-6.
On the photo the 2 Fernando's are on the left, and Cesc Fabregas look-a-like Borja is on my right.
Saturday morning Borja & I played our second Doubles match, against Paolo (again) and Marcos, the Spanish nr1 seed in D-Singles. We lost 0-6, 3-6 but were were 2-0 up in the 2nd set.
Then my last group match in Singles was against Jordi from Andorra, who had also won 2 matches: needless to say the winner of our match would play the final. The match was played on a proper Centre Court: nice experience but down on the court it was mega-hot.
During the match the outside official temperature was 36C, so you can inagine how much hotter it must have been down on the court.....
After nearly 2 and a half hours, Jordi was much better than me and he won 1-6, 6-3 (yes I tried to fight), 2-6, where I even saved 2 matchpoints.
I told Jordi he would definitely win matches in C, as he was way too good for me.
My suffering was still not over, because in the early evening there was still another Doubles match to play: against Javier & Mariano we won! The final score was 6-4, 6-2 and we played really well.
On Sunday morning Borja & I still had 1 more Doubles match to play, against Dutch guys Dave & Ruud, the nr1 seeds in D-Doubles. They won the D-Doubles tournament in Amsterdam just a month before Madrid. To win that, they did not lose a single set, and on average they only allowed their opponents 3 games per match!
We gave it our best shot, and boy, did we play well.
In the 1st set we were 1-3 behind, but we fought back to being 4-3 up! Then we lost the set 4-6.
In the 2nd set we were 1-3 behind again, and we fought back to 3-3. In the end they won 4-6.
Unfortunately there is no photo with the Dutch guys, as they left the venue in a hurry after the match.
In the D-Singles final Jordi played against the nr1 seed Marcos. Marcos won and Jordi told me afterwards he was too nervous to play well.
And that was not Marcos' only winner's trophy, as he & Paolo won D-Doubles!
Ofcourse I had to go on a photo with both finalists; also because the trophies are the most beautiful I have ever seen. And, I have played a few tournaments.....
Here are the results in D-Singles and D-Doubles:
Then my last group match in Singles was against Jordi from Andorra, who had also won 2 matches: needless to say the winner of our match would play the final. The match was played on a proper Centre Court: nice experience but down on the court it was mega-hot.
During the match the outside official temperature was 36C, so you can inagine how much hotter it must have been down on the court.....
After nearly 2 and a half hours, Jordi was much better than me and he won 1-6, 6-3 (yes I tried to fight), 2-6, where I even saved 2 matchpoints.
I told Jordi he would definitely win matches in C, as he was way too good for me.
My suffering was still not over, because in the early evening there was still another Doubles match to play: against Javier & Mariano we won! The final score was 6-4, 6-2 and we played really well.
On Sunday morning Borja & I still had 1 more Doubles match to play, against Dutch guys Dave & Ruud, the nr1 seeds in D-Doubles. They won the D-Doubles tournament in Amsterdam just a month before Madrid. To win that, they did not lose a single set, and on average they only allowed their opponents 3 games per match!
We gave it our best shot, and boy, did we play well.
In the 1st set we were 1-3 behind, but we fought back to being 4-3 up! Then we lost the set 4-6.
In the 2nd set we were 1-3 behind again, and we fought back to 3-3. In the end they won 4-6.
Unfortunately there is no photo with the Dutch guys, as they left the venue in a hurry after the match.
In the D-Singles final Jordi played against the nr1 seed Marcos. Marcos won and Jordi told me afterwards he was too nervous to play well.
And that was not Marcos' only winner's trophy, as he & Paolo won D-Doubles!
Ofcourse I had to go on a photo with both finalists; also because the trophies are the most beautiful I have ever seen. And, I have played a few tournaments.....
Here are the results in D-Singles and D-Doubles:
And here are my personal results and stats for this tournament:
http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=479A1DB7-02F2-45C3-B47E-2D72A96D1A05&player=18
Despite the murdering heat, this tournament was very friendly and I met many old and new friends.
Jose Manuel, a real gentleman, who I played against in London a few years ago, lives in Madrid and I had his support in this tournament. Not only was he cheering for me, but he also was a brilliant translator (cafe cortado instead of con leche) and he even drove me back to my hotel in his car.
Jose, you are a great friend, so thanks very much for all your support.
The following photos were made by Jose:
This last photo shows all the players who attended the prize ceremony on the last day Sunday.
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