London Sutton August 2010

The London tournament in Sutton is the tournament I have played most times: this is the 4th year in a row.
Also, it was the first time I "visited" London, after my move to Brighton.

I was the nr3 seed in D singles:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/seeds.aspx?id=D9AD06D6-B064-4126-923E-01293316694E

My first round in singles was against Ian, who was very tall. In a very long match, 3 sets, I eventually lost 6-4, 2-6, 4-6. I was even 4-1 up in the final set!

The Doubles in D was Round Robin, so at least we got to play 3 matches.
Ed, Canadian in London, was a great doubles partner. You can see our results here below.

The Consolation draw in the singles was a rollercoaster ride:
The first round which was the Quarter Final was supposed to be against Phil, who I played against in Sutton in the past 2 years, but he had to withdraw with an injury.
So, the Semi Final then, against John, who is from Cork but lives in London.
At 6-3 for me, he suddenly left the match and said I won. He said I was dishonest and he didn't like me motivating myself (!).
So, I got to the Consolation Final! I played against Tomas from Prague. I played against him in Prague last year.

I won, after 2 and a half hours, 6-4, and I was 0-4 down (!), 7-6 (after 3-5 down!), 9-7 in the tie-break.
I had a matchpoint at 6-4 in the tie-break already.

This is my Spanish friend Jose Manuel, who I played against in Sutton last year. He won the D singles this year!

Here is the prize ceremony:

I was happy with my trophy, because after I lost my first round match, I thought it was going to be a bad weekend.

And here is the trophy in close up:

Here are the results for D Singles and D Doubles:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=D9AD06D6-B064-4126-923E-01293316694E&draw=47

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=D9AD06D6-B064-4126-923E-01293316694E&draw=46


Here are the details of my matches:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=D9AD06D6-B064-4126-923E-01293316694E&player=11


I am even included in the winners, as Ed and I ended as 3rd in D-Doubles:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/winners.aspx?id=D9AD06D6-B064-4126-923E-01293316694E

Last but not least: Tony, thanks for your camera skills!

Cologne Gay Games August 2010

Just like the Olympics, the Gay Games are only held every 4 years, and after Chicago 4 years ago, the Games are now being held in Europe: how exciting!

Here is the list of seeded players: I am the nr2 seed! But the nr1 seed is Zaenuddin, who actually has too many ranking points to still be in D.... So he would need to play in C.

And Godelinde & me are nr1 seed in D Mixed Doubles! Wow!

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/seeds.aspx?id=5D8BA0EE-4BAC-4152-ABC6-3B3625CCAF7A

It really did feel like I was an Olympic athlete, as there were street signs in Cologne about the Games, and the Opening Ceremony was held in the big stadium:

This photo is a bit blurry, because the "Gay Games" text was moving from right to left. It was taken in one of the underground stations.

 

I had a bye in Singles first round, and in Round 2, I played fellow Dutchman Frank Ebbink:
I won 6-0, 7-6 (7-3 in the tie-break). In de second set I had to come back from 3-5 down, as Frank started to play really well.

Frank and I enjoyed a beer after our match.

The third round was against German guy Christian, who was way too good for me. especially in the first set, he showed me all corners of the court, proving he was more of a top C player than a D player.....
I lost 1-6, 4-6 in the end. In the second set I was leading 3-0, but after that, he "toyed" with me.

Proud Christian.

Then it was time for our first Mixed Doubles match. and because another couple had withdrawn, the winner of this match would play in the final. We played against Rob and Gladys, both also from Holland. I played against Rob in Amsterdam as well previously. Godelinde and I won 6-2, 6-1!

The Mixed Doubles Final was against Frank (again) and Annemiek, also Dutch.

This was the final point of the game.
After a very long match, more than 2 and a half hours we only lost 5-7, 5-7 but it was a great match. In the second set we were 0-4 down, but fought back to 5-4 ahead.

Here is the medal ceremony:

And because I am so proud of this medal, here it is in close up:

Here are the results for both D-Singles and D Mixed Doubles:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=5D8BA0EE-4BAC-4152-ABC6-3B3625CCAF7A&draw=19

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=5D8BA0EE-4BAC-4152-ABC6-3B3625CCAF7A&draw=40


And here are the details of my matches:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=5D8BA0EE-4BAC-4152-ABC6-3B3625CCAF7A&player=131


And Godelinde and I are mentioned in the list of winners:

http://glta.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/winners.aspx?id=5D8BA0EE-4BAC-4152-ABC6-3B3625CCAF7A

And a last word: many thanks Lies and Oliver for your camera actions!