Player Blog

[buurs]

Weer een mooi stukje van Hrbaty:

I had some quick pasta and a good rest between my singles and doubles matches today. It was only 1 ½ hours between matches, so there wasn’t time to do too much. I talked with Wayne about tactics. The time flew by fast.

During the match we try to concentrate on our opponents. But one time today Wayne was saying he should have a two-handed backhand. And I asked him: “Wasn’t anybody playing with a two-handed backhand in Australia when you started playing?” And he said, “No.” Usually we talk about how we should play the next games, what we should do on the return of serve.

Today we played a good match – our second match decided by a Match Tie-break. With the way we play, it’s nice in the tie-break, because with his serve, he can hold so easily. That gives us a mental advantage over the other guys, because they know it’s not easy to get a point on his serve.

I served well too today and yesterday in the Match tie-break. Then we concentrated on the return – to steal one or two points from the opponents’ serve. The tie-break goes fast, so you have to concentrate on every point, especially at the beginning, to get an advantage.

I’m not a very big fan of the Match Tie-breaks, because a lot depends on luck. With one or two good shots, it can all turn around. With a full set, if you play better, you win. In the tie-break, even the guys not playing well can win by hitting one or two lucky shots.

After the doubles win, I went for a massage. I still have to practice for tomorrow evening. We play on the Stadium Court, so we get to use Hawk-eye. I like it. Tonight I’ll go out to dinner. It’s probably the only thing off the court I can do this week because I’m playing singles and doubles. So we’ll go for a nice dinner with my coach and Jan Hernych.

The hotel is very nice. Tennis players usually get a good hotel. So they all seem the same. But at this one, the breakfast is good – very European, good bread. It’s much different from breakfast in U.S. hotels – scrambled eggs or pancakes. I’m not a fan of those breakfasts. I like European bread with ham and cheese, maybe tuna. To start with, I’ll have some cornflakes, good fruit, a little bit of vegetables like tomatoes.

Coming to Canada from the first couple summer tournaments in the U.S. always gives me a boost from the food – that it’s more French and European. That makes it very nice to come here.

I don’t have a favorite hotel on the tour, but my favorite place to go is Melbourne. That’s because I’ve stayed with a Slovak family for many years. They cook for us and come support me. We are great friends. They call me “son,” and I call them “father and mother.” They are beautiful people. These are the two weeks on the tour I enjoy the most.

I always take presents, and we have a very good time. That’s maybe why I always play well in Australia – it feels like home. They had a relationship with Miloslav Mecir in the 1980s. So for about a quarter century, they have been hosting tennis players. Every generation there comes a new player. Maybe after me there will be some other young player who will go there, and this tradition will continue.



Talk to you tomorrow,

Dominik