Player Blog

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Weer een leuk stukje:

Hi everyone from Cincinnati, where the tournament started with a bang for me.

Last night I had a big dinner before my afternoon match. I went to my favorite restaurant, Benihana. It’s gotten me through some tough matches. I went there six out of seven nights one year in New York – when I lost to Andy Roddick in the final of the US Open juniors (2000).

I can trust that meal. It will withstand the beating on my body the next day. My dad came along, which was very nice.

The chefs often provide entertainment while they cook out in the open at Benihana. But the guy didn’t do too many tricks last night. It was a little disappointing. As someone who wants to be a cook one day, I watch what ingredients they use. I would have them cut down on the amount of butter, though that’s probably what makes it taste so good.

It’s cool when you walk in – you see the pictures of all the famous people that have been there: George Bush, Michael Jordan, even Pete Sampras.

I woke up at 10:30 this morning – I like to sleep. I ordered pancakes, egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast from room service.

I warmed up at about 12 with Paul Goldstein. He’s a bit similar to the guy I played today – Paul-Henri Mathieu. After that, I had a bite to eat, and then all of the sudden the clouds opened up, and the rain came. We left the site, which I almost never do. We went to the UPS store where my friend had to drop something off. And we listened to some tunes. That got my mind off the match a bit.

Then I came back and suited up for the match. It rained while we were playing, which is a royal pain. Tennis is so mental as it is, without rain. To have to go on court and off and then back on… I lost nine straight points when we came back. That shouldn’t happen to any professional tennis player. And I’ll try not to let it happen again.

After matches, I usually hop on the bike for a few minutes to cool down from the match. I talk to my coaches about the match. We went over a few things. Then I showered, cooled down and got a little massage. You gotta rub out that lactic acid in the legs. And you need to eat 30 minutes after the match or your body will break down. I had a banana and a shake.

I did my press conference. Dealing with the press comes with the territory. A lot of the questions are easy. You can avoid them by talking about whatever you feel like. It’s pretty easy. I like off-the-wall questions. That’s better for the fans. They know tennis and can see that you didn’t make enough first serves or made too many unforced errors. Questions about my cooking or my support of the Atlanta Falcons would probably be more interesting for them.

There will be no Benihana tonight, since I’m not playing tomorrow. I’m not sure where I’ll go. But I’m definitely leaving the tennis center. I’ve been here for about eight hours. That’s a long time to be at work for a tennis player.

I’ll tell you where I ate dinner tomorrow. After all, I have to give you a good reason to keep reading!

See you then.

Robby.