03-10-2006, 07:17 PM
I am a bit late with my second blog. I still felt a little bit jet-lagged last night and this morning I slept until 11:30ââ¬Â¦I feel much better now.
Like probably everyone else, the first place where I go after getting up is the bathroom. This is quite an experience here in Japan as they have the best toilets in the world. You could sit on the toilet for hours! The seat is warm, there is a water sprayââ¬Â¦Toto, the makers of this special toilet seat, are geniuses. The toilet in my bathroom is like a space shuttle, there are so many buttons that I am always afraid to press the wrong one. I definitely want to buy one for my apartment!
Last night for dinner I had sushi in Ginza, one of the nicest neighbourhood in Tokyo. My favourite sushi is tuna but I cannot eat squid. They served me squid last night and that made me feel like wanting to become a vegetarian again! People maybe donââ¬â¢t know but I wasnââ¬â¢t eating either meat or fish until 10 years ago but now I eat everything. Mirka did not come to dinner last night so I brought her back some take away sushi. She was afraid to eat it as she thought ââ¬ËCaptain Wasabiââ¬â¢ would hit again but I never play the same joke twice. And she hasnââ¬â¢t had her revenge yet, so I need to watch outââ¬Â¦
Before dinner I had a reception in town as I was presented with the Baccarat Athlete of the Year award for 2006. The other two winners were Annabelle Bond, mountain climber, and the Japanese sports heroine Shizuka Arakawa who won a gold medal in figure skating at the Turin Winter Olympics this year. Annabelle climbed seven peaks including Mount Everest last year. Shizuka accomplished something that I have not done YET, an Olympic gold medal. That is my goal for Beijing 2008 ââ¬Â¦or London 2012!
I did quite a few interviews at the Baccarat event. What strikes me here is that the Japanese media are always so well prepared for the interviews. They must have read everything about me and they ask interesting and funny questions. I also did a photo shoot for the cover of the AERA magazine, which is like the Time or Newsweek in Japan. I like doing photo shoots, sometimes they are long, but I love interacting with the photo artists and see their preparation work.
I also went to a mall yesterday and stopped by one of the largest gaming rooms, they have thousands here in Tokyo and it was funny to see my Sega tennis game there. I was thinking of playing against the volley master (a.k.a. Tim Henman) for a second but then I had to go to the hotel for a work out session.
My driver here in Tokyo, Mr Iwaono, always wears a Swiss Tennis pin and I thought he did it for me but he actually was the driver of the Swiss Fed Cup team that played against Japan here at the Ariake Colosseum in April. Heââ¬â¢s a very nice man who speaks fluent English. He has been the source of the best information on Tokyo.
Today I practiced from five to six before the Official Welcome Party of the AIG Japan Open. They put me to practice on court five away from the crowd but since there were so many fans there I moved to court seven so that they could be closer to me. At the end of the practice I invited one of the young kids in the crowd to join me on court for a short hit. The kid is only seven and turned out to be very talented. We played a few points from the baseline and then on the last point he hit a winning drop volley! His name is Kaito and maybe my agent Tony already has a contract ready for him to sign. You know what these agents from IMG are like...
Iââ¬â¢m off to dinner with Tim Henman and Stefan Koubek at the teppanyaki. Tim is paying tonight so I will make a double order of Kobe beef!!!
It is back to business for me tomorrow. I am playing the fourth match at the Ariake Colosseum. I will blog again after that.
Sayonara
R
Like probably everyone else, the first place where I go after getting up is the bathroom. This is quite an experience here in Japan as they have the best toilets in the world. You could sit on the toilet for hours! The seat is warm, there is a water sprayââ¬Â¦Toto, the makers of this special toilet seat, are geniuses. The toilet in my bathroom is like a space shuttle, there are so many buttons that I am always afraid to press the wrong one. I definitely want to buy one for my apartment!
Last night for dinner I had sushi in Ginza, one of the nicest neighbourhood in Tokyo. My favourite sushi is tuna but I cannot eat squid. They served me squid last night and that made me feel like wanting to become a vegetarian again! People maybe donââ¬â¢t know but I wasnââ¬â¢t eating either meat or fish until 10 years ago but now I eat everything. Mirka did not come to dinner last night so I brought her back some take away sushi. She was afraid to eat it as she thought ââ¬ËCaptain Wasabiââ¬â¢ would hit again but I never play the same joke twice. And she hasnââ¬â¢t had her revenge yet, so I need to watch outââ¬Â¦
Before dinner I had a reception in town as I was presented with the Baccarat Athlete of the Year award for 2006. The other two winners were Annabelle Bond, mountain climber, and the Japanese sports heroine Shizuka Arakawa who won a gold medal in figure skating at the Turin Winter Olympics this year. Annabelle climbed seven peaks including Mount Everest last year. Shizuka accomplished something that I have not done YET, an Olympic gold medal. That is my goal for Beijing 2008 ââ¬Â¦or London 2012!
I did quite a few interviews at the Baccarat event. What strikes me here is that the Japanese media are always so well prepared for the interviews. They must have read everything about me and they ask interesting and funny questions. I also did a photo shoot for the cover of the AERA magazine, which is like the Time or Newsweek in Japan. I like doing photo shoots, sometimes they are long, but I love interacting with the photo artists and see their preparation work.
I also went to a mall yesterday and stopped by one of the largest gaming rooms, they have thousands here in Tokyo and it was funny to see my Sega tennis game there. I was thinking of playing against the volley master (a.k.a. Tim Henman) for a second but then I had to go to the hotel for a work out session.
My driver here in Tokyo, Mr Iwaono, always wears a Swiss Tennis pin and I thought he did it for me but he actually was the driver of the Swiss Fed Cup team that played against Japan here at the Ariake Colosseum in April. Heââ¬â¢s a very nice man who speaks fluent English. He has been the source of the best information on Tokyo.
Today I practiced from five to six before the Official Welcome Party of the AIG Japan Open. They put me to practice on court five away from the crowd but since there were so many fans there I moved to court seven so that they could be closer to me. At the end of the practice I invited one of the young kids in the crowd to join me on court for a short hit. The kid is only seven and turned out to be very talented. We played a few points from the baseline and then on the last point he hit a winning drop volley! His name is Kaito and maybe my agent Tony already has a contract ready for him to sign. You know what these agents from IMG are like...
Iââ¬â¢m off to dinner with Tim Henman and Stefan Koubek at the teppanyaki. Tim is paying tonight so I will make a double order of Kobe beef!!!
It is back to business for me tomorrow. I am playing the fourth match at the Ariake Colosseum. I will blog again after that.
Sayonara
R
"Hij heeft misschien nog weinig tegenstand, maar dat is wat anders. En ook niet waar trouwens".
Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.
Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.
Mooi van Isner, maar nu wel erg jammer dat Russell niet mee doet. Maar wel gunstig voor Querrey. Jammer dat Anderson niet doordrukte, maar dat kan Zeballos mooi doen.
Stunt Wawrinka zou leuk zijn, maar niet als ie vervolgens verliest van Djokovic. Maar als die dan weer verliest van Berdych, maakt het niet uit. Dus vannacht is inderdaad cruciaal.