Rosco blog: new towns, newborns, new beginnings

Hey guys – having not written a fresh blog in a while I thought Id let everyone know whats new with my life and how things have been the past month

I touched down in Bangkok a week ago for the first time in my life. That may sound weird, but having been on the Tour for a few years now, its very strange for me to arrive in a city that Ive never been to before.

The organisation and welcoming service was incredible possibly the best Ive ever witnessed. As soon as I took my first step off the plane, a gaggle of volunteers from the tournament welcomed me and breezed me through the fastest passport control ever, immediately retrieved my bags and had me in a car before my feet touched the ground!

If it hadnt been for the crazy traffic Id have been relaxing in the hotel in no time. On the tour we get treated very well and I feel extremely lucky but even by the usual standards this was special treatment much appreciated after an eleven-hour flight!

And after a week in Thailand Im in the great city of Tokyo! A six-hour overnight flight gave me time to have a good day of practice on Sunday ready to play my first round at the Japan Open on Monday.

Asia has always been a very successful stomping ground for me, and I love being here. Beijing 2007 was my first ATP Tour event semi-final appearance, and a year later at the same venue I got my first ATP tournament win. Im really excited about getting this trip underway with a very close friend of mine.

As you may have noticed, Ive not been playing with Stephen Huss recently. Hussy and I played together for 18 months a long time in the doubles world and we had some very good results together. But after the early loss in the US Open we decided we need a break from each other and go our separate ways.

I would have loved to continue playing beside Hussy as we get on great. I really learnt a lot from him and I feel like we could be a top team but due to results and recent form our confidence dropped and the time was right for a split.

I am now going to play with a great guy who is very new on the doubles scene, Horia Tecau from Romania. We know each other well as we are similar ages and played juniors together. We actually had a singles battle in the Under 14 Orange Bowl years ago in which he took me down! Hopefully we can team up well together over the coming indoor season and put some very good results together.

Outside tennis there has been an amazing new addition to my family my little nephew Harry, who is the most incredible baby. Im sure everyone thinks that about newborns close to them, and rightly so babies are so wonderfully fresh and I love the way that they have no worries in the world! I am also very excited about going to Japan next week as one of my closest friends from my school days moved there earlier this year as he and his girlfriend had a new baby about a month ago. Congratulations Will, cant wait to see you guys!

As you all will know, I played in the GB team that lost to Poland in the Davis Cup last month. That was our fourth consecutive defeat, and a tough one to swallow. Even with the No.3 player in the world on the team we couldnt come through so deservedly we have dropped down into a group we have not been in for many years.

Apart from Andy, we all have to improve and work harder so that we are able to win matches for our country and prove to the nation that we are good enough to compete at a high level with the best players in the world in a tough arena home or away. I personally will work my socks off on my game on and off the court in the gym, as until we are at the top of the game we can all improve and I know that we can all do more to get wins for our country in our future Davis Cup matches.

So onwards with the indoor season. I am very excited with the up and coming tournaments and I aim to finish the year with a bang and start a new successful partnership with Horia!

Good luck to all my fellow Brits, Ill be in touch soon.

Rosco