
Rosco blog: 2010 diary part two
The American spring hard court swing had its ups and downs for the British doubles No.1...
This is part two of Rosco's first diary entry of the 2010 season. To read part one, click here.
With my body feeling stronger and about 80% fit I decided to travel to the home of Elvis and see how we might get on in Memphis. It's a quiet town with the hotel, courts and restaurants all next to each other so when people ask me if I get to see much of the cities I travel to, Memphis was definitley one I didn’t see. We had another very successful week, dropping no sets going into my seventh final, and third with Jordan. We came up against 2 emerging giants of the game - literally - in Querrey and Isner who served us off the court and frustratingly we lost in 2 close sets.
Very pleasing week having been injured only a few days before and two finals in the first five tournaments was a strong start to the year. It placed us at No.11 on the team rankings for 2010.
The less said about the next week the better. I was extremely fatigued after putting such a big effort into Memphis that I was toast for Delray Beach, which is an hour from Miami. This was an outdoor event whereas the week before was indoors and I did not feel at my best in the match. The opponents served well and played well all week. My lovely girlfriend Lindsay was with me in Florida for five days so that was a very nice surprise as it's rare that she gets to come away with me.
As tennis players we obviously travel around the world very regularly and although I do not struggle with jet lag very often, I do occasionally feel the strain on my body and mind with all the time changes. So I try not to travel into different continents for less than 2 weeks at a time but after Delray Beach I was ready to come home. With all these flights, one thing that I do become an expert on is films! So far this year I have watched some awesome movies on the plane - Dances with Wolves, The Blind Side, The Hurt Locker are just a few that I have thoroughly enjoyed! Flying with good movies on makes it very much more enjoyable and an easy way to pass the time.
This takes me up to March and after another whistestop stayover at home this year I was keen to spend a night or two in the comfort of my own bed getting some wonderful home cooked food from my Mum, but unfortunately that was not going to happen. I needed to get to Lithuania. So, having arrived in the morning from Miami, I left the same afternoon to Gatwick airport with the Davis Cup team. The atmosphere was good and everyone one was full of spirit going into the tie in Vilnus. All week the boys were practicing hard with good intensity and I felt that the fast court surface would suit the British boys down to the ground. Unfortunately as we all know the result of the tie went away from us we went down disappointingly to a very pumped up Lithuanian nation. There were things that we all could have done better and worse but the fact of the matter is that we all, players, coaches and staff need to strive to become better and become a stronger nation in tennis and sport in general.
Back home for a day and then off again across the Atlantic to the States for my favourite trip of the year: the famous four-week Indian Wells and Miami Masters Series events. The reason Indian Wells is so nice is the whole desert atmosphere. Surrounded by mountains, huge crowds, golf courses and relaxed, smiling faces everywhere you turn, this is just a great event to be able to play in. Five days of very solid, high quality, high intensity practice with Andy, and we were ready to take on a very strong US team in front of 7,000 screaming American fans. In a very close match we lost to Andy Roddick and James Blake but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and can't wait for another opportunity like that.
During the finals weekend I played in a Pro-am for the Prostate Cancer Charity which I really enjoyed being part of. It is a great cause and the people involved are very passionate about a extremely worthwhile cause. We made it through to the finals and I was very happy for my partner Stephen who did great in all of the 4 matches!
Which leads me to now, gazing out on a gorgeous golf course looking at a very ugly golf swing from an enthusiastic strong man that has very little chance of making it onto the PGA Tour if you ask me but hey, in life if you don’t aim for the top, you’ll never get near, that I guarantee you.




