Hey Guys,

I have been here in Wimbledon Village for a couple of weeks now; it’s really awesome.  I am staying with my coach, David and my buddy,  Wes  has been here too.  The weather is perfect so far.  I drew Ivan Ljubicic for my first round;  we are last up tomorrow on court 8.  I have played him once before and it was a close one with Ivan winning in two tie breaks.   I had a great hit today with Andy…he is a lot of fun to practice with and we both had a great workout.  I gotta call my dad later on and wish him Happy Father’s Day….I got him a Heinekin Beer dispenser and he said ” it’s so good!”  I am going to a restaurant tonight in the village called The Butcher Shop with some friends.  

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Sam

Hi Guys,

I beat Kevin Anderson today of South Africa to secure a spot in the third round!  I played well today, after we had a rain delay for 30 minutes or so.  We were scheduled to play on court one, but the matches were going long, so they moved our match to court #2.    I broke Kevin at 5-6  in the first set and then I broke again at 3-4 in the second set.  The umpire overruled a call, so we had to play the point over and I ended up winning that game.  The courts are playing a little faster this year compared to last year.  I now face James Blake next round and we will play Thursday; this will be my sixth time playing James; I have played him more than any other player.  I am looking for my second win against James!!

see ya,

Sam

Hi Guys,

I am through to the second round of Queen’s after I beat Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy  today 7-6 6-4.  We both served well, and after a very intense tie break in the first set I persevered and went on to break Chardy in the second set and win the match.  This tournament is really fun and I always love being here in London.  This tournament was formerly known as The Stella Artois Championship, however this year the new sponsor is Aegon.  so, they changed all the seats in the stadium from red to blue; it looks really cool!  I am supposed to play Kevin Anderson of South Africa tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for rain for the next few days, so I am not sure if we will get the match in.  I played Kevin in the finals of the Tennis Channel Open in 2008, which was my first singles title.  He is a big server and tall so it should be a battle.  I am off to dinner in Wimbledon Village tonight ….Rajdoot.

wish me luck,

Sam

Hey guys,

I fly out tonight to London and will begin my grass court season on Monday at the Queen’s Club in London; this year the tournament is called The Aegon Championships.  The players usually get a small flat or apartment to rent during this time because there are not too many hotels in Wimbledon.  I love it because you can walk to Wimbledon Village for dinner and all the players are out and about.  The second week the tournament is in Eastbourne, which is 2 hours outside of London.  My buddy, Wes is playing some tennis in Europe this summer and he will come stay with me during Wimby.  Wes and I played junior tennis growing up and he came to Wimbledon my first year that I played the tournament.  During my time off last week I had some buddies over to my place to watch the Laker’s and I went to my sister’s Senior graduation banquet.  It was nice to be home even if it was short; I also got to practice a few days on the grass courts at Sherwood Country club in Westlake.   The grass is not exactly like the grass at Wimbledon, but it’s better than nothing.

wish me luck and I will get back soon.

Sam