Sunday 17th November 2013
Today marks the start of the last ITC trip of 2013 and for once I do not have to get on an aeroplane to go to the tournament!!
I picked Alex Hagon up from Orpington this morning at 9am and we started the 250 mile journey to Liverpool. Luckily for us the motorways were clear and after a quick stop to get some lunch at 11am we ended up arriving at the tennis centre in Liverpool just before 1pm.
When we arrived we were told by the referee that the practice court had to be used for matches as they were running behind so we decided to head to the hotel via the supermarket to stock up on food.
After speaking to the referee a few times during the afternoon we realised that it would be difficult to get an indoor court to practice on until much later in the day. I contacted another local indoor tennis centre to see if we could use a court there but the earliest court they had available was at 7pm! Therefore, we decided to go back over to the tennis centre to sign in, get some food and then wait until a court became free.
Space at the tennis centre is a little tight this week but to make a little more room for the players they have decided to use one of the courts as a player lounge / restaurant – a very good decision in my opinion. Due to the lack of space, Alex and I warmed up outdoors and then it was a bit of a scrum down to get on a court! Luckily Alex and Tom Wright raced onto court 2 after the last match had finished so they had a really good 40 minute practice session.
After the session Alex cooled down and stretched out and while he was doing that the main draw was released:
Boy’s Main Draw
We ended up leaving the tennis centre just before 8pm and made our way straight into the centre of the city to get some dinner at ASK. It was then back to the hotel for a bit of “I’m A Celebrity” before it was time for bed.
As Alex is playing a qualifier he will play on Tuesday so tomorrow will be another day of preparation.
