South Africa U18 ITF Grade 2 (week 2), Day 2

Sunday 9^th March 2014

It was the last day of training today before the main draw starts tomorrow and once again the hard work that Ben has been putting in on the practice court is showing in his performances.

To make sure Ben was fresh for tomorrow he had a lie-in this morning while I got up early to make sure we could book practice courts for the morning and the afternoon. Ben then met me at the club at 10.15am and after he had warmed up we went through a movement session for 15 minutes to make sure he was feeling sharp and ready to go for the training session. Jd Malan then joined us for the session which lasted just under an hour.

I always think that the player should dictate exactly what he / she does on the day before their match and after warming up, playing some points out of the hand and then finishing with a couple of service games each, Ben felt as though each area of his game was at the level he wanted it to be at.

Ben cooled down and stretched out after the session and then we headed over to Beef Boys Grill for our lunch. As hospitality didn’t start until this evening we were able to choose our lunch from the menu which we were both very happy about!

Our afternoon session started with a warm up at 2.40pm and then a very good point play session with Isa Mammetgulyyev from Turkmenistan at 3pm. Once the boys had warmed up they went straight into a set and even though Ben lost it 6-4 it was a very good throughout. His arm was a still feeling a slightly tight and so he was holding back on his serve a little bit but from the back of the court he was hitting very aggressively.

Once we were finished Ben saw the physio and then iced his arm before signing in for the main draw. We then cooled down and stretched out and, rather than waiting another hour for the next shuttle bus, we managed to get a lift back to the hotel with Dylan and his coach.

During the time we were at the hotel there was a massive thunderstorm that actually ended with huge hailstones coming down which set off car alarms in the car park! By the time we were ready to leave for dinner the car park outside the hotel and the main road was almost completely submerged in water!

Now that hospitality has started we’re back to not knowing what we will be served for dinner – tonight was beef stroganoff, I thought it was good but Ben wasn’t too keen!

When we arrived back at the hotel the draw had been done and the order of play was out but unfortunately the referee hasn’t sent it to me yet so I can’t upload it – here’s an unofficial copy!

Schedule for tomorrow:

Ben Stride (GBR) (251) vs (LL) Hubert Badenhorst (RSA) (895) – 1^st match at 8.30am

Doubles to follow in the afternoon after the draw has been made.