Tunis U18 ITF Grade 5, Day 2

Tuesday 12^th February 2013

After a good training day yesterday we were all set for Mia’s first round match today but as the match time approached the whether changed and the afternoon became a complete washout!

As Mia was scheduled for 2^nd match after 2pm we had quite a relaxed morning and met for breakfast at 9.30am. We then went to the local supermarket across the road from the hotel to get some water for the day before getting a taxi to the club. The tennis club is situated on the site of the National Sports Centre in Tunis and it covers quite a sizeable area so not even the local taxi drivers can miss it.

We arrived on site at 11am so that we could sign in for doubles and watch some of Mia’s potential next round opponent but as the morning wore on the whether changed and the rain came down which stopped play. Once it had stopped and the courts were dry we decided to go straight out to warm up so that we could get a hit in before the next downpour. The conditions were tough as the wind had really picked up but we still had a good session from 1-1.30pm and Mia was hitting well and feeling prepared for her match. After the hit we went across the road to the small patisserie to get some lunch and while we were walking back it started to rain again!

At first the rain didn’t stop the matches but at around 2.30pm it started to come down a lot heavier so play was called off and everyone had to try and find a place to sit in the small player’s lounge. The rain continued for the next two hours and just before 5pm the referee suspended play for the day and everyone went back to the hotel. It’s always annoying when you prepare for a match and then it gets rained off but being from Britain we’re quite used to it as that’s how we spend most of our summer!!

Once we got back to the hotel we both relaxed in the lobby and tried as hard as we could to get some form of internet signal but it was painfully slow! We then had dinner at 7pm and afterwards it was time for Mia’s second instalment of some classic films; last night it was The Goonies and tonight was the start of Top Gun! Mia managed to squeeze in some of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow but I’m going to make sure we watch the rest of Top Gun tomorrow!!

At 9pm we both went back to our rooms to get an early night as there is the possibility of playing 3 matches tomorrow.

Schedule for tomorrow:

Chiraz Bechri (TUN) (1774) vs (4) Mia Smith (GBR) (709) – 2^nd match after 9am

The winner to play Paola Gullino (ITA) (UNR) – 4^th match after 9am (not before 1pm)

(WC) Oumeima Charrad (TUN) & Jihene Ftouh (TUN) vs (3) Mia Smith (GBR) & Sofia Sualehe (POR) – 6^th match after 9am (not before 4pm)

Let’s hope the weather holds out tomorrow!!