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October 8, 2009 |
Greetings from Surprise! I arrived here Wednesday from Boca Raton, FL and quickly jumped on the Stadium Court to have a hit with my good friend Jimmy Arias. I usually always like to practice a couple times before my first match to make sure I am somewhat comfortable with the court surface and surrounding conditions. I did not play here last year so its really great to be a part of this years event. It's a fantastic facility and the people here are so excited for the event. Today all the players participated in a Wii tournament held at the Cancer Treatment Center of America Hospital. We all got to meet and play Wii Tennis against some stage 3/stage 4 cancer patients. They were all so friendly and it was just nice to be able to hopefully take their minds off everything that they are going through and have some fun - even if it was just for a short time. I have never played Wii tennis before and boy it showed. I was awful! Flip (Mark Philippoussis) won the tournament and was definitely the best player.
Tonight I play JC in the second match. Hopefully I will play well. That's it for now from Surprise. Until next time, Krick signing out.
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June 1, 2009 |
I love playing at the French. Great crowds, very knowledgable people in general. If you play badly, they let you know it, no getting around that. They enjoy good tennis, but if you weren’t performing or tanked a few points, they would let you hear it. And quickly. It’s truly a great venue to play in, so much history and tradition. The crowds were more animated than the rest of the majors, which made it that much more fun for me. I loved having a crowd that was behind me, and even sometimes when they were against me. It got my juices flowing and allowed me to dig in. Unfortunately, my best performance was round of 16 a couple of times. My best win came in ’94, when I defeated Stich in straight sets in the second round. What a win. He was seeded #2 at the time. I went on to lose to Hendrik Dreekman from Germany 4, 4, and 4 in the round of 16. Didn’t play well that day. Even after losing though, it was still great to be in France. Paris is an amazing city, so much to do. All the slams are great in their own right, but Paris is really top notch.
As for this year, it would have been pretty cool theatre if both Fed and Nadal made it through. Fed had what was perceived to be a tougher draw from the onset, having to get through the likes of Haas, Del Potro, Tsonga, Roddick and Djokovic to make the final. His draw is now becoming a little clearer after defeating Haas in the round of 16 and some of the above players headed for the exits. As for Nadal, I really couldn’t see anyone challenging him before the final Sunday, and I was wrong. Everyone was wrong. Something told me those two would both be there on Sunday, it’s the match everyone was begging to see. Like Kobe and Lebron in the NBA finals, which also fell through. Before the start of the French, I chose Rafa as the heavy favorite. Especially in a Grand Slam, where matches are 3 out of 5 sets. Nadal had NEVER lost a match at the French, and this sport is so much about confidence. Losing to Soderling was a complete shock to me, and the entire tennis world. Never count out the underdog, that’s what you learn from this. My current prediction – Fed over Murray. Enjoy the second week.
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October 22, 2008 |
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It is my first time in Dallas since the WCT in 1985. It's a great city and I'm happy to be playing here again. I feel good coming off of Charlotte as I played well there and feel like my game is coming around and hopefully I'll keep it up here in Dallas. I'm happy with the way I am playing on the hard court as well. We had an exciting night on Tuesday, as we went to the Mavericks game and had floor seats for their pre-season game. Todd, Wayne, Thomas, and I had a great time and the American Airlines Arena is really nice. I'd like to catch a hockey game while I'm in town - I'm a big Red Wings fan, but I'll certainly enjoy going to the Stars game. I'm a little lost without my wife, Bianca, and my daughter, Jade, as it's the first time I've ever traveled to a tournament without them. I am in a tough group with Todd, Thomas, and Jimmy but its a good opportunity to play well and hopefully win some matches.
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