SF Tennis Freak

Now that the king and queen of clay have been crowned in Paris, the tennis world turns its’ attention to the famed grass courts of London.

London is also the home of Jonathan South and Patrick Holzen, tournament directors for the Tennis London International Championships, and the featured players in today’s USGO player interview video.

Partners in crime for the past 15 years, Jonathan and Patrick were extremely gracious with their time as we discussed topics ranging from the USGO and their own GLTA tournament to the gay marriage debate going on right now in Parliament.

I had a wonderful time with them, and hope that comes across in the video. (Hopefully they had a great time with the interview too.)
Enjoy!

(For more information on the Tennis London International Championships, here’s a link to the their tournament website: http://tennislondon.com/tournament/)

Date: 6/8/2013

Location: Golden Gate Park

Conditions: Outdoors, windy

Doubles or Singles Played: Doubles

Match Result: 7-5 6-2 Loss

Season Record: 2-4

Match Notes: WIND! That was the word of the day, and the deciding factor in the match. The winds at Golden Gate Park were swirling in all directions across the back courts. If you moved well to handle the wind, you did okay.  If you didn’t move well, you didn’t do okay. It was as simple as that.

My partner for today’s match was Casey, a teammate I’ve known for years (and I do mean years!) He hits a great ball that is fairly flat and stays low. He suggested taking the ad court, so I took deuce.

Our opponents were a mixed-level pairing. One was extremely strong with great strokes on both sides, heavy topspin, excellent volleys, and a decently-paced serve that rarely missed. (Had an excellent body serve too!) The other hit two hands on both sides and was a little inconsistent. But he could also send balls back awkwardly by virtue of sticking his racquet out and making minimal contact. I got caught flatfooted a couple of times by those frustrating shots.

Breaks of serve will kill you in dubs, and we lost by a break in the first set, and two in the second set. What’s worse is that we were up 4-1 in the first before going down 7-5. For my part, and was disappointed in my lack of footwork in the wind. I didn’t keep my feet moving, and often found myself out of position and reaching for shots. That’s not a recipe for clean tennis under these conditions.

It’s always good to focus on the positives afterward too, so here is a bright spot from today’s loss. Sometimes when I face an opponent that I know is very good, I try too hard to hit great serves/shots and end up giving away free points. I kept that in check today and didn’t overplay my serves or shots. I only wish I could have handled the wind as well I did with my internal expectations.

Still, it was a good match. And it’s always good to hang with my team. If I can’t win, I can at least have fun. 🙂

Bonehead move of the day? Holding a tough service game with a well-placed chipped lob, then hitting my hand with my racquet in excitement — thereby injuring the pinky on my left hand. *facepalm*
Still, it’s not as bad as what Mikhail Youzhny did to himself…

With this year’s USGO boasting, perhaps, its’ first lone female tournament director*, it seemed only fitting to grab Ember Harker, the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Federation’s first female president, for a player interview.

I remember when Ember first came on the scene.  In fact, she was on my winning WTT “Team Meerkats” at the 2007 USGO. (Look for the Team Meerkat photo below the video.) What I remember most about Ember back then, besides cute matching outfits, was a great smile and gracious personality.  Those same traits followed her onto the GLTF Board of Directors and, ultimately, the presidency.

These days she’s no longer on the GLTF Board, and enjoying her time as a private tennis citizen. But she’s still appreciative of her time on the board, and proud of the contributions she was able to make to the organization. (I second that pride!)

So sit back and enjoy my chat with Ember.

* – There’s a good chance that there has been a previous female director for the USGO. Will research this item for a future update.)

Team Meerkat

Jarrett Zarate, a USGO participant from San Diego CA, caught my eye early on at this year’s tournament. Sure he’s tall and good-looking, but that’s not what got my attention. Every time I saw him I couldn’t help but think, “Marinko Matosevic!” I didn’t find anyone who agreed with me (and Jarrett had never even heard of him), but I stand by my assertion!

Even though he was getting ready for World Team Tennis, Jarrett graciously agreed to be interviewed for my site. We chatted about a variety of subjects, including a special spectator that was in attendance for his matches. But I’ll let you hear about that from him in his interview.

Once again the wind sound against my phone is problematic, and way more noticeable than I’d like.  But it’ll have to do until I build a soundstage.  🙂
Enjoy!

While doing bag checks at this year’s USGO, it occurred to me that I might as well take this opportunity one step further and learn more about the participants in this year’s tournament by doing a more formal interview.

Matt was the willing volunteer for my first bag check, and a fitting choice for my first player interview. He’s funny and outgoing, which made it easy. The sound levels are a little off, and you can hear the wind starting to pick up as we talked. But I still think it came out okay.
Hope you enjoy it.

A unique aspect of the United States Gay Open (USGO) is the inclusion of a World Team Tennis event in lieu of mixed doubles (or no mixed play at all). Over the years, this WTT event has been a great way to integrate the men and women in a team format that’s designed specifically for fun, along with an equal opportunity for everyone to do well.

Last year’s successful “Hunger Games”-inspired event was a big hit; featuring great costumes, wacky props, and quality tennis. This year’s “Survivor” edition looked to continue the USGO tradition of good times/good tennis. The man behind “Survivor” tennis is Gordon Crenshaw, a new-ish member of the GLTF who’s jumped headfirst into volunteering for club events.
Get to know Gordon in this short video that I shot during today’s final action at the USGO.