Forgive me readers for committing a blogging sin. It’s been over six weeks since my last blog post.
Six weeks!
That’s crazy talk.
A year since completing my fan slam and I haven’t been able to find the time or head space to write even one tennis related article.
The blogging lapse doesn’t mean that I’ve lost my passion for tennis or writing. But sometimes life gets in the way of tennis – whether I like it or not!
As a tennis fan, you probably know the feeling. When no matter how much you want to spend time doing what you really love, your other commitments get crazy busy and overwhelm every waking minute.
Since the US Open I’ve been able to watch some matches on TV, like the Beijing Final and Shanghai Masters, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.
In the meantime in the men’s tennis world
- Rafa, continuing his incredible come back from injury, has returned to world No.1
- Andy M is recovering after a back operation
- Nole is engaged to Jelena
- Delpo is back to sizzling form
- Roger keeps his fans frazzling and is no longer with coach Paul Annacone.
- Nadal, Djkokovic, Ferrer and Del Potro have secured places in the World Tour Finals.
Here’s a video update on the Race to London
In the women’s field
- The ladies are mixing things up since the US Open with Serena, Angie, Caro, Sam and Simona Halep winning titles.
- The Top 8 Women are currently playing the WTA Championships in Istanbul
Australian Open 2014 is less than three months away
Back on my home turf, another Melbourne Winter is over. Winter in Melbourne isn’t that harsh compared to a lot of places like New York or Europe, but when you’re there it can feel like it is. A lot of buildings in Melbourne were built in denial that it gets cold enough to need energy efficient heating. Due to this many houses have to get through Winter by plugging in an electric heater and using those sausage like things to block drafts under doors. Then as soon as you turn the heater off, the heat disappears.
Anyway, enough about Melbourne Winter. It’s now mid October, which means that the Spring Racing Carnival, the time for dresses and hats and strappy sandals, is just around the corner. It also means that we’re within three months of the Australian Open 2014. The city is getting ready, with trams stops decorated with “Get Court Up” promotions and Melbourne Park ramping up to put the ongoing renovations aside for another world-class shebang.
Hoorah! I’ll be getting a live tennis fix at the World Tour Finals in London
I’m away from Melbourne for a few weeks travelling in the UK.
BallBoy2012 and I are catching up with his family and our friends in London. But no trip overseas is complete without some tennis action so the visit is nicely timed for the World Tour Final. We have tickets for both semi-finals and will be able to watch the rest on TV in the right time zone. I’m looking forward to my first live tennis fix since the Australian Open in January.
Although it’s great to be here, it feels just like it did when I was here for Wimbledon last year; rainy and cold.
After arriving in London last Saturday I made the rookie error of shopping in Regent Street on a Saturday afternoon. This should only be attempted if Saturday afternoon is the only possible time that you’ll ever be able to shop, or if you enjoy queuing for change rooms, queuing to pay for your items and ducking and weaving around tour groups who fill the whole footpath.
On Sunday London put on a great show for us. The rain cleared up for long enough to walk in Green Park, absorb a brilliant view of Buckingham Palace and see Beefeaters at their posts. No matter how much time I spend in London I never get tired of walking around seeing the main sights.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back with more frequent updates soon.
Until next time
Grand Slam Gal