Saturday the 3rd April 2010
At last a day off wandering around Mexico city. It's safe enough if you don't stray off the beaten track. We decided not to practice Friday and have a complete rest. There are a lot of blisters, strains and sore bodies around and the heat and hardcourts have taken their toll. Saturday we play for 11th place I think, because draws are very complicated and not very transparent. It does not matter now because we are definitely in 12th which is a great ranking.

Saturday the 3rd April 2010
The gala dinner. Amazing venue in the old part of Mexico city and because we have Friday off we took full advantage of the free beer and wine. The Mexician tennis federation really doing an amazing job running this event and every one says it is the best yet. The guy in the middle is Patrice Boies, a French Canadian who has played and beaten players like Greg Rusedski and Daniel Nestor in the Canadian championships, a serious player and nice guy. Travis on the left plays for Ireland, a Canadian who lived in Clare for years, and kicked my ass at the interpros 3 years ago. He now lives back in Canada . Murph on the right is a legend in Tempelogue!

(photo blurry due to beer at a guess....webmaster)

Friday the 2nd April 2010
The Germans. We lost 3-0 but my doubles with Birch was great. The guy with the black shorts is currently ranked 2 in the world in vets, but we gave them a good scare going down 4 and 3. I never dropped my serve and banged down 5 or 6 aces which felt great and Birch was cracking ground strokes at incredible angles. Richard hit with Agassi and shared a room with him for 6 months when he was a junior in Florida, so that explains the wicked ground strokes. We have a day off on Friday so some recovery time which is good and then one last match Saturday. Looking forward to playing on the wind and rain again!!!

Thursday the 1st April 2010
Warming up for the Germans. 8.30am and very warm already. My leg is better but not 100% so I am going to play doubles. Group matches are finished and now it's playoffs for placings. The Germans came 3rd on sets in a very tough group so they are very strong but now we can relax and enjoy ourselves because we are not in the last group, but are playing some great teams. We we could play either Australia or Great Britain in our next match so that would be fun!

Wednesday 31st March 2010
My name in lights!
My court sign, just to prove I really am in Mexico. It's coming home with me!

Wednesday 31st March 2010
The Swiss have been taken down! Victory and I had to watch which was very frustrating. But the boys got the job done and so we play germany tomorrow, another big gun but we are going to give them hell. The lowest we can finish now is 12th which is massive. I'll be back on court tomorrow at 8 practicing, and I can't wait. Had a beer with Swiss and Dutch guys after at the hotel and that was a good laugh but back to business in the morning. Bring them on!!!

(I preferred the "Alan continues to hug strange men" theme myself....webmaster)

Wednesday, 31st March 2010

Tuesday and our second game. We lost 3-0 but the guy on the right was ranked 53 in the world when he was a full time pro. We played very well and I am much happier with my form. The only setback is that I injured my quad trying to serve bombs at the French guys. I got some Physio and acupuncture after and will see in the morning if I will be fit to take down the Swiss. But every day we are dealing with the conditions better. I got some tips off the Aussies last night and confidence is high. Richard was the player of the day, when on his first cap he had a good run against the French guy, going down 2 and 2.

Tuesday, 30th March 2010

7.30am and off to take down the French, the favourites. Richard Birchill in the middle gets his first cap today in the singles so I am delighted for him. Colm Og Molloy who is playing 35s had a tough loss yesterday going down in 3 sets to Estonia but the special one, as I call him, bounced back to win a doubles. I found last night tough and really missed home, the fact that I felt I didn't perform my best was  disappointing. Team mates are great and encouragement comes from everyone. I am looking forward to getting back on court now, and  playing doubles with Niall Murphy, who is competing in his 5th ITF Worlds.

Let's make Henry pay for that handball!!!

Monday, 29th March 2010

This is Eoin. He is 6ft 6 and has the biggest serve I have ever received. Had plenty of break points but couldn't convert. I lost badly, 6-0 6-2, and didn't play that well. Nerves and the conditions were factors because he wasn't that much better than me.

We lost 3-0 overall so not a great start. Tomorrow we play France, one of the favourites so it will be a good chance to get some rhythm, because there will be nothing to lose.

Monday, 29th March 2010

Swapping the flags, let the games begin!
 

(Liam Cassidy, Irish Captain with South African Captain)

Monday, 28th March 2010 20:44:19 CST

Conor Woods and myself getting ready to enter the stadium for the opening ceremony. It was a great show with fireworks and torch lighting, the whole works. Later we had a team meeting and our captain picked me to play first singles in the morning against South Africa, so now the nerves have really kicked in. I am looking forward to the challenge, and it would be great to start with a win. There won't be much sleep tonight!!!

Monday, 28th March 2010 20:50:41 CST

New Italian friends. Everyone here is so friendly off court, but when the matches start it gets serious. Lucky we didn't draw the USA, because their number 4 has 8 doubles Grand Slam titles! What must the numbers 1,2 and 3 be like??!!

Monday, 28th March 2010 16:57:57 CST

Just finished Sundays practice, and once again it's hot as hell. It's next to impossible to keep the balls in court because the air is so thin, and this makes breathing a struggle. We play south Africa at 9.30 in the morning. They will be favourites but we have a realistic chance of beating them, so we will have to be at 110%.
I am off to the opening ceremony now so it should be fun, and then the real stuff starts tomorrow.