Keep climbing

 

Second half of the season has been rewarding to say the least. Missed the first outdoor tournament at Côte-De-Liesse Tennis Club in June, but was ready for the Valois tournament.

 

Bad thing about these two tourneys was the lack of players; both events gathered only four players on each draw. Phil Chalabi had won at CDL very convincingly and was a real threat when I saw that I had landed on his side of the draw. Phil and I had been playing a few practice matches over the previous weeks and we always had long battles. We split sets on a couple of occasions, but was usually Phil that came with the upper hand. To give you an idea of the intensity of our games, on one occasion on  a service game, it took me 23 minutes to get that game, saved 17 break points. 1.5 hours for just a set. Just pure and simple street fight.

 

 

The day of our match at the beautiful Valois Tennis Club was extremely hot and humid. Just by standing under the shadow of the main galleria, you could feel drops of perspiration running thru your forehead.

We started our match blowing shot after shot to each other. I was the one charging to the net, Phil was the one retrieving and counterpunching. No quarrel. Each rally was an exchange of 10-15 shots at least. Each one was safe on his serve. Dictating the points until someone would be able to draw blood. I was the first. Got a break at 4-all to get ahead, 5-4 and my serve. I was close… really close. At 40-30 I served to his forehand, he almost lost foot there, jerked him around the court and charged the net. First volley with my forehand to his backhand. Phil chose for a lob to my left side, but it felt short and I was in for a backhand volley winner. Couldn’t believe the ball went out by an inch or two. I stumbled and Phil smelled it and went for it. Back on his break. We kept running and chasing every ball until we got to the tie-break. Liked my chances there. Had been serving well all morning. But Phil had a plan on his own and made a fantastic return game that left me empty handed. I was still hooked on my missed chance earlier… Second set only needed an early break when I was still groggy from the blow. Could not get it back; and after 2.5 hours final score was 7-6, 6-3 for Chalabi. Even though Phil lost the final, his success on outdoor clay projected him up there in the top 3 for a couple of weeks. Myself, I got a nice 5^th place!

 

A few weeks later registered for the Côte-St-Luc tournament, this is the provincial designated; meaning, it counts for more points at the provincial level and also helps at the national level. This time the draw was bigger, yet the best guys in the draw were Felipe Heck and Alexandre Blaettler. I got seeded for the first time in my life. Started in the quarters were I was draw to face Simon Elkeslassy. A regular top ten player with an unorthodox style. Like in Forest Hill ’77, Côte-St-Luc 2013 had it shooting attempt. A sick individual had menaced a couple of employees from Hydro Québec, when trying to do some repairs at his place. Police intervened and things escalated. To make a long story short, SWAT teams, police, firemen, ambulances, were all summoned in as this individual had an overview of the club premises from his balcony. We had to move our matches to other facilities and I agreed with my opponent to play at CDL. Same clay surface, but indoor. The match wasn’t pretty, Simon is hard to play, he slices the ball without much weight, and all of the sudden he hits a 100 mile an hour forehand. It’s hard to find the rhythm with him. But I wanted to win; the prize would not only be the semifinals but also a chance to face Alex Blaettler. I put my working hat and won 4 and 4.

The semis were played on a grey, cold afternoon, with intermittent rain. Far from ideal, but I thought that play on my favor as Alex would not be able to overpower me. Boy I was wrong. Despite doing much better than in our first encounter, again I left the court empty handed. For some reason I felt uncomfortable with my strokes. Something wasn’t clicking. I got some brilliant passages, but there is still a lot to do before I can seriously present any danger to a guy like him. A well-deserved # 1 in our category.

On the other side of the draw in a 100% Brazilian duel, Felipe saw off Phil in straight sets. Phil, still showing his great form put a great run on the second set. So we were to play again, this time for the honors of the third place.

But before that match, I got another tennis event to attend. I got to attend the Wilander on Wheels clinic at the gorgeous Montcalm Tennis Club in Quebec City. The agenda was lunch with Mats Wilander himself and his partner Cameron Lickle, having the chance to ask him a bunch of questions and 90 minutes in the afternoon for hitting followed by dinner. The atmosphere was so nice, everybody so friendly and we all enjoy an unforgettable day. Mats and Cameron were superb and I was really impressed to see that both were so down-to-earth people. Just loved it. If you ever have the chance to attend one of these clinics (no matter what your level is) do it, you won’t regret it. Guaranteed.

 

After such incredible day, I drove back to Montreal and the following day I was ready for another tireless battle against my friend Phil. Only that this time there was no battle… or yes, but only on my side. My balls were flying all over the place, without direction, nor control. Just couldn’t understand it. I kept feeling uncomfortable same as the previous days, and could not find the answer. At 1-6, 0-5 Phil told me he could not believe all the balls I was giving away. At the changeover I sat in disgust with myself when staring at my racket, I realized that the string tension was not the right one, nor its diameter… For some reason someone strung my stick with the wrong material… Changed rackets with one of my backups and felt the difference right away. Got my serve back, but it was already too late in the game to turn tables against someone of Phil’s ability. Never forget to check on the equipment you use. I got a little careless on that front and I paid for it. Lesson learned.

 

Yet semis in the tournament catapulted me into 3^rd place in the rankings while Phil, ironically slide to 4^th due to the fact that he lost points gained the prior year when he won in Laval.

 

Had to skip the Nationals in Vancouver as I had a personal trip I could not postpone at the time, missing the chance of getting a National ranking due to the current rules.

 

Next stop was Laval outdoor at Carrefour Multisport. Red clay they said. Well… sort of. Draw was really strong. Got seeded # 2 behind Felipe Heck. First weekend playing quarters we got again rain and cold weather. The courts were simply awful. It was so dumped that while waiting for serve, you could literally feel you were sinking. It was like playing on quicksand. Disgusting. My opponent was a lefty with handsome tennis. Nice serve and good groundstrokes. But under those conditions, there was no way he could have a chance. I played a high level of tennis and was in control as soon as I warmed up throughout the first set. Never faced a breakpoint and got a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

The following week conditions changed to the opposite. Dry, hot, windy… surface was hard and fast! My opponent was no other than Martin Lemay. Winner of Eastern Canadian in +45. A true gritty player. He does not give you an inch without fighting like his life depends on it. I never made foot in the match, lost blanked the first set in a few minutes and got better in the second, but yet not enough to make him sweat. He ended up winning the title without dropping a set in the entirely tournament.

 

Last stop was in Brossard at the Sani Sport club. Indoor, synthetic surface. Extremely fast. I liked my chances, the last few weeks I had been serving really well. Played Phil in practice and beat him both times.

At the same time I was also regularly competing in the doubles league at Parc Jarry for Tennis Montreal with my buddy Oussama Azizi. We finished second in our group during the first half of the season despite a shaky start, so we were getting ready for a strong finish aiming for the finals.

 

I guess a combination of factors, too much tennis, year-end fatigue, some stress, got a couple of muscles tight in my back, kept pushing hard and end up with a back and shoulder injury during my match at Sani Sport. I had quit the doubles tournament at Parc Jarry due to some pain, but what happened at Brossard made things just worse. I was sailing to the final when my right arm went completely numb. Got to forfeit the match (second time in my life) and went home very sad.

 

 

The tournament was won by Olivier Borlée without dropping a set… in fact I think he just dropped three games in the semis. Well-deserved win, and the 3^rd place in the rankings.

 

Myself I got 4^th in singles which is outstanding. My goal for 2014 will be to keep the top 5 and see if I can break into the best 3 guys. Competition will be fantastic.

 

I’m still convalescent from my injury, but slowly coming back to shape. I started hitting the ball again and seem that we’ll be able to be back for the new season.

 

 

See you in the hunt.

 

 

Yours,

 

Iron Gaucho

 

Long time ago… in a galaxy far far away.

 

2013 has been an outstanding season. Tennis wise, I’ve achieved more than I could ask for. Got my best and more regular results in competition; made my dream of hitting some balls with the Young Bull of the Pampas in Jan; and of course, also taking the clinic with the great Wilander back this past August. What a year to remember.

But also came to my mind that in 2013 I have some anniversaries to remember. Those special dates that represent milestones in your life.

 

Going back 20 years ago, in April/May 1993 I played my first final in a singles tournament. It was the Marlboro Open played in the city of Merlo (Buenos Aires). Being quite honest, that was an awful year; my dad had passed away in the first days of the New Year and with all the turmoil that such event represents in anybody’s life, tennis was the last thing in my mind. I had stop playing the previous spring when we got the news on my father’s health, and by the time this tournament showed up in the horizon I had not touched a racquet in almost six months.

Maybe because of that, or maybe because I wasn’t expecting anything from myself, I played some consistent tennis and worked my way deep in the draw. It was a strange tournament; for once, I remember the clay surface very dry and the clay itself was like an orange powder… almost weightless. That made a lot of my opponents very uncomfortable, while on my end I was just sliding, dropping, and volleying like there was no tomorrow. The final was supposed to be held on a given Sunday, but after a short Indian summer the whole week, we had some heavy rain on that day and the final was postponed for the following weekend. I surely had bad luck, got myself into bed with a dreadful angina and had to take some antibiotics to fight it back. I was okay to go for Saturday, but those drugs didn’t do any good to my stamina. During the first set I felt so short of breath that I could not play more than 3 or 4 balls in a row. My opponent was an okay player, no major weapon, but solid. He didn’t do much throughout the match, was more of a question of how I was performing to be honest. Got down 3-6 and 2-4 when I was able to pull it together and make a 7-5 comeback… to no avail… fatigue, stress, and disappointment made way to a final 2-6 that handled the win after an array of silly errors. That final, my first one in singles, had a long-lasting impression on me. It took me a number of years to finally shake it off and get into the winners circle. Still I consider it as a major step in the right direction when you look at the big picture. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, they say.

 

Going further back in time… 25 years ago, November 1988. It was the time of my first significant victory against a worthy opponent. Hugo Marcelo Bressan was a good friend of mine, and nice chap; but above all, he was a fantastic tennis player. Hugo had an unbelievable forehand drive with such power that any ball floating too casual on his side of the net was literally reduced to atoms in a matter of seconds. Let me level with you what are we talking about here. This guy was the fittest of them all, after a professional player, Hugo was the closest thing. Maybe not in technique (not because of a lack of it) but because he was in such superb form that he could outlast anybody I knew at the time. I mentioned his forehand. No top-spin, just pure flat raw power with the only sound of the ball breaking the sound barrier. No kidding, got once one in my stomach (my mistake, Hugo would rather lose the point before hitting someone on purpose) it took several weeks for the bruise to wane. On the backhand side he had a terrific one hand slice that he used over and over again to attack the net. It was low bounce and sticky, a real nightmare on hard courts. I took note of it as I used it as a mold for my own. It was so good that became a problem for Hugo to develop any other type of backhand, he tried a one wrist flat with no luck, and also a two wrist Chris Evert-like one but it was never as consistent as his slice. He hadn’t a great volley; but he was damn quick and his athleticism allowed him to jump, stretch, and bend to cover for his lack of ability. His overhead was consistent, powerful, and delivered confidence. He was a player capable of jumping and mid-way while in the air, change directions. One shot he was remarkable with was a kind of corkscrew he pulled on his forehand when a lob passed him and he didn’t have time to respond in fashion with an overhead. Instead of going with the in-between-the-legs (so popular in Argentina) he would win more points as he used to disguise the final direction with his body until he would unravel his hips and strike the ball. Stamina wise, he was from the Animal Kingdom: A bull and a camel… yeah weird stuff. Powerful as a bull, yet he had the stamina to run mile after mile. We had this deal: When we got to 6 games-all we would alternate playing a tie-break once, and the next time would be a conventional set with the regular 2 games gap. When the latter happened, he was the winner. How many sets he won 10-8, or 11-9… I lost count.

His only really weak point was his serve. He had a very short motion on his first serve, an alarming low toss and twisted in the air to slice the ball, the coordination was so complex that his rate of success was usually no more than 30 – 35%. He had to trust his second serve that was shockingly… the serve of an 85 years old (weak) lady. Sometimes that was still tricky because the rest of his game was so good that the opponents would missed the return as they were expecting something more… elaborated.

I met Hugo in primary school back in ‘85, and a year later we started playing. He was much better than me at the time. He won the first match quite easily; I was no contender for him. Then, in the second of our games, I had a breakthrough. I miraculously won a second set tie-break. I didn’t have a better serve or return at the time, but I found a way to disguise a short lob over his left shoulder that gave me the edge to grab a mini-break in that set. He came back strong in the third and crushed me, he had no mercy. In ’87 we played again twice with an easy win for him, and then a more even game he took 6-4, 6-4. I was happy I was getting closer, but that lonesome set from 1986 remained my only achievement against Hugo until November of ’88. My personal record until then was mediocre to say at least. I got wins to guys my level or below, but never someone of Hugo’s caliber. He was many steps above me on the tennis ladder so to speak. Hugo himself, had wins against Miguel Chana; another buddy of ours that was also a brilliant tennis player. Miguel got me 27-0 in single matches (some of them… triple bagels) by the end of ’87. And Hugo was neck-to-neck with the guy; so for me, doing well against Hugo was kind of redemption from the hell I had to go against Miguel.

The night before our match, as usual I would dinner light, go early to bed, and prepare the game plan. Hugo was a net crusher as he was so confident in his speed and his Steffi-Graf-like forehand, so I had to mix it up with passing shots, lobs and, sometimes, straight-to-the-body returns. The match started as usual with both of us studying the opponent, trying to accelerate the ball in the middle of a long rally, or suddenly dropping de ball and go to cover the angle. But for some reason, after the 4-all, Hugo had a disastrous service game. He double-faulted twice in a row, which made him took a lot of speed off his first serve, hence allowing me to put the ball away somehow easily. I could not believe I had taken the lead. That service game lasted probably 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour, I finally won hitting a fantastic backhand passing-shot down the line. 6-4. I was in Heaven, and Hugo… well he looked disoriented for a sec or two, spit on the court, and got ready to resume battle, it didn’t look like it bothered him that much. But Hugo was that kind of player, ice on the exterior and a volcano inside. He was again diligent with his serve and won in fashion, so did I with a new confident attitude. We kept the score even until 2-all when I broke him again and made an easy run for my first win. I left no doubt I dominated him in that second set. It seemed to me that Hugo’s mind was no longer in the game. He was gracious as always and congratulated me on my first win. It meant a big change in my mind and spirit; and fueled my ambition of becoming a much better player.

We kept playing many great matches, and as I was getting closer to his level, I was able to challenge him for victory. We would play on different venues each time, our matches were real marathons, 7-5, 8-6, 11-9 in the third set if tie-break was ruled out (usually those played to his advantage) or 7-6 if I was the one to choose… this time to my benefit. But matches were also a mental torture, we were friends and the result didn’t matter that much between us for the respect we had to each other. But with our friends, at school, that was something else. Everybody was asking the result of the match and making funny comments on the loser. Not that anybody else, besides Miguel, was a player. And Miguel would not make a funny comment on the outcome of a match. It was simply not his style. So kids are kids, and all that, but when you are in your teens, those comments can hurt. So the stakes were high and the pressure was rising on every encounter.

By mid-1989 the head-to-head was trailing 7-6 for Hugo. This time I got the turn to choose the venue of our next match. It would be at the Asociacion Alemana de Cultura Fisica de Quilmes (Club Aleman for most people – The “German Club”), were I was member. So we head out for another match. The bad thing about playing at that club was that there were only 3 courts, and over the weekend the demand was pretty high. You were allowed only 30 minutes slots for a singles match, and then would have to run to the booth to book another half an hour. So a 2.5 hours match like ours could take as long as 6 hours if you take into account the interruptions and waiting time. I was very tense that day; that, I remember quite clearly. It was MY club, I was the one behind in the H-2-H, and didn’t want to go back to school the following Monday and listen to all that crap on what a loser I was, etc… We started as usual, each one doing his thing. But that day Hugo was particularly loose and he was hitting winners from everywhere. Thank God I was serving well, which allowed me to keep him in sight from a score standpoint, but that was not enough. Hugo won 6-4 the first set. We kept swapping courts that morning to keep playing continuously as much as possible. Due to the rain forecast, not many people went to the club to risk for just a few minutes of tennis if it was supposed to rain. The day became grey as dark clouds scattered in the sky. My very soul sank when he got an early break in the second set. I was stressed out to the max. I was doomed, the result seemed inevitable. At 2-4 and my serve, the sky opened and a light rain made us stop. We went for the Club House and booked a court for an hour later. We had time to grab a bite and I remember mentioning Hugo on how tense I was. I didn’t care anymore about the match. What bothered me the most was that the last 3 or 4 matches (some of them victories) were no longer fun to play. Looking into the future, if that would be the case I wanted no more matches with my good friend. From that conversation it was clear that Hugo was going thru a similar feeling, and then was when I got the idea. “No matter what is the outcome of today’s match, this is the last official game we will ever play” The head-to-head would be framed at this time and from then on, we would not share our scores with anyone else”. I felt a warm feeling in my chest, finishing 8-6 down with Hugo wasn’t bad after all… but only if I could win this last one to level the score… And incredibly, that was exactly what happened. I leveled to 4-all and went on to win the second set 6-4 and the third by 6-2. Final official H-2-H: 7-7. Perfect.

 

We kept playing for the rest of our time in high school, until Hugo shifted to Paddle-Tennis and left the courts for good. We had memorable “un-official” battles, I have a fond memory of his last win using the venerable Prince Pro 110, broke his strings and I handled him my sisters’ frame. He went on to win 7-5, 7-5 playing some aggressive tennis. He changed for a Dunlop Max 200G (Graf and McEnroe weapon of choice back then) which made him more dangerous. Also remember one of my best matches I ever played at CAQ. It was a superb game played with a red sun background on a late September afternoon in 1990.  

 

 

 

 

But going back to that last official match… To this day I feel that Hugo lost on purpose. He fought hard that second set, but he didn’t put much of an effort on the third. I’m sure was not for lack of respect, on the contrary, because above all Hugo was a Gentleman… almost with a flair of another time. Never again I had such a gallant rivalry, nor feared an opponent like him.

 

Yours,

 

Iron Gaucho

ON THE RISE

At the end of last year I set my objectives for the upcoming season. Made a serious assessment on the steps to take, and the conclusion was that an attempt to become, by the end of the season, top ten in my age group (+40s)  at the Quebec Senior rankings was something achievable. I’m glad to see that we did achieve the objective much sooner than that as the latest list puts my name in the 8^th place. It’s been a lot of work and gone through lots and lots of pain to achieve that. Very proud and thankful for the help of so many people involved in this success. People that I keep working with on an ongoing basis, people that I had worked in the past… all of them are part of this present. So a big thanks to all of them.

In the +35s, my good friend, and doubles partner is also on the rise. Oussama Azizi, the Moroccan Marvel, has stepped on the 16^th place. Believe me; he’ll go all the way to the top. Give him some time. When his head makes the final click, he will start storming in and out taking one tourney after another. He has all the shots, great serve, a killer forehand, can swing his backhand with one or two wrists… he’s very aggressive at the net… and lately became a tennis tactician researcher… Just wait and see. He is a star on the rise. We’ve been improving out double performances in the last events and I can see now some positive signs that we may be contenders at one point in the next 12 months or so.

Now that we’ve got where we wanted to be in another six months, it is time to set new goals. Breaking into the top five would be amazing. Can it be done? Let’s see, we have a group of great players in the first echelon, Olivier Borlee and Alexandre Blaettler who I met in the Indoor Nationals last month. Both very solid and with a vision of the game that has no match in the tour. They have a different ball pace from the rest of us, and to beat them… well let’s put it this way, it would be a goal in itself. Not saying cannot be done, though. But it’ll take a lot of work.

Another player on the rise is my countryman, Carlos Montoto. Never played him, but he used to play the interclub championships in Argentina in what was called the “intermedia” level. Just below the A players from the ATP tour, the likes of Chela, Calleri, Nalbandian, etc... Carlos, former #1 in Quebec, has taken two indoor tournaments so far and made 3^rd place at the Indoor Nationals, which makes him the best guy in the first 5 months of 2013. Carlos possesses such classy tennis, one wrist backhand, with a nice serve, and very aggressive groundstrokes.

Then you have Felipe Heck from Brazil. Solid, fast and a true die hard out there. His forehand is a blast as well as his first serve. Not quite in the same league as Borlee and Blaettler, but definitely a tough one. His tennis is based on regularity and the correct administration of his great mobility and forehand drive.

In my personal list Christian Breton who I faced in Boucherville semis, follows. The guy has a fantastic serve and good groundstrokes. He takes more risks to make a point, but on hard he has an edge on the attack versus most of the guys out there.

To these five players, you have to add two grinders; a kind of Solomon-Dibbs material: Stéphane Chartrand and Nicolas Roy. Both with similar technique, two hands backhand but for Stéphane add the lefty skill to the list. Never played Nicolas, but Stéphane and I had a few matches on us and I know how hard one has to work to make the ball pass him by. But they are not alone, Phil Chalabi, with almost identical weapons and a stubborn steel will, is another serious contender. Played Phil only in practice and let me point out that after the warm up he is already driving at full speed inside the court and all hell can break loose if you are not in the mood for running and chasing the ball to the end of the Earth.

 And I’m sure there are many more that I have not met yet that will be in the fight. It’s going to be a phenomenal season. Can the top five barrier be broken by the end of the season?  We’ll put all our love for the game in the run. You can bet on it.

 

See you in the hunt

Iron Gaucho

 

FAREWELL TO MY BELOVED PUMA/ESTUSA BECKER

 

How hard is to let something (someone) you love, go. You may think I’m crazy, but as some fictional TV character once said: “My mom got me tested… I’m not crazy”; same applies to me.

 

My romance with PUMA started back in 1985 when I saw a young teenager take over the Wimbledon Championship. Of course I’m talking the redheaded German Panzer, Boris Becker. He then played with a 1984 Puma Guillermo Vilas model, re-branded after his win as Boris Becker Winner. The upraising star was under Vilas-Tiriac management. Becker’s racket was 50% graphite composite and 50% fiberglass, which made it stiffer than the average frames at the time, even though it was less for the version on the market that contained only 30% graphite.

 

The following year Becker would move on to his truly own Puma Boris Becker Super (still Vilas’ development with the German company). This particular frame was exactly the same in composition, but now the vast majority of the amateur players would be able to use the same specs: 50% graphite, which made a whole lot of a difference versus the prior version and with new more appealing cosmetics (red and blue). Before the end of the ’88 season Puma quit Becker contract; but Boris kept playing with them until 1990 without the official logo. In March 1990 the Taiwanese firm Estusa got a contract with the native from Leimen, and started developing a copy of the Puma BB Super. It took them about a year of testing and trials until they were able to cook a frame that pleased the German. Estusa brought a few evolutions to the original frame that added more stiffness without changing much the fantastic balance and maneuverability that made them so famous.

 

 

Personally, I got my eye on a Puma Becker back in 1987 when I was playing at the Asociación Alemana de Cultura Física de Quilmes. There was this cute blond girl that was hitting with great ability from the back of the court beside. I absolutely loved it. I was too shy to ask her permission to examine the racket but after a few weeks I had the opportunity of playing a doubles against her and had my chance. Her brother, Patricio “Pato” Durrels was a great junior player, once ranked #1 in the country, and was using the same frames. When he decided to move to another brand he put his on sale, something I would not miss. Got one for me and started experiencing an explosion in my arm. My service was like a catapult and my backhand improved a thousand times its previous form. The Puma became an extension of my arm. Played with it from ’88 to back end of ’89 when I realized, after a training session, that the frame had started to give in. I was devastated, no chance to get another one in Argentina. Back then you had to travel abroad to get that kind of products. Nobody was importing them anymore and I was forced to switch the following year to Yonex.

 

Pato’s former racket was carefully stored as it deserved. Waiting like Excalibur to be awaken when it would be needed the most…

 

Years went by, rackets I flirt with as well… Yonex R-50, Dunlop Revelation, Pro Kennex Kinetic 15g,… but none felt remotely like the Puma. Until one day in 2003 when I found the Estusa frames (already discontinued) at Tennis Warehouse. What a blast from the past! I got 3 of them and loved them from the start, had to tweak the balance a little bit but other than that they were awesome to strike the ball thru, yet less forgiving than the Kennex due to head size.

But the best was that I got someone with enough knowledge to attempt a repair to the old Puma. And it succeeded… sort of. The balance and weight now were out of scale, but still manageable and good enough for a fourth racket. By now, 2004 I was in fact hitting on a regular basis with Pato as part of my in-court training. One day I brought the old frame to our session, there was a spark in the corner of his left eye. A very emotional moment. “That was one of the best frames I’d ever played with” there was this light on his face...we were kids once more…

 

But time takes a toll both on materials and players and we have to accept the fact that the frames will be less responsive with time as our body also slows down (even a fraction). In my quest to try to extend the lifetime of my rackets, I started purchasing any available frame on eBay. Got 2 Becker Winners in pristine condition from Holland, but were the earlier models and the stiffness was very low so to match the rest of the frames, a lot of lead had to be added to their heads. Yet they became lovely to use on clay courts. Got a Estusa ProVantech from someone in Texas. Another Puma BB Super from Germany, also in excellent condition. I worked hours to match all the frames and be able to use them without much thought. I played and compete successfully for a few more years. Very happy years. But with time running out of those frames I started years ahead trying different choices and see how eventually replace them. Wilson n-Code 95, Volk Catapult V-10, yet nice frames and much more forgiving for my body, but none could not match the German artillery.

 

Last December, after I finished training and evaluating what to do to move up that next step in terms of level, I decided it was time to give up the old frames and look for a modern, yet classic new weapon. Talked a lot with Maher Diab and did even more research… and again more trials, and testing, and playing, and analyzing… until we got a winner, the Head Prestige MP. This is a frame used by many pro players on tour for quite some time now, it is the right choice for me, gives me plenty of head speed, comfort, control and power, and let’s face it… is more forgiving than the Puma frame. Transition has been smooth, the results support this decision.

 

I wanted to give my racket an honorable farewell… and certainly did so. Got the Fall Double league at Parc Jarry in December and Semis at Boucherville in January. Everywhere I played, they were praised and admired… and feared.   

 

Haven’t hang my Puma/Estusa frames to the wall yet, still hesitant… they are still in a tennis bag, ready to go if I need them. But like when King Arthur ordered one of his knights to throw Excalibur back to the lake… I’m sure that day will come and will be emotional. And I will be a kid once more.

 

See you in the hunt.

 

 

Iron Gaucho

BALANCE OF THE FIRST PART OF THE YEAR

Have to admit that I'm very pleased with how things have unravelled so far this season. After deciding to come back to active competition in the senior tournaments last year, I took a hard look on what I needed to improve and have a reasonable chance to winning again. Months of training on and off court, painful hours at the gym and following a diet to loose those extra pounds that hurt my knees started to pay off by the end of 2012.

In December we got a great boost of energy with the winning of the Fall Doubles League at Parc Jarry with my good friend Lloyd Mangahas, and that was such an unexpected achievement as it was the first time we paired as a double tennis team. Let me tell you, that feat raised the bar.

Back to training with Maher Diab and a pre-season workout in Argentina with Federico Melo, Alejandro Fusilier, Marcelo Costa and... Guillermo Vilas, the man himself, put me in a good vibe for what would come.

And the results speak for themselves. On the first stop of the vets tour in Quebec, made semifinals at Boucherville.

An indoor super fast orange carpet that allowed me to prove my tennis and at the same time give a decent farewell to my beloved Puma/Estusa Beckers. Got a couple of wins against lefties (among them Stéphane Chartrand, # 3 in the ranking) and a good match against the top player in the draw, Christian Breton, showing positive signs of the work we'd been doing so far.

Skipped the second tourney in Quebec city, and instead focused on two fronts: The National Indoor East Canada to be held at Côte-de-Liesse Tennis Club on American clay and the Winter Doubles League organized by Tennis Montreal at Parc Jarry.

Now armed with the new Head Prestige MP, I started working again on indoor clay courts. Maher was pushing me to the limit on every session with more success as the weeks went by. Tested my stamina training at good speed and playing a full one-day tournament at the same venue of the National. It went better than expected, winning the Top Gun tournament and finishing strong. Kept playing my doubles partner and good friend, the Moroccan marvel, Oussama Azizi; and also the die-hard Phil Chalabi (top ten player in my age group) from Brazil.

In the meantime, Lloyd and myself started the quest to defend our title in the doubles league. First part of the season was not so good. We lost our first 4 matches in tight games, a very frustrating situation for us. The first win came when we needed it most. Our last match of the first half of the season was defining who was going to keep the place in the group or who was going down to a lower level. After that, something clicked on us and went to storm on 8 consecutive games to claim the title once more. Believe we just dropped 3 sets in that swing.

 

Cannot say how much I love to play with Lloyd, he has the heart of a lion, hence his nickname. After our semifinals win, he gave me an Argentina soccer team jersey to use in the final. I was so tired during our last match, could barely hold my racket, but we made it. Very proud of it. Once again the team delivered on the hard courts at Parc Jarry. It suits our game, it feels like home.

Again this season we got the invaluable help of Shiho Sumitomo (played with her one of the first round robin matches) and Oussama Azizi (also played one of my best doubles matches ever with him on the second part of the season) on our weekly training, both ready to help and practice all kind of drills and disguise their game to the ones we were going to face in competition. Our gratitude to such wonderful friends. They are a big part in the final victory.

Coming back to the Nationals, the balance was exactly what I expected. Won the matches I had to win, lost (regrettably) against the guys I know I'm still behind. Got a couple of good wins against hard hitters with good serves, but lost in the quarters against a train... Alexandre Blaettler (2nd seeded), from Switzerland, my personal favorite player in the tour. He was plain and simple too much for me. I started too conservative, and at no point I was able to damage him. Alex was simply superb along the two sets, not giving me a chance to score... not once. Believe I got probably 12/14 points in the whole match. Only one game point in the whole match. Not much to say. I was disappointed, but have to accept that he plays in a league of its own, as Benjamin Woo told me last year: ''Alex is probably the best player in Canada when he is on fire, no one can beat him''. It will require a lot of extra work for me to be able to challenge him. The bar has raised again.

That loss moved me to the Consolation round, which is exactly a parallel tournament for those who loose up to the quarters on the main draw. The objective is to rank the players final positions as there are only two national contentions that count for the Canadian ranking as per Tennis Canada, one indoor (east or west) during the spring and one outdoor (that changes location every year) during summer time. That was among my expectations, so far so good... what I... what nobody expected was to see the 1st seeded, Olivier Borlee (Canadas # 1 in 35s, top 30 at Open level) also eliminated by the eventual tournament champion Andrew Oxner from Nova Scotia, in the quarters.

Being eliminated in quarters, gives one the advantage to start the consolation at the same stage. Won two matches and got to face Olivier in the final.

This time around I went out there and put as many balls deep and hard as possible. Served strong and attacked at every opportunity. I went down so to speak with my boots on. As a General Custer, knowing that he had all on his side, put some good tennis to give him a run for his money. I missed a couple of chances to get closer in the score, but cannot complain. I was satisfied with the performance. Playing Alex on Thursday in the 40s and a very good doubles match in the 35s with Oussama against multi champions Brojde-Guigère on the Friday before the finals helped me to be ready for that extra speed these top players have. Oussama as usual helped me warm up in the morning of the match and as he knows my game back an forth, gave me some sound advice that added to the strategy discussed with Maher the day before. His cheering during the match felt like a roaring crowd in a Grand Slam. So much appreciated. 

 

So to sum up, played 3 singles tournaments (4 if you count the consolation round in the Nationals as a separate tourney) with 1 win, 1 final, 1 semifinals, and 1 quarters. On the doubles front, 1 win (with Lloyd Managahas, and 2 semifinals (with Oussama Azizi) at Boucherville and at the Nationals.

 

Time to regroup with my coach Maher, keep working for the outdoor season, and see if I can break into the top ten when the new ranking is published in the next week or so.

 

See you in the hunt.

 

Yours,

 

Iron Gaucho

MATS WILANDER HEADING TO QUEBEC CITY

 

Former world No. 1 Mats Wilander is heading to Canada this summer, as he is bringing his popular Wilander on Wheels program to the Montcalm Tennis Club in Quebec City on August 3 and 4.

Wilander on Wheels offers tennis fans the chance to hit with the seven-time Slam champion right in their own hometown or local tennis club.

 

Wilander, who won three Australian Opens (1983, 1984, 1988), three French Opens (1982, 1985, 1988) and one US Open (1988) throughout his illustrious career, successfully made his first visit to Quebec with Wilander on Wheels last year, and is now readying to make a return visit.

Only 48 players can register for the event at Montcalm Tennis Club, located near the St. Lawrence River in Quebec’s capital city. The program includes 90 minutes of play, one-on-one coaching and high energy drills, plus a private lunch with Wilander following the on-court action.

 

Will be fantastic to hit with Mats in such beautiful venue as the Montcalm Tennis Club. I'm thrill to be among the group of players. Surely will share some pics and anecdotes of the event. Quebec City here we come!

 

Yours,

 

Iron Gaucho

THE DAY I TRAINED WITH GUILLERMO VILAS

Early January, Vilas Club in Buenos Aires, and under a suffocating weather with temperatures of 38 Celsius and a humidity factor of 80%, I would watch Guillermo Vilas train hour after hour. I'm talking January 2013, not Jan 1978... Guillermo at 60 is still going strong. Believe me.

Anyways, at this early stage of the year, my own training schedule was cardio in the morning, gym right after, some rest and lunch time and couple of hours on court with drills to finish with some points. I was on my own world that afternoon. Have to say, hitting quite well for my standards. I'd just finished a forehand drill with Federico Melo and while picking up the balls I noticed this guy that projects a huge shadow on the court. "I've been looking for you" says the voice and when I look up, the sun hurt my eyes so I'm just able to see a human shape wearing a big towel and a hat... Couldn't believe it...it was Guillermo Vilas himself. First reaction was to look over my shoulder as I was positive he was talking to someone else. But there was none behind me. Was he actually talking to me?

"Yeah, I've been looking for you since yesterday... Nice shots, let's hit together later on, see ya in a few minutes" My day... my year, was already done (on Jan 3rd!!). GV was praising my game? Could that be possible? I tried to focus back on my training session, as Federico was already in position to make me work hard... again. We consumed another basket of balls when Vilas showed up with his bag and rackets. My legs melt down like butter and my knees started trembling with strange spasms... last time I was (almost) this nervous was on my wedding day.

"Watch out, he's going to aim for the lines... he likes putting pressure from the start" Those were the only words of advice from Federico. Guillermo asked for how long we had been training. Almost 2 hours under a scorching, almighty Sun. We did two-to-one drills against GV for about half an hour. Man... the speed and spin were un-be-lie-va-ble... and the accuracy... probably 7 out of 10 balls were in the 2 inch area around the lines. After that time, Fede departed to his next appointment and I stayed on a mano-a-mano with Guillermo. The "Gaucho de Hierro" vs. "Iron Gaucho"... cannot described it with words. Simply magic. After another 20 minutes GV said, "it's enough for today, you've been training a lot today, don't want you to burn out"

Vilas was playing the next day Jose Luis "Batata" Clerc in an exhibition match prior to Roddick - Del Potro... On hard... As a child I used to compare my game to Clerc and Lendl, tall guys with a very classic one-hand backhand, less top spin than most of the guys down under but with more power and trying to be as aggressive as possible from the baseline. Was he using me as a sparring? I didn't dare to ask...

 

 

We spent another hour exchanging concepts and he gave me invaluable tips and insights on my game that were absolutely fantastic. Praised my game again and congratulated the good work that my coach and friend Marcelo Costa did all those years back defining my style of play. He even thought I'd learned tennis in California... kind of an Elliot Telscher type of player. I was in cloud 9... I guess so did Marcelo when I told him all about it.

With all that excitement, I could barely sleep that night. The following day I couldn't move. Had no energy to hit the ball at my usual speed, I was completely drained from the experience itself. But the next day I was again back to normal and GV was training his daughter on the next court to us and stayed after to help me with my serve. I'd been struggling with my serve for the last two years, after an injury I suffered at the back end of 2010. Had to modify the toss of the ball and part of the motion and totally lost confidence in the shot. After a few seconds GV asked me to make some minor changes and voila! Speed started to pick up and by the end of the session I felt I had my weapon back... without the pain. Thanks Guillermo!

 

And the Gaucho de Hierro went on for another training session with Alejandro Fusilier "Fuchi", to keep working on a short-angled forehand..."Have all summer to figure it out, but it's going to be fantastic"... GV at 60, working on new shots... Still going strong... Under a scorching, ... almighty Sun. 

 

Yours,

Iron Gaucho