Journey to the U.S. Open: The results are in....What's next?

Now that the dust has settled, I feel that I am in the proper mental state to report back on the U.S. Open travesty that is the qualifying sectionals. I will open up a very objective analysis of the state of affairs.

Things that were good:

• I got an official US Open t-shirt and hat
• Played in the third round (technically)
• Got back into a REAL competitive tournament
• Played at the place where my high school CIF championship was
• Finally got my ankle taped up properly to support me
  
• I figured out how to combat my nervous butterflies for the beginning of competitive matches (Tequila!!!)

Things that were bad:

• I should have got my ankle taped the first day
• I didn't train nearly as much as I should have
• I lost mental confidence
• My first serve decided to take a vacation
• Tendinitis

and above all:

• I should have kicked that lady's butt!!!

The funniest thing is that, apparently, the officials come onto the court to make sure that all gameplay is fair. My opponent kept foot faulting and I'm sure the random foot fault calls were getting to her head. That's when I should have stepped it up to take advantage. So many regrets, but only enough to grow from.

So that's the U.S. Open wrap up report. I am really disappointed that I went out the way I did, but I am determined to never let that happen again. How do we resolve this issue?

- 1 open tournament/month
- Train properly
- Eat right
- Get on the court religiously to fix those unforced errors, doh!

Next tourney...

CALABASAS OPEN & NTRP CHAMPIONSHIPS (June 4-6, 2010)...wish me luck!

My Journey to the U.S. Open (aka Adventures of a chronic dieter)

Don't you just love it when you buy 1 and get 1 free? Well that's what this blog is. First and foremost...this is not a test. Yes, you read the title correctly, 'My journey to the U.S. Open', currently supplementing the 'Adventures of a Chronic Dieter' (see...2 for 1). That said, no I am not a world class tennis player, but who am I to stop my destined path to greatness?

I always regretting not moving forward with tennis in college and since its ridiculous to blame my parents for not starting me sooner, there's nothing much I can do about it, or is there? I recently came across the US Open sectional qualifying tournament that is taking place in Claremont, starting May 17th. Its an open tournament, so its open to anyone over the age of 14. Seeing that I have been on a steady path to regaining my slender and healthy physique, this is perfect timing.

Huh? You're thinking. Yes, I am just crazy enough to spend the $134.88 to get my chance at the U.S. Open. How else am I going to pursue my professional tennis career further? So that's that, the 'Adventures of a Chronic Dieter' series, will temporarily be 'My Journey to the U.S. Open' and until then I will report my trials, tribulations, workouts, hindrances of making my way to the U.S. Open. This just means I'm going to really have to workout good, full, and difficult workouts and play tennis every single day in some way, shape or form.

After coming home from the gym today, I am confident that I can motivate myself to put in all the extra work to at least compete in the tournament and have a fighting chance. Who knows...if Melanie Ouidan can make it, it can't be completely far off for some hope for me.

Well then, welcome to my journey and wish me luck! See you at Arthur Ashe!

--signing off as US Open Superstar--

P.S.: Rahul (my boss) if you're reading this, I'm gonna have to take May 17th off to get my wild card bid to the U.S. Open, I hope you don't mind and thanks!

The Transformation

I suck at updating my blog, but I guess that's no big deal. Lately, I have been so busy launching my networking group and keeping up with other social media, that my personal affects have suffered. But this isn't about that, it's about the transformation that you are about to encounter as readers of this blog. I would say about two weeks ago, I made the decision to reform my tennis skills and reach the next level of my game.

I am determined to become a 5.0 player and active in the USTA community, with that means practice and LOTS of training. I got back into my athletic training just this week, starting off at the stairs, swimming and playing a lot of tennis. What I realize however, is that I really need to work on my serve.

So for the next week, I think self-practice sessions at the court are going to be involved. It would help if I had a sponsor or something like that, but who knows what can happen. In the meantime, I am dedicating the next month to myself to really clear my priorities and focus my goals. A few of which are tennis, studying for the GMAT (again!!!), expanding my networking group (which I have done a lot of this past week) and working on business.

Oh I need to read and meditate too. I only have one question, how will I control my need to shop. The cutest boutique EM & Co. is having a summer sale on designer clothes, but I need to stay awayyyyy...