Greetings from Georgia....and Florida! We both made it to our destinations yesterday. Natalie to Indian Harbour, Florida and me to home. Spoke to Nat yesterday evening, she was next in line for a wild card into the main, however didn't get it for the person ahead of her accepted it. Therefore, she will play in the qualifier draw of the Audi Melbourne 50K Pro Tennis Classic. Here is a link to the Kiwi Club's webpage, there will be live scoring:
http://www.kiwitennisclub.com/
Natalie(567) will play fourth on after ten today.....code for 4ish. Her opponent is the 6th seed Belinda Bencic (SUI), ranked 425. Here is a link to Bencic's profile:
http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=100153112
Natalie was definitely affected by yesterday's 4:07 a.m. wake up call and trip to the Richmond Airport. She was telling me about her very long and tiring day which ended in this manner:
Nat: "my host mom and I went down to the neighbor's to send off of the kids to the prom"
Sherry: "how nice"
Nat: "it was very nice, the kids looked great and the neighbor is a really nice guy" "guess he researched me a little, because he was talking to me bout my tennis career"
Sherry: "very sweet and impressive that he took the time"
Nat: "yes, guess he was a really good pro baseball player, retired now" "So he is really into sports like us"
Sherry: "ahhh ok, who is he and who did he play for?"
Nat: "hhhmmm I don't his name and I think he played for the Cardinals" "I'm looking forward to chatting with him more, very nice guy" "He's gunna come watch me tomorrow so I will definitely know his name by then" "I'm just too tired, mom"
I couldn't help but laugh, poor thing was exhausted. Her flight left Richmond at 6 a.m., had a lay over in Atlanta. Landed in Florida around 11 a.m. and she went to practice. Moved into the host family's home, dinner then to the wonderful neighbors for prom pics. A long day indeed, she was passing out around nine last night.....I'm sure she felt great once her head hit the pillow.
The journey, it's all about the journey of tennis. These memories and the ones yet to come, keep us going on this journey. The wonderful people and places help to keep the motivation high. Natalie couldn't be living her dream without either! Thank you!!
As of this moment, I won't be watching the lil yellow ball bounce this week. Was supposed to have my knee surgery, another long story! But I will be watching the live scoring.....so until then....Love and Blessings....Sherry!
