Back to the USA 2010 - Update #6

Charlottesville, Virginia was the destination for Greg's next Challenger tournament, played at the prestigous Boars Head Sports Club. Scheduled to play his singles in a late match Greg played his the round doubles match first.

Teamed with big serving Australian Chris Guccione, the pair were up against the No. 3 seeds South African's Rik de Voest and Izak van der Merwe.

Greg said de Voest, a former top 50 doubles player, was on fire and was easily the best player on the day. Guccione served very well but it was Greg's serve which was wayward and let the team down. De Voest read Greg's serve well and they broke his serve 3 times in beating the Aussie team 6-2, 6-3.

Not the result Greg was hoping for with the big Gooch.

Back to the USA 2010 - Update #5



Greg at net and Jesse Witten serving

 In the doubles Greg and partner American Jesse Witten were up against the No.4 seeded pairing of South African Rik De Voest and American Bobby Reynolds.
A tired Greg, after his marathon effort in the singles, was not able to perform at his best level and he and Witten went down to the seeded pair 6-2, 6-4.
Greg now has a week's break before the next Challenger tournament.

Calabasas Sports Centre - too cool and rainy to swim

He will have a couple of days off and then wants to get back into training in order to get his fitness level up and also work with his coach to keep improving his game.

Back to the USA 2010 - Update #4

In the second round of the singles at Calabasas Greg faced the No.6 seed and fellow Aussie 25 year-old Marinko Matosevic, currently ranked at his career high ranking of 157. Greg and Marinko have played each other a number of times with Greg having won their 1st encounter but Matosevic having won all the matches since then, so a tough assignment for Greg.



It was a very close first set with games going to 5-5. Greg then applied pressure to the Matosevic serve, getting the upper hand and breaking Matosevic to go 6-5 up. Greg served for the set confidently, winning the 1st set 7-5.

It was a very irritated Matosevic who served first in the 2nd. Greg took full advantage and immediately broke Matosevic and then held serve, then broke again to go to a 3-0, double break lead. A desperate Matosevic then went for everything, teeing off on return of serve and aggressively taking the game to Greg and managed to break back, 3-1 in games. Matosevic held serve and then again broke Greg again to level at 3-3. Greg hit back and broke Matosevic again to go 4-3 and then 5-3 up. Matosevic held serve and then put the pressure on a now rapidly tiring Greg who served for the match. Greg was unable to get to match point and it was Matosevic who again broke Greg to level again at 5-5. Matosevic held for 6-5 and then broke Greg again to complete a remarkable come-back to win the set 7-5 and level the match at 1 set all.
The third set belonged to Matosevic who broke Greg early and then ran away with the set, and the match, winning the set 6-1.

Calabasas Swim & Tennis Centre

Greg said he literally ran out of puff. The inability to train properly for the last six weeks, due to his knee injuries from the New York taxi accident and then the injury sustained in the final of the CW Games, had left him short on fitness and it caught up with him mid-way through the second set, after the closely fought, energy sapping first set.Greg was very disappointed, as he had played excellent tennis to get into a match winning position and was not able to go on with the job and finish off the second set.
Marinko went on to win the tournament.

Back to the USA 2010 - Update 3

In the doubles Greg had teamed with 28 year-old American Jesse Witten. Greg had planned to play with Aussie mate John Millman but John is suffering from shin splints, so he opted not to play doubles. They were up against the pairing of 25 year-old Canadian Chris Klingeman and 23 year-old Kiwi Michael Venus.

Greg and Witten were in total charge to start with, cruising the first set 6-0, and then lead 2-0 in the second set. Serving at 0-15, Witten served three double faults to lose his serve and then hardly hit a ball in court after that, losing the second set 3-6.

Witten then steadied himself, regained his composure and with Greg continuing to fire, they managed to re-assert their dominance and got through the match-tie break, winning it 10-3, to squeeze through to the 2nd round.

Back to the USA 2010 - Update 2

After half a week recuperating and buying a new Apple laptop computer in Tiburon, north of San Francisco, it was off south for Greg, down the coast to California to Calabasas, north of Los Angeles for the next Challenger tournament.

Greg said he was still feeling the effects of the injury to his achilles heel but it was improving every day.

Scheduled to play on Tuesday it was not until late in the day on Wednesday that Greg took to the courts for his 1st round match, due to persistent rain in the area.

His opposition was 18 year-old American youngster Daniel Kosakowski, currently at his high ranking of 732 in the ATP rankings. New on the tournament scene, Kosakowski had reached the final of a Futures Tournament the previous week and had come through qualifying to reach the main draw, so is a rising talent to be watched, but hopefully not at Greg's expense in this tournament.

In the end it was good draw for Greg as he dominated both sets in winning 6-2, 6-3. Greg said he had played well and his coach James Trottman said also said the same. Greg said he was aware of his achilles but it did not restrict his movement.

Back to the USA 2010 - Update 1

Greg did not have much time to relax and celebrate his silver medal. After a compulsory drug test he chilled out for awhile and watched the mixed doubles match, but then had to depart before the third set to get to the airport, along with Luczak and Ebden, for a 2:30am flight to Frankfurt, for a connecting flight on to Tiburon, California to play in a Challenger Tournament.

Russell, his dad, was also departing in the wee hours on a 3:30am flight to Hong Kong and met up with Greg at Delhi International airport and the news was not good, with poor Greg hobbling along in much discomfort. He had jarred his heel into the court surface which in turn twisted and jarred his left knee. Luckily the knee appeared unharmed but the achilles tendon was inflamed and very tender. Hopefully it would settle down in the next two days, as the Tiburon tournament had kindly granted him a Wednesday start for his 1st round match.

The Tiburon draw however was not kind and Greg faced the No. 1 seed, 24 year-old German Tobias Kamke, currently near his ATP best ranking at 88. We were not sure if Greg was going to play but he said his heel, whilst not 100%, was a lot better and that he felt obliged to play as Kamke had been waiting for the match. Greg said he did not play badly but did not have his full range of movement, going down to Kamke 6-2, 6-2.

Greg was not too upset and was glad that his achilles heel and knee came through the match well. He will relax and then continue on to the next tournament at Calabasas, California on the weekend, where he will begin training again. His coach James Trottman will join him again then, after having a weeks break, after a full week in Delhi as the Australian Men's team coach.

Commonwealth Games Update 8



Packed stadium - vocal local crowd

 Up against the No.1 seed and local hero 24 year old Indian Somdev Devvarman, Greg would also be battling against a vocal local crowd. On a warm evening with plenty of flying insects in the air the stadium was packed for the final. Greg's match followed an all Australian Ladies Doubles final, won by Rodinova and Peers who beat Moore and Rogowska. 

Gold Medal Final

With an electric atmosphere building it was Greg who served first and after a lengthy game got his name on the scoreboard. Devvarman held easily and games went to 2-2.  

Forehand volley

Devvarman does not have an attacking game but is very athletic, very consistent and accurate, forcing Greg to go for his shots and try and hit winners. Greg then missed two relatively easy volleys, with an open-court beckoning, after setting up the point on two occasions, on both occasions going for too low a percentage shot, giving Devvarman three break points at 0-40. Three massive points later and Greg had used his big serve effectively to even scores at deuce and then go on to hold his serve. Games went with serve to 3-3, with Greg making little in-road into the Devvarman serve. Devvarman then got Greg to 15-40. Greg saved the 1st break-point but a wide forehand gave Devvarman the break and a 4-3 lead. Greg stepped up and had 0-30 on Devvarman's next serve but Devvarman played his way out of trouble to go to 5-3. Greg then served a love game to keep the pressure on at 5-4 but Devvarman, supported by a raucous crowd, served out the game to win the set 6-4.
A turning point came in the 1st game of the 2nd set, when Greg had a bad moment, with his leg buckling under him, and he was forced to take an injury time out to have an assessment done on the cruciate ligament of his knee. Thankfully it was ok, but it was a very cautious Greg who returned to court at 15-30 down to continue serving. He was unable to perform at 100% initially and Devvarman was able to take advantage and break Greg to go 1-0 up.

Devvarman held serve easily and then raced to a 5-0 lead, breaking Greg three times in a row. The pressure of playing in front of his home crowd then played on Devvarman and with Greg moving with a lot more confidence, he forced Devvarman to deuce and then break-point, converting the opportunity and avoiding the "bagel" to get to 1-5. His confidence in his knees back Greg served strongly to hold for 5-2 but was unable to deny Devvarman the victory he so desired in front of the partisan crowd. To a deafening roar he won the final point and collapsed on court the Gold medal winner. Jonesie had won the silver.

The medal ceremony was held immediately after the match and it was a very proud Dad who watched from the VIP section for the final. Devvarman invited the two other medallists, Greg and Matt Ebden, onto the top step of the podium where they posed, arms around each other, for the photographers.

The Indian Ceremonial Guards

Greg was beaming from ear to ear and enjoyed every moment of his time in the spotlight. A wonderful achievement with memories that will last him a life-time.





Commonwealth Games Update 7

Greg prepares to do battle

The semi finals match was scheduled for Court 1, the Indian players (and No.1 seed) getting top billing on Centre Court as they should. It was a very sparse crowd, Russell and one other, that started watching the match but it did swell to about 20 during the course of the match. A pity because it was a cracker.

Greg was up against the No.2 seed 31 year-old Aussie Peter Luczak, a good mate of Greg and one of the nicest persons, who is currently ranked 133 and has an impressive high rank of 64 last year. So Peter is obviously the favourite.

With an amazing amount of dragonflies buzzing around on a very hot afternoon it was Greg who began proceedings. Greg started well, as did Luczak, with both players holding for 1-1. Another couple of good serves saw Greg go to 30-0, then an "ace" called wide unsettled him, breaking his concentration and allowing Luczak to break him. Greg immediately re-focused and brought up 2 break points on Luczaks next service game but three long returns saw Luczak hold and consolidate the break at 3-1. Greg held for 3-2 and then had two break point opportunities on Luczak's serve, this time converting to get back level at 3-3.

Semi-final on Court 1

Greg then confidently served a love-game to go to 4-3, and then another to go 5-4 up. Luczak countered Greg's serving and held his own serve, games going to the tie-break at 6-6.

In a very close tie-break it was Luczak who got the first break to go 5-3 up. Greg then served a double fault to give Luczak a set point. Greg saved one set point but could not deny Luzcak, who won the tie-break 7-4, and the set 7-6.

Luczak served first in the 2nd set and took a 1-0 lead. Greg saved two break points before levelling at 1-1. He then got Luczal to 0-30 but a lob hit long saw Luzcak recover and hold. Two aces helped Greg to another love game and scores were even at 2-2. In the next game it was a first for Greg as he chased a lob and then hit an amazing shot through the legs back into play and then won the point. Smiles all round. That would be one of the highlights of Greg's week no doubt.

At 4-3 down Greg hit 4 unreturnable first serves to level at 4-4. Then he brought up two break points on

Luczak's serve and broke to go 5-4 up, confidently serving out the set 6-4 to level the match at 1-1.

1 set all, what a scapper. Greg was in with a chance of playing for a medal.

With Luczak serving first again in the 3rd set, Greg kept the momentum going and broke Luczak in the 1st game and then served confidently to consolidate his lead at 2-0. At 2-1 Greg dug himself into a hole with two double faults giving Luczak a break point opportunity but Greg saved the point and closed out the game with an ace.

He then broke Luczak again in the next game to go a double break up at 4-1, and a medal beckoned for

Greg Jones. He still had some work to do though.

Greg held well for 5-1 and then got Luczak to deuce next game but Luczak held for 5-2. Serving for the

match and a games medal, Greg confidently went 40-0 up. Three medal points. Two points later and Greg

Winning score !

was in the final, playing for the Gold medal., having won the match 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2.

It is easily the best win of Greg's senior career and a well deserved one. He attacked at every opportunity, defended well and was mentally tough. He did well to come back from behind in the 1st set, only to lose the set in a tie-breaker and then set about the task of playing tough tennis to get back on even terms and then applied himself in the 3rd set to break Luczak and take the initiative. He attacked Luczak's 2nd serve and hit quite a few clean winners off the serve to put the pressure on Luczak's serve.

Amenities at the Games Village



Greg had a Commonwealth Games medal - now for the final to see what colour it would be.

 

Theatre at Games Village



Delhi CWGames courtesy car



Greg's dad, Russell ,was fortunate to be able to get into the Athletes' Village and was impressed by the amenities, the apartments (although the finishing was not good) and the meals served up. Amenities included an ice-cream parlour, virtual golf driving range, hair salon, post office, internet shop, bank, convenience store, an ampitheatre for TV and bands, travel agent, craft shop, merchandise shop (bad range and poorly stocked, a dicotheque and a bar. There was also a wrm up field and a 50m outdoor pool, as well as a small pool with cafe attached. In addition every two apartment blocks shared an entrance marquee which housed a games room, TV lounge room, masseuse rooms and an information centre.







 





Commonwealth Games Update 6



Games mascot for Tennis



In the 2nd round of the doubles Greg and Matt Ebden were up against the experienced Indian pairing of Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna, a doubles specialist.

Played on Centre Court before a large partisan crowd it was a close fought match.

Games went with serve to 2-2, then the Aussie pair were forced to save 2 break points, which they did with Greg serving well. Matt served a love game and then forced the Indians to deuce but they held for 4-4. The Aussies went up 5-4, then then held two break points but the Indians held tight for 5-5. The Indians then applied the pressure but Matt saved the break point, games going to the tie-break at 6-6.



Greg &Matt vs Indian Bopanna & Devvarman

The tie-break did not start well for the Aussies, going down 0-4 in qucik time, the managed to win the next 3 points, 2 on Devvarman's serve and got back on serve and then Greg holding to go 5-4 up. Bopanna then held and brought up set-point at 6-5. In a very exciting and closely fought point it was the Indians who got the lucky break, two consecutive net cords winning them the point and the tie-break and the set 7-6.

Big screen with games mascots shown



Bopanna started the 2nd set with two double faults but recovered to get the 1st game. then it was Matt's turn to DF and the Indians pounced and broke his serve to lead 2-0. In the next game the Indians came from 0-40 down to save 3 break-points and hold for 2-1. A keenly fought match. games went with serve, with both pairs saving more break-point opportunities, to 5-4 up. Matt started his service game well going up 30-0, then double fault, allowing the Indians to fight back and bring up match point which they converted to win the match 7-6, 6-4.

A hard fought match but one in which the Australians did not take the opportunities which they created.

Commonwealth Games Update 5

Quarter-finals saw Greg feature on Centre Court against No. 4 seed 23 year old English player James Ward, who has a similar ranking to Greg, at 227, with a high of 187. It should be a keenly contested match. Both players were also eager to put hawk-eye to the test.

QF match on Centre Court

With Greg serving first it was a tough start for Greg, forced to save 7 break points in his first two games, which he did, much to Ward's frustration. At 2-1 down Ward then saved a break point to even at 2-2. Greg held for 3-2 then, against the run of play, converted another break point opportunity on Ward's next service game to lead 4-2. He strongly served out the next game with 3 aces to consolidate the break and lead 5-2. Ward held for 5-3 forcing Greg to serve for the set, which he did to win it 6-3.



Greg serving



The start of the 2nd set saw Greg pounce, bringing up 2 break-points on Ward's 1st serve, converting to lead 1-0. Greg then had to save a breakpoint on his serve, which he did, and then held to go 2-0 up. Greg had two break-point opportunities in the next game but Ward was up to the challenge and served an ace, then held for 2-1. Greg served well for 3-1 and then forced Ward to 15-40, converting to go a double break 4-1 up.

Ward responded and upped the ante, getting Greg to 0-40. Three brilliant aces later Greg was back at deuce and held advantage to win the game and go 5-1 up. James held for 5-2 and Greg was forced again to serve for the set and this time the match. With new balls he served confidently, winning the set 6-2 and advancing to the semis, with a 6-3, 6-2 win and a chance to play for the medals.



Hawk-eye on the big screen



A very good, composed performance by Greg.

BTW he got his 1st challenge wrong but did get 1 out of three go his way.

He faces up against team mate and No.2 seed Peter Luczak in the semi-final round

Commonwealth Games Update 4

Greg's 2nd round match was against 24 year-old Harshana Godamannafrom Sri Lanka, on court 4. A good junior player Godamanna has struggled to make in-roads on the ATP tour, with a current ranking of 1020.

Greg started well and got an early break off serve to lead 3-1. Harshana, with nothing to lose started hitting out and creamed some unbelievable winners off both wings. Nothing Greg could do except hang in there and hope Godamanna would start missing. Games went with serve to 5-5, Greg playing catch-up in most of the games. Now with something at stake, Godamanna' game retreated and Greg was able to get on top and break Godamanna, to lead 6-5 serving for the set. Godamanna hit out again and again broke Greg to level at 6-6 and take the set to a tie-breaker. Greg's big game took over and he asserted his superiority in serve and consistency and racked up a 7-1 tie-break score to win the 1st set.

Greg serving

It was so hot, play starting at 11am. The players took a toilet break to change shirts and cool down and I dashed off for some water, my clothes absolutely saturated. The only saving break from sitting in the sun was the pollution which took the sting out of the sun's rays.

The second set saw Greg's game improving and Godamanna tailing off. He just could got keep his big game going. Greg broke early to lead 3-1 and then clawed his way to a 5-2.



Greg at AthletesVillage

With Godamanna serving Greg was desperate to break him and avoid serving the match out. He got Godamanna to 30-40 for match point but Godamanna slapped an ace. This happened twice more until the 4th match point, where Godamanna eventually missed his ace attempt and Greg was able to get a look at a second serve and took his opportunity winning the 2nd set 6-2, for a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory.

Another good warm-up match for Greg, only his 2nd after his injury.

He now faces Brit and good mate James Ward in the quarter-finals.

Commonwealth Games Update 3



Greg & Indian fans

Greg 1st opponent in the singles was 24 year old Gavin Manders from Bermuda, who is unranked in the ATP.

Gavin can play good tennis as he managed to get a few games off Greg, but in all honesty Greg was at about 60% and the result was never in doubt, Greg winning 6-1, 6-2.

A good warm up match for Greg who has not played a match for 4 weeks due to his knee injuries. See previous blogs.



Doubles Rnd 1, Court 2



On the following day, in the doubles Greg was teamed with WA's Matt Ebden. Their opponents were Duncan Mugabe and Robert Buyinz from Ugandan. 20 year-old Mugabe is a handy player, with a high ranking of 659 while 31 year-old Buyinz has only recently gained a ranking, now 1601.

It was another warm-up match for the Aussie, conceding only 2 games in a 6-1, 6-1 win.



Hanly & Luczak on Crt 3



Some competitive tennis was seen on the 1st and 2nd days of the tennis, however only when the players matched up against like players from the lesser tennis nations, like Guernsey and Bermuda.



Commonwealth Games Update 2




  Russell arrived at the R.K.Khanna Tennis Centre after a hectic 25 minutes in mid morning traffic. Below is an extract from the email sent to Donna regarding getting to see Greg play on the 1st day:


I left the hotel at 8am. The hotel called a taxi for me and a little version of a London cab arrived. The driver was a very nice gentleman and he drove ok. We got to the stadium in about 25 minutes, traffic ok.



The Black & Yellow Taxi Co.



I phoned the TA guy, Geoff Quinlan, and he met me at Gate 1 and passed me my entry tickets for the day session and the night session. I had with me the blue back-pack with all the sun-screen goodies, caps, t-shirt, an apple from the hotel and 2 bottles of water. I had to go to Gate 12 to get into the grounds. And security is very, very, very, very good - soldiers everwhere outside the ground, behind gun positions, others walking around, all armed. I went to Gate 12 where there was a crowd of people, mainly volunteers and ushers. The gates open 90 mins before play begins at 10am, it is 8.35am, so perfect. One of the ushers noticed me in the crowd and advanced me to the front of the queue. Excellent, but I felt like another sausage being sqeezed into an already full sausage roll, They give you only enough room, actually a little less than enough. At the front of the queue, the ticket person and an army lady say " No cameras" - and mine is hanging from my neck.

Colourful "dunnie" outside ground

"No kidding" I say. And she says it says so on the back of the ticket (in small print). Hell, I only got the ticket 5 minutes ago so what would I know. "Ok" I say and retreat and then call poor old Geoff Quinlan from TA again. He comes to Gate 1 again and says he will take camera, but an army guy says no way. So Geoff says he will come out of the ground and, as he has accreditation, he will take my bag and camera, etc. through security. I am to meet him at Gate 6.

Well I can get no-where near Gate 6 due to blocked road/access from security/army. No accreditation - no go. "Go away, across the road" says army guy with rifle. I go.

I phone Geoff. He says no problem, he will walk down to corner and meet me there. Nice guy Geoff.
I wait and while waiting I read back of ticket. It does not say anything about not being able to take a camera into the ground. I does say " any images taken can only be for personnel use." Anyway I was not going to point that out to the illiterate gate personnel. Then Geoff phones - security will not let him go out, can't meet me. But hold on, because he is speaking to a guy from the British Police, from Scotland Yard. I wait.
Then another army guy approaches me. I am standing near the corner where the guy told me to retreat. He is an elderly army guy, who asks me what I am doing. I tell him and then Geoff calls and says the policeman from Scotland Yard is coming out to meet me, and will get the camera and my backpack. The small print said " no handbags, no food, no bottled or canned drinks" so basically I could not take anything in with me.

Gate 12 Entry (Volunteers in white & red)

The guy from Scotland Yard arrives, in civvies, not dressed as a 'Bobby'. Gary Mumm (name changed). I chat to him and he says he will take my bag in but as we have just met has to search the bag. He in turn is questioned by the Indian Corporal army guy. Gary says who he is, from Scotland Yard, assigned to look after the expats - Aussies, Kiwis, and all others - at the tennis centre. He is one of the Queen's body guards and is also to arrange security for Prince Charles. While Gary is unpacking the contents of my bag, Corporal guy says " No can take apple in - it could be a missile, water as well." I offer it to him, he refuses and I say I will eat it before I go into the ground. Chatting to him while Gary is giving the contents of my bag a going over, I say to the Corporal "Tomorrow I will not bring the camera or the bag" He retorts " Maybe you should come naked tomorrow". Got to love a soldier with a sense of humour!

Games Mascot & Logo

Gary leaves with my bag and all it's contents, and I head back to Gate 12. I eat my apple and drink a bottle of water on the way. Just after 9am, so still plenty of time to get to watch greg play. Gate 12 is about 300m from Gate 1. Get in, go through "airport" scanner, phone, wallet, etc in tray as you do. They give me a full body pat and feel, then the guy says " No coins - can't take coins in" What? I had some Aussie dollars in my wallet. I say "Why". He says "Could be missile". "Ok" I say "throw them away." They debate this amongst themselves, while I am still being body patted, when a "Senior" army guy arrives, a Leiutenant. Tells me "No, can't take coins in." Calls a Captain across. This guy is the ultimate soldier, no-nonsense, mean looking, glint in the eye guy. Says to me "I will give you a reciept for the money (about 5 dollars) and you can collect it on the way out." "No, it is ok" I say.

Court 1 view & security

I put the money in a plastic bag and tell him that honestly it is not worth it, throw it away, give it to the poor, I don't want it back. "You sure?" he says bewildered. "Yep" I convince him, gather up my stuff and head for the Stadium. In at last. 

Games Banners at Stadium

I have a Centre Court ticket, Greg is scheduled to play on Court 1. I check out centre court then head for Court 1. On the way I bump into Gary and he says he gave Geoff my stuff. I phone Geoff and arrange for him to bring the sunblock and mossie roll-on to Court 1. Gary walks with me and chats to an usher he knows and some army people. The usher tells him only 15 spectators had come in by then, now approaching 9.30am. On the way to Court 1 I get stopped by another "Usher" at a fence gate, which also has a soldier there. Even though I have a ticket I need a pass (ground pass it turns out) to go to the other courts. Ok I say, where do I get the pass. Very helpful he says " You have to go out the ground to the ticket office and they will issue you a ground pass for free". No kidding. But he is adamant, so I trek back out of the ground, about a 300m walk, or more, but in the shade.

 

"Pass Gate" - Court 1 beyond

Get to the ticket office. Yes I need a ground pass, and yes it is complimentary if I have a Centre Court ticket, but can I wait 10 minutes, the tickets have not yet arrived. Gob smacked, I say "No mate, my son plays in less than 20 minutes, I need to get in now." Much head-shaking later he says "Ok, go with these two fellas, they will explain the ticket situation to the usher and get me to centre court". I go back throught the entry, past the bewildered people who denied me entry earlier when I had the camera, then granted me entry later, sance camera. third time for them. Head for the scanners again, but the two guys I am with take me to the left, I am supposed to go right. They get to the scanner and are told their accrediation is for entry at Gate 8 only, and I must go through the ones on the right. Only thing is - I have already entered, so can't go in again! Try and explain the situation but no-go. Then I spot the "Ultimate" soldier, the Captain and call him to come to me. He looks up quizzically, as if to say "How did you get there, aren't you inside" and says "Do you want your coins" and heads off to get them. I shout out "No No, leave the coins, just come here please." He is confused. Asks me what the problem is. I explain - yada yada yada - need ground pass, no ground passes available, can't get in again, my escorts can't get in. He comprehends, has a pow-wow with others, gets us all in - but have to go through scanner again. They tell me I have to "de-activate" my I-phone. I willingly turn it off and head, with my two escorts, to the stadium...

\Games Tennis Mascot

 As we approach the stadium and head for Court 1 my two escorts suddenly start to lag behind. "Come on I say, only 8 minutes to go." Get to the Usher and soldier block where I arrive alone. Tell my story to the usher, who had sent me out, that there were no ground passes so I could not get one. So please can I go to Court 1?

Nope - letter of the law, need ground pass. The two "escorts" tell him the story. Nope, need the pass to get to Court 1. I tell him my son is playing. He understands, he sympathises but " No pass, no get in". Yes it is not my fault. They have not yet received the passes and thereofore cannot give me one, even though it is complimentary, but they can't let me in. Soldier says the same thing and all the time everyone is friendly, everyone is smiling. I hear Greg hitting up. It is now 10:10 am. I try to reason with them, Their faullt, not mine. If I could get a pass I would, etc. etc.

An Indian guy with accreditation is standing there listening. He says to me "Tell me your name and I will be able to help you"."How?" I ask. He says " I am a journalist"

"Thanks" I say, " but I do not wish to speak to the media."He understand, but wants to know who my son is.

"No" I say politely " I don't want to get the media involved." He politely nods and backs away but still listens in.

View of Court 1

Eventually the usher relents. Go. Wow! I can go in - off I head. Just going up the steps, at the top of the landing, can see Greg hitting-up. Soldier calls me. Come back, you may not go in. You are kidding. I reluctantly go back. "What, why?" I ask. "No" soldier shakes his head, "can't go in".

It has been and hour-and-a half now, in the heat, luckily a lot in the shade, and no water. I sink to my knees and then lay on the ground. No way. I think - I'd better not do a Damir Dokic, so I get up and go back behind the fence. The usher shrugs his shoulders, he tried. The stony faced soldier says No go. No pass, no go.

Signage - no merchandise

Then I spot Geoff Quinlan going up the steps to Court 1. I shout to him, he hears me and comes over. I quickly tell him about the impass. He gives me my sunblock and mossie repelent and then phones Scotland Yard guy. Gary arrives and I tell him about the ground pass situation. He speaks to the soldier "Chander" and tries to reason with him. Now another level of "official" joins in and tries to smooth things over. Gary then tell the soldier he will speak to the head of security at the stadium. New guy gives Gary the number, he speaks to "head-honcho" and explains the situation. After a bit of chat, Gary tells soldier Chander that all is ok, due to passes not being available, he can let me go to Court 1. Soldier looks unconvinced, so George hands the phone to the soldier and he speaks to the top guy. I look up and Journalist is taking a photo. I just look away. 

Ok all is good, says Gary , I can go to Court 1. But...

"Wait 2 minutes" says the soldier, "someone is coming to tell me in person it is ok". Gary just rolls his eyes. A lieutenant arrives, talks to soldier and in we go, my new escort, Gary and I - after I thanked other two escorts and usher for their help.

Information & Ground Pass Tents

It is now 10:45 and Greg is 2 love up. My son, God Bless him, he takes so long to start a match. Gary comes and sits with me and says he will watch a bit of the match now he is here. He is impressed by Greg's size and build. I sit down, say hi to Peter Luczak and Matt Ebden. Gary says to me, "Look out for your back pocket." Sunblock is running out of my pocket. I put it in there. I have no bag but have a wallet, a phone, roll-on, a cap and a tube of sunblock. Gary laughs and pulls out his 1st aid kit and hands me some tissues. (Mine are in the bag in Greg's locker).

He says to me: "Looks like I'll have to rescue you for the third time in a morning."

I clean up, re-applying sun block along the way. I now have a sunblock self-dispensing pocket. Every time I sit down it oozes out my pocket. Great for re-applying sunblock.

Gary also had a massive camera - so he took some photos of Greg and said he will email them to us. Good old Scotland Yard. 

Greg on Court 1

Luckily I took my chill pills this morning. Eventually, as is the Indian way, I got to watch Greg play.

A less persistent person may not have got there.

So if you get a call from Gary from Scotland Yard, who says he is coming to stay, with us, in Manly - just say "How long Gary and can I buy you dinner?"

Now you know why I could not tell you by SMS.

The tennis stadium is good but to Indian standards.

Later took Greg to meet the soldier "Chander". Chander shook his head, then shook Greg's hand, then mine. He then told me ground passes are now available, please get one. Time now about 1:30pm. I went and got one. Irony is, they stopped asking for the passes and just let everybody through freely.
Don'tyajustluvit.

Food Hall/Outlet

After Greg's match whilst wandering back to Centre Court and wondering where the food outlets and merchandise outlets were, I spotted a sign "Food Concessions" so went into this hall only to be confronted with a row of fold-up tressle tables, behind which were a row of four empty drinks fridges. Can't bring food or drinks into the ground, can't buy them in the ground! Told by staff that it had not arrived yet, but they did give me a free bottle of water.

Whilst watching Hanley/Rodianova Greg went to have lunch and said he would see if he could get me a roll. 'No sweat" I said, "I won't die if I miss one meal". He called later and said he had a plate of hot food for me. I met him and went into the "food concession" place. It was the quickest meal I have ever eaten, in case somebody came an told me I could not, or confiscated it.

Spot the mohawk & badges

Greg said the opening ceremony was awesome. The best experience of his life. Much better in real life than on TV. Only down side is the time it took before-hand. They left the village at 3:30pm. As Australia were first in, they had to stand in a tunnel just at the entrance to the stadium, which had no A/C for about 45 minutes. He reckoned it must have been 45-50 degrees and they were dripping from sweat. He said toward the end his temperature was up and he was getting light headed. He reckoned that if they were not well hydrated sports persons they would not have coped. The rest of the ceremony was great. He said the roar for the Indian contingent was unbelievable. He said the trains at the end of the ceremony were the best part of the show.

Time for me to go.

Tomorrow will be a lot smoother.

Love you and miss you

Your "Indian shake-your-head-no-go" Russ


Match report to follow