Shubert Blog

Written by: Staff on 8th September 2011

Shubert Blog |

The US Open has effectively been canceled the past two days due to rain. It’s unfortunate as it is perfect at the same time because even though some of the best tennis in the world has been postponed, the break gives the audience a chance to reflect on what’s happened the past week and begin to build up anticipation for the upcoming matches. Maybe it’ll work out for the players as well, the last few standing will not have a chance to reflect on their prior victories and instead will be forced out on court daily to perform. We may see the later stages of play become even more of a mental battle in terms of who’s willing to stick with their grind longer and gut out victories through sheer will-power. This idea ties into what I’m preparing myself to go through in my futures-level qualifying matches.

Claremont, F22 is coming up, and the sign in is tomorrow. I should’ve paid more attention to detail and signed up earlier, but my trip to Hawaii and getting back into the flow of things in California right when I got back caused me to make some very amateur mistakes. You can’t afford to make mistakes in this life!! If you do however, hopefully they make a good story in the end, which is hopefully what will happen in this case! Similar situation – My legs are dead, my body’s physical energy feels stifled even though my mind is more focused than it’s ever been about my intentions on the court. I’m lucky to have had such a great coach in college who wouldn’t take “No” or “Maybe” for an answer when it came to putting in the time on court to make sure preparations have been made. I hear his voice in the back of my head constantly when it comes to areas of fitness, fatigue, and laziness. It motivates me to stay active, stay alert, and push through whatever pains I feel. In essence, it is the people around us who are the meanest, toughest, and harshest towards us, who end up building us up and truly loving us the most. “Whoever builds up your confidence, you owe them alot.” I owe a lot of people, someday I hope my efforts can touch their lives as they’ve touched mine.

Apart from the difficulties of training, I’ve made a move up the California coast, north of LA, to join up with some coaches who I’ve spent time with over the past few years. They spend most of their time in Barcelona, Spain at the Sanchez Academy. I work with them because they offer a different perspective on tennis, engage in Spanish drills and mentality, and offer a tougher environment for training. It’s perfect for me because as I try to build my own name in this business, I need to surround myself with people who know what they’re doing and hold onto a firm belief that what they do produces results. But basically, I find that the Spanish system of training benefits me the most by getting me into shape, developing more racket speed, shot tolerance, and footwork than any other system I’ve ever been a part of. The important thing is to always remember that trying to force a situation, for instance getting points at a pro event, is not something you can control, rather take care of all necessary preparations. If you prepare hard enough, the result is bound to happen, it’s just a matter of time. I believe that my new training situation is going to help me prepare in the best way for the level of tennis I need to compete at and then continue to help me progress more into Challenger events someday. That’s all for now, need to rest up, put my feet up on the sofa to drain the lactic acid out of my thighs and calves, and get back to work early in the morning! Ciao!

Hardly resting but trying really hard to rest at the moment,

Shubert