Hitting Partner @ Indian Wells

Written by: Staff on 23rd March 2012

Hitting Partner @ Indian Wells |

Hello 10sballs-universe, I just got back home from being a hitting partner at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. What a tournament it was! This year was certainly special: I couldn’t imagine anything more fun than hitting, training and hanging out with the best players in the world at one of the most tennis facilities in the world. My personal highlight this year was practicing with the Bryan Brothers all week: In preparation for their big serving first round opponents Kevin Anderson and Milos Raonic they had me serve and volley from ¾ court. I must have hit 500 serves from there over the course of those first few days, just trying to give them the best return practice possible. You can probably imagine how my shoulder felt at the end of it. The Bryans want everything to be perfect on the practice court; they work harder than I have ever seen anyone work before. When the practice was supposed to be over, Bob would stay out there to work on his one-handed backhand and have their coach Dave Macpherson (awesome guy) feed him about 50 more balls. At some point, Mike would jump in and try to volley them back as. These guys never get tired; their dedication to our sport is just admirable. Another highlight was playing soccer on the grass with the Serbian all-star-connection of Djokovic, Troicki and Tipsarevic. When they see that soccer ball, they are just as consumed by it as any other kid would be. We were not just messing around, that 5 on 5 game was rough, and athletes just don’t tend to be good losers. Tipsarevic seems to be a big fan of Barcelona’s Andre Iniesta, you could see him out there every day in that red and blue jersey. He does not play quite as well as the original though All in all it was a great experience and I will surely be back next year. I was delighted to see Roger claim the title again. His aura is still amazing and he is capable of some great things this season. Playing for Olympic Gold on the Wimbledon center court? Count him in!

Nico

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