Bally’s Blog – homeward bound

Written by: Staff on 3rd September 2010

Bally’s Blog – homeward bound

Elena Baltacha (GBR) |

I would rather be thinking about playing Kim Clijsters in the third round of the US Open but sometimes you have to accept that your opponent just plays better than you do. Petra Kvitova made the Wimbledon semi-finals this year for a reason and after a playing her I can totally understand how she’s got to inside the world’s top 30.

I woke up the morning after my match feeling a little bit stiff but nothing a bit of shopping on Fifth Avenue couldn’t cure! I am not one to bankrupt myself in the high-end stores but I do like a browse around stores like H & M and Abercrombie and Fitch. My big purchase on this trip has been a brand new pair of Ugg boots to wear during winter in Ipswich, which is my training base and is in the east of the UK. They are lovely and I feel like they’re my reward for beating Petra Martic in the first round here.

l head home tomorrow for just over a week of training and preparation before heading to Asia for a string of tournaments. I’m heading to South Korea first, then Tokyo before representing my country at the Commonwealth Games. By my country I mean Scotland, because although I love playing for Great Britain, for the Commonwealth Games we split into our individual nations and mine is Scotland. We’ll compete against players from Canada, Australia, Jamaica and other countries in the Commonwealth, including the other British countries like England, the Channel Islands and Wales.

After India I’m heading to ITF $100,000 events in Europe, one in Torhout in Belgium and Poitiers in France before hanging up my rackets for the season. 2010 has gone very quickly but it’s been a great rollercoaster ride and as I write I’m on the verge of breaking the top 50 if a few other results go my way during the next week. That would be a massive step for me so I’m keeping my fingers crossed but to be honest, whether I make it now or in a few weeks time I feel very confident that it’s going to happen because I’m playing top 50 tennis. If you do that the ranking takes care of itself.

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Topics: Abercrombie And Fitch, Bally, Canada Australia, Channel Islands, Commonwealth Games, Countries In The Commonwealth, Fifth Avenue, Home Tomorrow, Ipswich, Kim Clijsters, Martic, Poitiers, Rollercoaster Ride, South Korea, Stiff, Torhout, Ugg Boots, Verge, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Semi Finals