ESTORIL, Portugal - One final, two semifinals and one quarterfinal - at one of the biggest tournaments around, no less - make for an impressive start to anyone's year. Iveta Benesova has had one of the best starts to 2009 of anyone, and this week will be the top seed at the Estoril Open, where she has twice been a finalist. The Czech writes her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blog this week as well.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
It was a tough day for me today. I wasn't really playint my best tennis. I've also found the balls very hard to get used to this week - they are really heavy. I was hoping to have a good week here in Estoril, I've been a finalist twice, but it wasn't to be - I lost in the second round.
I'm pretty tired. It has been a long season so far and I've played quite a bit of tennis already. I got to the final of Hobart, the semifinals of Acapulco and Monterrey and the quarters of Miami, and I just played Fed Cup for my country against the USA, which is always a draining event. I'm going to head to Madrid tomorrow and take a few days before it starts to focus on doing well there.
Thank you all for reading my blog - I'll do it again soon, hopefully next time it'll be longer :)
Take care and talk to you soon!
Iveta
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
I feel a bit more rested today :) I just practiced once, that's all. It was very hot though, about 30 degrees, which isn't the best weather for tennis. Maybe for going to the beach! I also went to the Sony Ericsson booth to see the sponsors for a little bit. There were a few journalists there writing about their new phone models. The Sony Ericsson sponsor showed some of them to me and I really liked them. They're really nice.
I didn't end up going to the beach yesterday. I got back to the hotel around 6pm and was so tired. Actually, I always feel tired, even if I sleep a lot! We went for dinner and that's all. I'm not completely sure what Portuguese cuisine is like, but I think it was more Italian. I didn't watch a movie last night either but I did watch some of my favorite show, Desperate Housewives. Then I went on Skype to talk to my friends and family. It was a pretty relaxing evening.
My roommate is Petra Kvitova. We share a room most of the time. We have the same coach and are good friends, so it's convenient. She's a really nice girl. We have lots of fun. I'm friends with a few other players too, mostly from the Czech Republic but some from Slovakia too. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova is one of them and we play a lot of doubles together too, and we've done pretty well together.
The men are playing here too but my favorite men's player, Roger Federer, isn't here :( I like the way Gilles Simon plays and he's the top seed here too, so I'll probably watch his next match. I missed his first one. Maybe tomorrow!
We just got back to the hotel 15 minutes ago. We'll probably get dinner and that's about it, nothing too interesting planned tonight. We'll see how the schedule is tomorrow, hopefully I can do something interesting to tell you about!
Talk to you again tomorrow!
Iveta
How much do you work out off the tennis court? - Bobby, USA
When I'm not at a tournament, I do three hours of training on court and an hour and a half of work in the gym, mostly running and things like that. When I'm at a tournament, my off-court is less, of course. It's not every day.
What is your favourite place to visit in the Czech Republic? - Karolina
I love Prague. You can go anywhere there and it's just beautiful. I like walking around and shopping, going to the cinema and having dinner with friends. I also like to visit Most, my birth town. My family is there and I love being there.
When you were down 4-1 in the third set of your first round match yesterday, how did you turn it around? - Steve, UK
It was a difficult situation. I just thought to myself on the changeover that if I wanted to turn it around, I had to be positive. I had to start being aggressive. I couldn't wait for her to make errors anymore. And it was working. I think I was also a bit lucky :)
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Monday, May 4, 2009
Hi everyone, welcome to my first blog :)
I'm just coming from my first match of the Estoril Open, and it was very tough. I was close to leaving the tournament on the first day! I didn't play too well. I was down 4-1 in the third set but was able to win in the end. Credit to my opponent though, she had a great performance. All I could do was fight. It was her birthday actually, so I feel a bit bad for her now, but I wasn't thinking about it during the match, of course. I'm happy to be through to the second round.
I came to Estoril on Saturday afternoon, and I have just been practicing and spending my time at the hotel. That's it. Nothing interesting yet! I've been here before. I've done well here before too, the finals last year and in 2004. It's one of my favorite tournaments. I have great memories here. The people here are very relaxed and nobody's rushing. There's no stress. It feels like home.
I don't know what's different with me but I've had a very good season so far. I'm just trying not to get too excited or satisfied. I have many tournaments ahead of me. I'm playing with confidence and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.
It's almost 3pm right now. I'm going to go for lunch then back to the hotel. We played almost three hours today. I'm tired! I need to relax a bit. I'll probably watch some movies - nothing too complicated, maybe some easy comedies. I don't want to think too much! Later, me and my roommate want to go for a walk on the beach. I just want to relax the rest of the day.
I'll try to do something more interesting to talk about tomorrow. Please send me your questions as well, I look forward to them.
Talk to you soon :)
Iveta
