Thursday, July 9, 2009
Well, I had so many chances against Caroline today, but I didn't take them. I had set point at 5-4 in the first set but missed a return, and I was up 5-3 in the second set. I lost, 75 76(4). It was a pity, because I feel I played really well. But I can take lots of positives from this. I wasn't pushing the ball, I was trying to play aggressively and make things happen. My problem today was I would lose my concentration sometimes and miss some shots I should make, or at least direct them differently. But I didn't have a good start to this season and now I feel like I'm playing very good tennis again, so I can only be happy
Caroline is in very good form. At Wimbledon I felt I didn't have any chances, but here on the clay I feel much better. And I like hardcourts too, so this gives me confidence for the summer hardcourt season. I know I'm playing good tennis again, so now I just have to work on a few things and I think I can do well this summer.
I'm going back home tomorrow morning. We're driving to Copenhagen and I have a flight from there to Moscow. I'll be home for a week and three days. I'm really looking forward to being with my family and seeing my friends. My grandmother and grandfather are there too, so I'm excited to see them. I'm also looking forward to watching more Tudors...
the website I am watching them on doesn't have Russian translation so it's hard for me to follow - even when it's in Russian, it can be hard to follow for me sometimes
My next tournament is in Stanford in two weeks. I'm going to the US a little bit early, on June 20, a week before Stanford. I have a photo shoot in LA, then I'll go to Stanford to practice for a few days before the tournament. Last time I played on hardcourts was Miami in March, so I'm excited to play on it again. I'm playing a lot of events before the US Open. I miss playing lots of tournaments. I didn't do so well earlier this year so right now I really want more matches.
This was a great week. It was a really nice tournament, a nice atmosphere, and it brought out some nice emotions... I'm very happy I came here this week
And I had a nice time after my match today, talking to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Supervisor, Laura. We were talking for almost an hour, just about life... I had just gone jogging so it was nice to just sit and talk about everything! Then I grabbed an ice cream on my way out of the player lounge, which is actually in the hotel... I just finished it. At the beginning of the week the fridge was full of them and now it's half-full -
I think I may have taken about a quarter of them...
I am waiting until I get home to watch more of The Tudors, but now I'm watching a movie, called The Gift (I think they renamed it Echelon Conspiracy). It's a thriller. This guy got a phone as a gift, but he gets text messages on it that tell him what's going to happen the next day, or in the future. Nobody knows where the phone came from. It's really good.
I'd like to say a little bit about Michael Jackson. He was the greatest singer. We have some friends in London, and when we were at Wimbledon we saw them, and they had tickets for his concert. It's too bad for them. I hear his songs on the radio all the time. It's very sad what happened. Also, a few days ago there was more sad news, as Mathieu Montcourt, who played on the ATP, died. He was only 24. When my friend Marta Domachowska told me about that it was an unbelievable shock. I played juniors with him, I knew him... With things like this, it seems silly to be angry when you're losing a tennis match. It's nothing. To be healthy and alive is the most important thing. My best wishes to Mathieu's family.
Thanks to all of you for reading my blog this week. Sorry I couldn't make it to the final! I will write again soon. You can also go to my official website, at
www.mariakirilenko.com. Damien, who updates it, is doing such a great job. I'm happy he's doing it! I have a diary there. I try to update it when I can
Also, happy birthday next week to my boyfriend, Igor. I'm preparing a nice present for him. Hopefully he likes it! See you next week!
I'll talk to you all again very soon
Maria
She really needs to see a doctor
Maria back on clay: Bastad
. I have an idea for his birthday present, i think Maria bought him all the episodes of the Tudors
