 |
| Latest News |
| Search Articles |
| Audio Listing |
| Photo Galleries |
|
|
 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 30 Jun 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 04 Jul 2006 |  Photographer: Paul Zimmer
Date: 25 Jul 2006 |
|
| 07 Jul 2006 - London | |
| Donald and Pavlyuchenkova blog from Wimbledon |
Whatever the pros can do, we can do too! Check out our Wimbledon blog from players Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia and Aussie Stephen Donald. They'll be letting us know what they have been getting up to each day....
Sunday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hi, sorry I didn't blog yesterday. My doubles match finished pretty late and then I had to do an interview. After that I came back up to the player lounge for something to eat and didn't get back to the university until after nine. Then I borrowed my friend's computer and did stuff on the internet and went to bed quite early because I'd played a tough match and was really tired.
Today I came to Wimbledon at lunchtime and looked around some of the shops on site. I really like some of the stuff they sell here and wanted to buy some presents for my friends back home. I just had some pasta for lunch and now I'm waiting for my doubles partner to get here so we can arrange a practice. Then I need to have a massage because I'm aching after my match yesterday.
At 3.30 I have to go down to the ladies' locker room to try on dresses for the Champions Ball. I'm really excited about it. Alisa, my doubles partner is going too. We get to go whatever happens in the final but we will definately try to win anyway. I'm pretty confident we can win if we play like we did yesterday. I started the week playing pretty bad but have been getting better in every match. We have a lot of experience in doubles - I won the title in Australia this year and Alisa won here at Wimbledon in 2003.
This will probably be my last blog because after this I'm flying to America to play World Team Tennis for four weeks. After that I'm not sure whether I'm going back to Russia or if I'll stay in the US until the Open.
Thank you all for reading my blog, I hope it's been interesting. I've really enjoyed telling what I've been doing. Wish me luck in the final this afternoon...
Friday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hey everyone. So, last night wasn't so warm so we just stayed inside at the university and after dinner I watched TV and played cards with a few of my friends from Russia, Croatia and two Australians. We tried to teach the others a Russian card game but it was too hard for them to understand so in the end we just played an easy Croatian card game.
Today I arrived on site and arranged to practice with my doubles parter, Alisa Kleybanova. Alisa was keen to get started because she thought it was going to rain but I didn't hurry because I just thought it was just a bit cloudy. We had only been on court for about ten minutes when it started to rain. I couldn't believe it. So, we all just sat around in the players' lounge for hours until the rain stopped and the sun came out. Me and Alisa finished our practice then went down to watch our friend Pavel Chekhov play his singles semifinal. He was a bit unlucky and lost, which is really sad because now there are no Russians left except in the doubles.
I played my doubles quarterfinal at about 5.30 and won in two sets against Julia Cohen and Kimberly Couts from America. Now I'm just waiting around for my friend Arina Rodionova, who is playing doubles, then we're going back to the university. There's not much to do there so we'll probably just hang around and play more cards or maybe watch a movie.
Tomorrow I think we're playing our doubles semifinal, as long as it doesn't rain all day...
Thursday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
First thing today is, I have a message from Stephen. He lost his doubles yesterday so he had to go home. He told me to tell everyone goodbye and that he had a great time doing the blog.
The Aussies and Russians were hanging out together last night at the university, we were playing card games and a ball game where you have to try to get the ball off of each other. Stephen tried to get the ball from me, but he couldn't so I told him I'd put in my blog that I am obviously much better than him!
I didn't get back until after nine o clock last night because my doubles didn't finish until 8.30 so i missed my dinner! So I just had some fruit instead. Staying at the university is good fun, it's different from staying in a hotel, we can all hang out in the kitchens and outside and have fun. I'm a bit sad today because two of my friends went home today, Rodina and Lykina, but I'll see them again soon.
I'm not playing doubles today, our opponents are a round behind so we have to wait for them to catch up. In the boys' singles I'm cheering for Pavel Chekov, he's from Russia, Moscow too, I've known him for a long time. I'd like Marcos Baghdatis to win the mens, I think he is a really nice guy. He seems very open, he is friendly with all the juniors.
After Wimbledon I'm going to the US to play World Team Tennis. I'm in a team with Mark Knowles, Elena Likhovtseva, Nicole Vaidisova, Anna Kournikova and Sam Warburg. I have never played World Team Tennis before but I spoke with Likhovtseva at Roland Garros and she told me it is good fun.
Hopefully I'll have good news about my doubles tomorrow, I really want to win because if you win the title you get to go to the Wimbledon Ball. They have lots of dresses in the locker rooms for you to choose from. Alisa won doubles in 2003 and she told me it is great!
Wednesday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hi everyone. I've been relaxing quite a lot today. Last night I got back to the university at about eight o'clock, so i just took a shower and then we all watched the soccer. There is like a bar area with a big screen so everyone can sit together and watch. It was amazing that Italy scored two goals so late on, everyone was really excited. I didn't really mind who won, but it makes a really nice change from watching tennis all the time.
Play started late because of the rain, so everyone was just sitting around in the players area. Lots of the players complain about the English weather but I quite like it when the clouds are out and it's a little bit cooler. So, I came in this morning and watched my friend Evgeniya Rodina play her match. It was tough for her and she ended up losing. They had to break for a while when it rained again and she had a problem with her back and a strapping on her leg.
Later on I will watch my doubles partner, Alisa Kleybanova, playing in her singles, then I'll have a rest before we have to play our match. I think if we play well we stand a good chance of winning. I really like playing here. When you finish your match and the crowd claps and cheers and then people ask for autographs it makes me feel really happy.
Tonight I think I'm just going to go back to the university and then watch the football with everyone. Wish me luck in the doubles...
Stephen Donald
Alright guys. This morning I watched the State of Origin footy match between Queensland and New South Wales. I'm from Melbourne, in Victoria, and I hate rugby - I'm more of an AFL man. I didn't really care who won but quite a lot of the other Aussies are from those states. New South Wales were 14-4 up close to the end but ended up losing. They were gutted.
After that I had a hit with my mate James Lemke, but it was interrupted by the rain, which was pretty annoying. Then me and a few Aussie guys just sat around in the players lounge and played cards, hearts mostly. We had the TV switched to some of the junior matches so we could see how they others were all going.
Look guys, i'm really sorry but I'm going to have to do a short blog today. I'm supposed to be playing doubles in less than a set and I can't find my partner, Michal Konecny. Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes...
Tuesday
Stephen Donald
Hi guys, started my day with a grind with Gastao Elias, the Portuguese grinder, he's gonna be Portugal's next big thing! After practice I grabbed some pizza for lunch, got to load up on those carbs! I got to play my first round doubles match today, me and Konecny finally managed to beat Jebavy and Podlipnik, think it was about my third try! We beat them in straight sets, which is pretty good going as they were the No.6 seeds. Tommorow we play a couple of Spanish guys, Ramos and Garrapiz.
After my match I cracked another slice of pizza (good diet hey!), I hung around at Wimbledon for a while then I headed back to the university where we are staying to take on some South Americans and Europeans at soccer.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hey everyone, I'll start by telling you about my birthday celebration yesterday. Me and my friends were all in the kitchen that we share, having fun. Then I got a big surprise, my brother and Ksenia Lykina's sister bought in a cake covered in 15 candles! I was so surprised, I really wasn't expecting that, I don't know where they got it. I was really excited, it was great.
It's so nice to have good friends. All of the Russian girls are great friends, I know some people probably think it is difficult to be friends with girls that you play against, but we know that a match is a match and after we are still friends. It's nice when you travel to lots of tournaments to know that you will know people there and you can have fun with your friends.
I didn't get to play my doubles match yesterday. Me and Alisa waited until 18.50 and finally they cancelled the match. So today we waited again and we started the match at about 18.00. In the end we played a good match and won the match 62 64. As you can see from the photos, me and Alisa have fun while we play too. Tomorrow we will play Jessica Moore and Valeria Pulido-Velasco, so I'll let you know how I get on...
Monday
Stephen Donald
Hey, Stephen here, sorry I didn't blog on Saturday, I couldn't find the lady who loads up the website, but anyway I'll update you now on what happened on Saturday. Basically, I got out on court and got absolutely slaughtered! I played Luka Belic from Croatia, he's the No.6 seed. I've played him once before in Holland last year on clay and I beat him in three sets. But this time, I went down 5-0 in the first set and it all went downhill from there, he played well, I played terrible!
Anyway, after the match I watched the soccer match betweeen England and Portugal, I was hoping England was going to win but that Portuguese goalie was a bit of a freak, he saved everything. I went out to dinner on Saturday night with my mum and my uncle, so it was a nice end to a bad day.
They don't play at Wimbledon on Sunday so we had the day off. I went to Piccadilly Circus in London with my mum and Joel Lindner, another Aussie, and his mum. We did a bit of shopping and played some arcade games, I won, I'm much better than him!
So, now it's Monday but I'm not playing today. I practised with James Lemke, yet another Aussie, you can see us Aussies stick together! I'll play doubles tomorrow, I'm playing with Michal Konecny from the Czech Republic. We've got the No.6 seeds, Roman Jebavy and Hans Podlipnik, in the first round, but hopefully this match will go a bit better than my first!
It's heaps good doing this blog, you get to go places that the other juniors can't. Check out the photos of me up on the roof of the broadcast centre, the view up there is awesome!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hi, well the first thing I have to tell you is that it is my birthday today! I am fifteen, so we are planning a big party tonight at the University where we are staying.. We have some Ipod speakers so we will be able to play some music, mostly R&B, I like Chris Brown and Fifty Cent. My friends will help me party, we have a little group, we eat breakfast and lunch together and support each other so it's really cool. I had lunch with some of my friends today, Evgeniya Rodina, Ksenia Palkina and Ksenia Lykina. It's so much fun at the university, everyone plays soccer outside and sits at chats in the evening, it's really cool.
Yesterday I had a good day too. I had a free day so we took the sightseeing bus around London, it was so great. I sat on the top on the bus and there was no roof, so we got blown around by the wind for two and a half hours. We saw so many beautiful buildings, my favourite was Tower Bridge, it's so beautiful along the river Thames. It was really nice to have a rest day, I am so tired after playing for a long time. I played five tournaments before Roland Garros, then I got to the the final of singles and doubles there, after that, I had one week back in Russia training, and then last week I played in Roehampton. So it was so nice to relax and not play any tennis yesterday.
Today, even though it is my birthday, it is back to work. I practised at 11 and I am waiting to play my doubles match with Alisa Kleybanova my partner. We don't have a court yet, so we just have to wait around and they will tell us when we play. I hope we win as that would be a great birthday present!
Saturday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia here, not such a great day today, I lost my first round match to Kristina Kucova from Slovak Republic. When I woke up I was feeling ok, but during the match I didn't feel like I had alot of energy, I don't know why. I wasn't really feeling nervous before the match but I did get a bit nervous during the match. There were alot of people watching, which is always nice, but it didn't help me today.
The first set was really quick 1-6 and then I was playing better in the second set and we got to a tie-break. When I was 3-6 down in the tie-break I realised I had nothing to lose so I just had to go for it. I managed to save 6 match points, but in the end I lost 12-10. I'm disappointed, but that's tennis, you just have to learn from your defeats.
Now I'll concentrate on my doubles, I'm playing with Alisa Kleybanova, she's a really good player and she plays good on grass so I think we have a good chance. I won the doubles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, so I hope I can do just as well here.
I'll be watching the Roddick v Murray match later, I'll be cheering for Roddick. Tomorrow, there is no play at Wimbledon so I think I might take a sightseeing bus around London that is organised by the tournament. It would be good to see some of London while I'm here.
So that's it for today, hopefully I'll have better news to tell you on Monday when the doubles starts!
Friday
Here they start off the day before Junior Wimbledon begins.....
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Hi I'm Anastasia. This is going to be my first Wimbledon and I'm really excited. I haven't even been to the All England Club yet, so I'm looking forward to getting my accreditation today so I can go and have a look around. I lost my semifinal match yesterday at the Grade 1 tournament in Roehampton, I was up 5-1 in the third and I had two match points, but I don't know what happened, I think I lost my concentration a bit, and I lost 8-6 in the third. But losing makes me have to think about my game and is good experience for me, and at least now I have some time to have a look around at Wimbledon. I'd love to see Roddick play, he's my favourite and of course the Russian guys like Safin.
Today I woke up 7.30 had some breakfast and then I was listening to some Russian music with my friends in their kitchen where we are staying at the University of Surrey. It's ok there, I'm only sleeping there, but the problem is that there is no TV! I went to Roehampton to practice at 12.30 and I'll watch the girls singles final and the doubles final, my friends are playing, Lykina and Rodionova, hopefully they will win. Then after I think I will go for my first visit to Wimbledon.
Above are some photos, one with my brother, he's my coach too, with my friend Evgenia Rodina and one of the Spanish boys, Javier Garrapiz and his coach Joan Llorens (he used to coach Nadal).
Well, that's about it for today, I'll let you know tomorrow what my first impressions of Wimbledon are, and hopefully I'll be able to give you a match report on my first match!
Stephen Donald
Hi I'm Stephen. I've just picked up my Wimbledon accredition, it looks a bit weird as my face is as red as a beetroot - think there was something wrong with the camera, but hopefully they'll let me into Wimbledon. This isn't my first visit, I came once before on holiday when I was seven and watched Henman play Haarhuis. It ended 9-7 in the fifth or something like that, I think I was a bit bored after the first set at that age!
Last night there was a fire alarm in my block so I had to get out of bed at about 12.30 and go and stand outside, lucky I didn't have to play a match today! I woke up at about eight and had breakfast and then went back to my room, watched an episode of Mr Bean and fell asleep. I eventually woke up again at about 10.30 and went over to Roehampton to have bash with some of the other Aussies. I think I'll have some lunch and maybe go back and sleep again - as you may have guessed I like to sleep!
I've been watching the soccer World Cup and have to say that we were robbed! I'll be watching the Germany v Argentina match this afternoon. I think Argentina will probably win that, Germany may choke.
Check out the photos of me - there's me getting my lunch, ravioli and some veggies, and that's me with my coach, Sandon Stolle. He used to be a pro and played Wimbledon loads of times, so he can give me lots of advice.
That's it from me for today. The Junior Wimbledon draw comes out this afternoon, so I'll let you know tomorrow who I've got in the first round. See ya!
^ Back to Top
|
|
|
|
