MADRID, Spain - With 55 doubles titles to her name, Rennae Stubbs is one of the most accomplished players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. And nobody at the Sony Ericsson Championships this past week had graced the event more times - this was her 11th trip, winning once, with Lisa Raymond in 2001. This time, she and Cara Black finished runner-up for the third consecutive year, losing to Raymond and Samantha Stosur, 36 63 63; but her spirits remained high despite the championship loss, as can be read below with her final entry into the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blog.
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Sunday, November 12, 2006
Hi everyone...
Well I'm not going to be a poor loser and make any excuses but we had a really bad day and played the worst match of our lives and should have won! OK OK, just kidding... But hey I had you there for a moment!
Seriously, it was a tough match that could have gone either way, but in the end, Sam and Lisa just played that little bit better than us when it counted, which is what has made them the No.1 team this year. I have had that feeling before and it's a nice one - confidence is underrated!
And who wins the singles? Yep, the No.1 player in the world! Justine played a truly great match today. It must have been hard for Amélie to come back after beating Justine earlier in the week, to have to face her again with such a short turnaround and also after such a tough match yesterday. No excuses though, Justine played way more aggressive than the last time and Amélie was not quite as aggressive, so in the end, fortune favors the brave, right?!
OK, well what are my plans now you ask? What does a tennis pro do once the year is over? Well, as far as I am concerned, I am going on a serious break! This old body needs some serious R AND R! :-) These young ones will be back at it in a few weeks practicing and working as hard as ever; but me, I will take about two to three weeks' break and hit the beach or the ski slopes for some great powder, hopefully!
So I am wishing you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Here's to a nice bottle of red... I hope you all enjoyed my blog and please come and cheer me on anytime you see my name in the draw. If not, well, enjoy the tennis on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour!
All the best,
Stubbsy
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Saturday, November 11, 2006
Hi everyone,
Well good news to report - we got through our match today and we're into the final to face Raymond and Stosur. It's a rematch of last year's final, one I don't care to remember too much of (we were up a set and 5-2 - aagghh!) Hopefully tomorrow will be our turn. Fingers crossed for a good result!
It's always tough for me to play against Lisa after we played together for so long, and having such a great partnership, but we are the best of friends and so no matter what, in the end, that's the main thing. Also, Sammy and I are good friends too; so this is the one part of playing tennis that's tough. Going out to play your friends is never easy, but in the end, you all see it as business and in the end as a game, so hopefully you can always leave it on the court. No matter what happens, I can assure you we'll all be having a few drinks in the bar of the hotel tomorrow night as our year finally comes to an end!
So, onto the singles. Wow, what a week of matches we've had, and isn't it appropriate that the two best players of 2006 are in the final. Its a repeat of the Oz Open and Wimbledon finals, both of which Amélie won, so you have to think she is the favorite tomorrow, especially after beating Justine once already this week. But don't count Justine out; we know that on any given day, she is ready to prove that her year-end ranking of No.1 is hers for a reason. She was very impressive today against the very in-form Sharapova.
Amélie and Kim played an amazing match tonight, some of the best tennis you will ever see from two incredible athletes and great players, as well as super nice people. It was tough that someone had to lose, but hey, that's tennis!
So onto finals day we go. I predict nothing but good tennis :-) That's it! Talk to you all tomorrow and once again, lets hope that I have some good news to report, and if not, hey, I will be drinking a red wine tomorrow night no matter what! Enjoy your night and thanks for reading.
Stubbsy!
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Friday, November 10, 2006
Hi everyone,
Tonight's blog is going to be a little shorter. Why? Well, because I'm playing first match on tomorrow, at 11am, and so I HAVE TO GET TO BED BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!
Today was spent getting prepared and ready for our first match. We had a really good practice session at 1pm - yes, a nice late morning. I slept 'til 10am, but hey, I went to sleep at 1.45am again. I can't sleep well right now, jet lag is not fun! So you can imagine how excited I am to have to get up at 7am tomorrow :-) Don't worry, I am a pro and will be prepared to go when called on... That's why I had room service and stayed in tonight! :-)
We played a couple of practice sets with Peschke and Schiavone. There isn't much choice of who you can practice with, but it's good to get a few points with some other teams under your belt before you have to play the real matches... Match practice, as we call it, is very important, especially since we haven't played a real match in a few weeks. But we feel ready.
Anyway, how about Mauresmo? She has done it again, qualified through after an early loss. She must be feeling good about her chances now. Let's face it, she has won some big matches this year and she is hungry to defend her title. As for Martina Hingis, she almost got through, but instead she'll be finishing up her comeback year a little earlier than she was hoping. But all in all, an amazing comeback, congrats on a great year Martina!
The yellow group isn't decided yet, as Kim Clijsters has to win at least a set against Dementieva to qualify, and at the present moment I am writing this, Sharapova and Kuznetsova are still on the court... Remember, I have to get to sleep early - give me a break! So, you'll all have to check the website or watch the TV to find out what happened!
Anyway, I'm going to sign off now and wish you all a good day. Here's hoping for some good news to report tomorrow. If not, well, I guess it's vacation time a day earlier than I hoped... Fingers crossed it's not the case...
Thanks for reading,
Stubbsy
P.S. Now that I've finished, I realize the blog is long again! No shock to all my friends out there - I haven't ever been short with my words, EVER! Night...
