NEW HAVEN, CT, USA - She has been one of the preeminent players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for more than a decade, winning four singles and a staggering 60 doubles titles during a glittering 18-year career. Usually she can be seen playing in tandem with Samantha Stosur in one of the top doubles teams on Tour, but at the Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick Lisa Raymond teamed up with comeback queen Lindsay Davenport as well as stepping up to do her second Player Blog.

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Morning...

Waking up to no rain, it's already a good day :-) Just got back from my usual breakfast haunt, now I have a few hours to kill before our 1pm hit. I guess if I could eat breakfast at 9 instead of 7:30am it would make for a shorter morning. But that's ok, it gives me time to write some emails, catch up on my reading, and make some calls back home. I have always been very close to my family but in the past few years since I have become an aunt, we have gotten even closer. Being home for the past three weeks was amazing because I was able to spend so much time with them, especially my three nieces. A set of one-year-old twins, Aimee and Natalie, as well as a three-and-a-half-year-old Jules keeps me plenty busy when home. When I'm away, I love hearing about them, every new step they take or word they try to say... Too cute!!

I guess the US Open draw comes out in a few hours and it's sure to be the talk of the courts today. It's so funny, now that I don't play singles anymore, I am so far removed from it. Other than seeing who Sam plays, and maybe one or two other friends of mine, it doesn't interest me as much. Sure, I like to see who the top players may play in the semis or something like that, but that's about it. I barely know what is happening at tournaments anymore, who is winning, who beat who, what someone's ranking is, blah blah blah... It's actually really nice :-)

Unfortunately, LD and I came up short this afternoon, going down in the match tie-break in the third set. Black and Huber played the big points well today and that's why they have had the success they have. Having said that, LD was great. There were some shots today, some returns that were just scary good. I have always said she is one of the best strikers of the tennis ball, ever, and it was evident at times today. Maybe if we had a few matches under our belt before playing these guys, it could have been different. Whatever the case, it was great to have Lindsay back and look forward to what the future holds for her...

Off to the Big Apple in the morning. Before I go, a few artists worth checking out. Found them both on MySpace. Stephen Speaks, and their single "Bold" is a good one, and Jason Reeves, with the track "You In A Song". They are both worth a listen and a download.

I am bummed to be leaving New Haven so early, a tournament I love coming back to year after year. I will pack my car in the morning and drive to the city, wondering at this point in my career, just how many more times I will be playing the Pilot Pen. Hopefully I have a couple more left in me... Guess we never know...

Hope you enjoyed my blog. Thanks for the support and chat again soon :-)

Lisa

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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Rain, rain, go away...

Waking up to rain for a tennis player isn't always the greatest way to start our days. Schedules get disrupted, things are on hold, and the waiting game starts. Now, if I wasn't playing in a tournament, let it rain... I LOVE RAINY DAYS!! Stay inside, watch movies on TNT, read a book, or just hang out and do nothing days. Sounds amazing :-) But when you have to play a match, rain and mother nature can be a bit nerve-wracking...

Anyway, I grabbed my paper and strolled down to my favorite breakfast place in New Haven, Claire's. Had my tofu scramble (anyone who knows me is falling off their chair right now reading this but SERIOUSLY, it's so good. Plus, I added some Tabasco to give it a little kick :-) Third coffee of the day, and spread my paper out on the table and enjoyed my rainy morning.

So what to do? You end up hitting the gym for a good workout, get the body going and get a sweat. Come back, call over to the courts every few hours to see what the latest news is, watch reruns of Grey's or Devils Wears Prada for the 10th time ("No, no, not a question") or spend hours searching for new music on iTunes and MySpace. Actually, The Ladder is a great place to find new artists, listen to their music, and actually download some of it for free. Two artists that I found and are worth checking out are Holly Brook and Keri Noble. Holly Brook's song "What I Wouldn't Give" is my favorite track, while Keri Noble's "Ohh-Oh" is amazing... Have a look and a listen.

What else... Since the rain kept coming down, I decided to join Sam and Rennae Stubbs for a movie. We went to see "Superbad", starring Seth Rogen from "Knocked Up" (who happened to be one of the writers as well) and two young unknown actors who were hilarious!! It was the perfect movie to just sit back and laugh out loud for two hours.

When we got out of the theatre the rain was still coming down. LD had texted me during the movie (I know, bad girl but it was on vibrate!) saying we may be canceled if the rain continued and sure enough, CANCELLED! The least of the tournament's worries is playing our doubles match when there are plenty of first-round singles matches still to be played. Looks like LD's comeback will have to wait one more day. :-)

I had dinner with some friends tonight at one of New Haven's newer restaurants, Fosters. American flare I guess you could say. A lot of meats, fish, salads... It was very good and another stamp on my passport.

Off to bed. LD and I are fourth on tomorrow and I hear the forecast is better. Let's hope so. One last channel surf and it's lights out.

'Til next time,

LR