US Open Stringing Room 2011 - Day 3

Day 3 Sat 20th August

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Sleep patterns are an issue. Had 8 hours sleep the previous night and felt great. Last night I went to bed at midnight. Slept through my alarm and woke up at 2.15pm. I think that was my body catching up on the last few days. 

Walked around for a few hours today.Lots of big shops here.Went to the gym for a bit. Really just took it easy. I have an early start tomorrow. It will be my first day stringing.  It should be an easy day. We don’t get really busy with the qualifiers until Mon/Tues. Qualifying starts  Wednesday so we expect Tuesday to be one of the busiest days we will have for the tournament.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 US Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

US Open String Room 2011 - Day 2

Day 2 Friday 19 August

Things I learned today

1. Lack of sleep leads to headaches.

2. Nurofen Zavance does not act THAT fast.

3. Reese’s peanut Butter Cups are addictive.

4. Reese's Peatut Butter Cups contain 10grams of protein per 100grams which justifies my decision to eat them as a post workout meal.

5. Hotel gyms are really small.

6. Bums over here are really large.

7. Chemists over here are actually grocery stores but without the fruit and veges.

8. Food is really cheap.

9. Pizza from New York Slice in Brisbane is $7.50 a slice. Pizza actually from New York is 99 cents per slice.

10. There are more banks in Manhattan than there are 7 Eleven stores in Melbourne. There is even an Apple Bank - for apples?????

11. Wireless internet with a prepaid stick is lightning fast compared to Australian wireless.

12. The setup instructions provided by T Mobile with their prepaid internet stick are woefully inadequate.

13. When the T Mobile automated helpline cannot help you it just hangs up on you.

14. Wireless internet here is expensive.

15. Pre- paid phone plans are cheap.

16. The guys at Footlocker are really well drilled. Brought out 2 styles of shoes for me when i selected the one i wanted and tried to sell me innersoles as i was trying them on.

17. Times Square is underwhelming.

18. There is an undersupply of wheelie bins in New York.

19. It is ok to leave trash on the ground.

20. It is cheaper to buy new clothes than have them washed with the hotel's laundry service.

21. Homeless people here have mobile phones.

22. The police swat team gears up on Times Square just to impress tourists. Show-offs.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 US Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

US Open Stringing 2011

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Day 1 18th August

My first day in the States and I'm spending it sitting in the American Airlines terminal. I can think of much better ways to waste 7 hours. So far as airport terminals go this one is pretty average. No good shops, A few food outlets. All of the food outlets have massive queues - US Customs size queues. I have never seen this in an Australian airport. The staffing sucks or these guys can eat. Either way it's not good. I shall have to start queuing at 1030am if I want to eat lunch at a reasonable hour.

The flight over was 13 hours. It's just on 9am now which means I have been awake for 19 hours now. Feeling tired. Although still managing to type with few errors. Note to self - get sleeping pills for the return trip. I cannot sleep in an upright position. No way, no how. I really feel like just lying down on the carpet and going to sleep. Floor space, however, seems to be at a premium. And I'm not confident that I  won't catch something. The warning signs all through customs scream danger at every turn.  The customs voice over guy likes to use the phrase "law abiding citizen". He uses it a lot. "Law abiding citizens are free to go about your business". "Law abiding citizens have nothing to hide. They are true travellers. True travellers are welcome in the United States." The undertone of course being if you mess up we will shoot you -dead. Note to self don't mess around with these guys.

Managed to clear customs in an hour. Pretty good considering I was at the very end of the queue. They bumped me to the front. My passport has had a workout. Had to present to the check in desk in Brisbane, then to customs in Australia, then to again to board the flight, then to customs in the US. before I collected my bag, then again to customs after collecting my bag (sidestepped the body cavity search) then again to drop my bag off for the connecting flight. In the space of 100m I present 3 times to 3 different people. Then it's over to the American Airlines terminal where I join a massive security screening queue and present my passport again.

I have to take my shoes off at this checkpoint and also undergo a full body scan. There is someone in a booth looking at me totally naked as I stand there with my hands behind my head. I saw that pose last night on the plane. I was watching Snowtown. In that movie a pedophile takes photos of a young boy standing in that position wearing only underwear. I feel violated.

I'm watching passengers board a plane right now. The staff here seem very unhappy. They are warning passengers that there will be random ID and baggage checks once they are on board the flight. If they ask me to unpack my bag I will not be thrilled.

The one saving grace so far are the peanut butter cups. Best thing ever. Bought a Nestea thinking it would be the same as in Australia. It sort of is. You can try it out at home. Buy a Nestea from the shop then each time you take a mouthful mix in about 8 teaspoons of sugar and there you have it. American Nestea.

It is just on 930am now. Time to find a spot to snooze.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 US Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

Shane Mikic Stringing Blog

Shane Mikic has been invited to attend this years US Open as part of the official Wilson Global Stringing Team.  Again Shane will be sharing his experiences inside the room with insights into what is happening on the pro tour when it comes to tension, customisation and new strings. Stay tuned for more information.

Staying in the Tennis Business

Tennis Gear recently celebrated 40 years in the tennis business, originally the business was owned and operated by Geoff Olsson and then by Mark Bloomfield. A lot has changed over that time with the introduction of our online store www.tennisgear.com.au and also our latest Tennis Centre at Shaw Park. The one thing that hasn't changed however is our commitment to remain a tennis specialist and offer the best range, quality and advice in the industry.

 

The following article by Richard Neher  http://www.examiner.com/tennis-in-los-angeles/how-to-survive-34-years-the-ten...

Cardio Tennis at Shaw Park Tennis

On January the ninth Adrian O’Sullivan was invited to participate in the inaugural Cardio Tennis Australia workshop in Melbourne presented by U.S. Cardio Tennis guru Michelle Krause.  As a part of a highly motivated group of individuals from all over Australia the workshop covered all aspects of Cardio Tennis classes and involved participating in and designing lessons that covered all aspects of what Cardio Tennis is renowned for. “It was an unreal experience” Adrian states. “I really understood how I could improve the lessons I’d been doing and am looking forward to growing this aspect of tennis within Tennis Gear”. “It really is the most fun way to play tennis for any individual and standard, very social and not dependant on standard at all”.

At the end of the two days Adrian was actually glad to get on the plane back to Brisbane. “I was buggered after two days of constant cardio exercise, and I’m pretty fit!” Secretly though, I can’t wait to get into it again.

Cardio Tennis is available at Shaw Park Tennis Centre every Wednesday night at 6.30pm.  Details are available on our website at www.tennisgear.com.au

Yonex VCore Racquets now available!!!

www.tennisgear.com.au have just released the new Yonex VCore racquets for sale.  Caroline Wozniacki has just started using the VCore 100S, Naldandian will be using the VCore 98D and Hewitt will be using the VCore 95D.

The VCore frames are very competitively priced at $239 and demos are available at both the Everton Tennis & Gear and the Shaw Park Tennis & Gear Store. Be first to demo this racquet and write a reveiw on our site.

Pictured below is photo of Wasniacki and her new VCore 100S.