OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 16

Day 16 Sat 22nd January

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Today is my last day stringing. I was originally rostered to finish yesterday but I still had a couple of players in the tournament so decided to come in. It is Pin's last day as well which leaves 6 stringers from Sunday onwards.

 Arrived at 8.15am. Had one Raonic rkt due at 9am and then another 2 due right before his match. Went to breakfast at 8.50am and came back to find more rkts waiting for me. From 9.10 to 10.30 I did 5 rkts. 2 for Raonic which had been dropped off Fri night plus another he dropped in while I was at breakfast and 2 for Morita which were due at 11am. Busy morning. Then from 10.40am i had 2 RDis 100's to do which were due at 2pm, but I had to do them before Raonic got into his 11am match so that I would be free for his on courts. He sent in 3 on-courts during the first 2 sets of his match with Youzhny. I did each one in 15 minutes. Cut, strung, stencilled, bagged and out the door in 15 minutes. Pretty fast for that rkt. It is a K Blade 98, 18 x 20 pattern with Luxilon M2 Pro at 42/44lbs. I then sat down to watch some of his match. He sent another on-court at the start of the 4th set but we didn't receive it. I sat there waiting with my cutters at the ready and the string measured out but it never came. He won in 4 sets.

Mid afternoon was pretty quiet then it picked up again later on. I was done by 8pm. I went around the room saying my goodbyes. I felt sad leaving. It has been a good tournament. Lots of laughs.

The other day a guy at the window asked "how much do you hate stringing?" I replied that I loved it. Speaking to the other stringers here I know they all feel the same. It sounds crazy but this was a holiday for me. Working 14-15 hour days in an environment where the smallest mistake is a  very big deal. Last year I remember thinking that it was the hardest thing I had ever done. This year it all seems so easy. Hard work, but easy. Maybe it was all of the red bull I was drinking. I know that I can't wait for the next tournament. Whether it's the US Open later this year or Melbourne again next year.  Either way I look forward to catching up with the stringing team again.

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 15

Day 15 - Friday 21st January

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Steady day today. Juniors all checking in with rkts. Some of them are giving us 5 and 6 rkts at a time. This is more than most of the senior players will give in at a time. So we are getting busy again. Had one on court rkt today. I was halfway through another rkt when it came in. No phone call. Just a ball kid turning up at the counter with it. I left the rkt I was doing and did it on a free machine. The clamps on the  machine I used were much better than the clamps on the machine I have been using since the start. I just figured the clamp design was bad. Turns out the machine I had been on was one of the originals and the clamps have changed since then. The new clamps are fantastic. Our machines at work still have the original clamps so that is the feel I was used to. I have swapped the newer clamps onto my machine. They make a massive difference.

I made my first and only mistake today. Although it wasn't my fault (I always need a scapegoat).

A rkts came in during the morning and it was needed in 20 minutes. I was still on another rkt. I was given the rkt with no print out listing string or tension. The counter told me Alu Power at 25kg and handed me an alu power spool. I was given the print out after I had measured the rkt and started stringing but didn'y look at it because it was needed in a hurry. As I was bagging the rkt I looked at the print ou on the bag and it said Alu power mains and Sensation crosses!!!!!!!! The rkt was being picked up in about 5 minutes. Quickest string job I have ever done. Mains and half the crosses done in around 7 minutes. The player was late so the rkt was done stencilled straightened and bagged as they walked in the door. Close call. There were a few mistakes today. Misweaving, forgotten power pads, incorrect stencilling,  gut breaking at the tie off. Most of the guys have been here since early January and are getting tired. Limited sleep and long hours over a period of time take a toll. Fortunately no rkts have gone out to players with mistakes in them. They all get caught ahead of time.

I was asked to close. It means that I was the on-duty stringer for the last match of the night. Everyone was done around 10pm. Fortunately matches were quick so I got out of there around midnight. Tomorrow is my last day. Raonic is playing first up. I am expecting a few on court rkts from him. I have 3 to string in the morning immediately before his match.

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

 

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 14

Day 14 - Thursday 20th Jan

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151 rkts. Slow, slow day. I spent most of the day trying to get my internet connection to work. No dice. Vodafone mobile broadband is without a doubt the single biggest frustration in my life. I suspect that my stress induced heart attack will no doubt result from dealing with these idiots.

Did 2 on courts for Raonic. I string 3 rkts immediately before he goes on court and then he sends in a rkt at the end of each set. He cruised in his match today so only the 2 on courts from him. If his nxt match goes to 5 then he is going to keep me busy.

Early night. Back to the room at 9pm. Went next door to buy timtams and grain waves. Ate the tim tams for dinner. Food of champions. Watched some tennis on TV. In bed by midnight. Tomorrow will be busier. The juniors will start checking in.

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 13

Day 13 - Wed 19th Jan

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240 rkts today. Things will start getting quieter now. Stringers are starting to leave. It was Joe's last day today. Dickie finishes up tomorrow.

We had tears at the counter early today. A player came in needing a rkt done in a hurry. But with english not everyone's first language the stringer cut the strings out straight away. It was the rkt the player wanted to keep and not the one she wanted strung. She broke down crying at the counter. Mental toughness? Both rkts were strung in time for her match and she was very happy with the result.

Early finish. Home around 10ish

 

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 12

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Day 12 - Tues 18th Jan

Fingers a bit sensitive today. Not even close to the pain I was in last year. I had 5 on court racquets today so they took a bit of a battering. Got all 5 done in under 18 minutes. The fastest was 14 minutes. That is 14 minutes to cut out the string, measure the string, mount the racquet, string the racquet, straighten the strings, stencil the racquet, bag the racquet and hand it to the runner. The record for any on court racquet by the Wilson team is 13 minutes.

I had 2 on courts in a row, one after the other. Had just finished one then within 30 seconds had another. Later in the day I had one of my players sending in a racquet for every set he played. I was glad he won in 3. Each time a racquet came in from him there was no phone call letting us know a racquet was coming in. Just a ball kid showing up with a racquet.

Finished early tonight. Had a quiet day. Still strung all day but they were mostly for other players. Had another stringer ask for help at 5.30. He had 2 rkts due at 6pm  but as he finished the first one he misweaved the bottom cross so needed to have 2 done in 30 minutes.

Left the stringing room at 9.30 and went for beers with Joe.

Home at midnight. Put on a load of washing. I have no clean clothes for tomorrow. Plus all of these hours in my shoes has left them very sweaty. Gross. They smell.

Back and neck feel fine. Not having issues standing at a machine all day. The compression socks make a huge difference. My legs feel fatigued when I don't have them pulled up.

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 11

Day 11 - Mon 17th Jan

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Have lost track of time. Had no idea what day it was until I checked my phone a minute ago. I wake up, quickly shower, and walk 10 minutes to the courts. Start stringing at 8am and stop around 10.30 or 11 each night. My feet are showing signs of wear. Not looking healthy. The knot of pain that was my neck a few days ago has gone now. Stretching during the day whenever possible seems to have worked. Cannot remember if I wrote an entry about yesterday. Spent hours on a stage, miked up and stringing for everyone to see and take pictures. Under 2 umbrellas but still got burned. Was sweating bullets. We did 378 rkts yesterday. That is the most the Wilson team has done in a single day. The room is a good mix of guys. Have laughed a lot over the last few days.

First day of main draw today. Apart from a few rkts in the morning I did not have many rkts of my own. A lot of my players lost early. Still spent the whole day stringing. 8am to 10.30pm. Was stringing everyone else's rkts all day. Weaving felt good today. Very fast. Have a good rhythm going. Don't think I have been this fast ever. Fingers still feel good.

There has been a crowd watching us the whole day. Like living in a fish bowl. We keep the windows closed for the most part. People taking photos all day with the flash on. Not sure how those pics are going to turn out. We have done well in excess of 300 rkts today. Early start tomorrow.

 

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing room - Day 9

Day 9 - Sat 15th Jan

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As of the end of last night we had done 1094 rkts since last Sat. 6 of the 15 stringers had done 100 rkts or more. I was in 3rd place with 102. Vasilly had done 109 and Ben had 124. Ben knows all of the french players so has more players on his roster than anyone else. He works for Technifibre. Last year they paid him to go to Spain for 8 mths and string at various sports stores and centres promoting their products.

Today was kids day. We had a stage set up outside the booth. I was on stage with a microphone stringing rkts and talking to people about rkts strings and equipment I had 2 on courts during this time. Stringing in the blazing sun under a couple of umbrellas is not ideal when speed and accuracy are required.

On stage from 9.30 til 1.30. Lots of pictures.

The afternoon was slow until about 4pm. We got smashed. 238 rkts for the day. Solid day.

Early finish tonight. Back at the hotel by 8.40. Everyone has rkts waiting for them to be done tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is going to be a huge day. We are expecting around 350 rkts. Normally we wouldn't have on court rkts to contend with but qualies are still being played which makes life more complicated. Will be an early night. Maybe 11.30pm.

Fingers still feeling good. Have done plenty of rkts but it is the new technique which is helping me.

Web interview was posted on facebook today.

Spirits in the stringing room are good. Funny guys.

 

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 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.