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Dennis Novikov prepares to hit a backhand during his opening match at the Easter Bowl.
© Bob Kenas
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Boys’ ITF 18s tennis player Dennis Novikov of Boca Raton, Fla., shares his thoughts and observations from Tuesday at the Easter Bowl. Novikov, the No. 4 seed, needed three sets to beat unseeded Tim Kopinski of Palos Hills, Ill., 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, in his first-round match.
Hey guys. Well, I'd like to tell you about my Tuesday here in Rancho Mirage at the Easter Bowl.
I woke up at 8 a.m. and started my day off with a light one-mile warm-up run. After that, I headed to breakfast at the hotel and ate some cereal along with a biscuit. After eating, I headed out to the practice court at my hotel and got a good one-hour hit in, just to work on some things.
My first-round match wasn’t until 2 p.m., so I went back to my room and did some homework for almost three hours, which is a pretty long session for me. After that, I decided to just snack before I headed out for my warmup. I went to the YMCA and hit with my doubles partner Connor Farren, who also won today. We got a good sweat going and then headed over to Rancho Las Palmas, where the tournament is taking place. Today they were a little behind, so I had to wait a little bit to get on court.
I finally got on court around 3 p.m. I had a decent first round. I started off a little slow, losing the first, 6-4. After I got my groove together, I ended up winning, 6-0, 6-2. My opponent was serving well in the first, and I felt I lifted my level up a bit and he slightly dropped his, therefore allowing me to run away with the second and third.
After my match, I headed straight to dinner with my family at the Yard House, which is across the street from the resort at the river. I really enjoy the food at Yard House and probably will go there again for dinner sometime this week.
I got back to my room around 6:30 and showered. I just rested in my room since I had a longer match today than I expected it to be, and I want to be fresh and ready to play my second-round match tomorrow. Hopefully I will pull through tomorrow, as well.
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