World No. 1 doubles player Liezel Huber shared her thoughts from Brno, Czech Republic before and during the U.S. Fed Cup Team's semifinal tie against the Czech Republic. Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands clinched the tie for the U.S. with a win in the deciding doubles rubber in three sets to send the team to the Fed Cup Final in November against Italy.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

GOOD EVENING! HEY! I'm so excited I feel like yelling, as you can see!

We won!!! My dad's words were:"we almost left it too late"... That's so true! I'll start you from the beginning...

We had an earlier start today, as there was 2 singles to be played and a doubles match. Bethanie lost to Safarova. There was a 20 min. break between the singles matches. Our job was to relax Alexa for her match. She did awesome yesterday and we had no doubt that she would be on fire today, but it was a big moment and could see Alexa looked nervous. Well, she sure fooled us and played beautiful! Alexa beat Kvitova 6-2, 6-1!!!!!!

I went inside to the lounge try and relax before the doubles. I couldn't relax, cause I was glued to the TV watching Alexa! She did great! Her winning meant we were tied at 2-2 going into the doubles. That's exactly where we wanted to be. I felt unsettled all of a sudden, so I messaged my husband and told him I needed him to say something/ anything! He wrote me back and his words were :" no expectations". It just means, go out and play. I also read over some of my notes I carry in my bag and felt more at ease.

From the start of the week, Bethanie and I had planned to play the doubles. We considered if Alexa should play, as she was invincible. Bethanie and I was the more experienced pair, so we would go out there and try our hardest. We sure did, but couldn't get many games. Peschke was by far the do minant player and all over every ball. It seemed like we couldn't get the ball away from her. This lasted for too long. Before we knew it, we were down match point. 6-2,5-2 and AD to Czech. We thought we had it difficult up to this point, but now the real work needed to start cause we had a hole we had to dig ourselves out of! One step in front of the other, baby steps at first. We saved the game and was down 3-5. Then broke to go down 4-5. Then I served a good game to even it to 5-5. They held and we were down again, 5-6. Held Bethanie's serve and then played an unbelievable tie-break! I think we won it 7-1 or 7-2! We won the third set 6-1. They had it in their hands and we got lucky I guess. So lucky!

I felt so many emotions today and so did my teammates! Like I told you, I am on the best team. It was a huge team effort. I know Melanie didn't play this weekend, but without Melanie's win in Arizona, we wouldn't be here and also without Jill's win, we wouldn't be here. How awesome! Gosh, the match drained me physically and mentally! Nothing hurt at the time, but now I feel old!

We are in high spirits tonight. We ordered pizza in our room and everyone sat around a big table. We also got ice cream and coffees! And then we played Charades... It's amazing what practice does... I have improved 100%! I was actually a team captain and an asset to my team...he he he I say this every time Fed Cup comes to an end and I will say it again; I will miss everyone! I don't want the week to end... :-(

Now for the bad news...I still have to pack and we leave at 4 am. Not good. My mom and I are flying to the next tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. I already told my mom, when we get there we are going to the hotel and taking a nap. Cara and I have a practice court in the afternoon.

It's been my privilege to blog for you'll this week. I hope you have enjoyed the experience with me. Can't wait for Nov. Fed Cup final in Italy!!!!

Thank you. Thank Team USA. Thank you God for giving me the strength to hang in there today.

Until next time,
xoxoxo
Liezel

Saturday, April 25, 2009

U-S-A...U-S-A...U-S-A...

Hey everyone! That's what I did today. I cheered/ chanted/ screamed/ rung my bell/ you name it... And I know I did good. We had to compete with an entire stadium of Czech fans and their music band! It was rowdy! Sometimes we would scream to each other and still not hear the other one... It was an experience and I loved it!

Our team did their best and they did great. Bethanie played Kvitova, who was on fire. The match was decided by just a few points. Next time Bethanie! In between matches I had to do Doping Control :-( I have never been to the bathroom that quickly in my life, cause I think I wanted to get back to the action on court! Alexa was phenomenal! I'm still speechless. She gave Benesova a 6-1, 6-2 hiding! My heart is still racing with excitement. We are now 1-1. A great situation going into the final day of the tie. This is how it was in Surprise, Arizona when we played Argentina. It came down to the wire. I believe in my team and know we are going to fight hard tomorrow. Go Team USA!

It's been a long day. I went to practice at 7:45 am. Some of the girls stayed after the match to practice. I knew I would be too exhausted and had to get it done early. I'm glad I did. My mom and I are relaxing. She is reading and I am chatting to you'll.

I think we will go downstairs in a little bit for dinner. I am dreading Charades. Maybe I can talk them into playing Pictionary. Maybe not. I can't draw. You see I am not very artsy. I don't cook fancy. I just make healthy food, no frills. I dress plain. Nothing daring or too colorful. I can't sew or make anything by hand. Well, I can knit, but have yet to finish a knitting project. (Don't tell my sister, cause she knitted more than half of the blanket...) So, what is the chance of me doing good at Pictionary!?

I don't think I told you. When I played for South Africa's Fed Cup Team, we had to play Czech Republic in 2003. It was a World Group delegation match. We had won the qualifying competition that we played over one week. It was tough. Czech Republic lost in the World Group and was playing basically to switch spots with us. South Africa didn't want to pay my airfare to the tie in South Africa. (I was in the U.S. at the time) I didn't play. I find it very ironic now. I am playing for a 1st world nation in the semi-final of Fed Cup now against the same team. South Africa didn't win. I am hoping for a different result for Team USA!

Hey again! I started my blog at before dinner and now have returned after Pictionary! I am not so bad. I can draw! Not well, but they guessed my movie, which was 'Ugly Coyote'. There was some difficult ones and some heated moments, but all and all, we had great fun! I enjoyed being on Mary Joe's team. She can't draw very well either. Her Santa looked like a Snowman. he he he. Before we know, it is late again...

I checked out the pictures I took today and then saw one of Kaes, our hitting partner. He fell asleep in Team USA lounge today after the matches. He didn't know I took the picture! It's blackmail material.... He says he has 1800 Facebook friends, so I might just tag him... he he he

Tomorrow is a BIG day! Fingers and toes crossed!

I'm going to sleep before 11 pm. Going to play hard tomorrow. May the best team win and I believe I am on it!

Until tomorrow.
xoxoxo
Liezel

Friday, April 24, 2009

It's official! I am the worst Charades player of ALL time! I'm just going to accept it. It's not easy to accept, cause I am competitive with EVERYTHING! I hate to lose more than I love winning... I just had to make that confession before I started my blog...

Hey everyone! As you can hear we are having a great time! Team USA is awesome! Okay, they are better at Charades than I am, but I won't hold that against them. I still love them! Grrrrr.....

I practiced early with Sloane, Christina and Kaes. We did some doubles drills and then played some games and a tie-break. It was evenly contested. It was very productive. The girls and I did our sprints afterwards. I am double their age, but glad to report that I outran them! he he he

We had lunch together in our room. I think I eat the most of everyone. I'm just hungry! I ate salad, pasta, chicken and bread. Oh my, at breakfast I ate cereal, fruit, 2 tiny pancakes, bread, bacon and cheese! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. As a kid I would finish my tennis late at night and then it would always be too hot to eat cooked food, so I would eat cereal. I still can eat breakfast all day long, but I don't cause having just cereal at night now doesn't give me enough energy for the next day. I also travel with protein bars and Gatorade. For snacks, I have fruit and pretzels in my room. During the match I just eat bananas. I know Melanie eats raisins. I'll let you know what Alexa and Bethanie eat!

I read an article today and the headline read: USA Fed Cup Team Does Not Receive Special Treatment as Honored Guests. I wasn't sure what that was about so I read it. Oh my,the article quoted my blog about the gym incident. I want to clear something out. I have been to a couple bad restaurants or had a bad experience buying an outdated item at the grocery store, but that didn't mean it was done to me on purpose! I still love my home town of Cypress, Texas. These Czech folks did not know who we were when we entered their gym and it didn't matter. They obviously operate different than us in the US. In the US it's all about customer service. That's the reason for me telling you the story. I am blogging after all! The Czech hospitality has been unreal. I still love Brno, just not that particular gym!

We had the draw ceremony today at city hall. We met the mayor of Brno. The draw was held in a beautiful room. It had painted ceiling!(I love those!) It reminded me almost of a church, because it had pews instead of chairs. I think the draw turned out great! Bethanie plays against Kvitova in the 1st match and Alexa plays against Benesova in the 2nd match. The next day is a flip, the #1's play each other and the #2's play each other. The doubles will follow, with Bethanie and I playing against Benesova and Peschke. Excitement! Go Team USA!

I haven't mentioned our stringer, Roman. Yes, how lucky are we that we get to bring our own stringer with us?! Roman is born Czech, which has been a great help for us ordering food or organizing a ride or getting directions or just plain translating! Thanks Roman! Roman is the best stringer in the world! He is in charge of the stringing at the Australian Open, USOpen, Miami and bunch of other tournaments. He specializes in customizing rackets for the pros. I love my stringing this week! Thanks again Roman! Besides all that, Roman is a really nice guy and it's been fun having him with Team USA!

I ask myself a lot, if I had this over, would I do it the same? I ask it in anything or everything. I do that on match points. I find I will come up with the answer and I will be sure of my decision. Well, if I had this week over, would I have trained the same way? Absolutely! I am so ready and I know Team USA's going to give their best! Common U-S-A... A-L-L T-H-E W-A-Y!

Hoping to be on TV tomorrow. Look for me cheering my lungs out!

Until tomorrow,
xoxoxo
Liezel

PS. I am looking forward to your questions, so don't be shy and send them in!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hi! Me again!

I even skipped Charades tonight to get my blog done earlier, so I could get my much needed sleep... It's 11:30 pm again...

My mom and I are having so much fun that I lost track of what I was SUPPOSED to do... yes, blog :-) We ended up turning the room upside down looking for a pair of shoes that I swore I had packed and now can't find... I'll let you know in a second how I found out they were 'missing'. Anyway, I messaged my husband and he went through my closet and 'found' them. He then took pictures of all my black flat shoes (three pairs of them), but it wasn't any of them. Now I am not sure if he did that on purpose and is joking with me... I haven't heard back from him, as he had to go to work. So I started looking AGAIN in my bags, drawers, the closet, under the bed, you name it... You know sometimes you can't think of something and then it bothers you? Well, it's the same thing. I was sure I packed the shoes and now I just want to know for sure that I left them. I want closure :-)

Now I will tell you why I needed them... Tonight was the official Fed Cup dinner. Team USA looked awesome! Great job Anne Marie picking out our outfits! I'll try and get a picture for you'll. I just can't wear normal shoes. My feet are so used to being in tennis shoes that when I wear anything but tennis shoes, I get blisters and my feet ache! I had packed an evening gown with high heel shoes for the ITF Champions dinner in Paris. My plan was to wear the shoes that evening with my gown and then when I sit at the table, I would take them off. (Don't tell anyone) Tonight I had to wear them as they were my only black pair of shoes... Ouch! The dinner was delicious. We had a lot of laughs and now are ready for the games to begin!

Tomorrow is our last day of practice. I think we are as ready as we will ever be! Most of us will just hit once. Today we had another great morning practice. I played doubles for two hours with Alexa. We beat up on Christina and Kaes.( sorry for misspelling your name the other day Kaes ) This afternoon I did my gym work-out. No, I didn't go back to the MEAN gym, I improvised in the hotel's mini-gym. Well done Erin, Rita and Jennifer for working out today!

Oh before I forget. It's tradition for the two nations to exchange gifts. I love gifts! Team USA gave the Czech Team very cute pink Coach clutch bags. Nice! They gave us a crystal display piece (for my study) and lovely pearl earring/bracelet set. Very cool!

My mom's luggage arrived at 2 pm. What a joyous moment. My poor mom had to tuck my warm-up pants into her socks cause they were so long on her... I wanted to take a picture, but I couldn't... My mom looked lovely tonight in her own clothes at the dinner. Anne Marie gave my mom a couple Fed Cup sweaters and a long sleeve shirt. She said she is saving that for match day!

I do get VERY nervous during Fed Cup. Not just for my match, but it feels like I play every ball with our teammates when they play. It's so tense! I cheer so loud, that I get sooo exhausted, but I love it! Like I said, we are ready and can't wait. Tomorrow is Friday... Saturday we play! Go Team USA!

On that high note, I HAVE to go to sleep. It is midnight... Early morning again and ready to beat the young ones at doubles. Hope Sloane and Christina bring their A-game...

Night you'll.

Until tomorrow.
xoxoxo
Liezel

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wow, it's late! Good evening everyone! I am going to write my blog in record speed tonight... it's 11 pm and I have to get up for an early practice tomorrow... Anyone who knows me, knows I need my sleep or else I am very cranky... and that is putting it mildly... My husband would say to stay clear of me...

I am watching CNN right now. South Africa voted today and I have been waiting to see how it went and if they have an outcome. I know my brother and father both voted today. Don't tell anyone I told you this; My dad said the lines were so long, that he took a crutch with him (my mom had had foot surgery some years ago and this was one of her crutches). They let him into the 'pensioners' line and it only took him 40 minutes to vote! I just HAD to tell you, cause I thought it was very smart of my dad! He he he

My mom's luggage has yet to arrive. Never fly with Air France! It's been two days now. I think my mom is getting very sick of her jeans. She is going to have to wear some of my stuff tomorrow! My mom is only 5'6" and I am 5'10"... I am going to have to take a picture of her in my clothes.... He he he

On the court it was a very successful day for Team USA. The first practice started at 8 am and the last one ended at 7:30 pm. Long day for the coaches and for our hitting partner, Kaes. It's going to pay off though and we will be sharp as anything on Saturday. I also did a bike ride in the gym and some sprints. I don't have a naturally thin or a toned body, so I have to work extra hard at it. My coach gave me a program for the week and I have been sticking to it and enjoying it! It is a lot easier when he is with me to push me and help me. So far so good. Tomorrow I have to lift weights.

We went out for our team dinner tonight. I took a picture of us all. It was awesome. The food was delicious. We had to wait a while for our meal and that is the reason why I am blogging at 11:15 pm... Never the less, it was well worth it. Thanks everyone!

It seems like the days are flying by. Tomorrow is already Thursday. How sad. I love my team!

I am going to answer the questions I received so far. Thanks for them.

Lastly, we had some very bad news today. One of our students at Huber Tennis Ranch, 12-year-old Craig Buckenham was diagnosed with Leukemia. He started chemo on Saturday. He is very ill this week. Craig is a great player and we will miss him on the court! Don't tell him, it's a surprise; I contacted Andy Murray who is going to send him something autographed just for him! Andy is his favorite player. If you can think of anything else that can cheer Craig up, please let me know. Huber Tennis Ranch is having a tournament this weekend named in Craig's honor and the monies raised will be given to his parents. Just wanted to tell you. We always forget how good we have it.

Good night friends.

Until tomorrow,
xoxoxo
Liezel


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hey everyone!

Goodness, how time flies when you have fun! It's almost 10 pm.

Well, my day started with my alarm going off. You see at home I am awake between 5 and 5:30 am every day with no alarm. I took a Tylenol PM last night to make sure I would sleep through the night. It worked, which I am so grateful for, but it was tough to wake up. My alarm went off at 8 am, then 8:15, 8:30, 8:45 and then when it went off at 9 am, I was pretty disgusted with myself and made myself get up! My husband wouldn't believe me if I told him that I slept until 9 am!

I showered and went to breakfast. We have a banquet room just for Team USA. That's where we eat most of our meals. I think that's one of things I enjoy most about Fed cup week, is socializing around the table. This week the tables are smaller, but in Arizona and Russia ties we sat around big round tables and always added more chairs! At night we would play games and get silly! I must say that I have a disadvantage in the games(yes, I am mostly on the losing side), cause I blame it on English not being my 1st language growing up. That's my excuse. he he he Why I say excuse, cause it's not the real reason... English is my 1st language now... I am just BAD at games and can't play Charades to save my life! I look forward to revenge this week.

Coach MJ arrived this morning and so did the res t of the team. My mom also made it here safely. Now if only Bethanie and my mom's luggage will arrive...

Alexa and I had a good practice this morning. It seems so long ago, I can't remember what we worked on. If it wasn't good I would've remembered! We went to the courts an hour before our practice. There is a supermarket nearby and we wanted to get some snacks and drinks. We browsed more than anything. Looking all all the things they have in their supermarket. I took a photo inside the store of Derek(works for USTA), Alexa, Kevin(Alexa's coach) and Kas(our left handed hitting partner). I bought cereal, pretzels and Coke Zero. Anyway, we had fun! After practice we came back to the hotel and had lunch together in our room. It was great seeing everyone. I introduced everyone by name, to my mom. It felt great, cause this is my new family. People I didn't know a year ago and who I have had such great memories with my past three Fed Cup ties. They are so great and do such an amazing job with each tie! Thanks you'll!!!

I went to the gym at 4 pm. Our team doctor, Jennifer also felt like working out,so she came with me. What an experience. Firstly, we had to pay $20 each. Considering you can join a gym for $20 a month, I wasn't too impressed. My mom was sitting on a bench reading her book and my racket bag was by her feet. An employee came to her and told her she couldn't have regular shoes on in the gym.20Then he said that no bags are allowed. They are scared we will steal stuff. That's their policy. Then he saw my water bottle and said that no outside drinks were allowed. We had to buy drinks from them! If that wasn't enough he approached me a few minutes later when I was doing my bench press. He said he didn't want me to be upset and that he was only doing his job. He also added that I am breaking another rule... I needed to do all exercises on my towel. He then went to Jennifer and yelled to her about her not using her towel... The good news is that we got our work-outs in and felt great, and the better news is that we are going to find another gym to work out in for the rest of the week!

The evening practice was fun. We end up playing doubles. Bethanie and I partnered up and didn't do too bad for our first time together. I also partnered with Alexa and we were on fire! There is only one court for us to practice on. We share it with the Czech Team. In Arizona we had 3 or 4 courts to use during a practice. Now coach MJ has some serious calculations to do to make sure we all get to work on what we have to in the time period we have the court. I know the young ones are going out for an extra session tomorrow at 7 am... That's dedication!

We ate in the hotel tonight. I think it was just easier, as we finished late with practice. We pretty much ate and came back to our rooms. Every one had a long day and are jet lagged! my mom is already sleeping...

When my family comes and visit me they always bring me something... he he he Sometimes food from home or jewelry(if my birthday is coming up) or a CD with Afrikaans music. Today my mom brought me some recipes! My brother visited a couple of weeks ago and he must've told them that I need recipes! Just kidding, I can cook just fine. It will be fun trying them out one day, as they are for desserts and I really can't bake. Now the truth comes out. I can cook, but I can't bake!

I am going to be disciplined and say good night. I want to get on the time change.(without the help of Tylenol PM) For the ones who wonder about anti-doping, YES I can take Tylenol PM! I see we have a doping office set-up at the stadium. Joy! I didn't think we could get tested any more than we have been... o,well I was wrong... will get tested again this week!

I look forward to you'll sending me any questions you might have. I thank www.blackandhuber.com , www.wtatour.com and www.usta.com for posting my blog and getting you'll fired up for Team USA's semi-final clash with Czech Republic!

Off to bed. Miss you Tony and the dogs and the cats!

Until tomorrow,
xoxoxo
Liezel