Mitchell Krueger blog: Excited to move on

Twenty-two-year-old Mitchell Krueger of Fort Worth, Texas, is a former junior standout who won his first USTA Pro Circuit event in 2015 at the $15,000 Futures in Los Angeles. Krueger was the top-ranked American junior boy in 2012, peaking at a career-high No. 5 in the world junior rankings. He advanced to the boys’ singles semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2012 and turned pro that July. Krueger is currently in Indian Wells, Calif., competing in the BNP Paribas Open qualifying tournament. He is writing a blog from the tournament and, in his first entry, discusses his preparation leading up to the event, his first-round qualifying win and more.

March 9, 2016

Hey guys! It's Mitchell Krueger here, saying hello from the desert!

As Bjorn mentioned yesterday in his blog, we've been out in California for almost a week and a half now, beginning our preparations for Indian Wells. It always takes a few days to get used to these different conditions, especially with the slight altitude and dryness of Palm Springs. It's a far cry from Boca Raton, let me tell you. But with several good practices under my belt, I was feeling ready to do some damage in the qualifying and hopefully earn my way into the main draw!

Today I was scheduled to play my first-round qualifying match first on at 11 a.m. against Alejandro Gonzalez from Colombia, so I had a good breakfast at my hotel before heading over to the courts to meet my fitness coach, Gabriel, in the gym to get ready for my warm up at 9:30. Once I had a nice sweat going, I made my way over to the practice court to warm up for my match with my good friend – and newly engaged (sorry ladies!) – Ryan Harrison. I must've given him an amazing warm up because he was off the court with a win before I even finished my first set! Thankfully, though, I was able to pull out a tight match, 7-6, 6-4. I'll spare y'all the boring details, but it was a very up-and-down match, so I was really excited to move on and live to see another day. And, needless to say, Ryan and I are warming up again together tomorrow morning. Can't change a winning formula!

Usually after every match I play, my coach, Stanford Boster, and I like to go back out onto the practice court to work on a few things that we felt I could've done better or that I want to keep improving on. Thanks to the massive facility that is the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, we were able to find an empty court without a problem. After a short hit, it was time to begin my cool down with Gabriel in the gym. He went through his usual stretching routine, which is quite painful, by the way. Maybe that's why he always makes fun of my flexibility! Once he was done stretching my legs and arms way past their limits, I was finally finished for the day!

I had the rest of the afternoon off to relax and recover my body, so I'll be ready to come out tomorrow and do it all over again! I play first on at 11 a.m. again against another friend of mine and fellow American Alex Sarkissian. With a main-draw spot on the line, I'm expecting nothing less than a battle! Hopefully I'll be able to come up with another victory!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this sneak peek into my day from the beautiful BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells! Until next time.....

Mitchell Krueger