As I previously told you, I decided to start my season in Argentina. After the Vienna tournament, I organized the trip to South America. It was a long one, so I wanted to plan everything well.

As usual, the budget did not allow me to travel with a member of my team, so I had to find another player to share the apartment with, train together and team up in doubles. After a few messages, I found a colleague for the two tournaments. Good news, because it’s quite difficult to be alone at a tournament, especially far away, where you are travelling for the first time.

I booked the flight and the apartment (for the last one, the search was long because it has to complete some requirements: to be close to the club where the tournament is held, budget friendly and meet some comfort conditions) and rented transport to the first hotel. Everything was settled and we were hoping for some good results.

That’s why, in the week before departure, I increased the pace of training, on the court and in the gym.
But two days before I left, my left knee got locked again.

This had happened to me before and I knew how to recover, but you’re never sure if it’s going to be like before. I also wrote to Dr. Alin Pandea, followed some physiotherapy procedures, reduced the intensity of the training. But mentally, these little problems consume you.

In a few hours I had the flight, my knee had visibly swollen and I felt it a little unstable. And this happened just before the longest flight so far. As I expected, after the 13 hours flight, the knee swelled up even more, but I had it under control.

I arrived 4 days before the start of the tournament in order to adapt to the conditions. Obviously, they were very different. It was summer in Buenos Aires, 30 degrees – I hadn’t played at this temperature for over a year – and the clay was also different.

I settled in quite well, my knee was no longer causing problems, but the colleague with whom I was supposed to spend these two weeks with was no longer coming, because she did not get her visa. I had to find new doubles partners and pay for the full apartment. Fortunately, the accommodation rates are there much lower than in Europe.

What impressed me on this trip was the club where the tournaments were held and the organization: many tennis courts, gym, swimming pool. As we arrived, the director of the tennis club introduced himself and offered us practice courts (I have told you in other articles about the problem of practice courts). And every day, he was willing to help us and answer our questions. I also had some interesting conversations with him about tennis.

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Playing in Buenos Aires
Photo Credit [from the tournaments]: Omar Erre

The first tournament started for me with an accommodation match. I won in straight sets, with a comeback from 2-5 in the second. The next was an interesting one, against an experienced opponent, Gabriela Ce, with whom I had played twice before, and the wins had been shared. I was nervous because it could have been a very important one for me. I hadn’t played a match against a top 400 player in a long time. I prepared it tactically with my home team.

In the first set, my tightness on the court was visible, as I made a lot of unforced errors. I was thinking too much about how to play the point. At 1-5 I told myself to play more simply, to get some pace and try to balance the score. I started the second set well, with a two-game lead at the start, which she recovered, but I was showing her that I was there. The 5th game was intense and temporarily made the difference as I won 6 in a row from there until 2-0 in the deciding set. I played consistently and fought for every point. Again, she came back to 2-2, but from there I distanced myself once more to 5-2. The next was a return one. I remained confident and that’s how I got to match point. The Brazilian played well, aggressively, she didn’t allow me many chances. I got myself another opportunity to close the match, but narrowly missed a backhand down the line. It was 5-3. I also fought good and came two points close to the victory. But I lost the next ones too fast. All I managed to do was to get a tie-break, which I didn’t play well at all.

I had lost an important match, after missing two excellent and hard fought opportunities.
But as long as you are active on the tour and work hard every day, tennis offers you new chances every week.

I was going to practice for another two days, in order to get ready for the next tournament, but on the day of the match with Gabriela Ce, I woke up with a cold, and the three-hour fight didn’t help me to get rid of it. Another small hindrance that I ran into and had to take care of in a fairly short time.

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Maria Sara, champion

In that first week I watched Maria Sara Popa‘s matches and admired the level she reached. I’m glad she managed to keep it throughout the week and win her first title in the W35 category. Together with her father, who is also her coach, they make a very good team. I hope they will be able to achieve even better performances in the future.

I supported her throughout all the matches, just as they had supported me. Those who watched my matches live heard the encouragements and advices that I received in Romanian. The voice was that of Ioan Raul Popa, Maria‘s father. Advices are always welcomed for a player without a coach by her side.

Another proof – I told you about others a while ago – that solidarity and friendship between Romanian tennis players do exist.

In one of the evenings, I also went to dinner with the Popa family, and Raul encouraged me, explaining to me that after a more serious injury, the subconscious gives an order (which runs off the player’s control) to the body for protection. That’s one of the reasons why the player doesn’t manage to execute everything he wants on the court. This conversation helped, in the given context.

And that’s because neither the second tournament didn’t go the way I wanted.

In both singles and doubles, my level dropped. I was not satisfied with my game, technical, tactical or physical. I did not find solutions to take the initiative on the court.

But I decided to continue practicing in Argentina for the next few days until my return flight and why not take advantage of the free time to visit, get to know the culture and interact with the people of this place. I just don’t get to South America very often, do I?

I was impressed by the simplicity of the people and their positive attitude with which they approach everyday life. Although most of them do not have a good financial situation, with the average salary being about 200 dollars a month, they choose to enjoy the little things like a picnic by the river or going out with friends for mate tea (their traditional drink).

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In Tigre and Buenos Aires

I visited popular places such as Plaza de Mayo, San Telmo square, Puente de la Mujer, but I was also impressed by the beauty of the Art Museum of Tigre, built in 1912, in the architectural style of the Belle Epoque. At first, the building housed a social club for the rich of those times, then a casino, to eventually become a museum in 2006. I admired the works of Argentine painters from the 19th and 20th century and after a visit of almost two hours I had that wonderful feeling that I also have at home, after going to the theater, the opera or watching a good movie.

Even if the two tournaments were unsuccessful, I also learned something from this experience.

For example, I was no longer sad after the defeats, I recovered mentally right away, gritted my teeth and continued to train well, although the cold did not yield even to antibiotics. I easily got over the two 13-hour trips, I learned even better to manage the administrative challenges on my own and I enjoyed the moments spent outside the court much more than in the past.

In the meantime, I also completed my tournament schedule until the end of April, which will include 5 ITF tournaments, one UTR (next week) and 4 weeks of training.

I am confident and I am not going to let myself be influenced by the thought that it’s possible not to find the level that I had before the series of injuries.

If I can practice well every day, add something every week, stay confident that everything will come together at some point – with the understanding that I will have to stay healthy – I will reach the level that I need in tournaments and at the same time the consistency necessary to play at a good level every match.

Nothing is guaranteed in this sport, but you are more likely to succeed if your daily effort is accompanied by a positive attitude.