The 4th, US Open, and summer flew by...

I can't believe how fast this summer flew by. It seems like I stepped off the plane in Green Bay for the 4th yesterday. Nick and I had a great month of July training before camp and I am really looking forward to his season. He has worked so hard to come back from this ACL reconstruction and I think he will do great. James ended up breaking his toe at Davis Cup after Wimbledon so I flew to Tampa at the end of July to help James get ready to return to the courts. James did a great job rehabbing and coming back doing well at the US Open. After the Open I had a chance to fly back to Montana and went up to the lake to spend some time with my brother. Had a chance to play open mic night which was a blast. Next stop is California to spend the week with the Bryans playing some music and golf and then linking up with James before we head to China for the fall tournaments.

Wimby 2009

Lot’s going on this training week before Wimby; races, concerts, adventures in the village, and of course training! click on the pic to see the album...

Wimbledon Village

So if you believe it or not the story of the week was not James training for one of the biggest tournaments of the year…it was actually a race between coach Barker and I. James was hitting with Andy during the week and somehow started talking about who would win in a 100m dash between Brian and I. Andy backed me and James took Bri. It was pretty funny to say the least. Andy showed up to the track with his entire team. He made signs that said “Go Cordial” and “Brian Blows” and brought this huge stuffed rhino that was left in the house that he rented. It was quite the race! I took down Bri but just by a hair and while lunging across the finish line he fell face first scraping up his face and shoulder.

Queen's Club

Next stop on the tour was Queen's Club in London. James and Sam ended up playing each other which I guess has to happen at some point. They played a great match with James edging Sam in 3 sets. James continued to play great tennis all week and lost a close final to Andy Murray.

Next up is a training week in London before starting Wimbledon. Really looking forward to some good training sessions next week!! Wimbledon village here we come!

Rolland Garros

The French Open in the beautiful city of Paris. I can’t believe the only picture I took during this tournament was getting off the train from Germany with Robby, biscuit, and Sam.

Not the best tournament for the guys over here. JB lost a really tough match in terrible conditions. He was the last match to finish and it was freezing cold, windy and dark; tough conditions to play in to say the least.

Sam also lost a tough match where both guys served great but a few points here and there and the match is over. This is not an easy sport. These guys are pretty tough to be able to deal with wins and losses every week.

Next stop for me is a flight to Miami to visit Mr. Mark Merklien and his wife. Merk has been working on a home gym for awhile and I finally have a chance to check it out. Very excited to spend some time down there!

Dusseldorf

We just got to Dusseldorf, Germany for the World Team Cup. This is a unique tournament because its country vs country. Two singles matches and a doubles; best record of each group makes the finals. The USA is represented by Sam Querrey, Robby Genepri, and Mardy Fish. Looking forward to a great week here!

This is Robby’s first tournament back from a ruptured appendix. I know that’s not the easiest surgery to come back from because I had my appendix taken out freshman year of college during football season. He is 100 percent though and looking great!

Sam is getting more comfortable on the clay and is ready to dominate the dirt the rest of the season. He is partnering up with Mardy who is coming in this week as the secret weapon (doubles specialist).

More in Madrid

James looked good but ended up loosing to Federer in the third round. That loss didn’t hurt as bad since Roger went on to beat Nadal in the final. Sam played good but ended up loosing to Seppi in the second round. The Bryans had a rough first round loss and are heading home to regroup before the French Open.

I didn’t get a picture but we found a nice hill in the back of the tennis site that Sam watered with sweat. Not an easy workout but Sam dominated it! The guys continue to work hard everyday and push forward to the next tournament week after week. I am so impressed with the guys that I am working with…blue collar group.

Madrid

Madrid was the next stop on the tour. I am going to have to devote an entire blog to what Merk and I went through here. As you can see from the pictures we both got some pretty amazing mullets and you may be wondering how that came about.

Back in Rome we made a bet with James that if he finals or wins a tournament over here in Europe on the clay then we would cut our hair into mullets; safe bet right? Well, as it turns out James loves to make bets and there was nothing he wanted more than to have the two of us walking around looking absolutely ridiculous.

As soon as we got to Madrid Mark and I went down the street to the hair dressor, who spoke zero English by the way, and got some of the best-looking mullets in Madrid. It was actually pretty fun; we had her laughing by the end. It took her awhile to understand that we were doing this for losing a bet and not a regular haircut. Haha she didn’t want to do it because she said it would not look good. Oddly enough, the mullet is still in style over in Spain so we didn’t stick out too bad….different story at the tennis site though. We had plenty of jokes thrown our way. Haha good times; wore the hair proudly after the effort by JB in Estoril.

Estoril

One of the best weeks of the year!! The hotel we stayed in was 5 stars and overlooked the ocean. James coach, Mark Merklein and I got up every morning and ran on the beach kicking the day off right.

Not a bad week of tennis for Mr. Blake. He ended up loosing the final in 3 sets but had to play the rest of his semifinal match only an hour before because it was suspended due to darkness and rain the day before. James was ripping the cover off the ball and looked at home on the clay. He did an unbelievable job staying positive and raising the intensity level every match. Keep your eye out this season for James…something big is going to happen!!

Roma

What a week in Rome. James Blake and Sam Querrey lost early in singles but had a great week of training on the clay. The Bryans got to the finals but fell to nestor and zimonjic. This was a very busy week with all the guys but everyone seems to be feeling great going into next week. The crew is breaking in all different directions over here. I am going to Estoril with James, Sam travels to Serbia, and the Bryans off to Munich.

I didn’t have much of a chance to take in the sites this time around but definitely enjoyed some great food with good people. Looking forward to Portugal!

Miami to Houston

What a week in Houston!! James Blake and John Isner got the clay court season underway and the Bryans took home the title! It was nice to title after loosing a tough semifinal match the week before in Miami.

Thursday night at the tennis club the Bryan Brothers played a concert with singer David Barron in front of a few hundred people and they got me up on stage for one song, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”; pretty fun night to say the least.

I’m excited to be heading home for a week and then off to Austin with my brother to relax and celebrate Roddick’s wedding. It should be a great two weeks!

Wrapping up training in AZ

Last week here in Arizona with Nick and the family. Workouts are hitting on all cylinders and we had a chance to check out the zoo and a spring training game!

I will be heading to Miami over the weekend to meet up with Bob and Mike Bryan to work during the Sony Erickson Open Tennis Tournament. One warm climate to another for me.

Trip to GB

Nick and I made a quick stop in Minnesota in Route to GB. Nick had to pick up his dogs from the trainer and I got to see my brother. We rented a mini van and had a nice “road trip” to Green Bay.

The check-up with the Team Doctor and Trainers went great!! They were very happy with Nick’s knee and said he was ahead of schedule. That was good to hear after all the hard work Nick has been putting in over the past two months! Great week here in Green Bay and now back to Arizona to finish up our last week together.

Back to AZ

Back to sunny Scottsdale, AZ!! The temperature is quickly rising down here in the desert and is in the upper 80’s. It is nice to be back in the sunshine and warm weather, but I definitely miss the hometown feel of Missoula. We quickly got back into the flow and rehab is hitting on all cylinders. It has been such a pleasure to work with Nick over the past month. Not only his he a great friend but a phenomenal athlete. He has a rare ability to turn up the intensity in a split second and has a superior work ethic and positive attitude. It is no wonder why he is a leader on the field and one of the best linebackers in the league. I am very excited for him to get back to the field.

We will be training here in Arizona this week and then heading to Green Bay for the start of off-season work outs.

Missoula Trip

Missoula, Montana here we come!! Nick and I took a business trip to Missoula this last week to rehab in the mountains. We had an outstanding week of rehab and a great time hanging out with my family and meeting new friends in the Big Sky Country.

It was pretty funny; Nick came into Missoula with the diamond chain and Gucci headband on and left with a 20 dollar beanie he bought from a hippie hula hooping on Higgins Ave. and a Kettle House Brewery sweatshirt that my dad gave him after our late night jam sessions by the fire. We built some great memories over the week and Nick gave back to the community by hosting and autograph signing at the mall with all donations going to the local Ronald McDonald House.

The Missoulian wrote a nice article on Nick in Sunday's paper before his autograph signing.

http://www.missoulian.com/sports/article_ecf7224d-0e9f-5da6-b319-e5376253de2f.html

All-Star Weekend

NBA All-Star weekend has come to town and Scottsdale is a complete zoo. We had a chance to go to a couple fun events and meet some interesting people. Dwan came down for the weekend all the way from Baltimore and we ran into quite a few of the OSU homies.

Rehab is rolling along!! Putting in hard work everyday! Nick has already made huge improvements.

Studio Time

Music seems to follow everywhere I go. Nick has set up a studio in the house here and in between rehab sessions we have been recording songs and playing in the studio. The first week has come and gone and we have established a solid routine. With Nick’s intensity and work ethic I know that by the end of March we will be rolling!

Rehabbing in Scottsdale

The last three weeks in Australia ended with a title by the Bryan Brother’s which was very exciting. Not only did they win the Australian Open, but the song that we recorded in the hotel room got played on the Tennis Channel during the match!!

Now, after a long flight across the world I am in Scottsdale, Arizona excited to work with my good friend Nick. It has been great to see the family and the newest edition little Kruz. We are starting rehab tomorrow and looking forward to the process.

Wrapping up Australia

Time has flown by "down under". I have been here for almost 3 weeks and can't believe it. Melbourne had the hottest day on record yesterday of 45 degrees C; which translates to HOT in F.

It has been a great trip for me and all the guys played great. Amir reached the third round after getting through qualifiers and James battled into the round of 16. Pretty amazing to go from 128 players down to the final 16! The Bryans are playing great and are in the finals tonight which should be very exciting.

I have been very busy down here working with the guys in the gym and on the table trying to stay in top shape for each match. As the tournament is winding down, I was able to have a little bit more free time and spent a lot of it recording some songs with the Bryan's in the hotel room. Bob and I went to the local music store and picked up a keyboard and guitar and set up a little studio in the room. Mike layed down the guitar, I tried my best at the vocals and Bob did everything else.

It has been a great 3 weeks down here. One more huge match to go and hopefully another Grand Slam Title for the Bro's. We all fly tomorrow (Sunday) and get into LA Sunday afternoon. I continue on to Phoenix to work with my good friend Nick. We are going to be putting in two-a-days for the next two months rehabbing his knee and getting fit. I am super excited to get there and start things up!

Starting the year off in Australia

What better way to bring in the new year than head to Melbourne for the Australian Open. I am excited to be heading out of the snow covered roads of Missoula, Montana in route to the sun filled city of Melbourne.