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