THE FINALS DAY!!!

So it is now Saturday and we are up and ready to go. We met up and had breakfast as we normally do. The coffee is great, the pastries are wonderful and the island is beautiful. Can't ask for a more beautiful and exciting place to compete for the Margaret Court World Team Cup!! We are psyched!! I was given the news that Fran was a bit tired and a little sore from yesterday's match vs. the French so she asked me if I am ready to play today vs. the Czechs. Of course I am ready, I have been training for months for this moment and I am ready to compete!! I am going agains the #2 player in the World and my Semifinalist opponent from last years Individual World Championships (who I beat 6-3, 7-6). She is a great player and I new that it would be a battle... We start at 10:30 am.
We travel to the courts by bus. It is a small club with 8 clay courts and a great little clubhouse with an amazing crew!! They work very hard on the courts and they did a fabulous job all week!
I warmed up for 30 minutes and was very disappointed because it was very, very windy!!! 25-30 mph. I do not like to play in the wind!! I don't think anyone does, but I had to put that out of my mind because I was playing today, with or witout wind!!!
My teammate Mary would be on the court with me today. She has alot of coaching experience, she coaches a Div 1 University in Florida so I knew she would be of alot of help if I needed it. Well we were finally underway at 10:30 am on the dot. We started the match and I did not know what hit me!! The first set went by fast!!! Between the wind and the flawless tennis Barbara played I had lost the 1st set in less than 30 minutes. She hit every line on the court, and used the wind and heavy topspin to completely destroy me!! I spoke to Mary on the changeovers and she just kept reminding me of how tough I am, that I moved better and how to use those strengths to get back into the match. She kept reminding me to keep my feet moving through all the shots because of the windy conditions I could not set up to hit the ball. She also reminded me that Barbara could go off mentally! So I kept these things in mind and started the 2nd set, not thinking about the first bageled set!! I took one point at a time, only focusing on movement and tactics. I started the second set and finally got the first game of the match, then I won the 2nd game, then the 3rd game. I began to move better, got my consistency and fight going and before you knew it, I was up 4-1 in the second. I finished the set strong, 6-2 and I was BACK into the match. I had her mentally now and I was not going to let go!!
We began the 3rd set after the courts were swept and watered (about 10 min break) and we battled in the 3rd. I continued the same tactics that had won me the second set and continued to focus on my movement and running everything down, making her hit that extra ball!! With the wind, you never know!! An easy shot (short overhead or easy volley) can become very difficult, especially under pressure. It proved to work and she made some easy mistakes on some key points. I went up 5-3 in the 3rd and thought I had it in the bag. Well, wrong thinking. She began to attack me and came back to win the next 2 games and now it was 5-5 in the 3rd. I finally pulled out the match 7-5 in the third with some great movement and smart play. I finally won the match and we were closer to winning the cup. Gretchen was up next playing a very good opponent. I think she was a bit tired and hurt but nevertheless a very strong opponent. Gretchen played great!! This was the best I had seen her play all week. She imposed her aggressive style of play immediatly and did not let her get into any kind of rhythm. This is her greatest assett, strong serves, volleys and aggressive play. She went right through her opponent in straight sets. We were the Margaret Court World Champions!! We brought back the CUP!! We left the courts with a big Grin on our faces!! We worked well as a team and defeated some great teams to bring home the CUP. We were to celebrate tonight and we did. We went to a small town called Valdemossa near the mountains of Mallorca and had a great Celebration dinner!! Off to the World Individuals Tournament on the other side of the Island tomorrow. Still alot of work to be done!!!