Archive for the ‘Rich’s Blog’ Category
Thank you very much Asics for the beautiful footwear tower. It adds so much to our store. Also a special thank you to our amazing Asics territory manager Tim Brownlee for making this happpen. We are so honored to have been chosen by you and Max as the exclusive Asics tennis dealer here in San Antonio, Texas.
We are looking forward to receiving the new colors in the Gel Resolution 4 for Men and Women in a few weeks. Here is a sneak preview of what they look like along with some photos of our new Asics footwear tower.
This year’s Roland Garros Grand Slam begins on May 22nd and Babolat is once again the official ball of the 2nd Grand Slam of the year. To commemorate this afficlation with the French Tennis Federation, Babolat has released a new range of products badged with the Roland Garros logo. This year’s collection includes the RG Editions of the Aeropro Drive Gt, Aeropro Lite GT, and the Aeropro Drive Junior GT. Also included in this collection is a new Roland Garros bag collection which includes a 12 pack, 6 pack, and backpack.
Thank you very much Wilson Sporting Goods Co. for the wonderful custom graphics that you installed in our store today. These larger than life graphics of Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka along with the Jumbo racquet versions of the new BLX Juice 100 and the BLX Pro Staff 6.1 90 have added so much to our store.
Thank you, thank you, thank you
We are very excited about Babolat’s newest footwear collection – the SFX. This new range of footwear offers exceptional comfort, support and a roomy fit for those needing a shoe with a wider toe box area. The new SFX also comes equiped with the Michelin rubber outsole which is amongst the best when it comes to outsole durability.
We invite you to come in and try on a pair for yourself and see if this new shoe is as good as we think it is.
Thank you, First Serve Tennis, for customizing my Wilson BLX rackets to the exact specifications that will allow me to maximize my tennis abilities and perform my best as I make the jump from Division 1 collegiate tennis to the ATP Pro Circuit.
Being a tennis player from San Antonio, I have always felt fortunate to be able to rely on Rich and his staff at First Serve Tennis for answers to all of my equipment needs. If you have questions regarding apparel, shoes, strings, or rackets, First Serve Tennis has the RIGHT answers for all of your tennis needs. This type of personal consideration for your individual tennis needs is something that the online tennis retailers simply cannot offer. And it’s all conveniently located right here in San Antonio.
After having rackets strung all around the United States during my junior and collegiate playing years, I have found that there is not a more knowledgeable stringing staff than that of First Serve Tennis in San Antonio. As a bonus, they are also super friendly and super fast!
Over a several week process, Rich worked hand in hand with me to develop the correct ‘racket balance’ and ‘swing weight’ that will accentuate my abilities as a tennis player. After several ‘play tests’ in which Rich would personally bring a variety of different string tensions and racket-weight options to my practice sessions, we decided on a customized racket weight and string tension combination that will be optimal for my upcoming tournament schedule.
Normally, this degree of tennis specific knowledge and racket customization acumen is reserved for the top 20 players in the world, but in San Antonio, we are fortunate enough to have access to top-notch equipment expertise just down the street.
Thanks again, Rich! Your attention to detail during this process made it great fun and I’m looking forward to showing off my customized rackets at tournaments all around the world. I will definitely continue to call First Serve Tennis my home for all of my tennis needs.
Jon Wiegand
Current 1250 ATP Doubles Ranking
NCAA Career High Singles Ranking #99
4-Time Letterman at University of Texas Men’s Tennis Team
The 2011 Men’s US Open championship match is an intriguing matchup between the top 2 male tennis players in the world, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain.
These two warriors competed in last year’s final where Rafal Nadal was victorious and captured his 10th Grand Slam title by defeating Novak Djokovic in NYC on a Monday afternoon.
However, this year is different and in some aspects the same as last year’s final. Once again due to Mother Nature not blessing NYC with nice weather, rain early on has forced the men’s final to be played on a Monday afternoon/evening as it was last year. The dynamics of this year’s final is much different in that Djokovic has had the upper hand against Nadal who is 0-5 against him this year. Interestingly enough, all of Nadal’s losses to Djokovic have been in the finals including this year’s Wimbledon. Should Djokovic be victorious today, he will become the seventh man to win three Grand Slam titles in a calendar year. If Nadal captures his second consecutive US Open title today, he will have won his 11th Grand Slam title of his career putting him only three Grand Slam titles away from matching Pete Sampras at 14 Grand Slam titles.
I am looking forward to watching this final unfold and I think it has the makings to be one of the best US Open finals in history – I hope I’m right!
The finals are set to be televised on CBS this afternoon at 3pm central time zone.
-Rich
It is late August and once again it is time for the final Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar year – The U.S. Open. The draws are out, the seeds have been determined, and the players are ready to compete for this highly coveted title.
We can all hope that Hurricane Irene doesn’t wash out the first week of scheduled play and we are treated to some amazing tennis all of which will be televised on ESPN2 in High Definition and on CBS in HD as well.
The seeds have been placed into the 2011 U.S. Open Men’s Singles draw, leading to the following potential quarterfinal match-ups:
No. 1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs. No. 7 Gael Monfils (France)
No. 3 Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs. No. 8 Mardy Fish (USA)
No. 6 Robin Soderling (Sweden) vs. No. 4 Andy Murray (UK)
No. 5 David Ferrer (Spain) vs. No. 2 Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Some interesting tidbits about this year’s men’s event:
• Andy Roddick who is now ranked # 21 in the world (lowest ranking since 2001) will have to face the 5th seed Spaniard David Ferrer in the 4th round should the seeds meet. However the first seeded player Roddick will face in the 3rd round would be another Spaniard Nicolas Almagro who is ranked 10th in the world. This is not too bad considering Almagro’s strong preference for clay over hard courts.
• Andy Murray, seeded 4th, has a potential fourth round clash with the 14th ranked Stan Warwinka of Switzerland, who knocked Murray out of the US Open in the 3rd round last year.
• Argentinean Juan Carlos Del Potro, currently ranked #18 will face # 12 Gilles Simon of France in the 3rd round should the seeds meet, and a potential match with either #6 Robin Soderling of Sweden or #28 John Isner of the USA in the 4th round.
• Young American hopeful Ryan Harrison comes into this year’s US Open with a career high ranking of #67 in the world and faces #27 Marin Cilic of Croatia in the first round. Should Ryan Harrison get through his first two rounds he would face #3 Roger Federer – no easy task!
I am looking forward to the next two weeks of live tennis being shown in high definition. Let’s all hope and pray for nice dry weather in NYC and for some rain here in San Antonio!!
-Rich
This week San Antonio will be hosting the 2011 U.S.T.A. Boys 14s National Hardcourt Championships at McFarlin Tennis Center where the best of the best of our nation’s 13 and 14 year old boys will showcasing their talent and competing for this most prestigious title.
Once again, First Serve Tennis is proud to be the official sponsor of this exciting event. The First Serve Tennis String Team and Wilson Baiardo stringing machines will be hard at work during the tournament servicing some of the nation’s best tennis players in the country by providing on-site racquet stringing.
Here are some photos from the stringing service:
If you are looking for the latest information on tennis events, informaion, tournaments, or anything tennis in San Antonio, Texas, I HIGHLY recommend you make MySanAntonioTennis a regular stop when surfing the web.
Kathy Horan is the webmaster and designer and has done a FANTASTIC job creating a place where local tennis players can read about anything and everything related to tennis in San Antonio, Texas.
-rich
[CHICAGO] – Wilson Sporting Goods Co. is pleased to announce the extension of their partnership as the Official Ball of the Davis Cup match between United States and Spain. The matches will be taking place in Austin, Texas this week. Wilson Racquet Sports continues their partnership as the Official Ball of the Davis Cup for almost a decade.
In addition to continuing the partnership as Official Ball of the Davis Cup, Wilson will also be supporting two of the top male players on the roster. Mardy Fish, #1 American male player on tour, will be using his Six.One 95 BLX tennis racquet as he takes on Spain. Mardy had an exceptional run recently at Wimbledon making it to the quarterfinals. Another long time Wilson player and Wimbledon quarterfinalist, Feliciano Lopez from Spain, will be using his Pro Open racquet during this week’s matches.
A long time partner of Wilson Racquet Sports, Tennis Express will be the Official Retailer of the Davis Cup and will have an onsite presence during the matches. Tennis Express is a full service Tennis Specialty retailer based in Houston, Texas. They were recently named Retailer of the Year by the Tennis Industry in RSI Magazine (pro/specialty category). Their goal is to inspire and nurture your inner champion – by delivering the best consumer experience and providing innovative game improvement gear.
As the #1 brand in tennis, Wilson has a long standing partnership as the official ball for the Davis Cup, as well as the US Open, Australian Open, Fed Cup, the WTA Tour and over 50 ATP and WTA events. Wilson tennis balls are used in more professional tournaments (ATP and WTA Tour) than any other ball. Wilson tennis balls are globally recognized and trusted for great performance and superior quality.