Hey everybody, glad to write my first blog here on yardbarker.com. I have been following some of the blogs on this site for awhile - yes, even the ones that talk about American tennis. rkulkarni34, thanks for the Davis Cup love. I also see that Rajon Rondo is on here blogging and as a converted Celtics fan, that was good news. I'm glad to now have a chance join your community and weigh-in. i'm in london and excited to be getting ready to play my first round at Wimbledon tomorrow. but first I want to talk about a few other events in the sports world recently. I was at game 1 of the Celtics/Lakers series in Boston and the atmosphere in there was electric. I have been to a few Celtics games throughout the year and they were the most exciting team to watch all year (and that's coming from a long time bulls fan). they proved to be the most exciting and the best this past week and I wanted to congratulate them and especially the big 3 for getting that ring that they definitely deserve. i'm also a Mets fan, and was sorry to see Willie Randolph lose his job this week. I thought very highly of Willie when he started with the Mets, but I think his days were numbered since last year's collapse. and to start off this year with the addition of one of the best pitchers in baseball and not be over .500 was the last straw I guess. I wish him the best in the future, but hope a change can spur the Mets on to win the division. and now onto my preparations. over here in Wimbledon it's different from most tournaments because I rent a house for me and the people traveling with me. my brother and my trainer mark merklein are here with me in the house. three guys sharing a house for two weeks is not the easiest assignment for our housekeeper but we try to help out. my mom arrived today and we had to tighten things up before she arrived. she's English, so she always comes over for this tournament and loves being here. I've had a good week of practice on the grass at Wimbledon and the weather has been shockingly good. i'm sure once the tournament gets into full gear that will change though. it always does, so I'll probably be playing plenty of cards and reading my book when the rain comes. there will be more to report soon.