Our Couplehood Journey @ Azlan, Eliza & Arief...

Tennis Carnival at NTC...

We bring Arief to National Tennis Centre (NTC) for Tennis Carnival organize by Tennis Island. We arrive there by 11.30am and we immediately register Arief for his tennis clinics at 1pm. But we manage to squeeze in for 12pm as there have one empty slot (replacing Firdaus youngest daughter). It is a 45 minutes session and it seems that Arief thoroughly enjoy it. We went for our brief lunch at Jalan Bellamy Ikan Bakar before returning back to NTC for more fun & games; where Arief play Wii Tennis and win. We met with Abg Ngah and family there as well; as Abang Ngah is playing in the Veteran Men's Double Tier 2 Final this evening and we plan to watch the final. But it was a walkover win for Abang Ngah as his opponents didn't turn-up. Well Abang Ngah ended up playing in the indoor courts with my friends and I manage to play one set as well; won 6-1. Even Arief was keeping himself busy by playing at the next court :-)

CTO 9...

This time I entered as a volunteer and as a doubles player with Zemi. I arrived by 7am; as we were preparing for the players registration; singles and mixed doubles. Everything went well and I was in-charge of the mixed doubles group stages which will be playing in the indoor courts. I started my match by 3pm; this is our first tournament as a pair and we lost 2-8 in our first match. Our opponents make less errors than us. We bounced back by defeating my cousin 8-7 and 8-2 in our final match. We managed to enter the main draw of which will be play on Sunday morning. Our opponent is the champion; Rizal & Piee. We lost 1-8. I'm happy with our progress; R16 Main Draw is an achievement for first time pairing in an official tournament. Next will be KL Tennis Classic on 3rd June 2012 :-)

2012 Piala Ramza Team Tennis Championship...

My tennis team TTDuta will be participating in 2012 Piala Ramza in Inspen Kampus 2 in Bangi. I carpool with Safuan & Nasir from Shah Alam and we reached Bangi by 8pm; got lost along the way as we went  to Inspen main building. Upon arriving we met with our team members and all of us proceed for breakfast at the nearby Kelantanese stalls; I opted for Nasi Kerabu and it was delicious. We started our first match against team Bangi by 9.30am. I opted to sit out this match and our team won by 3-2. I partnered Fahmi for the 2nd match against Putrajaya (last year champion) and we won 8-6. The team won 4-1. During this match that I feel slight pain in my right knee; not to aggravate my injury as well as to ensure my team win the next match against USM, I decided to rest. The team won by 3-2 (we were trailing by 0-2 at first but we manage to overcome the odds). TTDuta was crowned champion, undefeated :-)

CTO 8...

I entered CTO 8 with Fahmi; tennis buddy that I met during FRIM friendly in 2011 and TTDuta 2011 Single Champion. I still feel a bit of jet-lag from my trip to London recently but I can manage. We play our first match by 3pm and we won 8-0; and we won our 2nd match by 8-1. The third match is quite competitive; plus we are playing at night with lights. We finally prevail 8-4 and we top our group going into knock-out tomorrow. We face our friends; Fikri & Anwar and we won by 8-3. And then our toughest task; playing against a strong pair from Paroi NS. It was close until 3-4 and then we ended up losing the next 4 points to end the match at 3-8. It was frustrating as most of the points went into duece. Eventhough we lost but it was indeed an excellent tournament :-)

 

WTA BMW Malaysian Open 2012...

I won 2 VIP Hospitality Pass for Saturday session and I plan to go with Eliza & Arief. My friend also won for Friday session but as he will be going back to NS for a family wedding, he gave his pass to me with request for Player Signature. I went after Friday prayers and manage to watch a few matches. The hospitality is indeed interesting; especially on the free flow of food & beverages. Delicious. I think I spend more time eating than watching the match in progress. And I manage to secure Petra signature on the pass. On Saturday I went with Eliza & Arief and again we were seated in the Hospitality booth. Food was again delicious but pity it was raining for a good half an hour. We took our seat at the Verandah and it so happens our Sport Minister decide to sit in the same row; I manage to chat briefly before excusing ourselves. It was already 6,30pm and we were here since 2.30pm. The rain continues again the anticipated match between Jankovic and Matic is reschedule to Sunday morning; allowing me to utilize the Hospitality pass again. This time I went with Farid and we thoroughly enjoy the match. And again I manage to secure Matic signature on my passes :-)

TTDuta Single Super Tie-Break Tennis Championship 2011...

The day finally came; TTDuta Single Super Tie-Break Championship 2011. After weeks of planning the event was a success. Total 39 players out of 40 turn up. We had a massive breakfast pot-luck gathering with nasi lemak, kuehteow goreng, pasta, karipap, bananas, watermelon, chocolate cake, sweets & cookies, sandwiches etc. It was more of a food fest than a tennis tournament. Weather was excellent until the end @ 4pm. I won all my group games; the closest game was with Pang which I won 12-10 and was trailing 9-6 it I was not mistaken. I won my R16 against Jab by 10-3 but lost in the quarters to Abg Roslan by 4-10. Overall it was a great achievement and I won a medal with Wilson wristband :-)

Malaysian Tennis Open 2011...

I have been attending the Malaysian Tennis Open 2011 since Monday evening; just miss out on Wednesday as I was too tired from two late night matches. I manage to catch the tennis balls thrown by the players and won 2 tickets for the semi-final of which I gave to Amri & Azzudin (my tennis buddies). Friday onwards was superb as I went with a few of my TTDuta Tennis geng. We occupied various seats around the stadium; hoping to catch the tennis balls. Well Amri manage to catch one and he won a Wilson tennis racquet. And for the final we decided to seat behind the players. I went early with Amri to Putra Stadium; we drove out from Shah Alam by noon and arrived by 12.30pm. We manage to book the second row from the front; and to our good luck we manage to book the two seat infront; for Amri & Farid. I opt for the second row @ leg room. It was an excellent final match for both doubles & singles. Congratulations to all winners. It was indeed a great gathering of tennis buddies :-)

CTO V @ Kompleks Tenis Jalan Duta...

I decided to participate in this tournament with Shariz after our friendly with PBTS (March 26; during dinner at Sany Char Kuehteow) and we started practising only in early April. Our group matches schedule to start at 2pm; it was hot. We won our first match against Hisham / Shahizal by 8-3 and won our second match against Lutfi / Jonathan by 8-5; and we emerge as our group champion. We were then drawn to face Rizal / Jensen in the last 16. It was a close game and we finally prevail by 8-7 (9-7). We then faced our friends from TTDuta; Mahadi / Khair in the quarterfinal. We went into with nothing to lose and we won by 8-5. And we continue our tempo into the semifinals as we won 8-5 against Samad / Jalal. We already surpasses our target in this tournament but we fall at the final hurdle; 0-8. Our finals opponents was too good. A big thank you to my tennis partner Shariz; we are indeed a great combination. And also thank you to our supporters especially from TTDuta. And not forgetting my beautiful wife Eliza and son Arief Asraf for their support from home :-)

Tennis Friendly with OTC...

My tennis team @ TTDuta arrange a friendly with OTC (Orange Tennis Club) in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. I went out at 3pm and went to fetch Shahril & BK and we arrive at Titiwangsa by 4pm. Weather was quite hot and TTDuta came in full force. We started our match at 4.30pm. I partner Azmi for my first match; it was quite close at first as everybody hold serve and our opponents is a lefty with good net volley. We played semi-attacking strategy while reducing our unforced errors; our booming serve was the key. We won by 6-3. And I played my second doubles with Mahadi; we were leading 5-0 before we let our opponents in by 2 points and we finish the game at 6-2. Overall result was 5-5. We ended our friendly with our team dinner at Sani Char Kueh Teow :-)

Arief's Tennis Session...

I send Arief for his first official Tennis Session with Coach Mahadi @ my tennis buddies. We arrived there by 8.10am via my Papago GPS. Did a brief warm-up with Arief by asking him to hit a few tennis balls and by 8.45am Arief started his first official ball feeding session. It took some time for Arief to trust his tennis coach but Arief do have his basic swing intact @ watching me play as well as watching on TV as playing on his PSP. BTW his favourite player is Andy Roddick of which he call Rodd. After completing his session Arief requested for his new tennis racquet; red in colour :-)

 

Tennis at Awana Genting...

It was initially scheduled on 3rd July (full) but Team Pahang manage to organize it on 10th July instead. I manage to gather almost all TTDuta players and we make our journey to Awana Genting; some on carpool and some drive on their own. I arrived in Bangsar by 7am; to pick-up Farid and Shah Jr. We then proceed to Petronas before the entrance to Karak Highway. Mahadi & Fizi is already on their way and I received news from Shariz that Piee had to go to SJMC; stomach pain and they will be a bit late. We convoy with Mahadi to Awana and we were the first one to arrive. As the Pahang Team is on their way, we decided to drive down to Gohtong for some breakfast. Shariz, Afwan & Syahril arrived within 10 minutes later at the restaurant. We started our first match at around 9.30am; the weather was indeed excellent and we played until 1.30pm. We could have continue until late evening but most of us has make plans for the evening. A big thank you to Team Pahang for making their journey here. It was an enjoyable tennis friendly and we agreed to organize another session in 4Q 2010; TTDuta - Team Pahang American Doubles Tournament :-)

TTDuta American Doubles Tournament...

After months of planning we finally arrive to the tournament day. I was physched up as I really wanted to win the nice Wilson Tennis Bag (that I bought with Amri as the main prize). I was there with Amri by 7.20am as it was held at Holiday Villa Subang Jaya (nearby to Shah Alam). We managed to have a light breakfast at Taj Curry House before proceeding to the Hotel. The tournament is basically based on your luck of the draw; you need to draw your partner and opponent for every round (total 5 rounds). I won my first round; partnering Shah Jr by 3-1. Won the 2nd round with Zam by 4-0. Drew the third round with Khair by 2-2. Lost the 4th round with Huzaini by 1-3 and won the 5th round with Shariz by 4-0. At the end we have 4 players with equal points @ 14 and the tournament director @ Mahadi decided that we proceed with singles tie-break to determine the winner. I played against Kol Azhar in the first semi-final and won by 7-4. I played the final with Azmi; it was a close game and I won by 7-6 by a strong first serve to his backhand and penetrating deep forehand for a sure winner. I raised my left hand to the air after winning the point. It was an excellent tournament and I can't wait to play and organize the next one. BTW we ended our tournament by having lunch @ Nasi Kukus Ayam at the nearby lake :-)

 

 

Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics 2009 Video...

I was interview by CyberjayaTv during the Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics 2009 :-)

2009 Showdown of Champions...

I got the free ticket for 2009 Showdown of Champions from Shah during the morning tennis session and I went with Amri after maghrib. It actually starts at 8.30pm. I met with a few of my tennis buddies there and some of them shopped at the Yonex Booth (cheap racquets). Our seat was beside the VIP with excellent view. Tonight is doubles between Russia (Dementiava & Kirilenko) vs Asia (Mirza & Zheng Jie). It was a close fight match and the Russian won by 2 sets to 1 (Super Tie-Break at the third set). We went for our supper at Hakim Seksyen 7 before heading back home. I was looking forward to watch Arsenal game at 1.30am but I ended up sleeping on the sofa. BTW Arsenal won 3-0 :-)

   

2009 Malaysian Tennis Open Part 6...

This is the final day of the tournament and I will be going with Eliza & Arief. We went to my friend's open house at Seksyen 11 first; Apit and Tante (my ADBA classmates). We had nasi lemak lauk sotong & ayam, popiah basah, roti jala with kuah durian, kuehteow & bihun goreng. We arrived at Stadium Putra by 1pm and I parked at my favourite spot. We went in after getting the tickets from my friend and I immediately went to buy the Wilson souvenier ball for Arief; and Arief can't stop playing with the ball. Throwing, bouncing and kicking it everywhere. Even the official tournament photographer took Arief pictures; btw he was pooping while the picture was taken :-)

The first match was the double final, and the experience Poland pair won it rather easily in straight sets. Arief was at first at awe watching the tennis match but after awhile he got bored and started to make noises. At the end we took him outside and we just take turns to watch the single finals. Arief continue playing with the Wilson Ball; mostly kicking the ball. We thought we could make him tired from playing and he would fall asleep after drinking his milk but Arief decided to stay awake. I manage to watch the conclusion of the first set where Davydenko won while Eliza watched briefly the start of the 2nd set. Davydenko won in 2 sets; quite tight actually with only a single break of serve for both sets. We went to watch the beginning of the prize giving ceremony before driving to Kajang for Neng's open house. Lucky for us it was easy to drive out from stadium putra and we reached there within half an hour. Arief met with his Little Caliphs friends there and they continue playing the small bicycle outside. We drove home after maghrib and Arief was sleeping all the way. We reached home just nice to catch Arsenal defeated Blackburn 6-2; and we wore the same Arsenal Jersey to watch Tennis :-)

 

2009 Malaysian Tennis Open Part 5...

I will be going with Aiman today to watch the semifinal. I had initially plan to go to Bangsar and play tennis but I do not want to rush going to Stadium Putra; it was raining anyway. I went for breakfast with Eliza & Arief at Pasar Malam Seksyen 6; nasi lemak and kuehteow goreng. I drove to Subang Permai by 11.30am; reaching there by noon due to the slight jam at GCE; cars parked at the roadside to catch the Thunderbirds Aerial Acrobatic Show. We also managed to watch one of the fighter jet flew just above us. We had our lunch first at Kesas R&R and as I just had my breakfast; I just ordered satay kajang for both of us (Aiman also ate rice). We were there by 1pm and it was still empty as they were just about to open the main entrance. We met up with few of my tennis buddies and we went to the nearby cafe for some refreshments; while waiting for the first match to start at 2.30pm :-)

We were seated at the Gold seatings and watched Davydenko vs Soderling. Soderling won the 1st easily (6-1) but Davydenko woke-up and won the next 2 sets; third set comfortably. Soderling looks tired at the of the 3rd set. I did try again to catch the ball but I fall down to the stairs; this is the last time that I will jump for the ball (will just sit & wait). We didn't stay to watch the doubles match; we went out again for refreshments at the same shop. BTW I manage to secure two Gold complimentary tickets for the evening session; Gold seatings behind the cameraman. The highlight is the semi-final between Verdasco and Gonzales; both were the crowd favourites. Gonzalez lost the 1st; and he broke his racquet in anger at the of the set. He started the 2nd set mocking Verdasco on his late tactics to get ready by sitting down on his side of the court. Verdasco won the 2nd set; but it was a close match that could go either way. We just watched the first few points of the doubles match and we drove home; tired and hungry. We stopped at TTDI Jaya for a brief dinner before sending Aiman home to Subang Permai :-)

 

2009 Malaysian Tennis Open Part 4...

Today I plan to watch both the morning and evening session as it is already in the quaterfinal stages. The best part, I have an extra Gold seat tickets because Hamzah passed to me the Premium Complimentary yesterday. I arrived at the venue by 2.00pm and I noticed a queue started to build up and I just went in; not knowing that we are queueing to get Soderling signature (he just defeated Berdych in straight sets). Just my luck and I met with John; the guy who defeated me at the Cyberjaya Tournament. He bought silver season tickets and when I mentioned that I have an extra Gold tickets; he immediately asked if he can have that instead for a different view. I duly obliged. I also met with Colin & Alan of KLTM. BTW I managed to get Soderling signature on the souvenier book :-)

I went in and watched Davydenko vs Monfils. There was a small incidents during the 1st point of the 1st Set when a spectators sitting at the Gold Seat fainted. Monfils pointed it out to the umpire as he was about ready to return serve and the game stopped for the medic to assist the fainted spectators. They manage to bring him out of the stadium for further examination by the medical team. BTW Davydenko defeated Monfils in Straight Sets. Haza came to the stadium at around 6.45pm; he bought two gold tickets but his friend cancel at the last minute. Huzaini arrived just nice to watch the 3rd semifinal between Gonzalez and Youzhny. We were seated at Premier and behind the players. Hilmy was supposed to join us but he was late as usual. Gonzalez defeated Youzhny in straight sets as Youzhny seems to be injured and he requested for medical time-out twice during the match :-)

Hilmy finnaly arrived in time for Verdasco vs Gasquet. This is the highlight of the night as the winners of this match will get to throw the Satria Neo tennis ball to the lucky spectators. BTW as we were seated behind the players, we received a lot of air-time from Astro. I text Eliza & my siblings to watch me on TV and they did. I also managed to show a peace sign to Eliza. Verdasco won in straight sets. Once the match is completed, almost everyone went to Verdasco side to get this autographs (stumbling over in the process). I immediately rush to Gasquet side and request for his towel (Official Malaysian Tennis Open). He finally threw the towels to the crowd and I manage to grab it. It is still un-used as Gasquet was using the white towels. The highlight of the night is the Satria Neo Tennis Ball and I nearly got it; just miss it by a whisker and broke my watch bracelett in the process. Well no luck this year but at least I manage to get the official towel :-)

2009 Malaysian Open Tennis Part 3...

I got the premier complimentary from Hamzah for this evening match as well as for tomorrow morning session. This time I arrived there by 8pm; even managed to have dinner at Kesas R&R. I was seated at Premier but when I noticed few of my tennis buddies was at the silver seat, I went to sit with them there for the first match; Gonzalez vs Boppana. Gonzalez won in three sets where Bopanna double faulted on match point. For the next game I went back to my premier seat where Shah, Zam, Fizi and Amri was seated. I watched Verdasco thrased Karol Beck :-)

 

 

2009 Malaysian Tennis Open Part 2...

I managed to get my tickets from Abu; bronze complimentary. I went with Syahril & Afwan from Shah Alam and we arrived there by 8.30pm. We still managed to watch Davydenko vs Dent where Davydenko won in straight sets. After the match we changed our seats to Silver where we sat with our tennis buddies; Nidzar, Bad, Fadhil and many others. We watched our local players; Yew Ming with Joachim play doubles against the brazillian Sa / Mello. It was a close contested match; going to the super tie-break in the third set where the Malaysian / Sweden combination lost :-)

 

2009 Malaysian Tennis Open Part 1...

I had earlier plan to just go on the last day but I received a call from my friend Hamzah @ Proton on the complimentary tickets for this evening session and without hesitation I drove to Proton from Cyberjaya to get the tickets. And I even drove home to change clothes and bring along my digital camera. I arrive at the venue by 5.30pm and met a lot of my tennis buddies there. I went straight to my seat; Premium North and sat beside Fadhil. I wanted to take the picts of the players but then I realized that I forgot to bring the camera batteries. I ended up using my BlackBerry to take picts; which was not that impressive. I did managed to watch Youzhny vs Ferrer; Joachim vs Hewitt and the doubles between Gonzalez / Acasuso vs Istomin / Golubev. Youzhny beat Ferrer easily and Joachin upsets Hewitt in 2 sets while Gonzalez yawn during his doubles match and lost in straight sets :-)

Weekend of Tennis...

It was a tennis weekend for me before the beginning of Ramadhan. I even organized a tennis friendly with KLTM on Sunday; winning both my matches; doubles with Faizal (6-4) against Richard & Gan and single (6-1) against Melvin. BTW I wore my Arsenal T-Shirt to celebrate the 6-1 drubbing of Everton :-)

Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics @ Closing Ceremony...

I received an sms and a call from the Organizer on the Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics Closing Ceremony yesterday scheduled to start at 6pm. Eliza is in Genting for her company workshop and will only be back by 5pm. It was a bit of a rush to pick-up Eliza at Kelana Jaya first and Arief at Little Caliphs before I drove to Cyberjaya. I arrived there by 6.30pm; lucky for me it had not started yet as few more events was still on-going (Badminton and Marathon). We finally received our medals and prize money by 7.45pm. Most of the participants went back after the ceremony but I stayed for the dinner; bihun goreng with kuih. Only the tennis winners were there :-)

Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics @ Final...

I already plan out my strategy for the semi-final but my game went to the drains for the first 8 points and I was trailing 2-6. Then everything started to click; top spin forehand going for short angle, low slice backhand, disguise drop shot, offensive lob, first serve percentage increase and sharp angle volley. I basically change the game tempo from fast to slow to drop shot to angle shot and I make my opponent move from side to side. The killer came when I stand at the no-mans land to intercept his second serve; this give an added advantage in terms of confidence. Finally I won the match by 8-6 after an hour ++ on the court. BTW the match point was really tight as I have 3 chances to win the match; blew the first one by smashing out; the second by hitting my backhand into the net and won the crucial last one when my opponent return my forehand topspin out. But my opponent in the Final, John from EDS had a walk-over in the semi-final. I was still tired from my semi-final and I lost the final match. Well at least I've achieved my target on reaching the finals and won RM200 for my efforts :-)

Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics...

I participated in Cyberjaya Corporate Olympics @ Tennis tournament (single). It has been awhile since I last played in a tournament; furthermore in singles. I am more familiar with doubles as I have not been playing singles for years; even during my usual tennis session in Bangsar where I put more emphasis on doubles. I played my first round against EDS. I was nervous at first but after winning the first point via a break of serve and holding my serve efficiently with my kick serve, my confidence grew. But fatigue took its toll on me as I was tired from serving my kick serve and I lost the next 2 games. The match was quite close until 4-4; then I change my strategy by hitting high top spin to my opponent forehand as well as attacking his second serve with powerful ground strokes. I won the match by 8-4 :-)

My second round opponent (Lim Kok Wing) didn't turn up; so it was a walk-over for me. It was quite frustrating as I was really looking forward to the match. My quarterfinal opponent is from Tunas Cyber; he also received a walk-over during his 2nd round match. During warm-up I noticed that he likes to slice and he is not comfortable with high spinning balls. I also noticed during the match that he likes to stay in the middle and almost at the "no mans land" area. My game-plan is simple, just hit short angle shot and I won the match by 8-1. Now it's the semifinal next week Wednesday and my opponent is my sparring partner for this tournament; he's from Panasonic. He hits the balls hard and he is about 10 years younger than me. And I think I'm the oldest player in the semifinal :-)

LTAM Coaching Clinic...

I attended LTAM Coaching Clinic at Kompleks Tenis Jalan Duta. The coaching clinic starts on Friday evening until Sunday. Syahril & Afwan pick me up at Menara TM after Friday prayers. The clinic started with briefing at the classroom but most of the time we were at the indoor tennis court. Hilmy came in his office attire as Afwan had wrongly adviced him on the dress code; he eventually drove back to his home and change to his tennis attire. Total participants was 14; mostly made up of my fellow TTDutarians. The conditions in the indoor court was very humid and I was sweating profusely. It was a very enjoyable session; it does bring back the memories when I started playing tennis at 10 years old especially with all the drills that we practise. On Sunday morning, I took the ITN (International Tennis Number) and I managed to obtain ITN 6. It was quite tiring with various drills; ground strokes depth and accuracy, volley, service and mobility. The coaching clinic finish at 7pm on Sunday and we were given the certificates at a small reception at the cafe :-)

 

Tennis & Raya Open House...

My first tennis session after Ramadhan and my timing was way out; and I lost two sets (6-2 and 6-4). This is all due to the ketupat & lemang and also we started playing at 10am until noon. I arrived home by 1pm after buying "lauk pauk" at Restoran Hakim at Seksyen 3. Arief was watching "Cars" on DVD and he is feeling a bit sleepy and he went to sleep after I finish bathing. We ate lunch; ikan keli with masak lemak kuning nangka and sambal belacan. It was raining heavilly in the evening and we just slept through. We went to our neighbours open house at around 6.50pm and I parked in-front of his house. There were varieties on the buffet table and I think I mistakenly mix-up the servings combination and also I didn't notice the rice. Arief was busy playing with the toy gun that he found in the house :-)

Tennis, TESCO, Subang Parade & Big Plate...

This is my last tennis session before Ramadhan and I car-pool with Shahril (first time). We went to re-fill NGV in Shah Alam and Shahril was impressed with the cost savings as well as the tip that I usually give to the NGV attendants (usually the amount is with cents so I always rounded to the nearest RM e.g. if RM2.60 I will pay RM3 and 0.40 cents is the tip). I managed to play 3 set of doubles and went back as Eliza prepared spaghetti for lunch. After Zohor we went to TESCO EXTRA to buy beddings & curtains. We purposely went via the main entrance to avoid passing-by the play land as Arief likes to play there (the same with Shah Alam Mall; where he remembers the location and would run towards it). We had our evening snacks at Geng's Corner (ubi keledek goreng) and saw Les' Copaque new signage (the contractors was doing the installation while we were enjoying our keledek goreng). We went to Subang Parade for some "Raya" shopping; bought t-shirt for Anis and pants for Arief at FOS, And1 and PUMA t-shirt for me and South China Sea blouse for Eliza. Eliza bought cup-cakes; it was indeed delicious; Eliza and Arief thoroughly enjoy it until the last crumbs :-)

We went to my sister house in Subang Permai to give Ilyas & Irfan their "Raya" t-shirts; Irfan was sleeping but Ilyas was awake but looks very sleepy. Arief & Ilyas is the same age; difference by 5 months. They do like to play together but sometimes both of them tends to want the same toy at the same time; it is quite funny actually looking at them when they are trying to play with the same toy (shouting, screaming and pushing). We went for dinner at Big Plate Subang Permai; ordered bread soup for Arief, french fries, black pepper beef and fruit juices. The servings is huge and Arief really likes the bread soup. We were quite tired from our outing and couldn't enjoy the dinner thoroughly but we still managed to finish everything :-)

Kelab Shah Alam...

Eliza & Arief followed me to Kelab Shah Alam where I play tennis with Shahril & Farid. It was just nearby and the tennis court is very kid-friendly; artificial grass but with a lot of white sands. I was warming-up when Arief wanted to play inside the tennis court; using my old Yamaha tennis racket. Arief seems to be having a natural swing with the racket; can't wait to send him for his tennis lessons when he is 4 years old :-)

3 game of single...

It was just 3 of us; myself, Nizam and Syed. I arrived at 8.45am and Nizam has started his match with Syed. We tried desperately to find another player so that we can play doubles but to no avail. Nizam won the match. I played my first game with Nizam without proper warming-up. I was trailing 0-4 as my shots was everywhere. But I managed to find my angle and won 6-4. Next I played against Syed and won 6-1. Actually Syed is a dangerous player with his excellent serve and topspin strokes. It was an easy scoreline but it was tiring because Syed hit the ball with pace. My final game was against Nizam. Eventhough I won 6-3 but it was so tiring. At the end, it was an excellent exercise :-) 

Tennis at USJ GYC9...

Two tennis session in a week. Actually I was eager to try the new tennis outfit that Eliza bought for me. Adidas shirt, pants and socks. I was there quite early after having "nasi lemak" at home. They just started the first double. I waited until 9.30am before I begin my double partnering Richard. We defeated Alan and Leslie 6-4. Then I play single with Alan. I have lost twice to him previously. This guy is like a "wall". We were quite close in the first 4 games. My main mistakes was when I couldn't close the game when I was leading 0-40 on his serve. The it was Alan all the way 1-6. But I did managed to get my revenge when I partnered Sam and defeated Alan and Edward 6-0 :-)

As I was about to go home, I found out that Pak Teh is coming for lunch as my in-laws are here. So I bought some "lauk" and thinking that I have enough time to spruce up the house before they arrive. To my suprise, Pak Teh arrive at the same time as I was about to park my car. It took me about 10 minutes to re-arrange the living room. Luckilly it was easy thanks to IKEA. We had a scrupmtious meal together ala buffet :-)

Tennis at Syed Condo...

It was a holiday @ Wesak Day and Syed organize a BBQ and Tennis session at his beautiful condo. I arrived there at around 8.30am. Ibrahim, Tamwin and Syed was there warming-up. My timing was just nice. I partnered Ibrahim (a lefty) and played against Syed and Tamwin. It was a good game and we won 6-4. Then Hilmy and Nizam came so as the winner, we are up against them. We were trailing 1-5 because Hilmy was "everywhere". Retrieving my lethal drop shot, manage to volley my ferocious forehand and serving a near ace. But I sensed he fragility when he took a long slow walk to the baseline after picking up my drop shot. We managed to tie the game at 5-5 and even lead 6-5 through our aggresive attacking and my angle volley and shot. But we lost the game at 6-7 after making too many unforced errors. Well it was a pulsating game and it open up my appetite for some BBQ. We went down at 10.30am to help Syed with the BBQ. Once everything is set, we started the BBQ with lambs. It was so delicious. I think I ate close to 4 servings of lamb. Thanks to Syed for the BBQ and Tennis session :-)

GYC9...

It has been quite awhile since I last play here. As I was not playing last saturday due our MI3 session at One Utama GSC and Ikan Bakar Bellamy, I opted to play on sunday morning. I played two great doubles and won 6-3 and 7-5. We nearly lost the second set as were playing defensively when we were leading 5-3. Then I partner Melvin for the third game. We lost 4-6 but it was an entertaining match with lots of powerful and tricky shot. And I play singles with Melvin after that. Got whacked 1-4 as I was so tired after three good doubles. Well, you win some and you lose some :-)

Tennis in Taiping...

The tennis court in my old school (SMK King Edward VII) bring a lot of fond memories. I started playing here when I was in Form One and at that time the condition of the court was excellent. I have a lot of good victories here. Now, it is a bit letdown. The court is now "cement like" and gray in colour; and dangerous if you fall down and disastrous to my tennis shoes. Well I managed to arrange a session with Abg Amin (Eeta husband). He started playing tennis just a few years ago and he is quite good. We had a good half an hour warm-up. Actually I don't intend to play single due to the conditions of the court but when Abg Amin ask; I duly accept the challenge. It was quite a close game for the first 4 points as I am still getting used to the court and the bounce of the ball; but once I feel comfortable with the elements then I started to hit my usual angles and heavy spin. The score was 6-2 :-)

Tennis at Monterez...

Again I was a bit late. We plan to start playing at 9am to avoid the sweltering heat but I arrive at 10am. Only 4 of us came; myself, Nizam, Hilmy and the tall skinny guy (don't remember his name). We managed to play three good doubles. For the first two sets I partnered Nizam and we whack Hilmy and his partner 6-4 and 6-0. My serve was booming; powerful flat with a little slice for my first serve and control slice with a bit of power for my second serve. Finally I found the 2nd serve that I like; a bit tiring but at least consistent. I used to "kick" my 2nd serve but it was not that consistent. For the 3rd set, I partnered the tall skinny guy. As it was nearly noon, I choose to play a slow game with lots of heavy spin, drop shots and lobs. Actually I plan to give the game away easily but when we manage to tie the game at 4-4, then I started to play more seriously. We won by 6-4 and my partner game improve tremendously. Maybe he was under a lot of pressure from Himly in the first two sets. We thoroughly enjoyed the third set and I am still the "undefeated" :-)

Tennis at Monterez...

This is not our usual playing venue but Duta and Kelana Jaya was fully booked for tournaments. I came at around 11am as I was at SMC earlier for Eliza monthly check-up. Well I managed to play two good doubles, partnering Nizam. We defeated Alawi and Afwan (who just recovered from a wrist injury) 6-3 and 6-4. But we were exhausted due to the extremely hot weather. I should have just jump into the nearby swimming pool and cool off next time :-)

Friendly with KL Tennis Maniacs...

I arranged a friendly match between my team; TTDuta, with KL Tennis Maniacs last sunday. We played at USJ Goodyear Court 9. The game started as scheduled and suprisingly everybody was early especially my president (Hilmy) who is well-known for coming late for all of our tennis session. The team from TTDuta comprise of myself, Hilmy, Nizam, Syed, Mahadi, Zull, Doli, Aris and Afwan while from KL Tennis Maniacs are Melvin, Aaron, Alan, Kenny, Richard, Edward, Ricky and his father. It began well when Hilmy defeated Edward 6-4 and Nizam + Mahadi lost a tight game against Kenny + Richard by 5-7. Then it went down the drains. I did win my doubles match 6-4 (partnered Afwan and defeated Melvin + Edward) but lost my singles to Alan 2-6 (this guy is like a wall). We lost officially by 2-6. It was a fun and entertaining match. But still we got whacked :-(. Can't wait for the rematch.

Tennis in UIAM Gombak...

My tennis group (TTDuta) initially arrange a playing session last saturday with UIAM (Gombak) but ended up being a friendly match. I was ridiculously early that morning (arrive is Kelana Jaya by 7.25am and we agreed to meet up by 7.30am). SMS my tennis buddies once I'm there and receive a reply from Afwan "almost there" of which he arrives at 7.50am. We car-pool in Zura (new buddy) Peugeot and arrive in UIAM at around 8.25am. It took us a while to find the tennis court as they have two there (Brothers & Sisters). We went to Brothers first and receive a call from Khairullah (UIAM) that the match will be played at Sisters Court. It was not a wasteful journey to the Brothers court as we saw two hot chicks :-).

I began my first double match with Dolly and we won 7-6 (a close fight). Our president came, with his pyjamas short. He played with Afwan and lost 3-6. I played my second double match with Mahadi and we got hammered 1-6. After that match, I played singles with Khairullah (runners-up in the PRC Plate Singles Division). This guy is so consistent and it took me awhile to finally figuring out his game plan. By that time, I was trailing 1-4. I managed to close the gap to 3-5 but lost eventually. Cramps started to appear on my right thigh. No wonder my president lost 1-8 to him as this guy is good. If only this was my first match and it was still early in the morning (as the court is so hot with no shades), I would have won the match. Better luck next time then.

The result, my team got hammered, again. We never did win any of our friendly matches but I always contributed a win. We do need to improve

Agony in Defeat...

I lost in the Main Doubles Event to a seeded pair (of which they are now in the semifinals, so I lost to a really good pair). I was there since 9am and played my first match at 1.30pm when the beautiful sun is on top of my head. I can't even serve properly as the sun blinded me as I toss the ball (this when I'm wearing shades). Ended up playing in the Plate Division and met up with my regular playing partner. I won 8-6 but truly make a mess of the match with stupid antics (as my opponent hit the lamp post as he was about to serve). Proceed to the quarters and lost 3-8 but it was a good match. My serve was good, my return was excellent but my finishing was horrible. Better luck next time then. The good thing is I met up with few of my old friends from UiTM who I have not been in contact since 1997. Truly enjoyable outing :-) and tiring too. And my right wrist hurt so bad....

PRC Tournament 2nd Leg

I will be playing in PRC Tennis Tournament tomorrow at Titiwangsa. This is the second leg. I entered the first leg in February, lost in the Round of 16 for Singles and Quarterfinal in Doubles Plate Division. This time I will be playing with Yus as my previous partner Nizam reluctant to play because we got wallop really bad, lost 1-8. We choose to throw our game in Main Doubles with hope of winning the Plate Division but our plan got backfired. I hope that I could make an improvement from my previous results. Wish myself all the best and I do need to doze off now. Need the rest :-)

KL Tennis Maniacs

KL Tennis Maniacs is a tennis group based in USJ Goodyear Court 9. I came across them in Yahoo Groups and subsribe to their mailing list. They have a weekly game on sunday morning from 8am to 1pm. After few emails from me, they invited me to join their maiden night game last tuesday. As I was free and there is nothing good on TV, I agreed to play. They are quite a good bunch, very friendly and make me feel at ease. There was about 12 of them on court with 4 ladies. I got to play 2 doubles that night and it was fun. Met with a lot of new friends of which I only remember one name, Melvin :-).

My obsession with Tennis...

I started playing tennis since 7 years old and receive proper coaching when I was 11 years old from Mr Ong Chee Lai @ Mr Ong (he is still coaching until now). I came from a tennis family as my dad is an avid player. I used to follow him when he plays in Parit Buntar and Taiping. My dad realize that I like tennis and one day he brought me out for breakfast near a tennis court in Taiping Lake Garden. He purposely chose a table adjacent to the court so that I could watch kids being coached by Mr Ong. Suddenly after I finish my toast my dad pop the question; "Nak main tennis?" And I just simply said; "Yes". And that began my obsession with Tennis.

Right now, I play twice a week, on weekends at Kelana Jaya or Jalan Duta or Titiwangsa. I have my own Tennis Group, "TTDuta" with about 12 players. Most of them are my old buddies from UiTM. We organize friendly once a month but lost most of them (btw I won all my game). Just concluded the doubles tournament and I won partnering Nizam 6-1, 3-6 and 6-2. Singles is next and last time I was the runners-up. Lost to Hilmy (Group President) whereby he purposely came late and my game started at around 10.30am of which I had played a game of doubles earlier. No mercy this time :-).