On the second day of this wonderful event, we made our way up the mile-long drive at Stoke Park for what we hoped would be another great (and dry) day of tennis. On our way up the drive, we made sure to stop and get some nice photos of PlayBrave signage with the backdrop of one of the many lakes at Stoke Park.
As soon as we arrived, coffee was the first thing on the agenda. A long and busy day yesterday had left the entire PlayBrave team with a need for that caffeine hit synonymous with Western society.
Looking at the weather forecasts were scary reading as the hierarchy at The Boodles and Stoke Park prepared for another day of wet weather tennis.
It wasn’t looking good on the staying dry front, but that didn’t stop the hundreds of guests from having fun and enjoying champagne, great food and the occasional game of croquet.
In the ‘Players Enclosure’ there was a jovial mood as the guests ate a wonderful meal of perfectly cooked salmon, followed by a sumptuous slice of lemon cheesecake. The champagne was starting to flow and as the guests began to feel more relaxed (and partake in more drinking) the noise level in the room started to rise.
After the diners had allowed time for their lunch to settle, it was time for a Q & A with two of the most famous faces on the ATP Tour: Philipp Kohlschreiber and Benoit Paire.
The famous duo faced questions such as: ‘How many times to do you bounce your balls before serving?’ there was silence in the room before an outburst of laughter from one table saw everyone else erupt into fits of guffawing.
During the same question and answer, Kohlschrieber, who is the oldest player that is playing at The Boodles this year, told the audience the importance of playing in front of a home crowd.
The German, who has won the Munich Open three times, was confident that having that home crowd advantage makes a serious difference.
He said: “I get great support in Germany, I have a good relationship with the competitions at home and I’ve trained in Munich since I was 14 and of course it’s great to play in front of your family and friends. That really helps.”
Due to the bad weather, play was suspended midway through the game between Denis Shapovalov (CAN) and Ricardis Berankis (LTU)
Berankis has had unfortunate luck this week, losing in straight sets to Borna Coric yesterday afternoon and then also being rained off today, it appears as though the Gods do not want the Lithuanian to get the warm-up he needs only a week before Wimbledon.
As the biggest Grand Slam in the tennis calendar approaches all the players attending The Boodles this week see the event at Stoke Park as one of the best ways to get ready for such a big competition.
An example of this is through Argentinian, Juan Martin del Potro. Formerly ranked as the fourth best player in the world, del Potro made the semi-finals in 2013 at Wimbledon and so speaks from good experience in what is the best way to warm up for such a prestigious event.
Following his 6-3, 3-6 tie-break victory of Frenchman Gilles Simon, del Potro told us about why The Boodles is such a good warm-up for Wimbledon.
He exclaimed: “It’s good preparation for us as players, we play so often and in such a serious way. So The Boodles is good preparation for us to see how our bodies feel before a big competition and the relaxed atmosphere makes it easier for us as players.”
In the third game of the day Philipp Kohlschreiber dispatched Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a tie-break after a 6-3, 3-6 game.
The German had seemed relaxed in his Q & A earlier in the game and he isn’t generally stopped once he gets in the zone.
Despite being ranked a whole 35 places below his opponent, the 33-year-old once again proved that on his day he can beat anyone.
As the second day at Stoke Park drew to a close, we once again caught up with Managing Direct of PlayBrave; Simon Dowell to find out his opinion on how the day had gone.
Dowell said: “It’s been a really great day today. The weather has been cold, but we had almost a full day’s play. I was lucky enough earlier to watch some of Gilles Simon and Juan Martin del Potro, who were both hitting the ball beautifully. Looking forward to more of the same over the course of the week!”
So that’s it! Day two at The Boodles is officially over. The weather didn’t affect play too much and hopefully tomorrow will be sunnier and the play even better!
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