Pete Sampras and Ryan Harrison after our practice session the day before the big Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2009

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student and up-and-coming American talent, Ryan Harrison, is blogging live from Macao while he participates in the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown with fellow Bollettieri student Yuki Bhambri and tennis legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Here is his first entry!

Hello everyone from Asia.

So, I had much better luck sleeping last night as I was able to sleep in until 6:00 am today.  I felt much more rested this morning and I started my day with another serving of pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast in my room.  It was just as good as yesterday.

After breakfast I headed down to the arena with Andre at 9:30 am for about a 45 minute hit.  He absolutely crushes the ball from the baseline still but we got a good groove and I got to spend some time talking with him after the practice.  He shared a lot about his fitness routine when he was playing and what seemed to work best for him.  It was really cool of him to spend some time with me and answer some of my questions.

Ben and I had a little time to kill after my practice so we walked around the Venetian resort for a bit.  We peaked in on the casino which was pretty busy even at 11:00 am and then went up stairs to the shopping area.  It was absolutely massive and a complete maze.  It was really cool though because they pretty much built the city of Venice with the Italian architecture, canals and gondolas.  We didn’t really feel like shopping much but we stopped by the Nike store and then ran across my picture on a big poster.  Still strange to see your own face and name plastered on a wall.

We then headed to St. Mark’s Square to meet up with Yuki and his mom for lunch at another Italian restaurant called Vergano, which was another stellar meal.  I had some shrimp pasta and we shared a small pizza among us all.  The setting was really cool since we were able to sit outside in the Square.

After the lunch, Ben and I headed up to one of the event staff member’s rooms where I sat and signed programs, tennis balls, posters and Babolat tennis racquets for about 20 minutes.  It was a well-oiled assembly line and the staff made it as quick and easy as possible since there was a lot of things to autograph.  From there I quickly went to my room before Yuki and I headed down to our locker room at the Arena and wait for our big match to start.  We had about 30 minutes in there to relax, eat a snack, stencil racquets, get settled and get ready for the event which started right at 2:30 pm.

I was the first one to make my entrance onto the court and it was amazing!  They turned off all of the lights and there was just a spotlight on me as I came out of the tunnel in a cloud of smoke.  I made my way to my chair as they announced my name and played the song I picked for entrance, which was “Stronger” by Kanye West.  It was pretty cool.  Yuki came onto the court after me to the theme song from the movie Slum Dog Millionaire and then we each hit three autographed tennis balls into the crowd.  After the coin toss and a quick photo at the net we began our 45 minute match before Pete and Andre took the court.

Our match was pretty back and forth and we were both having trouble holding serve.  I was up 5-4 serving for the match with about four minutes left on the clock but I wasn’t able to close it out.  At 5-5 Yuki was given one service point to decide the match and he came up with a big out wide serve I wasn’t able to get back.  I didn’t want to lose but it was a good match with some solid points.  I think the highlight for me was hitting a between the legs shot to win a point in the third or fourth game.  I have never played in front of a crowd like that and heard them erupt with so much excitement.  It was really cool and I hope to play in many more stadiums like this in the future.

After Andre and Pete played their singles, which Pete won in a deciding 10-point tie-breaker, we all took the court for our doubles match following an on-court performance by the entire cast of Zaia, the Cirque du Soleil show that is held here at the Venetian.  Yuki and I snuck out on the court to see the performance and these people were so talented.  They were doing all kinds of flips and jumps on trampolines and from bands hanging from the ceiling.  Some of the acts looked really dangerous but they all got through it in one piece.  We actually got our photo with the entire cast before the start of our doubles.

In the doubles match, we were all wearing small microphones so the crowd could hear what we were saying.  Pete and Andre were really funny and imitating each other while Yuki and I just tried to stay composed and keep the ball going.  It isn’t easy playing with and against two of your childhood idols but Andre and Pete both made it a good, fun match even though we lost 7-5 in the end.

The tennis went a bit longer than anticipated so they rushed us through the on-court trophy presentations and photos as well as post-match press conference.  Pete and Andre both had to catch flights tonight while Ben, Yuki, Yuki’s mother and me had to catch the ferry back to Hong Kong where we are staying tonight.  I was exhausted after another full day of activities and slept through the entire ferry ride.  Apparently some people even came up and asked for autographs but I slept right through it all.  We just got to our hotel by the airport and we will stay here tonight before flying back to Tampa tomorrow morning.

Overall it was a long journey for two days in Macao but it was so worth it.  I got to play with two of the best tennis players in the history of our sport and pick their brains some as well.  They were both class acts and very friendly even to two young players like Yuki and me.  It was awesome and I hope to be back again.

So good bye from Hong Kong and check out my photos from today.

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student Ryan Harrison

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student and up-and-coming American talent, Ryan Harrison, is blogging live from Macao while he participates in the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown with fellow Bollettieri student Yuki Bhambri and tennis legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Here is his first entry!

Today was my first day in Macao for the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2009.  I am here doing an exhibition with Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and another 17-year-old player from the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Yuki Bhambri.  Anyway, I thought I would share with everyone a little bit about what I am doing over here on the other side of the world.  I hope you enjoy it and check out my photos as well.

I made the trip here with my agent, Ben Crandell and we arrived last night after a very long flight from Newark and about an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong to Macao.  As soon as we arrived in Hong Kong we had someone escorting us all the way to our rooms.  The amazing event staff picked us up at our gate in a golf cart at the Hong Kong airport, drove us to customs, put us in a sweet new Mercedes to take us to the ferry station, booked our first class tickets on the ferry, picked us up in Macao and then took us directly to our rooms.  We didn’t have to do anything and my room is amazing by the way.  My bathroom alone is about as big as most bedrooms!

Anyway, after attempting to sleep a few hours I started my day way too early (around 5:00 am) and chowed down on pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast.  It was just what I needed after the long trip and I was very full.  After my food settled a bit, Ben and I went to the gym at 8:30am for a short work out to try to loosen the legs up after such a long trip.  This hotel is so big and we got a little lost on the way back.

After that, Yuki and I headed to the court at 10:00 am for a short hit before Andre arrived to hit with Yuki at 11:00.  The Cotai Arena, which holds around 12,000 people, is part of the Venetian Resort which includes our hotel and a casino.  The court is a temporary court but it I liked how it played.  It isn’t too fast and the bounce is consistent.  This is actually the same arena where Pete played Federer two years ago and Federer, Blake, McEnroe and Borg played last year.

I watched Andre and Yuki practice for about an hour, which was cool to see because Andre still hits the ball so well.  He also took some time to chat with Yuki and I after their practice, which was really cool.  As I waited for Pete to arrive to hit with me, I did a short camera interview with NOW Sports.  It is kind of strange answering questions in English and then standing there on camera in complete silence as the reporter translates your answers to Mandarin.  Something I will have to get used to I think.

Pete arrived at 12:45 and he and I hit for about 45 minutes.  We went through a long warm up and then played out some points, which was all very surreal because I always looked up to him and grew up watching him play on TV.  He was very cool and laid back and he hit the ball so cleanly.  His volleys in particular were hit with so much ease and were so solid.  Maybe he will share some insights.

After a quick shower and some lunch at an Italian place called Portofino, the four of us (Pete, Andre, Yuki and I) made the trip to the on-site golf course (which is on one of the roofs by the way!) where the event had set up a miniature tennis court.  There waiting was a very large crowd of photographers to take our picture.  It was a really cool set up but during the course of the shoot with the hotel in the background, I had one really embarrassing moment.  They wanted us to twirl our racquets on our finger for one of the shots and I just couldn’t do it.  It was pretty comical because Pete and Andre were trying to teach me on the spot but it was very clear this is still one skill that I will need to practice a lot.

After that this slightly awkward moment, we all headed back indoors for an official press conference and a VIP Meet & Greet.  The press conference was in a big room with a stage where we were seated in front of a big backdrop with our photos on it.  They asked us each to speak a little bit about our expectations of being in Macao and then we took some questions from the journalists.  I have to admit I was really nervous being up there with two of the best players in history but I think it went pretty smoothly.  The press conference ended with the drawing of the doubles teams by Andre and Pete.  They each drew a large tennis ball out of a gondola with mine or Yuki’s name on them.  Andre drew my name first so he and I will be taking on Pete and Yuki tomorrow afternoon.  Should be a good match and I am really excited to be partnering up with Andre.

All four of us went through a quick Meet & Greet with autographs and photos in a separate room and then Yuki and I went back to the arena where we did an hour kids clinic and signed autographs for the local kids of Macao.  Yuki and I had a good time with it and the kids were pretty cute and loved getting my autograph even though I don’t think they knew who I was. Ha.

By this time it was 5:30 pm but it felt like midnight to me.  I was exhausted after only sleeping a few hours last night so I headed back to my room to crash for three hours before dinner.  As it turns out, I think I could have slept until tomorrow because it took three calls to my room from Ben to wake me up.  I didn’t even hear the phone ring the first two times!  We finished the night with a delicious dinner with Nick Freyer from IMG Asia, his wife and Yuki’s mother at Morton’s Steakhouse.  The ribeye steak was amazing and the perfect way to finish a long day.  I am off to sleep now for hopefully longer than just a few hours like last night.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow and send through some more photos! Here are some photos from today:

Nick Bollettieri and Anh Tran

Anh Tran made waves around the local area when local TV station SNN featured the 10-year-old Tran ripping forehands on local tennis courts despite being barely able to see over the net.

The feature caught the eye of Nick Bollettieri, and the coaching legend invited Anh for a free lesson with himself and Brad Gilbert, and offered Anh a free week in the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy junior program.

SNN followed the original feature with a 4-minute video shot on the IMG Academies’ campus on Monday:

American Ryan Harrison training at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in January 2009

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student, Ryan Harrison, jumped 155 spots in the rankings in the last week and is now at a career high of #371 in the world. The 17-year old American is playing extremely well right now having reached the finals of a Futures three weeks ago, winning a Futures tournament two weeks ago, and then reaching the semis of a challenger just last week. He has knocked off five players ranked inside the top 300 and has gained so much confidence over this span.

Harrison has also been the features of two recent articles by esteemed tennis writer Peter Bodo over the last week. You can read them here and here. Harrison is certainly one of the best up-and-coming Americans we have and it won’t be long now until you see him playing in the main draw of Grand Slams!

Good luck Ryan and keep up the great play!

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student Ryan Harrison

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student and American, Ryan Harrison, won his second career professional tennis title this week at the Men’s $10,000 Future in Laguna Niguel, California. In addition to the singles title, Harrison also took home the doubles title as well!  Harrison, who is only 17 years old, entered the event unseeded and in the final defeated the fifth seed, Richard Bloomfield of Great Britain, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. This was the second consecutive week that he has reached the finals of a tournament, after he advanced to the finals in Costa Mesa last week. His first pro title came in June 2009, when he won the $15,000 future in Shingle Springs, CA. He is now ranked a career high of #526 in the world, which is up over 1300 spots since May.

Harrison will also be playing in the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown with IMG Bollettieri alumni Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and fellow Bollettieri student Yuki Bhambri later this month. He is certainly one of the best young pros in the world, and is someone to keep your eye on in the coming months and years.

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student Ryan Harrison

IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student and American, Ryan Harrison, has reached the quarters at the 2009 USTA Futures of Laguna Niguel. Harrison, who is only 17-years old, won his second-round match earlier today over Dennis Zivkovic and beat fifth-seeded Nicholas Monroe in the opening round. Last week, Harrison advanced to the finals of the Men’s Future in Costa Mesa, CA.

Harrison came into the tournament ranked a career high of #574 in the world and has seen his ranking climb more than 1300 spots since earlier this year. Harrison will also be playing in the Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown with IMG Bollettieri alumni Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and fellow Bollettieri student Yuki Bhambri later this month. He is certainly one of the best young pros in the world, and is someone to keep your eye on in the coming months and years.