Day 16 Sat 22nd January
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Today is my last day stringing. I was originally rostered to finish yesterday but I still had a couple of players in the tournament so decided to come in. It is Pin’s last day as well which leaves 6 stringers from Sunday onwards.
Arrived at 8.15am. Had one Raonic rkt due at 9am and then another 2 due right before his match. Went to breakfast at 8.50am and came back to find more rkts waiting for me. From 9.10 to 10.30 I did 5 rkts. 2 for Raonic which had been dropped off Fri night plus another he dropped in while I was at breakfast and 2 for Morita which were due at 11am. Busy morning. Then from 10.40am i had 2 RDis 100’s to do which were due at 2pm, but I had to do them before Raonic got into his 11am match so that I would be free for his on courts. He sent in 3 on-courts during the first 2 sets of his match with Youzhny. I did each one in 15 minutes. Cut, strung, stencilled, bagged and out the door in 15 minutes. Pretty fast for that rkt. It is a K Blade 98, 18 x 20 pattern with Luxilon M2 Pro at 42/44lbs. I then sat down to watch some of his match. He sent another on-court at the start of the 4th set but we didn’t receive it. I sat there waiting with my cutters at the ready and the string measured out but it never came. He won in 4 sets.
Mid afternoon was pretty quiet then it picked up again later on. I was done by 8pm. I went around the room saying my goodbyes. I felt sad leaving. It has been a good tournament. Lots of laughs.
The other day a guy at the window asked “how much do you hate stringing?” I replied that I loved it. Speaking to the other stringers here I know they all feel the same. It sounds crazy but this was a holiday for me. Working 14-15 hour days in an environment where the smallest mistake is a very big deal. Last year I remember thinking that it was the hardest thing I had ever done. This year it all seems so easy. Hard work, but easy. Maybe it was all of the red bull I was drinking. I know that I can’t wait for the next tournament. Whether it’s the US Open later this year or Melbourne again next year. Either way I look forward to catching up with the stringing team again.
Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane. He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open. The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.
