Mauritius
December 13, 2007. Charles de Gaulle airport. It is 39°F outside. We are off to Mauritius to finish the pre-tournament training in preparation for the outdoor competitions ahead: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Cindy Chala will participate in the Australian Open, and Irena Pavlovic, Ksenia Milevskaya, and Mandy Minella will participate in a $25,000 and $50,000 tournament in the United States.
The goal is manifold: to train in similar conditions to the ones they will face in a few weeks and unify a group that will travel together on a regular basis in the future.We land in Mauritius twelve hours later, after catching only 2-3 hours of sleep on the plane. A taxi takes us to our final destination, which is an hour from the airport.
A wonderful energy gives us renewed force once we arrive at the hotel: the extreme change in weather (about 95°F) and the beauty of the surroundings is intoxicating. We immediately take a tour of the hotel to check out all of the accommodations, especially, the worksites: tennis courts, cardiovascular training rooms, weight rooms, restaurant...our training sessions were to start that afternoon. |   |
 | . Louis Moris will work closely with Cindy Chala and Mandy Minella ; Frédéric Caselles will train Irena Pavlovic and Katerina Bohmova; and Mehdi Daouki will train Ksenia Milevskaya, Juliette Mouratoglou, and assist Patrick Mouratoglou with Anastasia Pavluchenkova's training sessions. The first three training days go well: Ksenia Milevskaya executes high-level technical work. A muscle tear, which occurred during a physical training workshop, prevents her from moving around on the court. |
The other players give their best despite some difficulties related to thermal shock and jet-lag. These three days are devoted to finding greater consistency and intensity in their shots, to regaining regularity, and to solidifying the foundations of a solid game.
 | The days were long and tiring under such stifling heat. On the agenda: 7am wake-up call, 7:30am breakfast, 8:15am warm-up on the beach, training sessions from 9am to 11am, followed by an hour of physical therapy. After lunch, the sessions resumed at 2pm under the scorching sun. The players then relaxed by the pool, before a restorative cool-down session in the magnificent spa. |
We were treated to a half-day off on the third day. It was an opportunity to participate in numerous activities throughout the afternoon. The second activity was water-skiing. Only a few of us participated: Luis, Mehdi, Fred Caselles, Mandy, Fred Lefebvre and I. For their first experience, Luis, Mandy and Fred Caselles came out of the water very quickly, while Fred Lefebvre excelled in mono-ski and Mehdi desperately tried to stand up out of the water four times. |  |
  | The third activity: water tubing with a speed boat. Two groups formed: Mehdi, Luis and Ksenia are in the first one, and Cindy, Anastasia, Fred Lefebvre and Fred Caselles are in the second. The boat advanced at incredible speed, everyone fell off the tube. The sensation was amazing and the laughs did not stop. Everyone will remember that moment for a long time, and the photos say it all. |
| The training sessions began again the next day. We focused more on customized work for each player and they began to play for points on a daily basis. |  |
 | The week was a great success aside from a few annoyances, like diarrhea for some, and a few sleepless nights caused by sharing a room with a heavy snorer (who ended up sleeping in the bathtub). The result is positive. We all worked very hard and in extraordinary conditions. Group dynamics were strengthened. The players improved and had an unforgettable experience...we are now ready for the new tennis season. |
By Laura Bilman, January 2nd 2008, 13:36
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