Rodney Marshall, a Strength and Conditioning Coach for USTA Player Development, is currently in Europe traveling and training with American star Jack Sock as he prepares for the upcoming French Open. Marshall is blogging for PlayerDevelopment.USTA.com during his time in Europe. In his third entry, he talks about moving from Mallorca to Madrid, where several Americans are competing at the Mutua Madrid Open.
By Rodney Marshall
I'm currently on the second stop of the red-clay swing. Finished up an amazing week of training at the Rafa Nadal Academy and now have settled in Madrid for the ATP/WTA event.
I believe this is my fifth trip to Madrid, and it's definitely one of my favorite European cities. The city is full of culture, and the restaurants/museums are amazing. If I could only speak the language, as my Spanish is not so good. But my Spanglish is muy bien! Rafa and Pau Gasol own a restaurant called Ten con Ten, and it's a frequent spot for myself and the Americans. I'm a little disappointed that Madison Keys went a couple nights ago and didn't invite me... :insert sarcasm emoji:
We have a lot of Americans here, which is much different than my first trip in 2010. If memory serves me correctly, we only had a handful of Americans that year. But it's good to be here and see the USA well represented. Ernesto Escobedo and Jared Donaldson are in the final round of qualies today on the men's side. CiCi Bellis (pictured above competing in her first-round match), Lauren Davis and The Vandy (Coco Vandeweghe) are in first-round main-draw action.
Let's hope for a day of American victories followed by a siesta and paella. Vamos!
Rodney