Had a good sleep and was up around 8am and did some computer work and then Jackie made me a lovely breakfast and she dropped me off here at 10.30am so I could do some exploring of the down town water walk way!!
I started at Science World and walked to the Granville Bride….it was dry but over cast.
The big building in the middle is the home of the BC Lions Football team and to the right is the Canucks hockey arena.
A lesser spotted barn owl very seldom seen because of their small stature!!!!!
There is a very colorful and busy market at Granville Island!!
Do you think I bought anything here?
or here??
I shall never tell.
I left the market and a short walk to the bust stop where a bus took me right out to the tennis facility on the campus of UBC..it is like a small city!!!
My seat this time was at the other side of the stadium and I was not happy with it
there was lots of empty seats and I was surrounded by some very loud fans, not knocking their enthusiasm but the noise makers they had were particularly annoying and then I was sat next to two women who obviously had never seen a tennis match before and do not know about the unwritten rule of not talking during the play…I put up with this for three games and then picked up my backpack and left that section and walked around to the other side where there were lots of empty seats and spoke to one of the female ushers…you know that saying “if you have it flaunt it” well I put the old Pearson magic to the front again and told the lady my dilemma and if it was possible to sit in one of the empty close by seats….of course it was!!!
So I am now six rows from the action and it is a fairly quite section!!
Canada walked away with the first 2 sets but then the Italians stormed back and won the next 2 and the 5th set went into what might be termed a long overtime session
Wow what a finish!!!
It was a wonderful experience but I do question some of the world elite athletes and their judgments I will not go into now but at a later date pen my thoughts on professionalism and arrogance….well Done Canada now they just need to win one of the 2 singles games tomorrow,
VANCOUVER -- Canada's Davis Cup doubles drought is finally over.
Once the most dependable segment of Canada's tennis arsenal, doubles has been a surprisingly weak link in the team's recent outings -- losing that key match in its past three ties against Spain, South Africa and France.
But that slide ended dramatically Saturday against Italy when Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., teamed up for a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 15-13 decision over the duo of Fabio Fognini and Daniele Braccaili in World Group quarter-final action at the University of British Columbia's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
"We never got negative between us, even when we were missing our shots," said the 40-year-old Nestor. "Vasek really stepped it up in the fifth set.
"That's what made the difference."
Pospisil tried to stay focused and positive throughout the match.
"At each changeover I just kept reminding myself to keep my intensity up," said the 22-year-old. "I felt it was just a matter of time before we broke them as long as we continued to serve the way we were.
Canada carries a 2-1 series lead into Sunday's reverse singles where Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and either Pospisil or Ottawa's Jesse Levine will take on Italy's Andreas Seppi and Fognini.
Raonic, ranked No. 16 in the world, opens against the 18th-ranked Seppi, followed by either Pospisil or Levine against Fognini, who is currently the No. 31 in the world to No. 96 for Levine and No. 140 for Pospisil.
A victory by either of the Canadian singles players will send the country into the World Group semifinals in September against either the United States or Serbia.
Canada has never been in the World Group semis since the current Davis Cup tiered format began in 1981. However, Canada did reach the semi-final in 1913 before losing to the U.S.
With Pospisil playing for the second consecutive day, the 22-year-old native of Vernon, B.C., again found himself involved in a two-set lead. But unlike Friday, when the Vancouver resident couldn't seal the deal in his singles against Seppi, this time he and Nestor pulled it out in five sets..
In the deciding set the Canadian duo picked up their game. They had break opportunities in the third, fifth, 13th and 19th games and finally converted one in the 27th on their 10th chance with the Italians serving at 13-13. Then Pospisil served out the match to the thrill of the raucous crowd at the University of British Columbia.
"After Friday, when I lost after being up two sets, there was no way I was going to let that happen again today," said Pospisil, who now has a career Davis Cup record of 8-7 in both singles and doubles. "I was going to fight for every point. After the fourth set I made some adjustments to my serve and return of serve."
Thursday, Italian team captain Corrado Barazzutti nominated Bracciali and Paolo Lorenzi to play the doubles. But after the teams split Friday's opening-day singles he decided to substitute Fognini for Lorenzi. In addition to being a top-50 singles player, Fognini has been having an outstanding year in doubles with his normal partner Simone Bolelli, who is currently injured. Together they were in the Australian Open finals and also this year won an event in Bueno Aires.
I did not leave the stadium till 7pm which is the start time of the hockey game I wanted to attend and by the time I got on the right bus that took me to the hockey areana it was nearly 8pm and the first period was over there was one scalper outsid seling tickets and he wanted the minimum of 120 dollars for a ticket…I told him he was nuts the games is one third done and offered him 50 dollars he laughed at me and walked away but I cannot understand why he would not take a little money rather than none at all but that is not my issue…I then walked home in about 30 minutes.
Had a nice hot bath and had tea and visited with Jackie before coming to my room to write this.
So ends my last full day in Canada for this year it has been a whirlwind visit but a great one.
The plan tomorrow is to get to the airport for about 2pm for my 4pm flight to LA and arriving just before 7pm I will take a taxi to Pauline's house where Little Bluey is parked and then drive the 2 hours to Palm Springs where I have another Airbnb house booked for 5 days this one looks really nice with a couple with 2 small children and it is 35 dollars a night.
Ashley is in a huge tennis tournament and I have volunteered to drive her to and from the stadium each day…hoping she does really well…..
So wish you all a great Sunday best wishes Les
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