Anna and I are now in Bol for the second 10K before we head to Monte Carlo next weekend. Last week in Hvar Anna was beaten quite comfortably in the opening round which left us with a number of days to train and help her to settle down on a surface which she is simply not accustomed to. The match was a tough lesson for her as she started it in a much more direct and energetic manner, and with that as the focus, the result could only be put down to a better understanding of how to structure some points with her game style.

We were up nice and early yesterday to take the ferry over here. One of the few occasions I appreciated not having a car because to bring that over would have meant going back to the mainland taking approximately eight hours.

For us it was a leisurely 20-minute ride from Jelsa to Bol!!!!!

Unfortunately, my hotel room last week was in close proximity to the function area of the hotel and they were holding a wedding reception on Saturday evening. I am pleased to inform you that it went on to 4.30am and there was no letting up. Not only did I not sleep much, but I heard the full repertoire of tunes from a good 80s mix by the DJ to what could only be described as a Croatian version of the Can Can!!!

There was no point trying to sleep through it, in the end I peacefully accepted my fate, sat up in bed and read some more of a very enthralling James Patterson book. Gotta have a laugh at this.

Anna has trained very hard for the last four days. We have gone back to some conventional clay court drills and she has hit a load of balls because of it. Also played a very good practice match which I was pleased with, lasted just over three hours and she got over the line against a girl inside the 400s. This will hopefully give her the belief she needs going into this week. The goal is still to make the back end of one of these tournaments, the tools are there and when the mind is right she is tough to beat regardless of the surface. The challenge for her is to make sure that her mind is right regardless of the opponent, the circumstances or the surface.

She plays doubles with a Swiss girl, Boffa, who we have been training with for the past week. Hopefully this week brings better news for Anna and the academy.

Hampo