The trip is a starting to near an end, the beard is at a point where it is becoming itchy. Whereas the previous mornings I got up early for Oana’s practices with her defeat in singles it was a later start in doubles, I was afforded the luxury of a lie in. Not that the body clock ever complies. It also meant I could walk down with Adrian who has not been committal to the early starts. His first contribution to the walk was to suggest we took a different route then five minutes later announce we were going the wrong way. We stopped at the bakery for cheese pretzels and Starbucks for a coffee before going to the club where we met Mummy Bojica, she has been very grateful for my support for young Stefi and has invited me to Dubai next February to support her daughter in the Open if a Wild Card is granted, something I will of course give serious consideration as I would support all the Romanians all over the world if I had the financial means. I did a little filming for my Romanian page prior to meeting Wolfy at practice and then Briana’s quarter final, she played Isabella Shinkova of Bulgaria and fell 7-5 4-6 6-7 yet her level was consistent and her attitude outstanding. It was long and physical and clearly obvious that being sucked into a third set really tested Briana’s mental resolve however she responded maturally, her serving was generally excellent spare one tired game where she was broken yet she broke back to love when Shinkova attempted to serve for the match. It was a little bit of a shame that after recovering all the momentum to put herself into a commanding lead for 6-5 she snatched at the final Shinikova service game and was soon in a tiebreak. She went 0-3 and battled back to 3-3 the next point was crucial and as Briana was pushed into the far ad corner of the baseline she missed trying to curve a backhand around the net which gave her opponent 4-3 and that was really the last big resistance from our brave Briana who ultimately fell 4-7. It was an excellent match where she put everything out there, she might regret one or two decisions because it was so close but when she reflects and processes it was a excellent shift and she’s been incredible all week. As mentioned before I have not watched much of Briana in singles before only really doubles but she really won me over this week and I have become a big fan, I will keep an eye out for her matches in the future and support her as much as possible, I have nothing but respect and good wishes for that young woman after her spirit this week.

In the remaining quarter finals were our final two Romanians, Elena Ruxandra Bertea followed Briana. I had heard a lot about this player and her recent results and climb in the rankings has been super, it was the first time I had seen her play and despite a three sets defeat to Mia Ristic, who is a great player, I saw a lot of promise. She has bags of energy, moves very well and I love her forehand, a talented youngster I feel sure we will see lots of in the future. Playing at the same time was Anamaria Federica Oana who again I am very excited about what she offers, I like her skill set and mentality, she has been amazing this week. She sadly also lost in three to Angela Fita Boluda who got Stefi yesterday during Ball Markgate! During these matches Oana was very kind in letting me have a hit with her. Although I have played some doubles since getting through my illness I have not played singles since March and really enjoyed it. I like Wolfy’s racket too a Yonex Ezone string tension 22 I think, nice and light, I’m a prince man but I may have to convert. The Little Champ, Miriam Bulgaru, also plays with an Ezone although I would be frightened to share a Court with her with that forehand. Im still not fit and spent 10 minutes coughing after our run around but my legs feel strong and I am confident when I go home to the UK I can get my fitness back, loose my moobs and play singles again. My illness, anxiety and depression started at the Transylvania Open in Cluj in February, it is wonderful to be here at another tennis tournament in Brasov feeling more like my old self and by Cluj next year my goal is to be fully fit and healthy and hopefully some of these young talents like Stefi are Briana who have worked so hard this week get the chances they deserve with Wild Cards.

Doubles ended the day; Ilinca Amariei who also lost in the singles earlier (which sadly meant no Romanians in the final four on Saturday) lost a three set fight with her Russian partner. Ilinca has linked up with Wolfy many times in doubles over the past months, it was a shame they didn’t play together for this one but lots of love to Sapfo for pairing up and joining Team Wolf. Our semi final was a big one against Stefi and Briana. I genuinely did not like supporting against the younger team, especially after how well they have both done this week but Wolfy needed me as these two were hot! Two of the best young Romanian Doubles players in the world, especially Stefi who has magic hands. Team Wolf needed to be at 100 and sadly we were not against this excellent pairing, a few spells of strong tennis were not enough neither of our team were strong enough at the net and we left too many parts of the court exposed as Stefi and Briana continually passed down the lines and hit through the middle. The other problem in dubs is no ad scoring so one glaring error on a deciding point and the momentum shifts are gigantic. I was very sad Wolf and Sapfo lost of course and also they were not quite strong enough to make it into the match it promised to be on paper but so happy for Briana and Stefi and either though I was against them today I will more than make up for that tomorrow, I’m really excited about the final and I will give them everything I have left in me.

After the tennis, Adrian and I waited at Starbucks for Wolfy to get ready for dinner and after walking through the busy center and packed restaurants we settled for an Indian and I had a chickpea curry and mushroom rice which was pleasant but the words ‘hot’ and ‘spices’ sold me a blank. We then said goodbye to Oana who returns to Bucharest tomorrow morning. She is the kindest of souls, she patiently listens to me harp on about Miri and Gabs all the time and I try to offer her my support too which is big but not on the same scale, I have watched Miriam in particular live so many times and travelled to tournaments all over specifically to watch her. I was so excited when her name was on the Brasov Entry list but I’m actually glad she withdrew because I have been able to devote all my support to Oana this week and she deserves no less, I will continue to help her as much as possible and hopefully do another tournament with her in the future. Good luck in Slobozia Champ.

Team Wolf always 🐺♥️