Stephan The Man

Dutch Open 2009, Draw

Yesterday the draw for the Dutch Open 2009 was released. This tournament is a Grand Prix and has drawn a solid crew in the men’s singles. On the top part of the draw you have Wong Choon Hann from Malaysia and on the bottom you have Chetan Anand from India. I have been drawn up against Jan Vondra of the Czech Republic. He is a tall and unconventional player which I have never played against, so it should make for an exciting match.
The tournament starts on tuesday the 13th of October with the qualifying rounds and then the main draw starts on the 14th of October. I will be playing on the 14th most likely in the morning.
In order to see the draw please click on the link below
DRAW

Song Of The Week Us3 Cantaloop

This week’s song of the week is Cantaloop by Us3. I heard this song when I was about 12 years old and since then I can sing the first verse…..everytime! Its incredible after all those years my brain can remember something so abstract. However it is a cool song with a jazzy beat to it. Maybe after today you will one day be singing the first verse to this song…17 years from now:)
Enjoy!

Czech International 2009, To Play Or Not To Play

To play or not to play…..that was the question. Today at the Czech International 2009 I was faced with a challenging dilema. In last week’s team match I pulled my intercostal muscle (a muscle which is between my ribs) and have not been able to play all week leading up to this tournament. I was not sure if I could play today but decided to take the plane and give it a try. I told myself if it was too painful then I would stop. So I started the match against a tricky young Dane Soren GRAVHOLT, unsure of how I would feel. I dropped the first set quite easily and was ready to pack it in. I told my coach that I would play to 11 points and if I did not feel any better I would stop the match. But then I suddenly started winning the second, and eventualy took it 21-11!! I was really caught in a funny situation…..my body is not really able to play but at the same time it was good enough to win a set. So naturaly I tried to win the third and final game, but to the Dane’s credit he played quite smart and made very few unforced errors. So I had to swallow my pride a bit and let him have his day in the sun. As for me I at least got a chance to play and learn how to play even when I am injured. However I don’t intend to make this a habbit since its not good for moral and can also be dangerous.

I will go back to Denmark tomorrow and take some more time to heal my wounds. I will hopefully be fit for the Dutch Open in a few weeks as well as the Pan American Championships.
If you would like to follow the rest of the Czech International please click on the link below
DRAW

Song Of The Week Amy Macdonald – Wish For Something More

This week’s song of the week is Wish For Something More by Amy Macdonald. I believe this young lady is from Scotland and has that charming accent that makes this song irresistable. I can’t help but wanting to sing along to this song everytime I hear it.
I have to thank my brother for introducing me to this artist since she has quite a few good songs.
Enjoy:)

Lyngby Victorious in First Team Match

Yesterday Lyngby played its first official team match against Niva-Kokkedal at home. Once again I was a little nervous since I really want to see our team do well and its in the hands of the players to make it happen. However one thing that made me feel very confident was the fact that we have been preparing VERY well for this season. Since August the players have been training hard, they played and fought very well in the Copenhagen Cup (team tournament) and I can feel a true desire to win. This made for a very good brew on Saturday. We ended up winning 12-1 with only our women’s doubles losing 22-20 in the third. Everybody played hard even when they knew that the team match had already been won. I think this is a great start for Lyngby and they deserved the celebration they had last night. I hope everyone took some time to relax and gets ready to keep training for our next team match on the 4th of October against Skovshoved. We will be playing away, which means that we have to be EXTRA ready.
I want to congratulate everyone for a job well done.
Go Lyngby!!
To see the results of our team matches and the group that we are in, please click on the link below
LYNGBY RESULTS

Czech International 2009, Draw

The draw came out today for the 2009 Czech International. Once again I am up against a qualifier (#7). Not too sure who will come out of that qualification so we will just have to wait and see. I am seeded third in this tournament so I have to do well in order to respect my seeding:)
I leave on Wednesday to Brno, Czech Republic. However I will be going through Vienna,Austria, and then take either the train or bus to Brno with a Danish player Rune Ulsing. Countries in Europe are so close to each other that you can bus it from one big city to another:)
I will keep you posted on how that tournament goes.
To see the draw please click on the link below.
DRAW

Song Of The Week MEDINA ” Kun for mig”

This week’s song of the week is Kun for mig by Medina. This is a danish song by a Danish group. It has been a huge hit here in Denmark and for good reason. In all honesty I have no idea what she is singing about but i think its a very nice song to listen to. I seem to hear it everytime I go workout so it has definitly grown on me. I believe that even DJ Tiesto has made an english version called “You and I”.
For those who don’t speak Danish out there give this song a chance….I definitly think its worth it:)
Enjoy!

Glamour in Copenhagen at Hotel D’Angleterre

This weekend I thought I would treat myself and impress my mother by staying at our favorite Copenhagen Hotel….Hotel D’Angleterre. My parents lived in Copenhagen for 5 years before I was born and I was told that they walked by that hotel everyday and thought it was spectacular. So when my mother told me she was coming into town, I thought that I could get some good brownie points by putting her up in style. Our room was on the first floor with a balcony. The balcony was the length of the room in the centre of the Hotel with a coffee table and two chairs. Its beautiful view was looking over the famous Kongens Nytorv (Kings Square). We then spent a few hours relaxing in spa before heading out for dinner. The next morning we enjoyed an incredible breakfast buffet filled with all sorts of food,juices,smoothies and even champagne.

All in all it was a weekend to remember for both my mother and myself. Even you ever have the chance to walk inside or stay in the hotel I HIGHLY recomend it.
Here is the link to their website.
Hotel D’Angleterre

Copenhagen Cup 2009, Lyngby takes a dive in the Semi’s

Last night our team Lyngby was playing in the Copenhagen Cup which is a club team tournament. We were in the semi finals against Gentofte, a long time rival club from what I have heard. Unfortunatly they are a powerhouse team in Denmark as they play in the Elite division and they brought some of their top players to ensure a good result. Our team played exceptionaly well and had some close matches where it could have gone either way….however they mostly went the wrong way. We ended up losing the teammatch 2-11 with the only two wins created by yours truly…..me:) I played a very good Danish player called Martin Delfs, tricky and tough as nails. I lost the first set 21-19 with two net kills hit out the back at the end of the set…i was not happy about that. However in the next set I won 21-10 and then the third I went down 0-6 but eventually won 21-13. In the second and third I was mostly trying to run him around since I could see he was tired from another team match he played the day before. It worked:)

Now we are out of the Copenhagen Cup but it was excellent preperation for the start of the season. Our first official league team match will start on the 19th of September against Nivå-Kokkedal (O). I am sure after the performance that I saw from our team last night that we are ready. Go Lyngby!!

In order to follow the schedule and results of our Lyngby team please click on the link below
SCHEDULE AND RESULTS LYNGBY

Song of the Week You’re Out of Touch United Nations

This week’s song of the week is You’re Out of Touch by United Nations. This is a fun loving song that makes you want to get up and dance…also the guy in this video is living out a dream that many of guys would like to have:) however don’t expect any intelectual benefit from the lyrics, just enjoy the beat and the video:)
Have fun!