Catching up with the Ballers' Omar Benson Miller

Aug 29, 2017
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Catching up with the Ballers' Omar Benson Miller

Doubles action at the US Open starts on Wednesday.

Published Aug 29, 2017

Sam Groth and Nicole Gibbs are giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional tennis all year long in My Tennis Life. To read more updates from Sam and Nicole, go to tennischannel.com.

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I came in to the US Open qualies a little under done after my neck interrupted my preparation and forced me to miss my last lead-in event in Vancouver. I had only played one event on hard court this summer (a semifinal run in Aptos), but I felt like I was playing some good tennis.

My neck was feeling better, but once I got on court I was definitely feeling a little nervous. I think the fact that I hadn't had a great preparation definitely led me to feeling more anxious than usual. I went down to Mirza Basic in straight sets. I competed hard, but definitely didn't play my best match.

Post-match I was definitely disappointed. The Grand Slams are what we build for all year and this being the last one of 2017, it was disappointing not to do better. But sitting with my coach Billy Heiser after the match and discussing the progress we have made since starting back in late April, things are going in the right direction. I've improved my ranking over 100 spots since Roland Garros and have plenty more opportunities for the rest of the year.

Off court, the lead up to any Grand Slam is a busy time, and New York is no different. Thursday night I attended one of my favorite events of the year, Taste of Tennis at the W Hotel, which brings players and top chefs together for a great evening.

Friday night I sat down for dinner and a chat with Omar Benson Miller, to film for his show, "Advantage Omar" with Tennis Channel. I'm a massive fan of the show "Ballers", so for me this was awesome on so many levels.

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It's not all off-court fun though, I've been hitting the practice court hard. I have doubles next in New York with Aisam Qureshi, and we snuck in as the last seed, which means if we can win, we won't play another seeded team until the round of 16.

Doubles will start Wednesday, so I'll keep getting myself ready to go.