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.
The last Grand Slam of the year is done and my trip to New York, on the tennis court, wasn't my best. Now that it's over I can reflect on the summer as a whole and where things are at.
I came in underdone, unfortunately due to playing a long European season, followed by a sudden neck injury that caused me to play only one hard court lead-in event, a semifinal run in Aptos, for the summer.
Singles was disappointing. Doubles probably more so, as I felt in practice, my partner Aisam Qureshi and I were coming together well. We went down 6-4 and 6-4 to two young Russians, Karen Kachenov and Andrey Rublev, who just played too well.
Even with that disappointment, I've done a lot of work behind the scenes with my game. I've put far more time in, both on and off the court, getting myself back in better shape both physically and mentally. The confidence in my game is building as my coach, Billy Heiser, and I continue to put things in place that will hopefully help me push back towards the Top 100 soon (I'm at No. 174 now).