Bill's Blog

We enjoyed a couple of days in the mountains between Christmas and New Years. It was so nice to get away and enjoy the blue skies and white snow of the Tian Shan mountains. The nearby ski resort only opened partially on our last day and Oliver did go up with friends for the day. I enjoyed walking with our dog Obi near our rented chalet. He was so funny in the snow. It was the perfect depth for him, about 6 inches and it forced him continuously leap to propel himself through the soft snow. He seemed to take much delight in prancing through the fresh powder. I also took pleasure in the refreshing air and inspiring views of the Chimgan peaks. I should get up to the mountains more often to restore my soul.

The best thing about the experience was the lack of internet at the chalet. It forced our family to spend lots of time together. Nadia allowed me to plan and prepare the meals, not a strength of mine. I added a 4-cheese sauce to a Marinara sauce and Berelli pasta and it was a quite delicious combination. We played chess and I realized I need some strategy and Owen suggested taking a short course on Chess.com which I will try to find time. I also want to start playing backgammon with the kids.

Nadia and I love spending time with our three teenagers. They are so funny and we love learning their opinions, interests and their personalities. That is the best thing about school breaks is getting to spend more time as a family without the rush of getting off to school or having our oldest in university.

Owen destroyed me in tennis today, 1-6, 1-6, 2-6 and I think that he has surpassed me too, in tennis as in most other physical activities. This is normal for a 54-year-old father and it brings me joy to watch the athletism of a 19-year-old young man. I can’t keep up with him and Oliver, but I am just happy that I am able to participate with them. I think with tennis we’ll have to move to “I get to play his doubles court and he plays my singles court” format and we’ll see if that gets us more competitive. I did beat him one set this Winter Break 7-6 (7-4) and if he is not playing well and I am playing at my best, I can stay with him.

We are excited for the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) 2022 season. It is an passion that Owen and I share. I wanted to write a 2022 tour preview and make some predictions. Our favorite player is Novak Djokovic. We lived in Belgrade from 2008 to 2014 and watched several Davis Cup matches and the Serbia Open, played in a clay-court tennis center named, Novak, on the banks of Sava River in Belgrade. Nadia and I also played on the courts Djokovic grew up on in the mountain resort town of Kapaonik adjacent to his family’s pizzeria. Being a fan of Djokovic, I am interested in what player is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) and ultimately, who will win the most Grand Slams and how the 2022 season will change this. First I’ll address the GOAT debate.

Statistically, Djokovic is the GOAT. Ultimate Tennis Statistics.com is a fascinating website with many databases that give much insight into the sport. One of the Big Three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has been the dominant player in the game for the past 18 years. The Dominance Timeline shows during this stretch since the 2004 season, Nole (short form in Serbian for Novak) was the best player 7 times, Federer 6 times and Nadal 4 times. Andy Murray broke through in the 2016 season, but for three players to be the best for so long is unprecedented in tennis.

Ultimate Tennis Statistics has a formula that combines Grand Slam, Masters and other tournament with rankings, head-to-head and rankings in different aspects of tennis (serve, return, etc.). Nole is number one with 968, Federer second with 936 and Nadal 847. My quick analysis agrees with this in the table below. Djokovic is the only who has won all four Grand Slam titles twice, has the most Master Series titles and has the most weeks with the #1 ranking. Nadal is clearly the greatest ever on clay with 13 French Open tiels and 70% of his titles coming on clay and he has won an Olympic Gold medal, something the other two have not done. Nole does hold the head-to-head against both of them (30 to 28 versus Nadal) and (27-23 versus Federer) and I think that is another reason he is considered the GOAT.

Category	Nole (age34)	Federer (age 40)	Nadal (age 35)
Career Total	989-199 (0.832)	1251-275 (0.82)	1029-209 (0.831)
Grand Slams	20	20	20
Masters Series	37	36	28
Year-end #1	7	5	5
Career Earnings	$154 million	$130 million	$124 million
Australian Open Titles	9	6	1
French Open Titles	2	1	13
Wimbledon Titles	6	8	2
US Open Titles	3 (6 runner-up)	5	4
Tour Finals Titles	5	6	0

However, they are old for tennis, and one of the questions of the 2022 season will be; Can they continue this dominance? Watching last year, a cadre of younger players (Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Thiem) which I will call the “Next Generation Big Three +1” looked bigger, faster and stronger than the original Big Three. I could see the difference in generations and it reminded me of Agassi at the end of his career, using guile and strategy to win his last couple of Grand Slams. I think with Federer’s age and injury history, for him to win another Grand Slam is improbable. His only chance would be a favorable draw and some breaks at Wimbledon. Nadal has had a lot of injury problems too, but he always must be the favorite at the French Open. Nole defeating him in last year’s French Open might be his greatest victory ever. It was a monumental effort and an injury-free Nadal will be tough to beat there and in other tournaments. Nole was the dominant player last season, winning Australia, French, Wimbledon and losing in the US Open finals to Medvedev.

I think it depends more on the younger generation than Nadal or Djokovic. Medvedev must have gained a lot of confidence wiping out Nole in last year’s US Open. Zeverev also made strides, winning Olympic Gold and the Nitto ATP Finals titles last year. I think on the hard courts, Nole is facing a tough task to beat at least 2 of them. The Big Three has won 15 of the last 16 Australian Opens, 16 of the last 17 French Opens, 16 of the last 18 Wimbledons, and 12 of the last 18 US Opens. The last time none of the Big Three has one at least one of the 4 Grand Slams in a season was in 2002, 19 years ago. I don’t think 2022 will end the streak and here are my predictions for the Grand Slams.

• Australian Open – Danil Medvedev
• French Open – Dominic Thiem
• Wimbledon – Novak Djokovic
• US Open – Alexander Zverev

I think the changing of the guard has started and over the next three seasons, the Grand Slam of the Big Three will be broken, but Djokovic will win one of the three non-clay tourneys for the next two years and will finish with 22 Grand Slams. Nadal will win one more French Open to finish his career with 21. I also don’t think Nole will finish as the World’s Number One again, but of course, I hope I am wrong.

Some other things I will be watching this year are as follows:

• The USA has 12 players in the Top 100 but nobody in the Top 20. Taylor Fritz is the highest ranked man at #23. When will we have a breakout player again at the top of the tour? The last American to win a Grand Slam was Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi in 2003 (18 years!) and I would love to see a top American player again to support.
• What newer players will move into the Medvedev/Thiem/Zverev/Tsitsipas tier? Owen’s favorite player is Canadian #22 Denis Shapovalov has yet to win a Masters Series title but has shown promise. I think #10 Italian Jannik Sinner has the game of a top player and he is my pick to break through. Fellow countryman Matteo Berrentini is the reincarnation of Juan Martin Del Potro and has the potential to win a Grand Slam.
• I always support #13 Diego Schwartzmann from Argentina as he is bucking the trend of tall tennis players. He is 5-7 and looks like a dwarf compared to most modern players who are at least 6-2 and above. He hits the ball hard, moves well and being 5-8 myself, I love watching him beat players like 6-6 Zverev.
• There are no Uzbeks in the Top 100, but #36 Alexander Bublik is from neighboring Kazakhstan. With the world opening back up again for international travel, it would be nice to attend a live event. Tashkent usually hosts a Challenger tourney and I see there was an Astana Open as a 250-level event. Both were held in September. It might also be nice to see some matches in the USA in July in the lead-up to the US Open. It would be a nice trip to visit the Tennis Hall of Fame and watch the tournament in New Port, Rhode Island. It would also be a new state for me. The other option would be the Atlanta Open in late July. Perhaps even a summer family tennis camp for a few days would be awesome!

Nadia wanted a photo with matching Christmas pajamas so here you go! It was a bit cheesy, but it did get our teenagers out of bed and having a bit of fun on Christmas morning. The holiday is not the same without young children in the house, but it was still a good day with all of us spending time together. The focus has gone from Santa and gifts to appreciating our time together before they move out permanently and start families of their own.

We had a traditional Christmas dinner with turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. Nadia is such a good cook and we all enjoyed her mastery in the kitchen. I don’t do much cooking, but I am on the support team with procuring ingredients and cleaning. We invited a family that we are close to and their children wanted to experience an authentic Christmas. Owen also invited a couple of his classmates that also have not had a Christmas celebration so it was fun seeing the holiday through their eyes. Also, having young children around made the night much better.

It was not a White Christmas, but we did get about 6 inches of snow the following day, December 26. I took Obi out for a run in the morning and the weather turned from fog, to rain, to sleet, to snow during the 6 kilometers. We are heading up to the mountains today for a couple of days of hopefully skiing and winter fun

I don’t understand why solstices are not a bigger deal and acknowledged more in our society. We seem to celebrate artificial holidays such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, which are fine, but the day of the shortest amount of sunlight should be celebrated as well. I always make it a point to talk about the solstices and equinoxes to my family and friends. I always thought we should have rituals around them. Perhaps some type of sunrise/sunset ceremony where people make a toast or sing a song or just gather in a nice spot to watch it.

The beautiful weather held out all week. It is so nice to walk Obi in different parts of the city during the day. He loves exploring Tashkent as much as I do. I am so glad we got a dog, it has made our family closer and gotten all of us out of the house more to walk the little guy. He absolutely loves getting out and is irresistible when he gives you those (cliche coming) puppy dog eyes. I can almost hear him say, “Let’s go dad” in the photo below. Once I pick up his bag with the harness and leash in, Obi is all in! He gets so excited.

Finally, it is so nice to have Owen with his brothers and sisters. The other night we were having dinner at a friend’s home and I snapped the photo below. We are a family of five again! I am secretly hoping his university goes Virtual so he can stay here for a bit longer…

Owen and I continue to play as much tennis as possible. As you can see below, I can’t compete with Owen’s youth and athleticism. He hits the ball harder, runs faster and is much more agile in approach shots to the net. We shot a video of our serves (Owen / Bill) and you can see the impact of coaching with Owen. He is also much more fundamentally sound. After losing 4-6, 5-7, 2-6 earlier this week, I beat him in a tie-breaker yesterday! My secret is to schedule court times early in the morning after a night that he went out with his friends.

The weather this week in the lead-up to Christmas has been really nice. The air quality is especially good with deep blue skies and clear views to the mountains. We will be heading up to the mountains for a couple of nights early next week. Nadia and I did shopping to prepare for Christmas dinner by stopping at the Mirabad Bazori It is the big market of our suburb and my favorite. The vendors are spread out, ample parking, close to our house and a wide variety of products As you can see in the photos below, products range from fruits and vegetables, to chicken heads/feet to the famous winter melons of Uzbekistan.

I want to compliment the Uzbekistan Health Care infrastructure. It is convenient to get PCR Covid tests and the results back in less than 24 hours. Of course, the demand for testing right now in Tashkent is not like in the US and other places. This is partly due to the highly contagious Omicrom variant has not reached Tashkent yet and also most Uzbeks can’t afford regular testing at private clinics. Intermed, one of the best private clinics in the city has been stellar in providing quick, accurate PCR testing on demand. I noticed they even have temporary clinics set up in the city. The clinic below is in the parking lot of the Alay Bazaar near the city center.

We were told that there were no English movies in Tashkent since our arrival in 2019. However, we discovered that the Compass Cinema in the Compass Mall is a 26-seat, VIP theatre that can be rented for under $150. The kids wanted to watch Spider-man: No Way Home that was recently released so we booked the theatre yesterday morning for last night. They had a blast in our own private theatre with reclining seats and a private lobby and bathrooms. In my opinion, the movie was not very good, but then again, 50-year olds are not the target demographic. As usual, I fell asleep for part of it, but just seeing the pleasure Owen, Oliver, Ocean and their friends got from watching the latest superhero movie made it a delightful evening. I’ll investigate the movie scene here more to see what other English language films are played. For the most popular films, this is a good option and we could watch this Spider-man immediately upon international release.

It was my first time at the Compass Mall and I was impressed. It is your typical American-style mall with a food court and shops on three floors. It is much more spacious than the most popular Samarkand Darvoza mall. I spotted a Christmas gift for Ocean that I will need to go back for.

We spent much of the mid-morning and afternoon playing sport. I opened the school gymnasium for the junior varsity, varsity and alumni who wanted to play. In the afternoon, Owen and I played a set of tennis at NBU (National Bank of Uzbekistan) Stadium and Sports Complex. I absolutely love tennis and am looking forward to playing more this holiday and watching the start of the ATP season next month in Australia. My game has improved over the past 20 years, especially here in Tashkent playing with coach Igor.

It was such a nice start to Winter Break yesterday. In the morning, we made a big pancake breakfast for Oliver and his friends who slept over the house. I love a house full of young people and seeing my children developing strong friendships. In the afternoon, Owen and I went for a bike ride along the canal. It was an extremely clear, blue-sky sunny day with comfortable temperatures. We could bike without gloves and a jacket which is unusual for late December. It became cloudy in the late afternoon. Today I see the forecast is for temps in the high 40s with rain coming in the afternoon. 😦

Nadia hosted a gingerbread cookie-making afternoon and I ate too many cookies. Ocean loves doing crafts and baking and decorating the cookies was right up her alley. She, unfortunately, fell today on the steps of the clinic while getting her booster shot. She injured her knee and was limping around yesterday.. I hope it is not too serious.

I think at international school educators and leaders were looking forward to Friday, December 17. International schools have a longer Christmas/New Year’s break than national schools and December 17 was the day for many international schools that marked the last day of school. This is so families have enough time to return to their home countries which involve international travel. COVID has complicated travel with border closures, quarantines, fewer scheduled flights and the possibility always of not passing a PCR test and being stuck abroad. For some countries like China, international school educators basically have been stuck in the country for two years now. They can leave, but they are not sure if they can return. We’ve been fortunate in Uzbekistan with mostly open borders and light or no quarantine measures. Many friends have successfully gone home and back. However, sometimes it depends on the situation in their home countries. We have 24 days of Winter Break starting from today, December 18, until we come back on Monday, January 10. I will be working throughout the break, but with flexible hours scheduled around family time.

The big news this week was the arrival of our eldest son Owen. He flew from Marquette, Michigan, transiting through Chicago and Istanbul to land in Tashkent early Tuesday (3:00 AM). It was a milestone for Nadia and me as parents, the first time one of our children returns from university. The advent of the internet has changed communication since I left my home for university. We were able to talk to Owen almost every day or at least text with him over our family Telegram group. He has been recovering over jet lag this week and enjoying being spoiled by mom.

My biggest joy in life right now is spending time with my family. It is such a perk to work in education and have your children attend the same school. We are forming a varsity “B” team to develop some of the grade 10 players and it gives me the opportunity to coach Oliver. I am working on his fundamentals. He has a pretty good instinct for the game having played a lot of soccer and he is fast, aggressive and strong which makes him a pretty good player. He needs to add the basic fundamentals of basketball (shooting form, footwork, boxing out, pivoting, etc.) to really make a difference on the varsity team over the next two years.

I also got to chaperone the grade 10 students on their first field trip in 2 years! We took the kids to Joy Bowling Club and everyone had a good time. Tashkent is really inexpensive and we had to laugh to rent about 10 lanes for an hour and shoes, it only cost $60. Bowling is a fun winter family activity and I’ll be taking the family a couple of times during this break. Oliver scored 126 and that was your high score ever! He finished third overall, only being defeated by two teacher-chaperones. Hugo claims it is a “fluke” but we’ll see when we hold the Christmas Tournament.

To end this blog post, I am always looking for those small moments in life that often get overlooked. Earlier this week I was working in the spare bedroom and it was getting late and I laid down for a bit. I was joined by my daughter Ocean who came in to say good night and our dog Obi was nestled at our feet. It gave me a feeling of comfort and completeness, listening to my daughter’s breathing and have Obi sitting on my feet.

The highlight of the weekend was my daughter starting her basketball season. At our school, there are teams for middle school (grades 6-7), junior varsity (grades 8-9) and varsity (grades 10-12). Ocean is one of the top players on her junior varsity team. They opened the season with a pair of exhibition games against local schools They lost both games but in the second game, Ocean scored 2 baskets and a free throw. Oliver didn’t make the Varsity A team, but we are having a developmental squad Varsity B and hope to get some games this season as well.

Friday night I had a board dinner at the chair’s home which was really nice. On Saturday we had the big New Years’ party for all faculty. We rented Retro Milly restaurant for ourselves. Everyone had a good time with an entertainer MC and two singers. We found time to walk Obi in the afternoon. Nadia is shown in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral (Polish church) and we took a selfie at the party.

Wednesday December 8 was a national holiday in Uzbekistan. Uzbeks recognize the anniversary of the completion of the constitution. The mid-week break was nice and I took advantage of the day to spend some much-needed time reconnecting with my wife and getting started on our Christmas shopping. We were impressed with the development of Shevchenko Street near the city center. There are loads of new restaurants, cafes, shops and businesses that make it quite a pleasant experience. We ate lunch as Socials, stopped for coffee at Tim’s and did some shopping at a variety of stores on the street and around the city. The Samarkand Darvoza, a large mall, was starting to put up the giant New Year’s tree (Uzbeks don’t use the word Christmas and call it New Year) even though they have all of the symbols of the secular aspects of Christmas.

One of the challenges of living in Tashkent is the poor and unsafe driving of the majority of drivers. I made a little hobby of photographing the traffic accidents, most occurring in the large, disorganized intersections. It seems like almost every day I encounter accidents when I am driving around.

We all had a laugh on Wednesday night. We sold our basketball hoop to friends because students at the nearby school are hanging out in front of our house and there is too much litter and noise. For the first couple of years here, the hoop was used by the mahalla kids and much appreciated. But lately, students from School 175 which is close by to our house, come over and play after school and during breaks. Anyway, we removed the hoop and stand from our front verge and were trying to figure out how to move it to our friend’s house. I then remembered Yandex (the Uber of Uzbekistan) has cargo trucks that you can call at a moments notice. So as you can see, within a few minutes, a truck came to our home and we were able to load it and take it away. The service cost $12, which is quite the reasonable cost. I wonder if Uber has cargo service.