My Tennis Life: Groth takes long road to Budapest

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.

Hi guys,

So after a few weeks back home in Australia I finally had to take the long trip to Europe. It was definitely hard to leave home after spending some time in my new house. I flew from Melbourne to Hong Kong to Helsinki to Nice and then took a car down to Monte Carlo, about a 30 hour trip.

That's one of the only issues with coming from Australia, going anywhere is a long trip! I got straight out on court that day, excited to get straight into work with Billy Heiser.

Monte Carlo is an amazing place, and the tournament is one of the most picturesque places you could think of playing.

People probably question why I have decided to play this part of the season, but I feel like starting with a new coach and getting my game back where it needs to be.

It will also be good for me both physically and mentally to be on the clay for this period. Also, in 2015, when I had my best grass season, I played a full clay schedule.

So, now I'm in Budapest and unfortunately lost in qualies but at the same time I definitely made some good gains with the things Billy and I have spoken about through this week.

I have doubles here with Robert Lindstedt and will let you know how that goes. Budapest seems like a very beautiful city so I will take some time this week to explore.