She woke the next morning to a ray of sunshine seeping through the blinds. Sitting up, she understood what today meant to her, as well as her career. It was the culmination of years of hard work, and a dream coming true. All her life she had wanted to become a tennis player. Born into a conservative Chinese-Australian culture, her parents had always encouraged her to pursue her love of the sport, but because it was such an unsteady way of life she thought it more comforting to her parents if she aimed for a steadier goal. So she shelved her dream, worked hard at school and got into one of the top universities in America studying medicine. But confronted with the reality of doing it, she realised that all along she had just wanted the chance to play tennis full time. She finally told her parents and had been surprised by their reaction. They were unaware that she had been under the assumption that they wanted her to settle down, find a job and be secure. They immediately helped her get started, got her a coach, and supported her through all the times she had lost confidence in herself. Now she realised her cherished dream was in a short while going to become the reality she hoped would be fulfilled.

She started from her reverie, glanced at her watch and realised she would be late if she continued in this fashion. After taking a quick shower she raced down to the lobby ready to go. Surveying the room and unable to find Josh, she sat down on a comfortable chair and patiently waited. Flipping through a magazine, she was unaware of the approaching person, until he sat down next to her and began talking.

"Hi! I have not seen you around before!" Rianne looked up. "I mean, I am around many of these things and ...well ..." he struggled for the right words," ...I would have noticed you if I had seen you before." He smiled handsomely.

"Hi!" she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. So...are you playing in the Open?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty exciting time for me. You know, first match nerves and all." An awkward silence ensued. Rianne didn't know what to say. She knew exactly who he was because she had seen him on TV many times, but she was wondering what to do as he had not actually introduced himself yet. She gave him an awkward smile.

"By the way, I'm Nicholas Markonikov. But, please call me Nick." He promptly introduced himself. His words implied an arrogance that was not present.

"Well, if you really want to know...I'm Rianne Langvardt." She smiled at him mischievously, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Well, Rianne." He gave her a similarly engaging beam, "What are you in fact doing tonight?"

"Why?" She replied, somewhat abruptly. She hoped he wasn't asking her out. Between all her tennis commitments and school work, she hadn't exactly come out of her teenage years experienced at this sort of thing.

"Well, me and a couple of other players are going to see a movie tonight, maybe you would like to come?" Nick came from Russia and had been in the top echelons of the game since he was twenty. He was tall and well built, with light blonde hair and milky white skin. He spoke with a heavy Russian accent, making it hard for Rianne to decipher his words.

"Sure. That sounds fun. Thanks." she responded. With the awkward introductions over, she relaxed, and they were having an enjoyable talk when her coach interrupted them. She hurriedly said good-bye to Nick and followed Josh into the car park. There the car was waiting to drive them to the National Tennis Centre.

****

Rianne walked out onto the court, nearly hyperventilating with the amount of deep breathing she was taking to calm herself down. She still couldn't believe that her dream was actually coming true, right before her eyes. Although Court 6 wasn't a show court or any other important court, she was still playing in one of the major tournaments of the tennis tour. Rianne made her way to her chair, absorbing the atmosphere. She glanced around and proudly noted that her name was on the scoreboard. She could not recall a time when she had not dreamed of seeing her name there, for everyone to see that it was really her that was playing. She was nervous. But just enough to feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, enough to spur her on in her first ever grand slam match! Even if she didn't win, today would be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

****

"Game, set and match Langvardt 7-6 6-0." In a daze Rianne shook her opponent's hand. She couldn't yet absorb the fact that she had actually won her first round match! Absently she accepted the umpire's hand, looking around wildly for Josh and Anthony. To have beaten the fifty-third ranked player in the world was unbelievable! This time last year she was languishing at the satellite events.

As soon as she walked off the court she found herself accosted by Josh and Anthony, each ecstatic over her win. Bright smiles spread over their faces as they heartily congratulated her on her impressive victory. Never had Rianne seen her coach like this - wholeheartedly happy with her performance without criticising some aspect of her game. She had surprised even herself today- the level of play which she reached in the second set was awesome. Rianne couldn't believe that it was her out there; everything at last was coming together - her footwork, her groundstrokes and her mind.

Bidding Josh and Anthony good-bye, she headed to the locker room to have a quick shower before heading off. Just as she stepped out into the cafeteria, she received a friendly tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw the trademark Nick standing there wearing his cap back-to-front, just like he did on television.

"Hi!" he said.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised.

"I had a match today! I tried to find you everywhere - where were you? I was about to pick you up for dinner!"

She laughed sheepishly. "I was playing a match on court 6. Guess what - I won!" she was so excited she gave him a spontaneous bear hug.

"Congratulations! ... Hey, I won too!"

They chatted while walking to their hotel. It was Rianne's idea to stroll through the streets of Melbourne, since it was so beautiful at that time of day. She found out a lot about Nick in that short space of time, things that she might not have noticed if they were not alone. He possessed a lot of self-confidence - Rianne thought he bordered on arrogance. But he was so funny, honest and sincere that she thought it wasn't a bad quality in him.

Nick was becoming more attracted to her as they spent more time together. He had first spotted Rianne practicing on the back courts on the second last day of qualifying. He was immediately struck by her freshness and beauty, but it was her eyes that Nick really noticed - they seemed to capture the sun's rays and radiated a brilliance of their own. She also had clear porcelain skin and a slim frame to complement her eyes. And the most important thing to him was the fact that she actually got along with him! It was important to find someone like that because Nick had found that with his forward manner and honest personality, there were not many people that he got along with. And rarely did he find a person whom he thought was easy to talk to.

After a quick change of dress she headed down to the lobby to wait for the others. Rianne had been uncertain about what to wear, but finally settled on a pale blue satin top and short black miniskirt, which emphasised her long slender legs. Nick thought she looked wonderful. He was dressed according to his character - laid back but with an understated sassiness. He wore Levis with a black, long sleeved silk shirt, unbuttoned at the top, and black boots. As they stood together waiting in the lobby they made an extremely good looking couple. They were discussing which movie they were going to watch when the rest of the party joined them.

First past the double glass doors were Alec Radisevic, a Croatian player in the top five, and his gorgeous girlfriend Daniela. Rianne felt slightly inferior standing next to her because she was so pretty. Tall, brunette and sexy, she wondered how any guy could resist her. While they were getting acquainted, another couple approached them. It was Stephen White and his wife Louise. Stephen was from South Africa and was currently the world number ten. As the group stood around chatting, the last members of the party casually sauntered in.

Rianne caught her breath as she realised that they were a group of Swedish players, and amongst them was Toby Linberg. Sheepishly he ran his hand though his hair and uttered profuse apologies on behalf of all of them for being late. He turned towards her and with an air of playfulness said,

"Hey, haven't I seen you before?" He grinned at her, his ocean blue eyes crinkling. Such was Rianne's surprise that she could find no reply, and after another few futile attempts Toby turned from her and began talking to some of the Swedes.

Being complete, the group decided to walk to the cinema because it was only a couple of minutes away. They filed into line as they walked, so that Rianne found herself with Toby by her side again. Vainly she tried to begin a conversation. She opted for the truth.

"I'm sorry I was so cold to you before. It's so hard to explain ... when you finally get to meet someone that you thought you'd never meet, it's strange ... do you know what I mean?" She turned towards him. He had a contemplative expression on his face. After a pause, he said,

"It's really strange for me! Never in my dreams can I believe that anybody would think of me as you do. I just cannot believe it! It's not what I'm about." he paused. "How about we start again? You treat me as a normal person and I'll think of you as Nick's friend. OK?" He smiled his sudden grin. "Deal?"

Her face brightened. "Deal!" She giggled, relieved at his proposal. Now that the matter was cleared up, Rianne found that she could relax and talk to Toby like anyone else. They had a very affable conversation. He told her all about his life, and she told him all about hers. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and had started playing tennis when he was five. They found out they liked playing the same sports , listening to the same music and even liked driving the same type of car! Before long they were completely at ease with each other and with the past awkwardness forgotten, acted like old friends.

Soon the group reached the cinema. Nick paid for the movie, and Alec, Steven and Toby started ribbing him for his unusual generosity.

They were an attractive sight. Alec was wearing cool black jeans and a tartan shirt, while Daniela who was constantly by his side wore a crimson figure -hugging dress. Stephen and his wife Louise wore jeans and casual shirts, while the other Swedish players who Rianne was later introduced to as Mikael Sundqvist, Bjorn Jonsson and Volke Sundenberg were similarly attired in laid back jeans and tops. Toby wore dark blue jeans and a slinky white silk shirt.

The movie was proving enjoyable. During some stage Rianne and Nick found their hands colliding when they were both reaching for popcorn at the same time. In a tense scene, she mistakenly grabbed his hand and felt his reassuring grasp. Her cheeks flushed but she found that she did not want to let it go. Rianne, who would normally have been cynical about such a corny episode, now noticed that he hadn't let go of her hand. She wondered what that meant.

After the movie finished they decided to grab something to eat. As they filed out, Rianne noticed that Nick was still somewhat tenaciously holding her hand. Lagging behind the group, he smiled, his clear hazel eyes conveying his warm feelings for her. He wrapped his arm around her and she sank comfortably into his arms. It was a scene that Rianne would have been disliked watching in a movie, but now it could only be described as one of the happiest moments of her life.

They stopped at a trendy cafe and had dinner. Finding that squeezing into two tables was physically impossible, they decided to split into three. Alec and Stephen immediately threw themselves on the same table, and naturally they were followed by their respective companions Daniela and Louise. Mikael, Bjorn and Volke plonked themselves onto another, which left Nick, Toby and Rianne stranded on their own table.

The time flew by as the three became even better friends. Conversation flowed freely and laughter from the three occupants frequented the table. By the end of the night they had promised to keep in touch with each other during the year, and as they were playing in many different tournaments, the next time they would meet together as a threesome was probably in a months time. Especially for Rianne, who was on the women's tour, only at big tournaments and grand slam championships would she be able to see the two of them. Nick and Toby would run into each other more because occasionally they might be playing at the same place. So they discussed how they were going to keep in touch, and a roster system was stumbled upon to ensure the communication flow. With this settled, they saw the others indicating their watches eager to leave. Alec and Stephen had matches tomorrow, and a good night's sleep was essential to ensure victory.

Rianne was beginning to feel the strain. It had been quite a day for her, but much more work was to be done if she had any hope of doing well in her second round match. Alec picked up the bill, and the group thankfully headed back to the hotel.