Brian Baker: Cleared for 'real tennis'

Brian Baker, Special for USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

Well I finally got the good news I have been waiting to hear! My doctor has basically cleared me to do all movements and exercises.

He says that my meniscus should be strong enough to start pushing the envelope with my training on and off the court. I will probably continue to have some soreness in the knee as I start upping my movement on the court, but it feels great to be able to begin playing some "real tennis."

I hope to be practicing at full speed in the next 2-3 weeks. However, I am not going to rush the process if I am not ready. I should have a better idea of when I can resume playing on tour once I am practicing at a normal clip.

Last weekend I had a blast watching Belmont University's tennis team compete at the Ohio Valley Conference tennis tournament. Belmont came in as the five seed and made it all the way to the final before losing to Austin Peay University. The energy at the tournament was electric and really added to the quality of the matches. Watching the tennis made me think about what it would have been like to have participated in college tennis and to have been part of a team.

Tennis is typically very individualistic, so I'm sure it would have been a fun but different experience to have played in college. Maybe one day I'll experience college tennis as a head coach ... who knows?

I hope to report some encouraging news for next week. I'm confident that my knee will respond well to the increased workload and that I will be one week closer to returning to full strength!

— Brian