lose some, win more

Though your game is hardly the best
You can fray your opponent’s nerves
By methodically bouncing the ball
At least ten times before your serves.
- Arnold J. Zarett

Last Tuesday I played my last match of the season, and it was...interesting. I dropped the first set 6-1 and won the second 6-2. My opponent was a woman who I was actually supposed to have played a couple of months ago but never got around to it. We had both been stood up, at separate times, by the players we were slated to play one week, and so we were told that we could get a free hour and a half of court time to play a match with each other on our own schedule. I never called her, and she never called me. So in perfect ironic fashion, I end up playing her the last day of the season. Better than me, she wasn't, but there was something awkward in the air. It wasn't a particularly friendly match. It wasn't unfriendly, it just didn't have a particularly amicable feel to it. Some calls were questioned, whether or not we had switched sides three games before was contested, what side a serve should've been taken from but wasn't was contested, the score was called out louder than usual to avoid any confusion, and so on. Uncomfortable, eh?

So in a way, the score made sense. I was fed up after the first set. Many of the games were spent with me worrying about whether or not my opponent was going to question something else or shoot over an irritated look. I even gave her a point after I called the shot out because I was nervous that she would get upset and, in turn, jeopardize calls on my shots - ridiculous! (...in retrospect.) Well, all of that nonsense stopped in the second set, and we ended the match with a handshake, I think. It wasn't all that memorable, so I don't even recall now if we did, but words of congratulations on both sides were definitely exchanged.

Well, a new season starts next week for me. The first match was actually this past Tuesday, but I was working in the city (yes, on the day of the inauguration, which I heard parts of over the radio...an homage to the past). And while I've put my private lessons on hold for some time, I have begun a weekly tennis class with my coach and three other women. We'll see how much it's helping my game come this Tuesday. Here's shooting for an undefeated record...

winning in the new year

Let no one say that I have said nothing new . . . the arrangement of the subject is new. When we play tennis, we both play with the same ball, but one of us places it better.
- Blaise Pascal

Today's match was awesome...perhaps the best one I've played all season. The longest first set I've played, the longest rallies, the quickest to make me break a set, the most exciting from point to point.

The first set took about an hour, and since points in the league are determined on games won, we skipped a tiebreak and went straight to the second set. I took the first set, 6-5.

We had about 10 minutes to start the next set. Score: 2-1, my opponent.

So yes, technically, we broke even, no better or worse in our rankings than when we had started.

But that's not what mattered. I felt like I had played well, really well. I was hitting the ball with power, with confidence, with intent. After one point that lasted for what seemed like several minutes, I had to ask out loud if we were playing for money. I ran to every ball and got to a lot of them. We each had some great winners and some say-a-prayer-and-close-your-eyes shots that were nothing short of awesome. Even a coach in the next court over had to comment on what was happening on our court. It was pretty cool.

Oh, and it was the first time all season that I think I kind of hurt my ankle...and my wrist.

So a win (kind of), some war wounds, and a really good feeling contributed to a very nice tennis start to my new year.

Now if only someone could help me with the money I need to sign up for the spring league...