Two Matches, Two Days, Two Opponents, Different Results

1/5/06:

Sets 47-48 (of 365):

Stuart vs. S. at Caswell. Winner: S. 6-1, 6-2.

My Mojo: Sluggish

This was the first round of the ladder tournament. The weather was just gorgeous. It was in the 70s with hardly any wind at all. The skies were sompletely clear. I went into the match thinking that I was playing well, and I felt like I was in sync in the warmup, but once I got into the match, I was just about a quarter-second behind from where I usually was on just about everything. My anticipation was really sluggish and I felt like I was playing in a fog. It was like swimming in maple syrup. I just was not getting to shots that I thought I should have gotten to, and I didn't get set up in time to hit really solid shots back.

Also, my "edge shots" were just not making it over the edge. Most of the time when I hit toward the lines, the ball went out. Or when I tried for barely above the net, it went into the ribbon. When I tried for drop shots, they fell short. Aarrgh. Those "edge shots" can make a match if they are good, or break a match if they are bad. They didn't seem to be the deciding factor in this one, though, as it was mostly my slowness that was killing me and making me commit too many unforced errors or return the ball weakly so my opponent could smash it to a weak spot. My opponent played very well and won the match, though we did have a lot of games that went back and forth from deuce to add. So I didn't feel like it was a complete rout even though the score was lopsided. I have to say, though, that he did definitely outplay me.

1/6/06:

Sets 49-50 (of 365)

Stuart vs. D at Caswell. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 7-5

My Mojo: Above-Average

What a difference a day makes. Going into the second round of the ladder tournament, the weather was completely different. It was cold and wet, with intermittent rain and some delays during the day, but nothing too long. I spent some time squeegeeing courts so we could get back out, as did other players. It was really hard for the courts to dry with the wet, cold, humid weather, so everybody started up on damp courts. The pitter-patter of tennis feet helps dry out the courts some; I think by the end of my match the courts were pretty much dry even though the sun had gone down.

And my play was completely different, too, though I went into the match pretty pessimistic. I don't know why, but I felt pretty fatalistic going into this match and thought I was going to lose. After we warmed up and I won the first game (and I saw that I was playing much better than last night), I lost the dark cloud over my head pretty fast.

My opponent tonight seemed very similar in style and ability to the guy I played last night. The difference was that tonight, I was there for the shots. Also, this guy double-faulted a little more. He had a really hard first and second serve, but his serve was a little more erratic than most; at least for most people that I've played. I don't know if the high number of double faults was a constant for him or if he was somewhat off on his serve tonight. But I was handling his serve well. He did seem to get it in more in the second set, though he still double-faulted more than seemed normal. My split-steps were well-timed and were getting me to most of his really fast serves that went in, though he did get me on a few of them. My anticipation was really good and I was getting to where I needed to be on the court.

I was really not in a third-set mood tonight, though. If it had gone to a third set, I might have lost. Usually, I am up for playing just about forever, and look forward to five-hour marathons if necessary. Third sets are usually dessert for me. But I didn't feel up to that tonight, though I thought I could possibly pull out what I needed to to win the second set. I was up 5-2 in the second set, and then he won the next three games to even it out at 5-5. That was bugging me some, as I did really, really did not want to lose the second set and have to get to a third set. Maybe if I would have had to play a third set, I could have re-centered myself after taking a break, and mentally adjusted myself to what I needed to do. And I definitely would have taken a break after the second set if we split rather than jumping right into a third set.

But the next game after the 5-5 tie was my serve, and I decided to just watch the ball on the serve, try to get it back every time, play with as much strategy in mind as early as possible, and just take it point by point, without regard for where we were in the set or the match.

I also took breaks on the last two changeovers, though I had played the entire first set and part of the second without breaking on the changeovers; I just went straight to the other side to play, and so did my opponent, for the most part. But on these last two breaks that I took, I ritualistically took a drink, wiped sweat with a towel, wiped my glasses, and did a little breathing for relaxation, probably keeping within the ninety seconds allowed. What I was doing seemed to work for me well, and I won the next two games. The first one (the one I served) I won four points in a row, and the next one was a little closer, but I won the last two points of the game that won the match fairly easily. Woo-hoo! I made it to a third round in the tournament, and didn't get poured out without winning a match!

It was kinda strange that on each of these days in each of these matches, my mojo flowed the opposite of the weather. Good weather, mojo in the toilet. Bad weather, killer hot mojo. Just an observation.