Two Matches On The Last Day Of May

Sets 239-240:

Stuart vs. A. at Austin High. Split, Stuart won 7-6(5), A. won 6-3.

My Mojo: Started Out Strong, Weakened Some In The Heat.

We didn't have time to finish a third set, but I was dogtired by the end of the two we played. I was pretty happy with my play, but it wasn't quite good enough to win two sets, just one. The last time I had played A., I was not able to deal with his shots as well as I did this time. He was left-handed, and played with a lot of spin and power, but didn't shoot many whizzing missiles just above the net as most power players do. In the first set, I was playing really well, and was happy that I was anticipting his shots better than I had the last time we played. I wasn't as befuddled by his play, and was playing a better defensive game when I needed to. I was also able to go on offense occasionally. In the second set, my energy pulled back a little. It was really hot, and my mojo was being sapped. Still I managed to win three games. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to finish, since time was up. This is why I don't like to play matches at places where you have to reserve time.

Sets 241-242:

Stuart vs. J. at Austin High. Winner: J. 6-2, 7-5.

I only had about an hour to recover before playing this match, and I was really spent after playing the last match, which was tough. So I grabbed a bite at Schlotszky's, and drove around in the air conditioning. When I got to the building where I work, I remembered that I have a locker in a shower room there. So I went there and took a nice long cool shower. That really did the trick and helped me complete my recovery. After that I barely had time to get back to the site, but I was much more refreshed than I would have been if I hadn't showered.

In the warmup, I could tell this guy was really good. I thought I might not even win any games, but I figured I would give it my best shot. From this perspective, I think I did surprisingly well, especially considering that I had just played a tough, hot match. His shots were outstanding and he made few errors, and I could not hold up against that in the first set. In the second set, I was down 4-0 and rallied to play some of the best tennis I had played in a while to get to 4-4. After that, I could not maintain the intensity for the rest of the match, and he wasnt back to dominating me. But winning five games was a welcome surprise.