A Peaceful Mindset Pushes The Win

Sets 304-305:

Stuart v. S. at Westlake High. Winner: Stuart. 6-3,6-2.

My Mojo: Steady And Solid, With Almost A Dream-Like Calm

Mmmm...I can hear the brown rice bubbling in the background. I don't know why, but I was craving brown rice and vegetables on the way home from this match. So I fired up the rice cooker.

I almost thought I would be late for this match. I spent almost twenty minutes traversing one particular mile on the way there. Luckily traffic opened up like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon and sped me right to my destination.

This was the first time I had played S. She was new to town, and said she hadn't played since April. I could see her playing a little bit loosely toward the beginning, then tightening it up a bit to become more precise, then toward the end, we were both playing intense-heat-tennis, that is, just doing what it takes to try to get the ball over.

I felt really peaceful and centered throughout this match. There was none of the agitation that sometimes hits me and turns my mental state into gelatinous goop. Occasionally, I did let out a little yelp when I misjudged a shot, but none of them were really angry; I was just trying to get the little bit of extra oomph that would get me to the shot. My serves were solid and sometimes drifted into outstanding. My groundstrokes were getting the job done, and I felt like I had a slight advantage in long rallies, though I did lose some. And even though the score was a bit lopsided, many of the games were closer than the score reflected.

The placid state I was in almost bordered on hallucination when the heat funk really started blasting in the second set. Not in a bad way, though, I was still pretty centered and solid. I played my usual game well; that is, there were not a lot of big forehands or winning blaster shots, but I played a good positional game and shifted into defense easily when it suited the situation. In both sets we started off close, than I took the lead at the end.