Man, I Just Can't Get Anything Going...

Sets 292-295:

Stuart v. S. at His Apts. Winner: S. 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

My Mojo: Up Against An Impenetrable Wall

I came to this match ready to play some of the best tennis I've ever played. I mean, I knew I would have to really bring something to the table to beat S. He is one of the toughest players I play and I've only beaten him once. Not only would I have to play at a pretty high level, but I would have to be innovating as well. That's a tough bar to jump over.

So I started off playing really well. I was not unsatisfied with my level of play, but he seemed to be playing absolutely flawlessly. His play has been going well for him lately, as he has recently rocketed to near the top of the ladder, while I've been going up too, but at a slower rate.

In the first two sets, my serve was occasionally on fire, but I could not get the blazing-hot serves in consistently. My groundstrokes were doing better than usual, but I felt like at least 25% of the time that I hit a shot over, he did something with it that I had no chance of getting a response to. And I had a very small percentage of offensive plays, but when I did get them, I managed to hold on for a good number of those points. Even though the score was lopsided in the first two sets, we didn't have a huge number of blowout games where I got skunked and didn't get any points in. So I was about as satisfied as you can be when you're losing.

In the third set, I started surging forward a little, but was still coming up against an impenetrable wall. I think this was the set in which we both played the best. There were very few errors in this set, but when they were there, I made more than he did. Also, in this set, I didn't get back as many weak returns as I had in first two sets, although I had a few.

The fourth set was where I surged forward; at least, I did so at first. And he was starting to get a little tired. He made a comment that this was the set he was there for. My serve became better, my groundstrokes were catching well in front of me, were well-planned and went deep consistently. His passing shots were catching more errors, either long or into the net, and I was also recovering better. I won the first three games of the set, and then we each won one, so I was ahead at this point by 4-1.

Of course, I was thinking about the last time we played and this exact thing happened, and he came back to win the set. I thought that I had to be careful, and I could still blow it. After this point, I was still playing well, but he changed his game around a lot. He started playing less for pace and more for consistency, and he also relied a lot on drop shots after he had pulled me deep. It was starting to piss me off that this drop shot technique was working for him. I was unprepared for the change in his tactics, and by the time I realized what was going on, it was not only too late, but my confidence was shattered and my mental state was in ruins. By the time he caught up to 4-4, it was pretty much over. I think I had already disgustedly tossed my racquet out of my had a couple of times by this time. The last two games, I wasn't even close. I have to be ready to respond to changes in tactics. I think if it hadn't been so hot, my mind would have worked a little better, but I do need to work on recognizing a changed plan.