365 Sets, Or The Big Kahuna Shows Its Ugly Face!

Sets 363- 365!!!!!!:

Stuart v. S. at His Apts. Winner: Stuart 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(6)

My Mojo: Not Bad.

Well, I did it. I reached 365 sets in less than 365 days time. I thought that this would be a huge milestone for me, and that it would be an occasion to ding the bells and toot on the whistles. Fireworks in the living room, and all that. That's all I need, to terrify my family. But actually it is kind of anti-climactic. No parades for me down Main Street. I just go to work tomorrow an put on my shoes and shirt just like I do every day. Oh, and I'd better not forget my pants, or I might get fired.

But I'm not going to stop. First of all, I'm going to keep playing anyway. Maybe after the end of the year I won't play as intensely (or who knows, maybe I will?). I think soon I'll start incorporating more drills and lessons--the kind of stuff I've neglected while I played straight sets. And maybe I'll play some doubles for a change of pace. Second of all, recall that I "cheated" by starting in mid-November of 2006. Though I did get to 365 sets in less than a year from that time, I think I'll keep playing to get 365 sets during 2007, so it will actually be a New Year's resolution fulfilled. Which means I still have 34 sets left to go. I'll probably try to overshoot it; I'm just that over-the-top kinda guy.

Third of all, is there anyone who actually reads this crap I write? Actually, I know there are some folks who do drop by, because I hear about it, and sometimes from the most unexpected sources.

But I guess I should talk about the actual match, instead of sucking on a popsicle of nostalgia and reflection. Geez, it was windy. I knew the wind would be blowing, but it was whipping around every which way, and rising ferociously and then dying down, and doing all kindsa deceptive stuff. But I felt like I was reading it well, and getting into my wind-vector mode, where I try to figure out on the fly what kind of arc I need to put on the ball, what spin I need to use, and how far I need to correct to get the ball where I want it to go. I'm pretty good at that if I can remain calm and not lose my cool buzz.

I think one of my actual disadvantages today was that it wasn't hot as hell, it was cool and temperate, and the wind made just about any sweat that came out evaporate pretty quickly. For some strange reason, I do well under seriously adverse conditions. I shine when it's so hot that everybody else is passing out, or when I'm just on the verge of a serious hurl, or when I'm just injured enough that I can keep playing, but not too bad to need hospitalization. Really. Read my previous entries if you don't believe that.

A couple of things helped me, I think, in today's play (and have also helped me in the last few sets I played). One thing was having a coach show me how I tend to move sideways on a shot instead of lurching into it. I've been moving forward a lot more, and I think it's added some power as well as control to my stroke. The next thing is having soft hands on the volleys. That has improved my directionality at the net immensely.

During the first set, I got behind at first by 4-2, but then caught up to 4-4. We both played very tough for the next four games to tie it up at 6-6 and play a tiebreaker. I was trying to hit hard and deep as much as possible so as to avoid getting weak shots over that S. could take advantage of, which he does well. At first, he was able to move in on the net to advantage, but I tried my best to neutralize that by being a little more aggressive toward the end of the set. In the tiebreak, I took a lead, then he crept up a little, then I was able to take the win.

S. was getting a little more frustrated about the wind than I was, and I think this affected his confidence in the second set. I never felt seriously challenged in this set, and I think i not only had some of my best strategy, but also my best ability to second-guess where his shots would go, and my best use of the wind.

His frustration went away, for the most part, in the third set. He told me that he relaxed because he had already lost the match and had nothing to lose. This was probably his toughest play, as he once again began closing in well and also breaking out winners when necessary. But I still think he wasn't reading the wind as well as I was (with the exception of about three games where he really broke out and seemed really in sync,while I briefly got scattered). I pulled it back together toward the end enough to keep pace, and the tiebreak could have gone either way. He was up at first, then I eked out a point ahead, and at 7-6, he hit a topspin hotshot that the wind just caught the wrong way an put about an inch and a half outside the line. Which was probably just blind luck for me, because I don't think there was any way I would have gotten that shot, and if the wind had not been gusting, it probably would have been in. So instead of tying up the tiebreak at 7-7, I squeaked out a win at 8-6.

All in all, my play was not bad. It was much better than my average match a year ago, for sure. I definitely see improvement in my game. My power and directionality have increased a lot, as well as my ability to anticipate. My recovery is much smoother, on the whole, and I don't get intimidated by power games.