A Turnaround Barely Puts It Through For Me, Then Puts A Cherry On The Whipped Cream

Sets 426-428:

Stuart v. S. at Travis High. Winner: Stuart 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2)

My Mojo: Flipped 180 In Mid-Stream.

Usually I had played S. at private courts at his apartments. But he called me to say they tore his apartments down to build yuppie food. Bummer. I liked playing there. So we met at a convenience store, and went to Travis High. I guess it's sort of the end of an era, in a way. A mini-era, nonetheless, but still a bonafide era. Travis High was really loud, even though the freeway was kinda far away. I guess the sound just bounced right. But the weather was fantastic.

I started out playing even more of this malaise-ridden, poorly-formed ball humping that I had perfected the last two matches. And, naturally, the requisite depression and self-revulsion accompanied this symphony of miscoordination. The first set was almost completely garbage on my part. At least it was in my mind, but I didn't do nearly as badly as I did in my last two matches. We had a lot of long rallies, and it was really a close set, in retrospect.

Then I was able to push the reset button or something. The second set was much better, and my attitude was not swimming in the toilet. This is the drug I need. Good mojo turned around on a dime. Better than morphine. Well, maybe not; ask me on my deathbed. But it was good.

The third set was highly competitive all the way up. This is the kind of game I like to play. At least if I'm going to lose, let it be close. And let me not shoot myself trying to twirl the gun. Back and forth it went, with every advantage I built up being neutralized back to evenness, and vice versa. So it was at 6-6, and we had to play a tiebreak.

Then I broke out. I felt my footwork start to pick up, and my shots paid the rent, even though they didn't buy the casino. I was able to do what I had to and won the tiebreak 7-2. That was definitely the cherry on the whipped cream at the top of the sundae.