Something really bad happened to my daughter last night. I don't really want to talk about it here, but playing tennis is helping me.
It is gorgeous outside and probably will be all day. Blue sky and sunshine is out there for the first time in couple of weeks. So, of course, I am trying to hustle up a match or two to play today. It is harder to get matches on short notice, but it is doable. I just have to email a lot of people and hope one of them can make time on the spur of the moment to play.
This has got me thinking about what it takes to try to reach a goal like I am trying to reach, that is, play a humongous amount of games over a protracted period of time. There will be some obstactles:
1. The weather. It does not always do what you want it to do. It may rain for days on end, it might destroy everything in sight with a tornado or a tsunami (though I would be a bit surprised to see a tsunami in Austin). You have to work around what Mother Nature gives ya, and for the last couple of weeks, Ma Na has not been good to tennis 'round here. Of course, there has been this drought thing in place that the rain is helping out a lot, so there's always an upside.
2. My limitations. I know that I'll have some injury or illness sideline me at some point. I've already run into just being worn out from pushing myself to play more and more,and kind of cycling into a low place.
3. Other people's limitations. Some people don't want to play as much, and some people have trouble working around their schedules. And, frankly, some people are probably getting sick of me constantly trying to fish up opponents. A couple of people have already told me to quit contacting them. I don't have a huge pool of people yet, so I have been having to go back to some of the same people over and over. Most don't mind, but some see it, I'm sure, as varying degrees of imposition.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Now, This Was Just Insane
Sets 60-62 (of 365):
Stuart vs. C. at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, 3-4 and 15-30.
My Mojo: Decent to Above-Average, Ending Up More and More Blind
Here I was thinking after the last match I played tonight that there was no way I was going to be able to play. The ground was pretty darn wet, and the air was so full of mist that my glasses just kept getting covered with droplets and fog. So I called C. about 45 minutes before the match. I didn't get him, but left a message expressing doubt that we'd be able to play. About ten minutes later, he called me back. I told him that it looked kinda borderline, maybe even on the wrong side of the border. He said he was on his way there and he would just check it out when he got there. Fair enough. I told him I'd head over there too, and we could decide when we got there.
When I got there, he was already there, playing against the backboard in the big wet. So I figured, what the hell, we'll play wetball. Tennis is a whole different thing when it's way wet outside. You never know what the ball is going to do. We hit for a while, and then started playing sets. Early on in the first set, I took a dive in a big patch of mud. I asked him if he wanted to move over to the next court, which at least didn't have huge amounts of mud there, and we moved over one.
The first two sets I was playing really well. I was holding my serve every time, and breaking his serve most of the time too. My placement was good, and my shots were doing pretty much what I wanted them to do. The match ended pretty quickly. We shook hands, but that was not the end.
I asked him if he wanted to hit some more or play another set. He said sure, he would play another set. So we played another set. Now, I was getting more and more blind as this thing went along. I don't know what was making it worse, but my glasses were just getting wet and foggy, and I just could not seem to shake it. Also, the balls must have weighed about three times what they normally weighed from all the water they had absorbed. Every time one of us put any spin on the ball, we could see the water just spinning off of the ball. We had opened a second can of balls and they had gotten soaked too. Despite all of these challenges, I won the third set easily.
So I asked him if he wanted to play some more, and we started a fourth set. This time, he not only played a lot tougher, but I also could not see a damn thing. There were too many shots that I just didn't know where the hell the ball was until it came down out of range. In the first four games, each of us won our serve, so the score was 2-2. Then he broke my serve, and he won the next game too. He was just hitting really well, and his placement was awesome. I didn't feel like my mojo diminished much, though I was starting to feel a little hungry, and the combination of his great play and my blindness was just whittling away at me. It was like I was suddenly playing a different player. So now I'm down 2-4. The next game was my serve, and I won it pretty easily to bring the score up to 3-4.
So he serves the next game and wins the first two points. He's up 30-0, and I win the next point, so it's 30-15. Right as he is serving the next serve, the lights go "Thud" and turn off. So we're suddenly in pitch black. We both laugh and I tell him that it looks like he's won this set. I look at my watch and it's 9:45. Why the hell would they turn the lights off at 9:45? Oh, well, I guess that's just what they do there. I'll file that away for future reference: the lights go off at 9:45 at Northwest Park. We leave the wet balls there. This was just insane. Not only did we play when I thought there was no way we would, but we play nearly four sets.
So he wins the last set, incomplete as it is, and he definitely earned it. I'm too anal to count it toward my goal though, because it wasn't finished. It didn't end with one of us winning at least six games like a normal set would, so Mr. Fussypants here won't let it count. That's why I'm only counting three sets toward the 365. This in no way diminishes his win of this last set; it counts in that way.
Stuart vs. C. at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, 3-4 and 15-30.
My Mojo: Decent to Above-Average, Ending Up More and More Blind
Here I was thinking after the last match I played tonight that there was no way I was going to be able to play. The ground was pretty darn wet, and the air was so full of mist that my glasses just kept getting covered with droplets and fog. So I called C. about 45 minutes before the match. I didn't get him, but left a message expressing doubt that we'd be able to play. About ten minutes later, he called me back. I told him that it looked kinda borderline, maybe even on the wrong side of the border. He said he was on his way there and he would just check it out when he got there. Fair enough. I told him I'd head over there too, and we could decide when we got there.
When I got there, he was already there, playing against the backboard in the big wet. So I figured, what the hell, we'll play wetball. Tennis is a whole different thing when it's way wet outside. You never know what the ball is going to do. We hit for a while, and then started playing sets. Early on in the first set, I took a dive in a big patch of mud. I asked him if he wanted to move over to the next court, which at least didn't have huge amounts of mud there, and we moved over one.
The first two sets I was playing really well. I was holding my serve every time, and breaking his serve most of the time too. My placement was good, and my shots were doing pretty much what I wanted them to do. The match ended pretty quickly. We shook hands, but that was not the end.
I asked him if he wanted to hit some more or play another set. He said sure, he would play another set. So we played another set. Now, I was getting more and more blind as this thing went along. I don't know what was making it worse, but my glasses were just getting wet and foggy, and I just could not seem to shake it. Also, the balls must have weighed about three times what they normally weighed from all the water they had absorbed. Every time one of us put any spin on the ball, we could see the water just spinning off of the ball. We had opened a second can of balls and they had gotten soaked too. Despite all of these challenges, I won the third set easily.
So I asked him if he wanted to play some more, and we started a fourth set. This time, he not only played a lot tougher, but I also could not see a damn thing. There were too many shots that I just didn't know where the hell the ball was until it came down out of range. In the first four games, each of us won our serve, so the score was 2-2. Then he broke my serve, and he won the next game too. He was just hitting really well, and his placement was awesome. I didn't feel like my mojo diminished much, though I was starting to feel a little hungry, and the combination of his great play and my blindness was just whittling away at me. It was like I was suddenly playing a different player. So now I'm down 2-4. The next game was my serve, and I won it pretty easily to bring the score up to 3-4.
So he serves the next game and wins the first two points. He's up 30-0, and I win the next point, so it's 30-15. Right as he is serving the next serve, the lights go "Thud" and turn off. So we're suddenly in pitch black. We both laugh and I tell him that it looks like he's won this set. I look at my watch and it's 9:45. Why the hell would they turn the lights off at 9:45? Oh, well, I guess that's just what they do there. I'll file that away for future reference: the lights go off at 9:45 at Northwest Park. We leave the wet balls there. This was just insane. Not only did we play when I thought there was no way we would, but we play nearly four sets.
So he wins the last set, incomplete as it is, and he definitely earned it. I'm too anal to count it toward my goal though, because it wasn't finished. It didn't end with one of us winning at least six games like a normal set would, so Mr. Fussypants here won't let it count. That's why I'm only counting three sets toward the 365. This in no way diminishes his win of this last set; it counts in that way.
I Feel Victorious Just Because I Got To Play
Sets 58-59 (of 365):
Stuart vs. M. at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-2, 6-2.
My Mojo: Above-Average, Weakened to Average Briefly, Then Back to Above-Average
Dang, it has been a long time since the weather let up enough to play tennis. I haven't been able to play since the Wednesday before last, or nine days ago. The weather has simply not let up since then. It has either been raining, or flooding torrentially, or completely iced up since the 10th of January. That is the longest that anybody in my family has nott been able to play tennis in Austin in the whole time that my kids and I have been playing tennis in Austin, probably in the last eight or nine years.
I feel fortunate that a window of dryness opened up today. I sensed it happening at around noon today and I emailed a bunch of people to see if they wanted to try to play tennis tonight. I got two takers, and one of them was M., who agreed to meet me at 5:00 p.m. at Northwest Park.
M. had a really fast serve with a good amount of spin and a very compact motion. I admire people who have really good fast serves that come from not much motion. I think to myself how fantastic their serves would be if they used more motion, but maybe it doesn't work that way. I was serving really well and held all or most of the games that I served in both sets. So I had a feeling that if I broke any of his serves that I would win. My serves were not the usual mix of styles that I usually throw in. My first serves were almost all heavy spin serves that fell deep and close to either the middle or the sideline. On my second serves, I let up on the spin and power just enough to ensure accuracy, and I think I only double-faulted twice (enough to annoy me, but acceptable, especially since I was ahead in games). The serves that I hit seemed to give me a good physical advantage and a solid offense, and on the few points when I didn't have a physical advantage, after a while I felt like I had at least a psychological advantage.
In the first set, I was pretty far ahead. I got to 5-1, and then he won a game to make it 5-2, and then I won the next game to win the set. When he won that second game, I started feeling a little insecure about my play, and my mojo dipped a little. He was ahead in the next game and I thought he was going to win it to make it 5-3. But I came back at the last minute after he had gotten to game point and I won the set.
The second set was a little tougher starting out. He served the first game and won it easily. Then we each won the games we served in the next three games to make the score 2-2. Then I broke his serve in the fifth game and was up 3-2. I won all of the games after that. I was serving with a high amount of spin consistently throughout the match. In the last game, I was up 40-15, and decided to try a hard, flat serve with just about everything I could put into it. Pow! I slammed it down the center and won the match with an ace.
The second match ended just about in the nick of time. It had started misting toward the end of the second set. It was happening in about the last three games of the second set, but was getting steadily more intense. It didn't seem to be raining, or falling out of the sky; it was as if little droplets were forming in the atmosphere around us. It was really hard on me as my glasses were getting coated with not only the mist, but also fogging up, and it was hard for me to see in the last few games. I kept trying to wipe off my glasses almost every point, but my clothing was damp, and I couldn't find dry spots to wipe them off on. Also, I had left my towel outside of my tennis backpack, and it was damp too. The mist was getting thicker and thicker. So I wouldn't have been able to see much longer, and the courts got too wet to play about a minute after our match ended. It doesn't look like the next match that I scheduled for tonight will take place, as even if it stops misting, it looks too wet outside. The sun has gone down, so there's not much potential for the courts to dry, but it looked like the mist was not going to go away anyway. Maybe a miracle will happen; we'll see.
Stuart vs. M. at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-2, 6-2.
My Mojo: Above-Average, Weakened to Average Briefly, Then Back to Above-Average
Dang, it has been a long time since the weather let up enough to play tennis. I haven't been able to play since the Wednesday before last, or nine days ago. The weather has simply not let up since then. It has either been raining, or flooding torrentially, or completely iced up since the 10th of January. That is the longest that anybody in my family has nott been able to play tennis in Austin in the whole time that my kids and I have been playing tennis in Austin, probably in the last eight or nine years.
I feel fortunate that a window of dryness opened up today. I sensed it happening at around noon today and I emailed a bunch of people to see if they wanted to try to play tennis tonight. I got two takers, and one of them was M., who agreed to meet me at 5:00 p.m. at Northwest Park.
M. had a really fast serve with a good amount of spin and a very compact motion. I admire people who have really good fast serves that come from not much motion. I think to myself how fantastic their serves would be if they used more motion, but maybe it doesn't work that way. I was serving really well and held all or most of the games that I served in both sets. So I had a feeling that if I broke any of his serves that I would win. My serves were not the usual mix of styles that I usually throw in. My first serves were almost all heavy spin serves that fell deep and close to either the middle or the sideline. On my second serves, I let up on the spin and power just enough to ensure accuracy, and I think I only double-faulted twice (enough to annoy me, but acceptable, especially since I was ahead in games). The serves that I hit seemed to give me a good physical advantage and a solid offense, and on the few points when I didn't have a physical advantage, after a while I felt like I had at least a psychological advantage.
In the first set, I was pretty far ahead. I got to 5-1, and then he won a game to make it 5-2, and then I won the next game to win the set. When he won that second game, I started feeling a little insecure about my play, and my mojo dipped a little. He was ahead in the next game and I thought he was going to win it to make it 5-3. But I came back at the last minute after he had gotten to game point and I won the set.
The second set was a little tougher starting out. He served the first game and won it easily. Then we each won the games we served in the next three games to make the score 2-2. Then I broke his serve in the fifth game and was up 3-2. I won all of the games after that. I was serving with a high amount of spin consistently throughout the match. In the last game, I was up 40-15, and decided to try a hard, flat serve with just about everything I could put into it. Pow! I slammed it down the center and won the match with an ace.
The second match ended just about in the nick of time. It had started misting toward the end of the second set. It was happening in about the last three games of the second set, but was getting steadily more intense. It didn't seem to be raining, or falling out of the sky; it was as if little droplets were forming in the atmosphere around us. It was really hard on me as my glasses were getting coated with not only the mist, but also fogging up, and it was hard for me to see in the last few games. I kept trying to wipe off my glasses almost every point, but my clothing was damp, and I couldn't find dry spots to wipe them off on. Also, I had left my towel outside of my tennis backpack, and it was damp too. The mist was getting thicker and thicker. So I wouldn't have been able to see much longer, and the courts got too wet to play about a minute after our match ended. It doesn't look like the next match that I scheduled for tonight will take place, as even if it stops misting, it looks too wet outside. The sun has gone down, so there's not much potential for the courts to dry, but it looked like the mist was not going to go away anyway. Maybe a miracle will happen; we'll see.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
It's Still a Weather Thing
The weather is still nasty. Now it has been frozen for about two days, with sleet and ice storms. There is ice everywhere and it's still way fruzz. Most businesses have been closed for the last two days, including my workplace. Of course, Monday was MLK day, so a lot of those places would have been closed anyway. That worked out well.
I spent almost all day yesterday driving around. It didn't seem that bad to me. That's me, I hear people on the news saying "Nobody should go out under any circumstances," and I spend the whole day putzin' around outside. Sure, I slid around a little, but for the most part, I did OK. I even tried to go to work, but it was locked, and I couldn't get in. I went over to Manor (about fifteen miles outside of Austin) and picked up my duaghter.
At least the gym was open, that is, until last night. Every time I went there in the last few days, they were available. But last night, I went to two different gyms, and one was closed, and another was just closing. Then I got on 183, which is this highway that is mostly raised way above the ground, and it was solid ice. I drove really slowly. It was probably insane for anyone to be on it (I only saw two other vehicles on it the whole time I was on it and they were BIG truck-chassis thingys, maybe four-wheel-drive transpo, as opposed to my tiny car) and I am surprised that they let anyone on it at all. But when I wanted to get off, at least they had the exit blocked off for safety. Great. Here I am stuck on a deathtrap highway. Can't go too fast because I'll slide out of control and slip off the edge, and can't go too slow because I'll lost momentum and get stuck. And I did see a couple of abandoned cars on the way. I'm pretty sure that they did the "get stuck" thing. Oh, well, might as well make the most of it. So I went another four miles or so before I got off, and made it home. Ha, ha, beat death again.
Looked outside, and it is still frozen and icy. I think I'll ride my bicycle to work when it opens at noon. I definitely can't run to work because I'm sure I'll slip and fall on the ice somewhere on the way (probably about four miles or so). Nothin' like a little bike luge to get the day started.
I spent almost all day yesterday driving around. It didn't seem that bad to me. That's me, I hear people on the news saying "Nobody should go out under any circumstances," and I spend the whole day putzin' around outside. Sure, I slid around a little, but for the most part, I did OK. I even tried to go to work, but it was locked, and I couldn't get in. I went over to Manor (about fifteen miles outside of Austin) and picked up my duaghter.
At least the gym was open, that is, until last night. Every time I went there in the last few days, they were available. But last night, I went to two different gyms, and one was closed, and another was just closing. Then I got on 183, which is this highway that is mostly raised way above the ground, and it was solid ice. I drove really slowly. It was probably insane for anyone to be on it (I only saw two other vehicles on it the whole time I was on it and they were BIG truck-chassis thingys, maybe four-wheel-drive transpo, as opposed to my tiny car) and I am surprised that they let anyone on it at all. But when I wanted to get off, at least they had the exit blocked off for safety. Great. Here I am stuck on a deathtrap highway. Can't go too fast because I'll slide out of control and slip off the edge, and can't go too slow because I'll lost momentum and get stuck. And I did see a couple of abandoned cars on the way. I'm pretty sure that they did the "get stuck" thing. Oh, well, might as well make the most of it. So I went another four miles or so before I got off, and made it home. Ha, ha, beat death again.
Looked outside, and it is still frozen and icy. I think I'll ride my bicycle to work when it opens at noon. I definitely can't run to work because I'm sure I'll slip and fall on the ice somewhere on the way (probably about four miles or so). Nothin' like a little bike luge to get the day started.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Problematic Weather
The weather is posing a problem for me. It is definitely not conducive to tennis. I mean, I would go out and play right now on the ice, but I don't seem to be able to talk anybody else into it. Since Friday morning, it has been raining like crazy. I had a ladder match set up on Friday night, and we both went to the site, but it was way too wet. Dang it, I really wanted to play. He indicated he might not be able to play me this round, since he is only in town on weekends, and he has to schedule his other two matches around this weather that doesn't look like it will let up much for a while. Crap. I challenged him on the ladder, he is about ten rungs up from me, and I would like to move up to where I have competitive games. I mean, he might beat me, but if I beat him, I can move up faster than a snail's pace. It's not that I mind winning the games that I have played so far, but I want some challenge in my ladder games. At least I'm getting some opponents in my non-ladder games that are challenging me. Oh well, I guess I'll challenge somebody else the next ladder round.
On Saturday morning, it was hugely flooding. My electricity went out for about an hour and a half, so I decided to try to venture out in the nasty weather. I couldn't get farther than just a few blocks. Just a block away, the creek was flowing like a river over the street. It looked like it was about two feet deep, and raging brown water. I kept driving in several different directions after being forced to turn away from various and sundry weather emergencies, and finally made it to a convenience store (after driving through some rushing water that was a little deeper than I probably should have driven through in my little car), where I bought a newspaper, and trekked back home to sit in the dark. Well, at least it was daytime, so it wasn't that dark. I opened the blinds and let some light in and read the paper by the light coming in through the window. It was obvious I wasn't going anywhere else until the rain died down.
And now, this morning it froze over, so now the streets and sidewalks are sheets of ice. I haven't played tennis since last Wednesday, and now it's Monday. Dang, I wish I had set something up for Thursday. It was the last day before the rain. Not only that, but I forgot about the Thursday night group lessons at Pharr. I just spaced out completely. I didn't remember until it was almost 8:30, and by that time it was almost over. Bad juju. Boy, am I going to have to double up for a while once this clears up to get back on track.
So I've been spending a lot of time at the gym to make up for the exercise I am missing out on by not being able to play tennis. I've been lifting weights, getting aerobic stuff in, stretching, and doing various and sundry other exercise-related stuff. Yesterday I spent nearly an hour on the rowing machine. I love that machine because I gives you an aerobic workout that involves your whole body, not just your legs like most of the other aerobic stuff. And, it doesn't seem to be very popular, so I can get on it just about any time. Most people like the treadmills or the ellipticals. I gotta admit, I like the elliptical machines too, but the rowing machine kicks ass. I hate the treadmill. If you're gonna run, why not see scenery while you're doing it? I'll have to go on a nice run once the weather clears up. Also, this weekend I've had time to take long steambaths and saunas afterwards. Life is good, even if I can't play tennis right now.
The hell with it, why wait to run? I think I'll go for a run right now. Cold be damned. Let's see if I slip on the ice and bust my head open [maniacal cackle].
On Saturday morning, it was hugely flooding. My electricity went out for about an hour and a half, so I decided to try to venture out in the nasty weather. I couldn't get farther than just a few blocks. Just a block away, the creek was flowing like a river over the street. It looked like it was about two feet deep, and raging brown water. I kept driving in several different directions after being forced to turn away from various and sundry weather emergencies, and finally made it to a convenience store (after driving through some rushing water that was a little deeper than I probably should have driven through in my little car), where I bought a newspaper, and trekked back home to sit in the dark. Well, at least it was daytime, so it wasn't that dark. I opened the blinds and let some light in and read the paper by the light coming in through the window. It was obvious I wasn't going anywhere else until the rain died down.
And now, this morning it froze over, so now the streets and sidewalks are sheets of ice. I haven't played tennis since last Wednesday, and now it's Monday. Dang, I wish I had set something up for Thursday. It was the last day before the rain. Not only that, but I forgot about the Thursday night group lessons at Pharr. I just spaced out completely. I didn't remember until it was almost 8:30, and by that time it was almost over. Bad juju. Boy, am I going to have to double up for a while once this clears up to get back on track.
So I've been spending a lot of time at the gym to make up for the exercise I am missing out on by not being able to play tennis. I've been lifting weights, getting aerobic stuff in, stretching, and doing various and sundry other exercise-related stuff. Yesterday I spent nearly an hour on the rowing machine. I love that machine because I gives you an aerobic workout that involves your whole body, not just your legs like most of the other aerobic stuff. And, it doesn't seem to be very popular, so I can get on it just about any time. Most people like the treadmills or the ellipticals. I gotta admit, I like the elliptical machines too, but the rowing machine kicks ass. I hate the treadmill. If you're gonna run, why not see scenery while you're doing it? I'll have to go on a nice run once the weather clears up. Also, this weekend I've had time to take long steambaths and saunas afterwards. Life is good, even if I can't play tennis right now.
The hell with it, why wait to run? I think I'll go for a run right now. Cold be damned. Let's see if I slip on the ice and bust my head open [maniacal cackle].
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Little Milestones
I forgot to mention that today is my birthday. And yesterday, we had the final court hearing where I adopted my oldest daughter. She is not my biological daughter but has lived with me pretty much all of her life. Her sister is also my daughter, but biologically as well. Somebody at work made me lemon squares for my birthday (how nice!), but I had to take my oldest daughter to a doctor's appointment at lunch, and when I got back, they were all gone. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.
I didn't play tennis yesterday because I was so busy readying for the adoption hearing. I didn't know if it would go through. My daughter was in kind of a mood the day before, and had told the guardian appointed by the court that she didn't want to be adopted. Aaack. I was really stressed. I had to finesse emotions and reactions from her biological mom, from her, from the court people, and so on (as well as mine--at one point I felt like I was going to just completely fall apart). Luckily, she decided firmly on the court date that she did want to go through with the adoption, so it was finalized. Whew. I can't even express how much the stuff leading up to this stressed me out. I could hardly sleep the night before. When focus got off the adoption on anyone's part, I just told them I was only focusing on the adoption, and any other issues would be dealt with later. That seemed to work. And now I am so happy that I am the official dad of my darling little daughter. So for my birthday, I got to spend some time with my oldest little girl, and that is one of the best presents I could have gotten from anyone.
I didn't play tennis yesterday because I was so busy readying for the adoption hearing. I didn't know if it would go through. My daughter was in kind of a mood the day before, and had told the guardian appointed by the court that she didn't want to be adopted. Aaack. I was really stressed. I had to finesse emotions and reactions from her biological mom, from her, from the court people, and so on (as well as mine--at one point I felt like I was going to just completely fall apart). Luckily, she decided firmly on the court date that she did want to go through with the adoption, so it was finalized. Whew. I can't even express how much the stuff leading up to this stressed me out. I could hardly sleep the night before. When focus got off the adoption on anyone's part, I just told them I was only focusing on the adoption, and any other issues would be dealt with later. That seemed to work. And now I am so happy that I am the official dad of my darling little daughter. So for my birthday, I got to spend some time with my oldest little girl, and that is one of the best presents I could have gotten from anyone.
Squeezing in a Speed Set
Sets 55-57 (of 365):
E. vs. Stuart at South Austin. Winner: Stuart 6-4, 6-0, 6-1
My Mojo: Steady to Steadier
I was getting a bit annoyed for arriving late. I had given myself what I thought was more than enough time to get there, but the traffic on the freeway was really bad. We were stuck behind an accident and the road was barely creeping along. The ride on the freeway, probably only about six miles, took over half an hour. Luckily it started clearing up right before the exit I had to take and I was at the tennis center within five minutes of getting off the freeway.
E. was very gracious about my lateness and accepting of my apologies. I was only about eight minutes late, but I usually am early or right on time, so it was really out of character for me. The first set was the toughest one for me as my shots were a little bit jerky and stiff. I got trapped by a lot of angle shots and winners. His serve throughout the match was a really good mix of shots. I never knew exactly what was coming at me. I think he was really good at reading my stance too, because if I would ease back, it seemed like I got serves that were close to the net with a lot of spin, but if I would move in, then I would get really hard serves to the back of the box an the end that I was least prepared to return from. He won the first game of the first set, then I won the next two, then he won the next one, and we tracked each other pretty well until the end, when I broke out. And it wasn't just each of us holding serve either, it seemed like there was a good mix of winning by holding serve and by breaking the other's serve from each of us.
But in the second set, I loosened up a lot, and started moving more fluidly, both in my footwork and my strokes. This made me more accurate and made it easier for me to play offense. I won the second set a lot easier than I had the first and won all of the games, though some of them were close.
We only had twenty minutes left, and I asked him if he wanted to hit some more or play another set. Of course, I wanted to play another set so I could count it toward my goal. Luckily, he was hot to play another set too. I think we both knew we would have to have a pretty speedy pace if we were going to squeeze a set into twenty minutes. I was also trying to win as many points as possible so we could get done with the set and I could count it. We played at a pretty fast pace, serving second serves right after first serves, though it seemed like we got a higher percentage of first serves in. And we were both trying to cut off points rather than keep them going. I was still playing very fluidly, maybe even more so than in the second match. After five games, I was up 4-1. I called the ball out on one that I thought was barely outside the line on the point that would have made it 5-1 for me. He said if the set wasn't over (a mistake, it would have only been 5-1, not 6-1), he would challenge it. I said, what the heck, I'd give him the point. He put up a weak protest, but I insisted. I just wanted to play some more and bring it in closer to the timeline. So it was deuce instead of my game. We played a lot of points after that, and I squeaked out winning the game. The last game was very back-and-forth too, and went back and forth from deuce to ad a lot. The last three ads were mine, and I finally won match point. I looked at my watch and it was 6:59--we had the court until 7! We had barely squeaked in another set. Yee-haw!
E. vs. Stuart at South Austin. Winner: Stuart 6-4, 6-0, 6-1
My Mojo: Steady to Steadier
I was getting a bit annoyed for arriving late. I had given myself what I thought was more than enough time to get there, but the traffic on the freeway was really bad. We were stuck behind an accident and the road was barely creeping along. The ride on the freeway, probably only about six miles, took over half an hour. Luckily it started clearing up right before the exit I had to take and I was at the tennis center within five minutes of getting off the freeway.
E. was very gracious about my lateness and accepting of my apologies. I was only about eight minutes late, but I usually am early or right on time, so it was really out of character for me. The first set was the toughest one for me as my shots were a little bit jerky and stiff. I got trapped by a lot of angle shots and winners. His serve throughout the match was a really good mix of shots. I never knew exactly what was coming at me. I think he was really good at reading my stance too, because if I would ease back, it seemed like I got serves that were close to the net with a lot of spin, but if I would move in, then I would get really hard serves to the back of the box an the end that I was least prepared to return from. He won the first game of the first set, then I won the next two, then he won the next one, and we tracked each other pretty well until the end, when I broke out. And it wasn't just each of us holding serve either, it seemed like there was a good mix of winning by holding serve and by breaking the other's serve from each of us.
But in the second set, I loosened up a lot, and started moving more fluidly, both in my footwork and my strokes. This made me more accurate and made it easier for me to play offense. I won the second set a lot easier than I had the first and won all of the games, though some of them were close.
We only had twenty minutes left, and I asked him if he wanted to hit some more or play another set. Of course, I wanted to play another set so I could count it toward my goal. Luckily, he was hot to play another set too. I think we both knew we would have to have a pretty speedy pace if we were going to squeeze a set into twenty minutes. I was also trying to win as many points as possible so we could get done with the set and I could count it. We played at a pretty fast pace, serving second serves right after first serves, though it seemed like we got a higher percentage of first serves in. And we were both trying to cut off points rather than keep them going. I was still playing very fluidly, maybe even more so than in the second match. After five games, I was up 4-1. I called the ball out on one that I thought was barely outside the line on the point that would have made it 5-1 for me. He said if the set wasn't over (a mistake, it would have only been 5-1, not 6-1), he would challenge it. I said, what the heck, I'd give him the point. He put up a weak protest, but I insisted. I just wanted to play some more and bring it in closer to the timeline. So it was deuce instead of my game. We played a lot of points after that, and I squeaked out winning the game. The last game was very back-and-forth too, and went back and forth from deuce to ad a lot. The last three ads were mine, and I finally won match point. I looked at my watch and it was 6:59--we had the court until 7! We had barely squeaked in another set. Yee-haw!
Monday, January 8, 2007
Made It
Group Lesson with R. at Pharr (9 of 10):
My Mojo: Average
Didn't think I would make it here for most of the day, but I finally got a burst of energy late in the afternoon so I made it to the group lesson tonight. I was hitting OK for most of the night. Nothing special, but I was getting most of my shots in until we played Amarillo at the end of the lesson. Then I was hardly getting anything in until the very end of the drill. I started putting stuff away pretty well once I adjusted my shot to come in from underneath more. I even had enough energy to stay after the lesson and hit with some of the players from the class until we got kicked off the courts because the facility closed. But I don't have much juice left to make a long entry tonight. G'nite.
My Mojo: Average
Didn't think I would make it here for most of the day, but I finally got a burst of energy late in the afternoon so I made it to the group lesson tonight. I was hitting OK for most of the night. Nothing special, but I was getting most of my shots in until we played Amarillo at the end of the lesson. Then I was hardly getting anything in until the very end of the drill. I started putting stuff away pretty well once I adjusted my shot to come in from underneath more. I even had enough energy to stay after the lesson and hit with some of the players from the class until we got kicked off the courts because the facility closed. But I don't have much juice left to make a long entry tonight. G'nite.
Now I've Recovered, So More On Yesterday's Matches
Wow. I really didn't realize how little wasabi I had left after playing yesterday. I could have done more throughout the ladder tournament. I neglected hydration, nutrition, and electrolyte replenishment, and that didn't help. I just didn't think about those things because it wasn't hot. I won't make that mistake again. I didn't drink enough water between matches, didn't eat enough, and should have been thinking about consuming sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and carbs and sugars. I definitely learned my lesson. Like I said, at the end of yesterday's first match with L. I was cramping up. So I brought some apple cider vinegar to drink for my next match, and took a couple of swigs at the beginning of my second match. Blecch. But it really made the cramps go away almost instantly. I am swearing by vinegar for cramps; it really seems to work! Unfortunately, it didn't do much for my other symptoms. I had brought a powder mix of salt and potassium chloride (the active ingredient in prison executions by injection) to mix into my liquids, but I never did get to that, though I really should have. I also should have taken a magnesium/calcium supplement when I went home between rounds. I was badly fatigued by the time I started the second match, and getting an ear infection. Today my ear is a little better after having put hydrogen peroxide and alcohol in it last night.
More thoughts about yesterday's first match (third match in the ladder tournament): L. was a really tough player. She was the highest-ranked person on the ladder that I have yet beaten, though I don't think I have advanced to where I should be on the ladder up to this point. I was really on top of running her shots down, and, more importantly, reading her bodily movements to tell where she was going to hit the ball. This is the best that I think I have done at "pre-anticipation." I won one set, she won one, and then, as per the tournament director's instructions, we played a tiebreak in lieu of a third set. So I can't really count it as three sets, purist that I am.
More thoughts about yesterday's second match (fourth match in the ladder tournament): I was doomed from the start. I didn't have the physical thing going due to my extreme depletion, and the mental part crumbled by the end of the first set. I started out weak but very, very relaxed. At the beginning of the match, I was just thinking that I don't care how anything comes out. Win a point, I don't care. Lose a point, I could care less. I kept this attitude up through playing the match to about 4-4. Then, suddenly, my mood swung and I started caring. Maybe this was a downfall point in the first set. I did get to 5-5, and then I couldn't do anything right in the next two games, and lost 7-5.
In the second set, I won the first two games. This was an absolute miracle, because I was physically barely able to stand. At this point, I noticed for the first time that he was a lefty. This information was only used for evil, though, as I only won one more game for the rest of this match. The bottom fell out of my game. Nothing went back right, I couldn't get to many of his shots, I was totally playing defense and hardly any offense at all, and I started getting really mad at myself. I usually am really even-tempered, but my physical depletion made me really short-tempered and I was cursing myself under my breath. At the end of the match, I had to go sit on the bench for about ten minutes before I could even get up again. I dragged myself home, ate a prodigious amount of food, and forced myself to type a few words before I took a bath. I coudn't even stay in the bath longer than about five minutes. I went to bed before nine o'clock, totally exhausted, and feeling nauseous.
This morning I felt much better, but I still can use some recovery. Luckily, I don't have a match scheduled for tonight. Maybe I'll go to the Monday group lessons at Pharr, maybe I won't. It depends on how I feel by tonight.
More thoughts about yesterday's first match (third match in the ladder tournament): L. was a really tough player. She was the highest-ranked person on the ladder that I have yet beaten, though I don't think I have advanced to where I should be on the ladder up to this point. I was really on top of running her shots down, and, more importantly, reading her bodily movements to tell where she was going to hit the ball. This is the best that I think I have done at "pre-anticipation." I won one set, she won one, and then, as per the tournament director's instructions, we played a tiebreak in lieu of a third set. So I can't really count it as three sets, purist that I am.
More thoughts about yesterday's second match (fourth match in the ladder tournament): I was doomed from the start. I didn't have the physical thing going due to my extreme depletion, and the mental part crumbled by the end of the first set. I started out weak but very, very relaxed. At the beginning of the match, I was just thinking that I don't care how anything comes out. Win a point, I don't care. Lose a point, I could care less. I kept this attitude up through playing the match to about 4-4. Then, suddenly, my mood swung and I started caring. Maybe this was a downfall point in the first set. I did get to 5-5, and then I couldn't do anything right in the next two games, and lost 7-5.
In the second set, I won the first two games. This was an absolute miracle, because I was physically barely able to stand. At this point, I noticed for the first time that he was a lefty. This information was only used for evil, though, as I only won one more game for the rest of this match. The bottom fell out of my game. Nothing went back right, I couldn't get to many of his shots, I was totally playing defense and hardly any offense at all, and I started getting really mad at myself. I usually am really even-tempered, but my physical depletion made me really short-tempered and I was cursing myself under my breath. At the end of the match, I had to go sit on the bench for about ten minutes before I could even get up again. I dragged myself home, ate a prodigious amount of food, and forced myself to type a few words before I took a bath. I coudn't even stay in the bath longer than about five minutes. I went to bed before nine o'clock, totally exhausted, and feeling nauseous.
This morning I felt much better, but I still can use some recovery. Luckily, I don't have a match scheduled for tonight. Maybe I'll go to the Monday group lessons at Pharr, maybe I won't. It depends on how I feel by tonight.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Two More Matches in One Day
Sets 51-52 (of 365):
Stuart vs. L. at Caswell. Winner: Stuart 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0(10-8)
My Mojo: Solid Gold (In Like Flint), But Gas Tank on Empty at the End
The weather was back to being pretty decent for this third match of the ladder tournament. Frankly, I hadn't expected to get to a third match, so this one was bonus. Woo-hoo, bonus. This was one tough match. But I was ready to play a tough match. My patience was just about perfect, my shots were rolling the right numbers on the dice, and I was getting to just about everything. Of course, i just squeaked it out. My opponent was really good. She was not a hugely hard hitter, but was good on placement. I didn't know how much this match would take out of me, though. By the end of the match, I was really depleted. I was out of fuel, my mojo was wounded, and I had used up everything I had to win this match. My body was also crying out in pain and exhaustion. I begged for some time before the next match, and the tournament director gave me an hour.
Sets 53-54 (of 365):
Stuart vs. C. at Caswell. Winner: C. 7-5, 6-3
My Mojo: Low Energy, Leaked Out Like a Flat Tire.
I never was able to fully recover from the last match. I tried just about everything. I went home and iced down painful areas. I tried eating something substantial to give me some fuel. I was also starting to get an ear infection, and my left ear was starting to hurt more and more. I was cramping up big time right before the match. I never did fully recover by the time the match started, and my mojo leaked out to near nothing. By the end of the match, I was pissed at myself, and a half an hour later, I was ready for death to come take me. I should be so lucky. Anyway, I'm still exhausted, so I'm headed for a long warm bath, and more about this match later. Uggghhh...
Stuart vs. L. at Caswell. Winner: Stuart 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0(10-8)
My Mojo: Solid Gold (In Like Flint), But Gas Tank on Empty at the End
The weather was back to being pretty decent for this third match of the ladder tournament. Frankly, I hadn't expected to get to a third match, so this one was bonus. Woo-hoo, bonus. This was one tough match. But I was ready to play a tough match. My patience was just about perfect, my shots were rolling the right numbers on the dice, and I was getting to just about everything. Of course, i just squeaked it out. My opponent was really good. She was not a hugely hard hitter, but was good on placement. I didn't know how much this match would take out of me, though. By the end of the match, I was really depleted. I was out of fuel, my mojo was wounded, and I had used up everything I had to win this match. My body was also crying out in pain and exhaustion. I begged for some time before the next match, and the tournament director gave me an hour.
Sets 53-54 (of 365):
Stuart vs. C. at Caswell. Winner: C. 7-5, 6-3
My Mojo: Low Energy, Leaked Out Like a Flat Tire.
I never was able to fully recover from the last match. I tried just about everything. I went home and iced down painful areas. I tried eating something substantial to give me some fuel. I was also starting to get an ear infection, and my left ear was starting to hurt more and more. I was cramping up big time right before the match. I never did fully recover by the time the match started, and my mojo leaked out to near nothing. By the end of the match, I was pissed at myself, and a half an hour later, I was ready for death to come take me. I should be so lucky. Anyway, I'm still exhausted, so I'm headed for a long warm bath, and more about this match later. Uggghhh...
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Two Matches, Two Days, Two Opponents, Different Results
1/5/06:
Sets 47-48 (of 365):
Stuart vs. S. at Caswell. Winner: S. 6-1, 6-2.
My Mojo: Sluggish
This was the first round of the ladder tournament. The weather was just gorgeous. It was in the 70s with hardly any wind at all. The skies were sompletely clear. I went into the match thinking that I was playing well, and I felt like I was in sync in the warmup, but once I got into the match, I was just about a quarter-second behind from where I usually was on just about everything. My anticipation was really sluggish and I felt like I was playing in a fog. It was like swimming in maple syrup. I just was not getting to shots that I thought I should have gotten to, and I didn't get set up in time to hit really solid shots back.
Also, my "edge shots" were just not making it over the edge. Most of the time when I hit toward the lines, the ball went out. Or when I tried for barely above the net, it went into the ribbon. When I tried for drop shots, they fell short. Aarrgh. Those "edge shots" can make a match if they are good, or break a match if they are bad. They didn't seem to be the deciding factor in this one, though, as it was mostly my slowness that was killing me and making me commit too many unforced errors or return the ball weakly so my opponent could smash it to a weak spot. My opponent played very well and won the match, though we did have a lot of games that went back and forth from deuce to add. So I didn't feel like it was a complete rout even though the score was lopsided. I have to say, though, that he did definitely outplay me.
1/6/06:
Sets 49-50 (of 365)
Stuart vs. D at Caswell. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 7-5
My Mojo: Above-Average
What a difference a day makes. Going into the second round of the ladder tournament, the weather was completely different. It was cold and wet, with intermittent rain and some delays during the day, but nothing too long. I spent some time squeegeeing courts so we could get back out, as did other players. It was really hard for the courts to dry with the wet, cold, humid weather, so everybody started up on damp courts. The pitter-patter of tennis feet helps dry out the courts some; I think by the end of my match the courts were pretty much dry even though the sun had gone down.
And my play was completely different, too, though I went into the match pretty pessimistic. I don't know why, but I felt pretty fatalistic going into this match and thought I was going to lose. After we warmed up and I won the first game (and I saw that I was playing much better than last night), I lost the dark cloud over my head pretty fast.
My opponent tonight seemed very similar in style and ability to the guy I played last night. The difference was that tonight, I was there for the shots. Also, this guy double-faulted a little more. He had a really hard first and second serve, but his serve was a little more erratic than most; at least for most people that I've played. I don't know if the high number of double faults was a constant for him or if he was somewhat off on his serve tonight. But I was handling his serve well. He did seem to get it in more in the second set, though he still double-faulted more than seemed normal. My split-steps were well-timed and were getting me to most of his really fast serves that went in, though he did get me on a few of them. My anticipation was really good and I was getting to where I needed to be on the court.
I was really not in a third-set mood tonight, though. If it had gone to a third set, I might have lost. Usually, I am up for playing just about forever, and look forward to five-hour marathons if necessary. Third sets are usually dessert for me. But I didn't feel up to that tonight, though I thought I could possibly pull out what I needed to to win the second set. I was up 5-2 in the second set, and then he won the next three games to even it out at 5-5. That was bugging me some, as I did really, really did not want to lose the second set and have to get to a third set. Maybe if I would have had to play a third set, I could have re-centered myself after taking a break, and mentally adjusted myself to what I needed to do. And I definitely would have taken a break after the second set if we split rather than jumping right into a third set.
But the next game after the 5-5 tie was my serve, and I decided to just watch the ball on the serve, try to get it back every time, play with as much strategy in mind as early as possible, and just take it point by point, without regard for where we were in the set or the match.
I also took breaks on the last two changeovers, though I had played the entire first set and part of the second without breaking on the changeovers; I just went straight to the other side to play, and so did my opponent, for the most part. But on these last two breaks that I took, I ritualistically took a drink, wiped sweat with a towel, wiped my glasses, and did a little breathing for relaxation, probably keeping within the ninety seconds allowed. What I was doing seemed to work for me well, and I won the next two games. The first one (the one I served) I won four points in a row, and the next one was a little closer, but I won the last two points of the game that won the match fairly easily. Woo-hoo! I made it to a third round in the tournament, and didn't get poured out without winning a match!
It was kinda strange that on each of these days in each of these matches, my mojo flowed the opposite of the weather. Good weather, mojo in the toilet. Bad weather, killer hot mojo. Just an observation.
Sets 47-48 (of 365):
Stuart vs. S. at Caswell. Winner: S. 6-1, 6-2.
My Mojo: Sluggish
This was the first round of the ladder tournament. The weather was just gorgeous. It was in the 70s with hardly any wind at all. The skies were sompletely clear. I went into the match thinking that I was playing well, and I felt like I was in sync in the warmup, but once I got into the match, I was just about a quarter-second behind from where I usually was on just about everything. My anticipation was really sluggish and I felt like I was playing in a fog. It was like swimming in maple syrup. I just was not getting to shots that I thought I should have gotten to, and I didn't get set up in time to hit really solid shots back.
Also, my "edge shots" were just not making it over the edge. Most of the time when I hit toward the lines, the ball went out. Or when I tried for barely above the net, it went into the ribbon. When I tried for drop shots, they fell short. Aarrgh. Those "edge shots" can make a match if they are good, or break a match if they are bad. They didn't seem to be the deciding factor in this one, though, as it was mostly my slowness that was killing me and making me commit too many unforced errors or return the ball weakly so my opponent could smash it to a weak spot. My opponent played very well and won the match, though we did have a lot of games that went back and forth from deuce to add. So I didn't feel like it was a complete rout even though the score was lopsided. I have to say, though, that he did definitely outplay me.
1/6/06:
Sets 49-50 (of 365)
Stuart vs. D at Caswell. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 7-5
My Mojo: Above-Average
What a difference a day makes. Going into the second round of the ladder tournament, the weather was completely different. It was cold and wet, with intermittent rain and some delays during the day, but nothing too long. I spent some time squeegeeing courts so we could get back out, as did other players. It was really hard for the courts to dry with the wet, cold, humid weather, so everybody started up on damp courts. The pitter-patter of tennis feet helps dry out the courts some; I think by the end of my match the courts were pretty much dry even though the sun had gone down.
And my play was completely different, too, though I went into the match pretty pessimistic. I don't know why, but I felt pretty fatalistic going into this match and thought I was going to lose. After we warmed up and I won the first game (and I saw that I was playing much better than last night), I lost the dark cloud over my head pretty fast.
My opponent tonight seemed very similar in style and ability to the guy I played last night. The difference was that tonight, I was there for the shots. Also, this guy double-faulted a little more. He had a really hard first and second serve, but his serve was a little more erratic than most; at least for most people that I've played. I don't know if the high number of double faults was a constant for him or if he was somewhat off on his serve tonight. But I was handling his serve well. He did seem to get it in more in the second set, though he still double-faulted more than seemed normal. My split-steps were well-timed and were getting me to most of his really fast serves that went in, though he did get me on a few of them. My anticipation was really good and I was getting to where I needed to be on the court.
I was really not in a third-set mood tonight, though. If it had gone to a third set, I might have lost. Usually, I am up for playing just about forever, and look forward to five-hour marathons if necessary. Third sets are usually dessert for me. But I didn't feel up to that tonight, though I thought I could possibly pull out what I needed to to win the second set. I was up 5-2 in the second set, and then he won the next three games to even it out at 5-5. That was bugging me some, as I did really, really did not want to lose the second set and have to get to a third set. Maybe if I would have had to play a third set, I could have re-centered myself after taking a break, and mentally adjusted myself to what I needed to do. And I definitely would have taken a break after the second set if we split rather than jumping right into a third set.
But the next game after the 5-5 tie was my serve, and I decided to just watch the ball on the serve, try to get it back every time, play with as much strategy in mind as early as possible, and just take it point by point, without regard for where we were in the set or the match.
I also took breaks on the last two changeovers, though I had played the entire first set and part of the second without breaking on the changeovers; I just went straight to the other side to play, and so did my opponent, for the most part. But on these last two breaks that I took, I ritualistically took a drink, wiped sweat with a towel, wiped my glasses, and did a little breathing for relaxation, probably keeping within the ninety seconds allowed. What I was doing seemed to work for me well, and I won the next two games. The first one (the one I served) I won four points in a row, and the next one was a little closer, but I won the last two points of the game that won the match fairly easily. Woo-hoo! I made it to a third round in the tournament, and didn't get poured out without winning a match!
It was kinda strange that on each of these days in each of these matches, my mojo flowed the opposite of the weather. Good weather, mojo in the toilet. Bad weather, killer hot mojo. Just an observation.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
My Ho-Hum Game
Sets 45-46 (of 365):
Stuart vs. R. at Pharr. Winner: Stuart 6-3, 6-4.
My Mojo: Fair to Middlin'
During this match I had a hard time figuring out how to play. I mostly held my serve, except for one game in the second set. I did surge at the end of both sets. In the first set, we were even up until 3-3, then after I broke his serve for the first time, I got the advantage. The second set was more of the same story. In the second set he served first so he was up a game up until 3-2. Then I broke his serve, and he broke my serve, and after it got to 5-3, he won the next game to make it 5-4, and then I won the last game. His serve was not terribly hard but was very solid. I double-faulted more than usual and lacked as much confidence in my serve as I usually have. My game was pretty ho-hum, but I did squeeze enough out to edge it over.
Afterwards I had another group lesson with R. at Pharr (8 of 10).
My Mojo: Up, Down, Then Back Up
I started out really great, and was hitting shots fantastically for about the first half hour, winning the majority of the points in the drills we were playing against just about everyone in the class, but then the bottom dropped out for a while, and I couldn't hit too well. Then, toward the end, I started hitting well again. How odd. I didn't stay after to hit with class members like I usually do, mainly because I had some matters to take care of at home.
Stuart vs. R. at Pharr. Winner: Stuart 6-3, 6-4.
My Mojo: Fair to Middlin'
During this match I had a hard time figuring out how to play. I mostly held my serve, except for one game in the second set. I did surge at the end of both sets. In the first set, we were even up until 3-3, then after I broke his serve for the first time, I got the advantage. The second set was more of the same story. In the second set he served first so he was up a game up until 3-2. Then I broke his serve, and he broke my serve, and after it got to 5-3, he won the next game to make it 5-4, and then I won the last game. His serve was not terribly hard but was very solid. I double-faulted more than usual and lacked as much confidence in my serve as I usually have. My game was pretty ho-hum, but I did squeeze enough out to edge it over.
Afterwards I had another group lesson with R. at Pharr (8 of 10).
My Mojo: Up, Down, Then Back Up
I started out really great, and was hitting shots fantastically for about the first half hour, winning the majority of the points in the drills we were playing against just about everyone in the class, but then the bottom dropped out for a while, and I couldn't hit too well. Then, toward the end, I started hitting well again. How odd. I didn't stay after to hit with class members like I usually do, mainly because I had some matters to take care of at home.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Overpowered
1/2/07:
Sets 43-44 (of 365):
Stuart vs. J. at Shipe Park. Winner: J 6-1, 6-1
My Mojo: Below-average to Average
This was my second match of the day. This time, at least, I had plenty of time to eat and rest a little between the first and second matches. So for the first two days of the New Year, I've played five matches in two days. Not bad. I haven't played any matches that went three sets in a while, except when I can talk my opponent into playing a third set. One of these days, I'll play someone that I can talk into playing about seven sets or something like that.
Anyway, back to this match. I had a hard time getting a handle on his spin, which was either really fast topspin or backspin. I was not reading the spin well and so I was hitting shots off. I could not get an offense going most of the time and played defense too much. I also had a few lobs that fell short that he was able to take advantage of, though he hit one or two into the net. I did have a decent serve going for me today and it was the best part of my game. The bottom line was that he just overpowered me. I could have done a better job of anticipating; I noticed that I was not setting up early enough for my shots and that wasn't helping me with my aim. When i would notice this, I would start setting up better and it would help, but I kept drifting back to late setup. I just could not get a winning plan going and just consistently got munched.
Sets 43-44 (of 365):
Stuart vs. J. at Shipe Park. Winner: J 6-1, 6-1
My Mojo: Below-average to Average
This was my second match of the day. This time, at least, I had plenty of time to eat and rest a little between the first and second matches. So for the first two days of the New Year, I've played five matches in two days. Not bad. I haven't played any matches that went three sets in a while, except when I can talk my opponent into playing a third set. One of these days, I'll play someone that I can talk into playing about seven sets or something like that.
Anyway, back to this match. I had a hard time getting a handle on his spin, which was either really fast topspin or backspin. I was not reading the spin well and so I was hitting shots off. I could not get an offense going most of the time and played defense too much. I also had a few lobs that fell short that he was able to take advantage of, though he hit one or two into the net. I did have a decent serve going for me today and it was the best part of my game. The bottom line was that he just overpowered me. I could have done a better job of anticipating; I noticed that I was not setting up early enough for my shots and that wasn't helping me with my aim. When i would notice this, I would start setting up better and it would help, but I kept drifting back to late setup. I just could not get a winning plan going and just consistently got munched.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Ridin' That Train Like Bamboo Under Fingernails
Sets 41-42 (of 365):
Stuart vs. L. at The Quarries. Winner: Stuart 3-6, 6-5, retired
My Mojo: Swung Wildly From Low to High
I hate to win by forfeit. Especially when we were playing such a good match. This guy was major tenacious. I could not seem to get anything by him. He ran down everything and hit back stuff that I thought he would never get to. He was obviously very well-conditioned. His shots were not super-spectacular, but they were solid, and he sure bounced just about everything back. At first, I could not seem to get any kind of mojo going at all. My play was not too bad, but I just could not get a foothold in. I lost the first set by just being ground down.
The second set started out much the same way, only worse. Before I knew it, I was down 5-0. I really thought it was curtains. But my mojo was coming up slowly. I was hitting spectacular stuff, but he was coming back with miraculous moves!
My Hail Mary play was visualizing a train going down the tracks. I won the next game, and the train started going faster and stronger. Then I won another, and another. My spectacular stuff was starting to work more and more. The train was really chugging down those tracks; I was starting to feel like nothing was going to stop it. My mojo was growing like bamboo under fingernails.
I also started thinking about patience. When I lost some points, it was because I had not been patient enough; I had been trying to force something too early. I knew I couldn't afford to not be patient. I also started thinking about the doubles player I played yesterday, and how he got me with so many angles. So I started playing more angles when the right moment arose (patience!), and most of them worked, though a couple did go long or into the net. I did get a high percentage of them to work for me. Now the train was starting to zig-zag.
Next thing I knew, I was up 6-5. I had won six games in a row from 5-0! I was pretty darned sure I was going to win the next game, and I was roarin' to play a third set. But my opponent said that he had to forfeit. He said his tennis elbow was bothering him too much. I've never gotten tennis elbow (knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, kiss a shrunken head, whatever...), luckily, but it seems to be a real scourge for some players.
Stuart vs. L. at The Quarries. Winner: Stuart 3-6, 6-5, retired
My Mojo: Swung Wildly From Low to High
I hate to win by forfeit. Especially when we were playing such a good match. This guy was major tenacious. I could not seem to get anything by him. He ran down everything and hit back stuff that I thought he would never get to. He was obviously very well-conditioned. His shots were not super-spectacular, but they were solid, and he sure bounced just about everything back. At first, I could not seem to get any kind of mojo going at all. My play was not too bad, but I just could not get a foothold in. I lost the first set by just being ground down.
The second set started out much the same way, only worse. Before I knew it, I was down 5-0. I really thought it was curtains. But my mojo was coming up slowly. I was hitting spectacular stuff, but he was coming back with miraculous moves!
My Hail Mary play was visualizing a train going down the tracks. I won the next game, and the train started going faster and stronger. Then I won another, and another. My spectacular stuff was starting to work more and more. The train was really chugging down those tracks; I was starting to feel like nothing was going to stop it. My mojo was growing like bamboo under fingernails.
I also started thinking about patience. When I lost some points, it was because I had not been patient enough; I had been trying to force something too early. I knew I couldn't afford to not be patient. I also started thinking about the doubles player I played yesterday, and how he got me with so many angles. So I started playing more angles when the right moment arose (patience!), and most of them worked, though a couple did go long or into the net. I did get a high percentage of them to work for me. Now the train was starting to zig-zag.
Next thing I knew, I was up 6-5. I had won six games in a row from 5-0! I was pretty darned sure I was going to win the next game, and I was roarin' to play a third set. But my opponent said that he had to forfeit. He said his tennis elbow was bothering him too much. I've never gotten tennis elbow (knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, kiss a shrunken head, whatever...), luckily, but it seems to be a real scourge for some players.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Today's Trifecta
Today, for the first time, I scheduled three matches in one day. Woo-hoo, a trifecta! I am still waiting to hear from somebody who may want to play a fourth match with with me today. I wonder what it would be like to play for twenty-four hours straight? I'd probably have to arrange getting a ton of fluids and food there. Maybe I'll give that a shot sometime.
But today, so far, I've only played for a little less than six hours. That would be a tad short of one-fourth of a full twenty-four hour marathon. Yeah, I could play another match. Banzai.
Sets 35-36 (of 365):
D. vs. Stuart at Connally High. Winner: Stuart 6-3, 6-2
My Mojo: Average to Above-Average
It was a cold morning, about thirty-five degrees. I underdressed, though I did wear long sleeves and long pants, thinking that once I got moving I would warm up. That is pretty much what happened, but my teeth were chattering once we got started. My opponent was wearing three layers.
We started playing at eight in the morning (Is it insane to get up to play that early on New Year's Day? I was up until about one in the morning the night before). The wind started out slow and picked up throughout the match.
I was having a hard time at first. He started out winning the first three games. Then I figured out that his serve was not very hard, but had a lot of spin, so I started positioning myself a little closer in to receive serve. That helped a lot. I was also strategizing well and hitting shots frequently to where he could not get them. He did that to me a lot less, though he did get a few good angles in. He put some pressure on but I just played consistently to win the match. A good deal of the shots that he was able to get me on were shots that were drop shots or close to the net when I was expecting baseline shots.
Sets 37-38 (of 365):
S. vs. Stuart at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 6-1.
My Mojo: Above-Average to Excellent
I had to really hurry to get to the next site and didn't have time to rest in between. I got there barely in time but was about a minute late because I really had to go to the bathroom once I got there. It was a little warmer by this time, but I still kept my long sleeves on. I played solidly and made very few errors. This guy was one of the highest ranked guys on the ladder that I have beaten, and the margin was pretty decisive. Maybe he was having a bad day and some other time he would do much better. I don't know. He did seem to make a lot of errors. My serves were going right where I wanted them and the games I served I was able to stay on the offense with a lot of power in my strokes. Most of my serves in this match had a lot of spin and some got a bit curvy due to the spin. He seemed to have a hard time finding a footing.
Sets 39-40 (of 365):
Stuart vs. T. at Private Courts. Winner: T. 6-1, 7-5
My Mojo: Average to Above-Average
It had really warmed up and I was able to take off my long-sleeved shirt to play in the T-shirt I was wearing underneath. It was probably around 60 by this time, and the wind had died down to less than ten miles per hour. This time I had plenty of time to get to this site as the last match only lasted about forty-five minutes. So I had time to eat also, but had a hadr time finding a place open on New Year's Day. I finally picked up a falafel pita sandwich at Sun Harvest (mmm...falafel) to fuel me up for the next match. And I needed fuel, too, since I had no time to eat anything after the first match.
T. was the best opponent I played all day. He had really solid shots, and a knack for hitting the ball to spots on the court that I was out of position to get to. He retained really good power on the games that he served, and in the first set, edged me out on the games I served. He was excellent at hitting angle shots and got me on a lot of those. He said he played a lot of doubles. Usually when somebody tells you they play doubles, they are using it as an excuse for some perceived weakness at singles. But this guy played really strongly though he did play with a lot of doubles strategy. I got totally wiped out in the first set.
In the second set, I played a lot more solidly; at least on the games I served. He still was able to blow me away on the games he served, but I held serve at first, and was up 5-4, with each of us having won our service games. My serves were really solid and were often winners. I was also throwing in a good mix of spin serves, hard flat serves, deep serves, and serves that pulled wide or to the middle. I was not just tossing over the same serve every time. He won the next game on his serve to even up at 5-5, and then he broke my serve the next game. At that point I pretty much knew it was over. He was just too solid when he was serving, and I could not come up with a plan to break through. He ended up winning the second set 7-5 to win the match.
But today, so far, I've only played for a little less than six hours. That would be a tad short of one-fourth of a full twenty-four hour marathon. Yeah, I could play another match. Banzai.
Sets 35-36 (of 365):
D. vs. Stuart at Connally High. Winner: Stuart 6-3, 6-2
My Mojo: Average to Above-Average
It was a cold morning, about thirty-five degrees. I underdressed, though I did wear long sleeves and long pants, thinking that once I got moving I would warm up. That is pretty much what happened, but my teeth were chattering once we got started. My opponent was wearing three layers.
We started playing at eight in the morning (Is it insane to get up to play that early on New Year's Day? I was up until about one in the morning the night before). The wind started out slow and picked up throughout the match.
I was having a hard time at first. He started out winning the first three games. Then I figured out that his serve was not very hard, but had a lot of spin, so I started positioning myself a little closer in to receive serve. That helped a lot. I was also strategizing well and hitting shots frequently to where he could not get them. He did that to me a lot less, though he did get a few good angles in. He put some pressure on but I just played consistently to win the match. A good deal of the shots that he was able to get me on were shots that were drop shots or close to the net when I was expecting baseline shots.
Sets 37-38 (of 365):
S. vs. Stuart at Northwest Park. Winner: Stuart 6-1, 6-1.
My Mojo: Above-Average to Excellent
I had to really hurry to get to the next site and didn't have time to rest in between. I got there barely in time but was about a minute late because I really had to go to the bathroom once I got there. It was a little warmer by this time, but I still kept my long sleeves on. I played solidly and made very few errors. This guy was one of the highest ranked guys on the ladder that I have beaten, and the margin was pretty decisive. Maybe he was having a bad day and some other time he would do much better. I don't know. He did seem to make a lot of errors. My serves were going right where I wanted them and the games I served I was able to stay on the offense with a lot of power in my strokes. Most of my serves in this match had a lot of spin and some got a bit curvy due to the spin. He seemed to have a hard time finding a footing.
Sets 39-40 (of 365):
Stuart vs. T. at Private Courts. Winner: T. 6-1, 7-5
My Mojo: Average to Above-Average
It had really warmed up and I was able to take off my long-sleeved shirt to play in the T-shirt I was wearing underneath. It was probably around 60 by this time, and the wind had died down to less than ten miles per hour. This time I had plenty of time to get to this site as the last match only lasted about forty-five minutes. So I had time to eat also, but had a hadr time finding a place open on New Year's Day. I finally picked up a falafel pita sandwich at Sun Harvest (mmm...falafel) to fuel me up for the next match. And I needed fuel, too, since I had no time to eat anything after the first match.
T. was the best opponent I played all day. He had really solid shots, and a knack for hitting the ball to spots on the court that I was out of position to get to. He retained really good power on the games that he served, and in the first set, edged me out on the games I served. He was excellent at hitting angle shots and got me on a lot of those. He said he played a lot of doubles. Usually when somebody tells you they play doubles, they are using it as an excuse for some perceived weakness at singles. But this guy played really strongly though he did play with a lot of doubles strategy. I got totally wiped out in the first set.
In the second set, I played a lot more solidly; at least on the games I served. He still was able to blow me away on the games he served, but I held serve at first, and was up 5-4, with each of us having won our service games. My serves were really solid and were often winners. I was also throwing in a good mix of spin serves, hard flat serves, deep serves, and serves that pulled wide or to the middle. I was not just tossing over the same serve every time. He won the next game on his serve to even up at 5-5, and then he broke my serve the next game. At that point I pretty much knew it was over. He was just too solid when he was serving, and I could not come up with a plan to break through. He ended up winning the second set 7-5 to win the match.
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