Monday Tennis results (Oct 19)

My pre-match preparations were spot on (ie getting gear ready in time, popping in Contacts, applying Icy-hot on knees, start driving to the club in time) but I was still nervous before my first match. As it turns out, the format for this Monday was little different and I was scheduled to play 4 matches- five games each. In other words, the winner would be the one who wins most of their 20 games.

I started with Steve who was substituting for another player. Though I have played him in the past, I am not familiar with his game. He isn’t a power player and he relies on slices and spins and works the point. I chose to serve and I am still nervous enough for a 30-30 score line. At that point, I had two good serves in (the second one , an Ace down the T) to go up 1-0. I felt a whole lot better when I broke him to go up 2-0. For the rest of this match, I basically stayed consistent with my game and Steve made series of unforced (and forced) errors for me to go up 5-0.

I elected to serve against Wayne and held serve comfortably despite hitting three second serves. I never played Wayne but I watched him play Jack and I know he has a powerful (but inconsistent) forehand. He hit three forehand winners to make the score 1-1. I made some tactical adjustments and tried to keep the ball deep and in the centre. This worked and I held the serve and broke him to go 3-1. Serving the last game, I was up 40-30 but left the ball too short for him to crack couple of cross court forehand winners to force deuce. I repeated the same mistake for the last point (mostly expecting that it is hard to hit three winners in a row) and he won that game to make the score line 3-2.

Heading into match with Colin, we both had 8 games each (Wayne probably had 6) and it is very likely that the winner of this group might be the winner of our match (ie Colin or me). I scouted him playing an earlier match on my next court. He has a powerful (but inconsistent) first serve and he doesn’t seem to have a second serve. He has an excellent Two handed backhand that I would love to have and also has a respectable forehand. He won the toss and offered to receive but then changed his mind after realizing that this is a five game match( and first to serve can serve three games while the opponent only gets two). I won the first point on a rally and second on a double fault. This appeared to put some pressure on him and I quickly went a break up. I held serve comfortably through out. There were some very hard shots hit by him but some how I tracked them down and was able to rally with him and despite an occasional winner, he wasn’t consistent enough to win games and I ended up at 5-0.

At this point, we ran out of time and our Tournament director (as I call him) decided to end the night and abandon the fourth match. With 13 games (and only losing two) , it is very likely that I move up a block. In Summary, My serve held well despite occasional stutter. My defense made the difference. My new tool, Two handed back hand was consistent and in some cases far exceeded my expectations.

Though this result is not completely unexpected given my past results, I don’t want to get too carried away. I don’t want to put any additional pressure on myself by trying to challenge the top and best of the ladder right away. The goal still remains to peak around January and make a run to the top. Bigger challenges wait next week as I will be playing more consistent and experienced players in the journey to the top of the ladder.

Regardless of the results, I enjoyed my time on the court playing a different set of opponents. I have played a lot with my friends (Jack, SK, SS) that there aren’t much surprises and our games seem to follow a predictable pattern. In the ladder , except for Jack, I don’t know others that well and that gives a more match like atmosphere.

It looks like my good friend Jack had a great outing as well. Incidentally he won 13 games and is primed to reappear at 7pm. This means that the marquee match between me and Jack will have to wait at least one more week if not more.