I came short one more time in the contest for #1. I lost to Vishwas in a very close 0-6,6-2,10-12 contest. I had two match points to close the contest and become #1 but it wasnt to be.
However it is surprising that i even came this close. I was blitzed and bagelled in the first set. Except for the first game on my serve, i never even came close to a game point in first set. I wasnt warmed up enough and i didnt follow a good plan. I also lacked depth on my shots. Vishwas repeatedly attacked my backhand and i couldnt defend well.
After first set, i am in two minds. Do i just play and fold or do i want to fight. I lost quite a few matches against Vishwas and i thought i needed to show some fight. I also considered that this is probably my last match before i go into rebuilding mode and hence give a good shot at it. I have considerably warmed up and i made some adjustments to my court positions. I held my serve after a tensely fought deuce game and Vishwas held his. From this point on, i took over the set and broke him twice to make it 6-2.
One set a piece and off to a super tie breaker. Vishwas did offer to play a full set but it is already 0820 and i didnt want to play late as i wanted to catch some AUstralian open tennis action on TV. I kept pace with Vishwas until 7-7 though i had mini breaks in between. I was leading 9-8 and was recieving when he hit a great forehand shot to make it 9-9. I was leading again at 10-9 when i was serving. My first serve,i believed was in but was called out and we rallied on second serve before i took an ill advised net approach. After 10-10 , it was all Vishwas. He broke me on my next point and then held serve (my return hit the net) to win the evening.
Tough loss for me but i am not terribly disappointed. I didnt think i would win considering how poorly i played the first set. That i came back and made a match out of it is in itself a good thing. It would have been great to win once and be a #1 for a week. But my objective isnt to be a #1 for one week or two. It needs to be sustained. Just like how i am consistently playing the #2 spot, i need to do the same with #1. It is a fact that my game needs more weapons.
Best approach would be to work on those weapons and come back even stronger next season. For all practical purposes , there is less than 6-7 weeks of real season left before its time to be ready for outdoor season. Out of these, my budget will only last half of them.I have already put in significant time on Cardio and waiting for a break to start working the weights. Unlike last season, i want to be ready and be in shape for the next season.
I am planning to sub for next week and will only be in action the week after.
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