Magnificent!!! -- 25 Oct 2010-- The Dream Final is On (again)

Magnificent !!

Oh , Oh, Magnificent

During my drive to the Tennis club, i was listening to U2 (the Irish rock band from Dublin) 's famous number "Magnificent". As we finished the evening, This tennis season was looking magnificent.

In a match befitting of his Tennis Samurai title, Reigning World #1, Jack successfully defended his world ranking in a pulsating final against Luciano. Defending the ranking is a tough act and in this process Jack has proved (again) that he belongs in the Tennis Elite and also set the history straight against a player he had losing record against.

CONGRATULATIONS JACK.

I have followed Jack's Tennis game very closely over the years and this season he is playing in an altogether different level. He showed great poise in winning a tie breaker when the match was tied at one set all. At this time his game is well rounded and he has found great balance in using his variety.

I can report more good news. Having not played last week (due to work commitments) i was bumped down to #3 and i had to play Dave. Though it wasnt pretty, in fact it was anything but that, i managed to come out a winner with a 3-6,6-0 and (7-5) tie breaker. In spite of falling behind twice (first game 0-5 and 0-4 in the tie breaker), i managed to fight back and pull the match.

Our respective wins means that the Dream final is on , again. Jack and I will be squaring off against each other next monday. For Fans who missed out the last time due to my schedule constraints, there will be another opportunity next monday.

I wasnt happy with my match at all. I started off slow and fell behind 0-5. This is only week 2 of my 5 week training and i was still erratic on my fitness and couldnt warm up fast enough. My opponent has one of the best Slice Chop shots and is good at deflecting his opponent players pace with biting slice. I definitely had difficulty timing my shots on his chops and slices.

I generally try to block out my opponents antics but unfortunately this opponents were beyond tolerable. I was ok with his meaningless ramblings about aches, pains, grips, lights and what not. I was even ok when he made blatantly incorrect calls. Where it struck a nerve was the fact that he would stand up to serve at the centre line with one leg on either court (This is against Tennis rules which clearly states that both legs should be inside the imaginary extensions of Center line and Singles line). He then tops it off with a commentary about how he could never lose a point and heavens forbid should it happen , is due to an opponent being lucky.

Though i fell behind 0-5, it could easily have been 3-2. I lost two of my serve games on Deuce (at No AD). Both times my first serve was called OUT. I didnt get a good look at first one but the second time it was blatant. My serve hit the T and skidded off with a very noticeable movement.

Another game was on his serve, At deuce, he hit a good serve but i happened to hit a good return albeit from an off position. I was certain my return was in but he called out.

I said to myself that at 0-5, i shouldn't give up and at least win a game. A bagel set would almost certainly result in my elimination (as my opponent just needs to win one game in second set to come out winner as he would have won more games than me). Before thinking second set, i at least want get my serve going which wasnt clicking. I played a good game with decent serves and made it 1-5. I broke his serve at love and made it 2-5. As luck would have it, i converted a Deuce game on my serve (though i was up 40-15) and made it 3-5. I would have one more deuce game on his serve,but i couldnt convert it and lost the set 3-6.

During the break , i didnt talk much with my opponent as i was still feeling cheated on line calls and more importantly on him crossing the center mark on serves. I resolved to fight better.

I stayed strong on serve and tried playing deep in rallies. Though his slice is still troubling, i got a measure of his shots and also was able to guess where he is going with his shots. Leading 4-0 (after a double break of my opponents serve), i stuttered a bit and fell behind 0-40. One ace, one service winner, one good rally bought it to Deuce. Another service winner made it 5-0.

This when my misinterpretation of rules almost proved costly. I assumed if i win the second set right away (ie giving less than 3 games to opponent) i would be the winner of the night because i would have won more games. I couldnt be more wrong. I broke my opponents serve again and made it a 6-0 bagel. I was ready to walk off court.

Ofcourse it wasnt that easy and there is more drama. My opponent went and spoke with commissioner , who made a ruling that we have to play a tie break. This completely threw me off and i was fuming. In the hindsight, i probably shouldnt be this animated(or agitated) but i can attribute it to my opponent antics. I am not in agreement with this ruling at all. We determine winners by "Sets" or "# of games" but not both. On one hand, this ladder rule book says that it is the # of games that determines the winner . Very recently , a match was awarded to a player despite losing first set because when the match stopped this player won more games (eg: player A lost first set 6-7 but lead second set by 3-1 when the play stopped. Player A was declared winner)

I didnt want to pick up a fight then returned to the court to play the tie breaker. My heart wasnt even in the breaker. I fell behind 0-4 and one of them was a bad call on my serve. I wasnt sure what exactly i did but some how pulled it back to 4-5 and it included two good serves (an ace and a winner). My opponent serving at 5-4, lost both points with good rallying and moved forward at 6-5. I won a rally on second serve as opponent went long handing me the match. He wasnt happy with that call but of course the ball though close was clearly long . In fact i was standing right behind where the ball handed and had a very good look at it.

I then started watching Jack's match.I only caught the tail end of the match (actually their tie breaker as they both had one set a piece). Jack closed out the match with an awesome backhand cross court passing shot.

All this sets up a dream final match for Jack and me. New computer rankings will have him retain his #1 rank while i will be placed at #2. This is actually an inverse of where we stood exactly two weeks ago.

We both will have our chances and barring any off night scenarios, it is likely to be a long match. Jack's current form makes him a formidable challenge for me but i am looking forward to the match. We waited for 3 years to play at the top of the ladder and finally it looks like it will happen. No matter who the winner is, the result isnt likely to change much. Having played a hundred or so times so far, we both won (and lost) against each other. Make it hundred +1 this coming monday.

What makes me really happy is the fact that , this season, Jack and I finally assumed control at the top of the ladder.In 6 weeks of the regular season, Jack and i were #1 at 4 of them. This fulfills one of the goals we both set for us--ie for us to play each other in the ladder final. Three years ago, we were players at 0830 hoping to move up and make a presence at 7pm. Though few players left,Most of the players still remain the ladder and we had some new talent coming in as well. From being a push over, when we made the 7pm cut to being the 'players to beat', our respective games have come long way. Though we cant bask in this glory forever, we at least need to pause a bit and enjoy the moment (yes, this isnt a Grandslam or a world champion ship.But we arent professional tennis player either. Bunch of self coached It technicians playing recreational tennis)

The season is very young and our tennis budgets are very limited. We will need to use Sub(stitutes) and have to fore go some ranking points so that we can stretch our tennis dollars into Feb/March. This and few other factors such as "off nights", "other players playing great tennis" and "new talent" means that staying at the #1-#3 spots will remain a constant challenge.

Driving back home, I felt good about Magnificent tennis season so far.

Magnificent !!

Oh , Oh, Magnificent