DeShaun
Banned
He took me to the wood shed twenty-four consecutive times previously. I had never beaten him. He's fed me a bagel. His mental toughness in pressure points had always set him apart from me. I have been beaten by him in tie breaks, he has out-hustled me, used psyche jobs on me, and basically had my number since our first ever match. I won tonight, though, 6-4, 6-4.
To open the first set I served, and held. Then I broke. Then I held again. Suddenly I was up 3-0. He held serve in the fourth game, and then broke me. I broke back. We held two more games each; I served out the set.
He served and held, to open the second. We traded holds until 4-4. Up til then I pressured his serve, taking him to deuce, at lease, nearly every service of his. On the other hand, on serve I did a few love holds, limited my opponent in a couple of return games to 15, and almost if never trailed on score myself. Anyways, I broke him in the ninth game and served out the match.
My only goal for our match had been to limit my double faults--by focusing on my toss--and staying calm no matter what. Granted, it is easier to stay calm when winning or ahead, but I am pleased with the discipline I showed in regards to my toss. To be sure, I double faulted a few times, even when I was only trying to bloop a second serve over.
I had been reading The Lure of The Big Game last night, when the author advised that, the next time you play someone who happens to be very tough mentally, play this match like it is the last match that you will ever be allowed to play, and this will teach you everything that you need to learn about mental toughness. He also advised that playing good tennis and winning may not always seem compatible, but that winning at tennis is the best teacher of good tennis. So, tonight I was focused on winning, and not on playing good tennis, if this makes sense.
Drink a beer for me, I took out my nemesis tonight.
Cheers
To open the first set I served, and held. Then I broke. Then I held again. Suddenly I was up 3-0. He held serve in the fourth game, and then broke me. I broke back. We held two more games each; I served out the set.
He served and held, to open the second. We traded holds until 4-4. Up til then I pressured his serve, taking him to deuce, at lease, nearly every service of his. On the other hand, on serve I did a few love holds, limited my opponent in a couple of return games to 15, and almost if never trailed on score myself. Anyways, I broke him in the ninth game and served out the match.
My only goal for our match had been to limit my double faults--by focusing on my toss--and staying calm no matter what. Granted, it is easier to stay calm when winning or ahead, but I am pleased with the discipline I showed in regards to my toss. To be sure, I double faulted a few times, even when I was only trying to bloop a second serve over.
I had been reading The Lure of The Big Game last night, when the author advised that, the next time you play someone who happens to be very tough mentally, play this match like it is the last match that you will ever be allowed to play, and this will teach you everything that you need to learn about mental toughness. He also advised that playing good tennis and winning may not always seem compatible, but that winning at tennis is the best teacher of good tennis. So, tonight I was focused on winning, and not on playing good tennis, if this makes sense.
Drink a beer for me, I took out my nemesis tonight.
Cheers
Last edited:
