Monday, June 16, 2014
I woke up at 7 and left Alice's at 7:30. We took MUNI to Montgomery Street Station and I took BART and 58L home. I was so tired I didn't even unpack. I had to string a racquet for my finals match that night, so I took care of that, then got ready for work. I left the apartment at 1:20 and worked at Wendel from 2-6.
My Club One Finals Match was at 6:30 against Carlos Mansilla, a strong player who hits the ball harder than anyone else in the league. I was tired and not mentally prepared at the beginning of our match and it showed. I lost the first game badly 4-15. I was sluggish and still felt the weight of all those Oasis of the Seas desserts around my midsection. I changed shirts, gathered up whatever energy I had, and did everything I could to play better in game 2. I did play better and we were even throughout most of the second game. I was up 9-7 when he took his first timeout. I felt better but was still making a lot of mistakes and mental errors. Carlos was slowly beginning to wear down, so I decided to continue sticking it to him with drive serves and cross-court passing shots. I ended up winning the second game 15-12. In the tiebreaker, Carlos imploded, making lots of mistakes and missing key shots. He was tired. I won the tiebreaker 11-1 and took the title for the first time in two years. It was particularly satisfying because most of the players in the league are ten years younger than I am. It was an ugly win, but a win nonetheless.
I went home totally exhausted. I spoke with Alice on FaceTime for 20 minutes, then went right to bed.
I woke up at 7 and left Alice's at 7:30. We took MUNI to Montgomery Street Station and I took BART and 58L home. I was so tired I didn't even unpack. I had to string a racquet for my finals match that night, so I took care of that, then got ready for work. I left the apartment at 1:20 and worked at Wendel from 2-6.
My Club One Finals Match was at 6:30 against Carlos Mansilla, a strong player who hits the ball harder than anyone else in the league. I was tired and not mentally prepared at the beginning of our match and it showed. I lost the first game badly 4-15. I was sluggish and still felt the weight of all those Oasis of the Seas desserts around my midsection. I changed shirts, gathered up whatever energy I had, and did everything I could to play better in game 2. I did play better and we were even throughout most of the second game. I was up 9-7 when he took his first timeout. I felt better but was still making a lot of mistakes and mental errors. Carlos was slowly beginning to wear down, so I decided to continue sticking it to him with drive serves and cross-court passing shots. I ended up winning the second game 15-12. In the tiebreaker, Carlos imploded, making lots of mistakes and missing key shots. He was tired. I won the tiebreaker 11-1 and took the title for the first time in two years. It was particularly satisfying because most of the players in the league are ten years younger than I am. It was an ugly win, but a win nonetheless.
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| Reclaiming the title after a two-year absence |
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