Tuesday, April 7, 2015
I overslept by an hour and came into the club at 6:30. I practiced for 45 minutes, then showered and went home for breakfast and worked at Varinsky from 9-2. After work, I came home and napped for two hours before heading back to the club for my big finals match against Tyrone.
Our match began at 6:45. We both wanted it badly, but for me, taking the title once again meant perhaps finishing at the top. I've been thinking about retiring from singles play so I don't grind my hips and legs into the ground. I'm the oldest player in our league (except for Patrick who may be a year or two older), and I'm not sure I can abuse myself too much more. Racquetball, especially singles, is a game for young people.
In the first game, I was up 7-3, then T went on a tear, taking the lead at 8-7. I called time out. He was serving lob nicks and I was returning decent ceiling balls, but he put them away, killing everything. It didn't matter if the ball barely came off the back wall or he took an overhead kill, the ball just died and there was nothing I could do. After my time out, he scored another 6 points. I then scored four points, but T closed out the first game, beating me 11-15.
In the second game, we played a good ten minutes before a single point was scored. I was ahead 1-0 and took a time out because I was so thirsty! My drive serves weren't all that effective, but my z-serve to his backhand was, so I kept serving it to him and he started setting me up. I won the second game 15-4.
I took a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker, then he scored the next 3 points. Then I scored the next 5 and was up 7-3. Then he scored the next 5 and he was up 7-8. I tied the game at 8, then he scored a point, making it 9-8. It was 9-8 for a couple of rallies, then I snuck a forehand drive serve ace right in the corner, making it 9-9. Then 10-9. It was 10-9 for three rallies, until I finally hit a strong down the line shot that T left up. He dove for it, and all I had to do was hit an easy shot without hitting any other wall. Unfortunately, I hit the shot too high and it came off the back wall. T ran for it and hit a return that was also too hard and came off the back wall. All I had to do was hit a down the line shot on the right side and that's what I did. Game over.
T bellowed maybe six or seven victory screams throughout the match. I yelled only one. At the end of the match!
The finals score was 11-15, 15-4, 11-9.
It was a clean, competitive, epic battle. We both played well and had some amazing rallies. It felt so good beating Tyrone reclaimed the championship plaque (complete with bragging rights for another few months!). It made be my sweetest victory in eleven years of competitive play, especially since it could well be my last in singles. I'll think about it for a few more months, but I do like the idea of stopping while at the top!
The match could have gone either way. I'm lucky it ended up the way it did.
Now for some sleep!
I overslept by an hour and came into the club at 6:30. I practiced for 45 minutes, then showered and went home for breakfast and worked at Varinsky from 9-2. After work, I came home and napped for two hours before heading back to the club for my big finals match against Tyrone.
Our match began at 6:45. We both wanted it badly, but for me, taking the title once again meant perhaps finishing at the top. I've been thinking about retiring from singles play so I don't grind my hips and legs into the ground. I'm the oldest player in our league (except for Patrick who may be a year or two older), and I'm not sure I can abuse myself too much more. Racquetball, especially singles, is a game for young people.
In the first game, I was up 7-3, then T went on a tear, taking the lead at 8-7. I called time out. He was serving lob nicks and I was returning decent ceiling balls, but he put them away, killing everything. It didn't matter if the ball barely came off the back wall or he took an overhead kill, the ball just died and there was nothing I could do. After my time out, he scored another 6 points. I then scored four points, but T closed out the first game, beating me 11-15.
In the second game, we played a good ten minutes before a single point was scored. I was ahead 1-0 and took a time out because I was so thirsty! My drive serves weren't all that effective, but my z-serve to his backhand was, so I kept serving it to him and he started setting me up. I won the second game 15-4.
I took a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker, then he scored the next 3 points. Then I scored the next 5 and was up 7-3. Then he scored the next 5 and he was up 7-8. I tied the game at 8, then he scored a point, making it 9-8. It was 9-8 for a couple of rallies, then I snuck a forehand drive serve ace right in the corner, making it 9-9. Then 10-9. It was 10-9 for three rallies, until I finally hit a strong down the line shot that T left up. He dove for it, and all I had to do was hit an easy shot without hitting any other wall. Unfortunately, I hit the shot too high and it came off the back wall. T ran for it and hit a return that was also too hard and came off the back wall. All I had to do was hit a down the line shot on the right side and that's what I did. Game over.
T bellowed maybe six or seven victory screams throughout the match. I yelled only one. At the end of the match!
The finals score was 11-15, 15-4, 11-9.
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| Tyrone Snipes, Robbie Brown, Me |
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| Winter Singles Finals - T & Me |
The match could have gone either way. I'm lucky it ended up the way it did.
Now for some sleep!
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