Sunday, July 22, 2012

PLAY THE BETTER OPPONENT

Hello!  This morning I had the good fortune of playing against a quite worthy singles tennis opponent.  I knew in the warm up and how she walked and held her racquet and tennis ball that her game is superior.  Sometimes you can just tell.  And today was no exception. 

Playing against the better player, far better player, teaches us so much.  It forces you to play your best as well, you really have no choice, except to walk off the court in default, which is terribly bad form.  So, instead, you shore up what you've got and make the best of it.  I learned so much, I actually got her to nearly drop her racquet from a deep, high kick serve of mine.  

Translation? I've got a good serve, keep up with it.  Okay, so that's something, now what else? I had her run from side to side, but when she tired of this, in comes the winner, low to the net, and usually down the line, so fast I was not able to see it coming till the point was over.  

Each shot, each point matters.  If you woof the ball out, even once, well then count on losing that game.  She was that good. And lobs? Forget it, her footwork was too good, I just set her up for the inevitable overhead smash! 

And about my unforced errors?  Not many, maybe six in the whole match.  Hers? Maybe three at most.  But she forced the shots, the points, so well and effortlessly that I could witness first hand a great player, who exposed my strengths and weaknesses immediately!

I learned a lot in this 75 minutes of play, and quite humbly, was proud of my serve, a few good slices, and a wicked two handed backhand that shot deep and to her feet.  These will be the shots I exploit in my next match, thanks worthy opponent for showing me what I can do, if I could only be as effortless as you!  

Have a great day, and play up!☝

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