The Road Home

I saw the champ go down just 2 nights before in a semifinal shodown that was a rematch of last year's finale . I thought I would face him and it bothered me that I didn't. Not because he lost but because he went down so meekly. He had a match immediately beforehand but it was doubles and the fact that the match had been 3 weeks in the making led me to believe that everyone would be fully prepared.
He had no fight, no fire. No desire to win.
After the match I learned he was battling extreme fatigue from 2 very busy days at school, work and other unimportant things.

But seeing him surrender as I watched struck me and I vowed to not let it happen to me even though I knew I would be pretty tired myself as I faced the victor in this contest for a trip to the finals.

I won the first set not easily but I felt comfortable because I was holding serve easily and had many chances to break. However, it was embarrassing how many break chances I let slip away. Only a single break decided that first set and I was already beginning to feel fatigued. Just one more set I figured, and that would be that.

Not so fast! said the tennis gods because I immediately got broken in my opening service game in the 2nd set. Opponent hit an incredible slice backhand 3 meters in the air off my overhead smash that went clear over my head and landed 10cm within the baseline. At least it took an incredible shot like that to break me. I broke back(mountain) but I would surrender another break on set point. This was bad because he would have the advantage of 1st to serve in the final set.

By this time I was tired as a dog with my knee hurting and my mind unable to focus. His serving tendencies only became clear to me at the end of the match. To any observers, it would've appeared I was brain dead because time and time again I got aced down the T on the deuce side and out wide on the Ad side. I began thinking about excuses, what I would tell people about the match, how to revamp my game and other such nonsense. What I really needed to think about was my crosscourt forehand which was pitiful and my backhand passing shot. I put so much pressure on myself on the backhand pass because that was my money shot during the previous round and now it was totally failing me. So many backhand passing shots were way off and it was a major weakness after it was exposed. Then I just told myself to not go for winners, let him make the play because I wasn't gonna give out anymore presents. Success!
My crosscourt forehand still stank but he didn't take advantage of it for some reason.

The third set was much like the first; routine service holds but by this time, it was more even. I was surrending games once I was down 30-love.
At 3-all I had a great chance as I had 3 opportunities to break but he held fast and really brought up his level and closed the game out with another ace. I felt defeated and it really looked as if the momentum had swung his way. I thought back to the champ and did not want to meet a similar end by giving up so instead I reached into the reserves and I held my next game pretty easy and got into his service game at 4-all. Triple break point! but he had gotten out of one of these earlier so I kept my calm. He saved 2 but couldn't save the last one. Break!
By this time, I was so dead tired that I had no energy to be nervous about serving it out. Went up 40-love with one point ending on a wicked forehand crosscourt passing shot. I was the most suprised person in the stadium.
It ended on an error at 40-15 and my gold ticket into the finals! Very pleased about only being broken 3 times, about finding other ways to win when plan A wasn't coming together, and about digging deep. Being exhausted, in pain and psychologically worn out, made it feel like I had survived something, and not actually won anything.
Nevertheless: Wooohooooo!
6-3, 3-6, 6-4.