Senior Tennis and Fitness

Having a bye round, today was my semi-finals in the Naples City Tournament men’s 65 singles. The opponent was Ed Fitzhugh… not someone I know but talked to people to find out he is “a player.”

Ed has gotten four games from a Rhodesian Davis Cupper and a tennis friend said, “Think of a younger version of (Gold Ball winner) Jim Landon,” with his steady baseline play and killer dropshot.

My younger doubles partner, Marc Van Dam was nice enough to warm me up the day before, playing a pusher baseliner style, which was very helpful.

During the start of the match, I could see Ed was really very solid: he hit slice off both the forehand and backhand sides, both down the line and cross court; and hit the killer dropshot off the same motion, so very difficult to read. But his serve was not too strong and he didn’t force the action on his return of serve.

In the first set, we played about even; but he broke me to take it 6-3. DeDe was sitting outside the fence encouraging me with smiles; and I said to her, “I have to get to the net. This guy will beat me from the baseline; so if I lose, it is going to be standing at the net.”

So starting the second set, I served and volleyed most every first serve and forced myself to get to the net during his service games (before he could drop shot me or hit a winning angle). I held, broke, and held to go up 3-0. Then relaxed and stopped forcing the play and lost the next three games! At 3-3, I took the offense again and won the next three games and the second set 6-3.

I went up and got a new can of balls for the third set (to my advantage); but with Ed serving, couldn’t convert the two break points I had. So we held serve for five games, until he broke me to go up serving at 4-2.

We were approaching two hours and noon on a hot, humid Florida day; and we were both approaching “Empty” in our gas tanks. But the only way I was going to do anything was to keep coming forward and get to the net.

I forced the play and broke him to go 3-4… held to go 4-4 … and broke him again to serve for the match at 5-4.

In a tough game, I had a match point, which he saved with a return of serve winner cross court; then he had a break point, where I continued coming forward to face a lob over my head. I hit a putaway winner but came down to my calf starting to cramp! I had to end this soon.

The deuce point, a got a first serve in, came forward and won the point.

Match Point #2: good first serve, came in behind it, had a back hand volley, which I put away for the winner. 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 … with my winning the last four games.

I told DeDe that I didn’t win BECAUSE she was there, but I didn’t LOSE because she was there: having an audience helped me not to give up at 4-2 in the third.

Next? As I am writing this, I got a return call from my finals opponent, who said he has already gone north; so he must default!