The "moments" that make life worth living.
It was 6-2, 4-1, 15-all and it looked as though we were down and out as I was serving in the finals of USTA men’s open doubles tennis tournament. We had lost the first set and were down in the second when we experienced one of the best tennis points we’ve ever played. 11 shots, including a lob, overhead forehand – turning defense to offense, charging, some rapid volleys and a cross court forehand winner capped off by a perfectly timed chest bump that would even make the Bryan Brothers proud was …. one of the moments.
I have tried to figure out and prove that the adage it’s not if you win but how you compete that’s most important is not just cliché but a reality and last night we accomplished that, at least for a moment. Our opponents are very highly accomplished international tennis players. We knew we were in for a grueling match and they were “on” and played almost flawlessly. With that being said, we had our opportunities. We held several break points throughout the first set and in the second that could have shifted the momentum and perhaps the outcome.
Ultimately, though, at that moment, in a state of confidence of performing well, winning a big point we had no business winning with friends watching and cheering us on was one of the best feelings. I keep my 7-month old daughter’s pink blanket in my tennis racquet bag to make sure to stay humble and keep things in perspective. That point put a lot about why you compete into perspective.Although we didn’t win the finals last night we achieved several things en route. We avenged our loss in the finals a few weeks prior with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 semifinal against the opponents we had lost to in 3 sets. That was a big monkey off of our backs so to speak, nothing against monkeys. Coming into the final we were relaxed, rested and confident. The tennis was very high quality, as evidenced by most points ending in winners or forced errors.
As we do with all of our matches, we savor the experience and learn from it for the next time. But whether we won or lost last night it didn’t really matter – we had won one of those moments. That point followed by an equally emotional one a few points later allowed us to win that game and stay in the match. Whether in tennis or in life we should all take the time to be present in the moment and cherish the little things that make life so rewarding.
Thanks again to all of our fans who have shown their support in many ways.
(The photos, by the way, are of the Bryan Brothers' chest bump as well as a screen shot of our chest bump - although very hard to see we are in blue on the left side.)What is far more inspiring is the wheelchair tennis exhibition that I helped organize which took place yesterday as well. We had Tadeusz Kruszelnicki of
What was so powerful was not only the tennis talent of these players but their dexterity of maneuvering a wheelchair. I have trouble when I teach tennis getting the tennis ball cart around the net without catching it in the curtain and these guys could whiz to the other side of the net on changeovers like it was nothing. Even though in wheelchair tennis two bounces are allowed the players rarely let it bounce twice and even got a lot of balls out of the air. The player from
Suggested
The Art of Doubles – Winning Tennis Strategies by Pat Blaskower
It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong
Links:
USTA CT Winter Adult Championships Open Results
http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=49295&E=3
International Wheelchair Tennis Federation
posted by Rossetti at 11:57 AM
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