Third Place

Phil says that playing for third and fourth is like kissing your sister. In fact, not many of the men players play the playoff, or even the back draws if they lose early. I guess in their minds, second place is the first loser and that's not good enough. While I understand not winning is tough, I still think the more matches you can play the better off you are, even if it's in the back draw or a playoff. Phil knew he needed matches so he and Tom played their playoff match, and I'm really glad they did. It was against two guys from Little Rock that I grew up with. Actually they're a bit older than me, but Arkansas tennis was small in numbers so we all knew each other. I just wanted one match where Phil felt like he played well, or at least saw improvement.

A cool weather front moved through Atlanta overnight on Saturday so we woke up to much cooler weather on Sunday. It was very refreshing and as the day warmed up, it was just beautiful. Perfect tennis weather. We had arranged for Scott Dockter to meet us at Cherokee at nine so he and I could get a good workout in before Phil's match at eleven. Luckily we were able to hit on the hard courts to help prepare me for next week in Chicago. I got a great hit with Scott. Phil got his warm up in by hitting with a couple of players who were getting ready for singles finals. After a quick shower I settled in to watch Phil and Tom play.

They started out pretty good...although Tom wasn't returning well. It was a tight set with Phil and Tom losing in a tiebreaker. ARGGHHH! I was already thinking what a long ride home it was going to be if things didn't turn around. Just as the first set ended, some of Tom's tennis students came out to watch. Tom's game and energy picked up tremendously. Phil fed off Tom's renewed energy. Phil had been serving well, but both their overall games and focus really picked up and they won the second set 6-1. I'm a bit superstitious sometimes and I told Tom's students that nobody moves, and nobody leaves from their spots. The karma in the match changed when they arrived and now they had to stay through the end. Thankfully they did, and Phil and Tom won the third set 6-3. I was happy with Phil's play, but predictably he was not as thrilled as I was. He still feels tentative on some shots, particularly returns, but he did admit to feeling better on his serve. Yea! something positive!

I know what it feels like to not be playing well and to play nervously and tentative. But I also know that it is something you can overcome. I have full confidence in Phil and his ability. You don't win 26 gold balls by allowing your nerves to get the best of you. Time on the court and match play have a way of calming the nerves and allowing you to play freely. We'll just keep on keeping on....working out with Geoff, drilling on the court, and playing tournaments as we can.
It's what we do.