Midwest Indoor Championship

And the winner of the 2009 Midwest Indoor Championship in the women's open singles division is...

Well, not me.

Was that anti-climatic?

Upon reflecting on my performance at the McFetridge Open in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I decided that my perfunctory slow starts was something I needed to address, yet my first match of the Midwest Indoor Open, a single elimination tournament, I found myself down 0-4 rather quickly.

I rallied back, slowing the points down and focusing more on my game plan rather than obsessing about how this girl was pummelling shots to my backhand. I love my backhand. My forehand is a huge weapon, wild at times, but when I am able to control it, it can be lethal and usually instills a fear in my opponent. Deception. My backhand, though not as powerful, is very consistent and I love when opponents play to it. But for some reason, I was not able to remember this on Saturday as I began the match. I rushed points. I attempted drop shots two ball strikes into the rally. Though my opponent was about six feet tall, I invited her into the net with mediocre shots and then offered her high floaters that she was able to put away with ease. I respectably loss the first set 5-7 and then proceeded to repeat the same pattern in the second set with an identical result.

So out of the tournament an hour and a half after I entered the Orchard Hills Swim and Sports Club, I was given the opportunity to play a match for fun as I waited for the start of the doubles draw. Without the pressure of accumulating points I intended to work on things that my coaches have been incessantly trying to drill into my head; following short balls into the net, working the point, driving the ball instead of moon-balling it all the time. But, again, twenty minutes into the match, I had already lost the first set 1-6. The match went the distance, ending in a third set tie-breaker and as proud as I am for battling back with nothing on the line except my belief in my game, I am so annoyed at the slow start.

Something to work on for the future.

The best thing about the tournament for me was seeing my best friend, Sue, a woman who loves the sport more than anyone else I know, tackle and take down college players half her age as she steamrolled into the final match. As I sat, watching, I overheard supporters of Sue's opponent, speculating about her age, wondering where she was from and how she was able to take down player after player.

I'd watched Sue play all summer on our USTA league teams and yet, I had never seen her play so well, so confident. Instead of the backboard that she sometimes is, she was the aggressor. She carefully constructed traps for her opponents, lulling them into hitting shots she wanted. Time and time, they fell for her traps. After the fourth straight time of playing into Sue's traps, her semi-final opponent stared at the sideline long after a point was over, unable to believe that Sue had done it to her again.

I watched her rally back from being down 1-6 in the first set. I watched her overcome four double faults in the second set tie-breaker. And I watched her shaky start in the third.

In the finals match, Sue faced the opponent I'd lost to in my semi-final match. Again it took three sets, but when it was over and Sue was handed her trophy, I never felt prouder.

I try to take away something from every match, won or lost, played or watched. I try to note things I need to work on, or emulate play that I've seen.

This time, the post tournament goal was easy to recognize.

I want to be like Sue.

KS