Third place!
I worked hard for my first national tournament of the year. I ran when I didn't feel like it. I stretched when I didn't have time to. I lifted weights when I wanted nothing else but to take a nap. I played tennis. And I played tennis. And, OMG, I played tennis.
I played at match plays and at junior clinics and adult clinics. I set up matches. When I couldn't find a match, I was on the ball machine.
For hours...
I can't imagine working any harder.
I thought, if I worked as hard as I possibly can on the things I can control and relax about the things I can't, I would be okay.
I couldn't control the fact that I live in Michigan who didn't have a single day of good weather for me to get a feel for outside tennis before I embarked on my trip to VA. I couldn't control the fact that most places with clay around here won't open until Memorial Day. I couldn't control the fact that usually I am beyond my spring asthma/allergy/bronchitis flare up by this point, but because of the prolonged cold winter, I fully expected my spring "symptoms" to materialize at any moment like that zit that likes to pop up the day before picture day.
I had a tense week with the husband before leaving. He knows me well and kept saying, I think you are thinking too much about your tournament. Relax.
I didn't tell any of my friends about the tournament because I felt ready. And it's weird, but I felt like saying that I knew that I was playing good tennis and saying that I was doing all the right things would somehow jinx me. I was scared to fail after telling everyone, "I am playing the best I have ever played right now." So, I didn't say anything. I just want to do it.
My first match at the Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria, VA went on thirty minutes late. Sometimes that works for me and sometimes it works against me. The jury is still out on how that affected me. It was an afternoon match and instead of getting up early to hit, I slept in a bit and took my time getting to the club. I am usually in tune with my body and I just felt I had done enough and I needed to relax.
When I got on court, still having not been outside to hit or on clay, I felt okay. The warm up against my lefty opponent was uneventful, except for a brief thought that I should have hooked up with my lefty pal, Sarah, before I left and played out some points.
The match started and I think I blinked or sneezed or something but somehow I found myself down 0-5 in a matter of minutes. I do remember early, altering my game plan. I didn't want to power hit against this strong player, but I could not move. I couldn't be consistent. I couldn't get a serve in. Or a return in. I was missing out calls. Playing balls that were a foot or two out.
I couldn't believe all the hard work was coming down to this, a first round loss. I had done that plenty of times with a lot less pre-tournament work. I could have cried.
I looked at my mom.
And then I relaxed. Later, she told me, she was praying that I relaxed before I got too discouraged. She said she just felt once I got acclimated to my surroundings, I would be okay.
I quickly toweled off, drank a little water and went to collect the balls to serve that sixth game. My first serve was a nice serve with a lot or spin that felt confident. My opponent missed the ball long. I held at 40-luv and then broke her serve. I lost the eighth game, but I knew I had her.
2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
It was one of the best matches of my tennis life. It is one thing to tell yourself you can come back from a deficit, but to actually do it, is a different matter. To first gather myself after the first set loss and to tell myself that I was going to win the second set. And then to tell myself, I was going to win the third set. It took a self-belief that I didn't know I had.
This was the first major tournament where I managed to stay in the main draw the entire time, losing in the semi-finals to the number one seed.
But it was that first match that set the stage. It was the first match that I am looking to revisit in my head when I need a boost on the court in the future. I think it's important to have tennis memories, memories that you can pull out as reference in appropriate times, so your mind and body both know, I've been here before and I prevailed.
And I have an awesome one from my trip to VA.
Stay tuned,
KS.
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