Big Results In My Home Tournament

This past weekend, I played in the second of six singles tournaments that are part of the Sierra Junior Tennis Association. This time, the tournament was held in the Zephyr Cove Tennis Club. From all of the places I’ve been, Zephyr Cove keeps being my favorite club. Once again, since I am 15 years old, I played in the fifteen and under division. There were six players in the draw; hence, the tournament director put all of us in one big group. Everyone played everyone in a simple one set format. However, if the match reached 5 all, the games were cut short and you would play a tiebreaker instead.

Looking back at the entire day, I have to say I enjoyed my time there surrounded by so much beautiful Tahoe nature. Therefore, in this emerging series, I will once again analyze my journey to earning second place in my home tournament.

Arrival & Warm-Up

Since the tournament was only around 25 minutes from my house, I woke up until 8 in the morning. Just like any other day when I get to play tennis, I felt excited for what lay ahead. I put everything in my red bag and brushed my teeth. Then, I had a smoothie full of forest berries.

In other words, I can’t stress how important the natural and complex sugars are for a tennis player. It simply gives you fuel for such a long time. I guess I’ll also share about my avocado toast topped with two eggs. On our way there, we stopped at Whole Foods to grab some salad wraps for when I got hungry later in the day.

When we finally arrived at the club at 9:58, I made sure to check in and put on some sunscreen. The weather permitted good playing conditions, but at the same time, it made it possible for me to get sunburnt. In addition, I went through my warm up routine, which includes a short light jog and band work for my shoulders.

Fortunately, numerous of my school teammates were playing that same day, so I had the chance to talk to them. Our assistant coach at the high school, Glenn, was also there, which was nice to see. However, our bracket’s matches were scheduled to start at 10:30 and it was already 10:27. There was still no sight of my first opponent. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

New To The Town

My first match was against a player that goes to George Whittell High School. Turns out he had just moved from Florida and picked up a racket from a very young age. Since we stepped onto the court, I could tell he had a big serve and strong forehand.

We had a very long warm up, as he probably hit ten serves into each box. Like always, my intention was to analyze which of two wings was stronger and where he preferred to serve.  

I could tell that his backhand wasn’t the strongest. Thus, my initial plan was to attack that backhand and do my best to use the dimensions of the court to move him around.

Everything started off well. In fact, I hit an ace down the T on the first point. What’s more, I followed it with a great backhand up the line and forcing some errors with deep forehands. I was on the board 1-0. On the changeover, a flip had to switch in my opponent’s head.

He got back on the court fuming. I already knew that targeting his backhand and avoiding his forehand would work in my favor. Unfortunately, he refused to hit a backhand. He moved so gracefully with feather-like footwork around the ball and ripped the forehand.  

I tried my best to keep getting the ball back with pace, but there was always a clear opening in the court by his fifth shot. This ended up the story of the whole match and I finished losing 1-6.

Consistency Rules

I told myself not to feel so bad after the match ended. He was clearly an extremely skilled player and defeated everyone with a score along the same lines. Since the tournament was moving very fast, I was put on court 2 to play my next match. Knowing that I really wanted to place high, it was time to truly focus and play some good tennis.

This time, I knew a bit more about my opponent. He had strong groundstrokes, but was not consistent at all. I am not exaggerating. Once we backed up in the warm up, I can’t recall having a rally go over five shots. As a result, I focused on using my beloved defensive skills and making him hit an unforced error. Two thirds of the points in tennis are won from unforced errors.

The match was way more straightforward than I had originally thought so. I raced to a 4-0 lead until my opponent tried to stay in the match. This didn’t happen, for I reversed the previous score and won 6-1.

He would simply rip the ball as hard he could on the first or second ball. Therefore, I would say he has a mental problem. If he learns how to become more patient, I’m sure we will see more from him.

Patient Thinking

Afterwards, I got something to eat from the snacks table. I knew I had done the hard part by playing against the players I had never met. Now, all I had to do was beat three of my teammates for second place. 

The first of these three was Simon. He is a pusher, so I reminded myself to be very patient. As everyone knows, pushers love to get into a long rally. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is probably the most effective way of playing. They will chase down any ball when moving laterally. That sentence has valuable information. It mentions the words “chase” and “laterally.” In other words, players like Simon are so used to running from corner to corner, side to side.

Hence, my broad plan was to; instead, move him forward and back by hitting short slices and deep forehands, while hitting the short sitter balls behind him. Doing this worked phenomenally and I won 6-1.  

Moreover, since I was up a double break, I tried new things like serve and volleying, as well as a few drop shots. It is great to do these things in practice, but it is even better to try them out when you have a secure advantage in a match.

Friends Become Opponents

In perhaps the most awaited match of the day, I had to play against my doubles partner from last season. Remember, that we went on to have a 25-5 record, place 4th in regionals, and reached the quarterfinals at state. This was the match that I was truly looking forward to.

Primarily, my goal was to get him into a cross court backhand rally, waiting for my opportunity to change direction or move around the ball. Unfortunately, there was a change of plans.  

Ralston’s backhand was on fire, and the rallies were more neutral than expected. Hence, since I couldn’t really attack that much, I shifted my focus to staying aggressive in any sort of rally and not let him dictate the point. This paid dividends, for he was looking to hit an outright winner.

Another problem that I had was my first serve percentage. The sun was at its peak and it would blaze right into my eyes. Fortunately, my second serve was working to my advantage. I only double faulted once and it had enough spin to not get truly attacked. 

What’s more, my passing shots were working great. As someone that likes to close the net, Ralston would be coming up frequently. In my favor, a spinny groundstroke close to the line did the job.

In the end, we weren’t sure if the match was over or not. After putting much thought into who served first, what side each of us was on, and other random things, we concluded that I had just won 6-3. I had lots of fun and it was the highlight of my entire day. Thank you Ralston for being a good sport and being honest about the score. Not everyone would have done so.

A Classic Rivalry

My last match of the day was against my twin brother Emiliano. I have to say we have probably played each other like 100 times outside of school before this day. Hence, we would both be lying if we said we didn’t feel relaxed and comfortable. Realistically, it was just another normal practice session.

Another difference here compared to the other matches is that I finally found my first serve. Most of my service games involved a few unreturned serves or short easy balls to put away. I brought in the variety to throw him off, for he really likes to get into a rhythm. At last, I shook his hand with a 6-2 victory, which meant I had earned second place.

In my opinion, it is crazy to believe how much my brother has improved in the last year. His serve is becoming quite consistent, but he can’t do much with his one handed backhand. However, he’s never really understood the shot, and naturally it seems like his backhand is more of a neutral shot. His forehand is crazy good. He gets you extremely out of position and each one has loads of pace on it. I know there is talent in him, so hopefully he gets to play on Varsity this year.

Final Thoughts

I went on to pick up my silver medal and once again, took a picture in front of the sponsor banner. This time, I also had the chance to take one with my brother and my friends. This was another day, another tournament, and another 2nd place medal. I had many learning experiences and have started to truly trust my game completely. My second serve had to be the shot of all of my matches. I guess it really helps for it to always go in.

With placing so high and picking up another medal, I have to say I’m proud of my results. It is another step in the right direction for my primary goal. However, remember there are still more tournaments to come. I’ve heard people say that third time's the charm.