Fort Worth Major Zone, McLeland Tennis Center
9:00 AM: Steven Samuel 4-6, 4-6
This match represented somewhat of a milestone for me as Steve is the very first opponent I ever played in an official USTA match. That was back on Friday, November 4th, 2005 at the Bob Noel Tennis Classic. On that day I won 6-2, 6-3 but that was probably because I was so nervous and only barely able get the ball back over the net making it impossible for him to make heads or tails of my "game". This time I would not be so lucky as he evened our head-to-head matchup with a 4-6, 4-6 victory.
In both sets I would immediately be in hole losing the first games on my serve and never being able to dig out from that. I felt much better than I had on Friday but I still did not think I was at my best. My wrist was very sore (for now I'm blaming yoga) and I decided to play with a "4" racket instead of the "3" I had been using for about a month. I thought the larger grip might be easier on my wrist. This lasted only about 6 games as I felt I could not get the "snap" on the serve that I wanted. Although it was still early in the morning I was sweating much more than I had on Friday and that made me think I was more "normal" physically as I typically sweat like a pig.
Steve did a very good job of attacking my backhand throughout the match. This was especially true in the first set as he kept the ball deep and me on the defensive. Somewhere in the middle of the first set I managed to pull back the break he had taken from me but then on my next service game he broke me again! However, I remember thinking that as the set progressed I was playing somewhat better and felt good going into the second set. I definitely still had a shot at the match. I noticed that he seemed to have the most problem with looping balls at this feet on the backhand side, especially when he was close to net and. I was going to keep trying to attack in that manner the rest of the match.
At the beginning of the second set I started off sharply with an ace to the left sideline. This was a serve that I pulled off about 6-8 times during the set and he was mumbling after each one of them. I took at 30-love lead but then he fought back and broke me again to begin the set. This really upset me as I'd, once again, have to dig out of another service break hole.
I felt we both played a better second set and the level was improving as the match went on. I had my chances to break him but could never do it. One point stands out in my mind when, after a long rally I caught him going to the net and set a perfect lob over his head to the "T" at the middle of the baseline. He hustled back and pulled out a great over the shoulder shot that I was unable to do much with and he finished the point off. His fans, who had been cheering him on through out the match, went crazy and I was disappointed that I did not win that game. It was a big point score wise and mentally.
We continued to have good games through out the rest of the set and eventually we were at 4-5 with him serving to close the match. During first point I had a very makeable volley at the net but it hit the tape and the ball fell back on my side. This was a big mistake as we traded points and were at 30-30 instead of 40-15 in my favor. I then had 3 break point opportunities to even out the set but could not finish it and he eventually held to take the match. I was really disappointed that I had not broken as I felt at 5-5 I could of come back to take the set, but it was not to be.
Serve games are so important for me that I must take more time to insure that I'm hitting the right serve and varying my delivery to keep my opponent somewhat off balance.
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