My Harrisburg Open Journey Begins & Ends
So four weeks of training ended with me down $10 and a can of tennis balls, but without any regrets. Plus I got a t-shirt. All in all, that’s not too bad.
I have to admit, for one fleeting moment, I thought I could win. I went down 0-2 in the first set, but eventually got it back to 2-3 on serve with a 40-15 lead. And then I let it slip away. Yes, as expected, I did lose in the first round of the Harrisburg Open, but it was in no way an epic embarrassment. I actually had a blast.
I got to HACC for my 7:00 match really early and nervously waited for my opponent to show up. As I watched the other matches in progress I noticed a few players that I felt like I could beat. I also noticed a few that players that probably would have eviscerated me with a tennis ball. In the end, my opponent, an extremely friendly middle-aged guy named Mike, was somewhere in between the two extremes, but he was still too much for me to handle.
Mike said it was the seventh or eighth time he’d played in the Harrisburg Open and it showed. He took advantage of my complete lack of match experience by continually pressing me at the net and forcing me to try to beat him down the lines. Sometimes I did. More often I didn’t, and he ended up winning 6-2, 6-0. The score line looks ugly, but honestly, I felt fairly encouraged by my effort.
I told Mike my situation before we even started playing, and after the match was over, he assured me that I had nothing to be embarrassed about.
“For only playing for a month, you’re doing great,” he said. “Your athleticism is a big asset. You should stick with it.”
Maybe he was just being friendly, but I do think I’m going to stick with it. I know that I’ll be in the field again next year without a doubt. At the very least I’m guaranteed another t-shirt. If you like tennis at all, the tournament would actually be fun to watch. It runs all weekend, so if you are in the neighborhood of HACC, stop by and pick a player to pull for. Have a good weekend everybody.
1 comment so far. Okay.
It's interesting to note that how athleticism is so important in all sports. I practice martial arts and find that fitness is more important than technique. A very fit person with a little skill can beat a more experienced person who is unfit. So, those fat martial arts "masters" better watch out!