Rocky II !!!

From my last post you will see that I was whipped in the first round of the club tennis championships by the classy No. 2 seeded player.

BUT......the club had organised a Plate competition for all the first round losers. Mmmmh...rebirth?

So I had my first round match in the Plate competition today. Up against another much younger guy, who is also a fast fit gym rat and a big hitter.

We played in today's hot midday Sun for well over two hours. It was gruelling. I felt I needed to win the first set to have a chance as my fitness is not too high lately due to pure laziness in avoiding the gym and I reckoned I wouldn't last a three setter. Well I made the worst of starts, I LOST the first set 4-6. Not good news!!! I was a bit dejected. But it was a close match and I felt I'd room for improvement.

I won the second set 6-2. But I was tiring, the games were long and close. We then swapped games in the third set to get to 3-3. At this stage I was very burned out. My legs wouldn't respond as well, he was firing shots past me. The age and fitness difference was catching up as we now were about two hours into this marathon match. I was looking down the barrel of defeat.

My mind picks up interesting messages when I'm in trouble. Another idea from boxing came into my head....your punching power stays longer than your legs....a puncher always has a chance. I decided to hit harder shots, go for it more, if I can put him under pressure I might have less running to do! It was pushing myself to the limit but I gave it a go. It was risky and even sloppy at times, but it did start to slowly make a difference. I pulled it off to win the final set 6-3.

So, I'm heading into the semi-final of the competition, yay!! Stay tuned for more!