I think this is the second time Jon and I've played this summer, and I don't think he's played more than one or two times beyond that, so I have a bit of an advantage in the early going. Jon, however, has the advantage overall, being significantly quicker than I. He also has the far better strategy, wherein he just works on returning the ball and making me run all over the court, forcing me to hit winners. I often fail to do this.
The first two games went quickly to Jon, and I'd like to take a moment to blame my playing Mitch so much this summer. The short, backspin shots that Mitch can't get to are like eating good strawberries to Jon. I need a new
Then I lose two straight, making the set 5-3 in Jon's favor. I win two more and tie the set up 5-5. At some point in those four games, I decide to switch up my serve and stop pounding the ball long every single freaking time. The spin serve starts working well for me and I'm getting more of them in than I thought possible. Even Jon remarks on this. Then, I beat him again on his serve and take a 6-5 lead. I figure this'll go well for me. It doesn't.
The two rules that I know of that we ignore are as follows: we don't switch sides as appropriate (we only do so after a set), and we don't play tiebreaks. The potential for moderate medical disaster in the heat exists, but is rather small as we're both 25, not stupid, and totally aware of the water fountain nearby. Happily, there's only two games left in the match, and I win both of them.
As we're sitting around in the park very much enjoying the shade, Jon notes that he's gotten slower and I've gotten faster. I like this. Then when I get home, I proceed to eat two ice cream sandwhiches and the rest of the pizza I had last night. Mmm, good.
