December 29, Saturday. TRI-Challenge + Bonus Tennis Practice.
Saturdays are usually off days for me, but since the tennis tournament is coming up on Wednesday, I was invited by a member of my club to have an extra practice with another member who is planning to play in the January 2 tournament. So, the three of us went to the courts on a frigid Saturday night and practiced some match play in the singles format.
We started off with a little warm up, then did a little Stoke/Volley and Serve/Return and Smash practice, then we got right into singles matches. Out of the three of us, I have the least amount of tournament experience. This will be only my third singles tournament in two years. The others have played in several tournaments throughout the year. So I just wanted to try and get my head and mental game used to the singles format. I played in the first two matches, and I lost both matches 3-4. They were really good matches and close. The one match between the other two players, it wasn't even close, the younger guy won 4-0. So I didn't have to wait that long to play again. There wasn't a lot of time left, so we played Tie-Breakers. I easily won my first tie-breaker, 7-3, but lost the next one, 4-7. I lost the final tie-breaker 6-8. I should have won that one because I was up 6-3 serving, but I choked and lost five straight points. Weak mental game. I was stroking the ball well, and I hit some solid shots, and I was working points well, but when it came right down to it, my decision making failed me. I would try to hit the low percentage shot when I wasn't even in a good position or the ball was not in a good position. I need to be more patient and wait for my opportunities instead of trying to create them when it is ill-advised. Also, I caught myself on the majority of my service points instinctively walking to the doubles serving position instead of the singles position. And at times, I wasn't moving into the center because I was expecting my partner, who was non-existent, to be there to cover the return. I think I got the hang of it though, I was doing better by the end. All in all, it was a good practice that showed me what I need to do and what I need to be aware of on the 2nd.
I forgot to mention that before leaving for tennis, I did the TRI-Challenges so I wouldn't have to do them all tired and sweaty when I got home. Good decision!
In the end, I burned a good 1609 kcals. A good burn for a cold session. I'm ready as I'll ever be for the tournament!
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