Jet Lag:

After 35 plus hours of travel and two back-to-back red-eye flights, I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport absolutely exhausted and disoriented. Somehow I managed to stay awake that day, but my body felt awful.

I knew I had a big tournament starting Saturday, so I got back to work first thing Thursday morning. I expected myself to come out sluggish, out of rhythm, and heavy on my feet, but I actually had a very solid practice. Given that South Africa is 10 hours ahead of Pacific Time, my afternoon practice that day and Friday were both dismal as it was still 4am for me. I did not let those jet-lagged practices bring me down and mess up my mindset for my tournament. I wanted to have a strong showing as my dad came to watch me play and moreover it was my 23rd Birthday that weekend on December 9th.

An Epic 3 Set Match in the Quarterfinals:

After beating a solid player from Beverly Hills in the Round of 16, I was going up against the #2 seed, a very solid European player in the Quarterfinals. I knew I had my work cut out for me, but felt confident that my game plan would be effective against him. Tactically, I had a few goals in mind:

1.     Stay aggressive on the baseline and dominate court position

2.     Take advantage of short balls and close out as many points at net as possible

3.     Break down his one-hand backhand

I quickly got broken and went down 2-0 before I knew it. Obviously, this was not the kind of quick start I was looking for. Instead of getting frustrated or panicking, I settled in and remembered to trust my game plan. Things began turning around fast as I got a quick hold and a crucial break of his serve. All of a sudden, I am up 3-2, the momentum has shifted and I am totally dialed in. After that initial sluggish start, I bounced back with a lot more intensity and after many big points shouted out “c’mon” or “let’s go” which definitely kept me fired up. I could tell my opponent was starting to get frustrated as I was dominating the net and not taking my foot off the gas pedal. I rode the momentum and turned things around winning that first set, 6-2.

Fast forward to the middle of the second set, I am up 4-2 and am feeling in control of this match. Instead of locking in and really focusing on making each return of serve, I find myself play a couple of loose points generating unforced errors. I have found that I sometimes tend to let some return games later in sets slip away from me because of a nonchalant mindset, poor shot selection, and missed returns. What I just described is exactly what happened in the 2nd set. I quickly found myself letting the lead slip and in turn started making unintelligent shot selection choices and unforced errors. After getting broken for the first time in the match, I could feel myself becoming flustered and a bit angry. I should have “doubled down” and fought back harder, but I let that second set slip away from me at the end and lost it 6-4.

After losing that set, I was not only disappointed, but also frustrated at the fact I blew a lead and could not recover after that. I found myself down quickly 2-0 in the 3rd set as I could not seem to let go of that 2nd set let down. I got a decisive hold to settle the storm, but could not get a break just yet. I was down 3-1, but oddly still felt in control of the match. I quickly reflect on my game plan and what has worked in the match so far, and make a deliberate shift to close more points out at the net. I got a big hold at 3-1, my opponent did not even get a point and I was fired up at the changeover. Down 2-3, I knew this was my time to make a move and get that break I needed. I came out ripping forehands, but was still playing within myself. Sure enough, I got that break to tie things up 3-3. I step up to the line to serve and pound one down the tee… ACE. I turn around, gave myself a fist pump and “lets go” then proceed to ACE him again on the ad-side with a slice serve down the tee. It is 30-0 before I knew it, the momentum clearly was shifting back to me, and I was not going to lose this match. I close out that game and am now back in the driver’s seat up 4-3. Instead of relaxing or playing a loose game, I really locked in and knew I needed to step up and get another break. That is exactly what I proceeded to do and I ultimately closed out that 3rd set and won it 6-4.

I clearly made that match a lot harder and longer than it needed to be, but in the end that quarterfinal battle will be a match I remember for a long time. Learning how to compete and fight back when I feel like my back is against the wall is going to serve me well on and off the tennis court.

Semi-Final Show Down:

After playing a 3-hour marathon match earlier on my birthday, I had 90 minutes to prepare for my semi-final match. I found out my opponent had a walkover in the quarterfinals and had not played a match that day. Instead of getting annoyed by this, I decided to just focus on what was in my control. I had a lot of adrenaline and momentum from that quarterfinal match and wanted to take it into the Semis with me. Aside from this, I truly think my other secret weapon as weird as it sounds was my pickle juice. This may sound weird or disgusting to some of my readers, but I have found pickle juice to be extremely beneficial to drink during my changeovers as it gives me a little spark and a jolt of salt that I find I enjoy when fatigued.

Even though my opponent had fresher legs than me and was seeded in the tournament, I was not going to let anyone stop me on my birthday weekend. I came out of the gates absolutely on fire and was ripping forehands left and right. Quite frankly, my opponent simply could not handle the weight or pace of my ball and I jumped out to a 4-0 lead. I quickly closed the set out after that, 6-2. I knew I did not want to have another three set marathon match, so I found myself eager to maintain the same intensity throughout the 2nd set. I stayed smart and consistent with my shot selection and was not backing down from my game plan. My opponent was starting to shut down and I saw him getting more and more frustrated as the 2nd set went on. I seized this opportunity and won the set 6-3! This match to me was probably my most complete and effective match of the entire tournament, which made me feel great considering I was a bit fatigued going into it.

Mental Letdown in the Finals:

After an amazing birthday weekend on the tennis court knocking off some seeded players, I find myself in the Finals at 4pm on Monday against the #1 seed. I arrive at the tennis club, to find absolutely no one there other than the tournament director and referee. There was an oddly somber vibe and radio silence at the tennis center, which definitely threw me off a bit. I am not going to lie to myself or my readers, after having numerous spectators, friends, and family watching me over the weekend, I got comfortable and used to that type of environment. I could not wrap my head around the idea that after all the hard work and matches I played, that this final was going to be played in front of hardly no one watching / no other matches from the tournament were on at the time either.

I could feel my energy and intensity dropping off, even though I knew at a conscious level how important this match was. I am not going to describe this match in depth, but am going to just highlight a couple themes from it:

1.     Simply put, I beat myself as I made way too many unforced errors and mistakes on shots I normally would find myself making

2.     I was unable to let go of missed opportunities and instead found myself getting more and more frustrated as the match went on

3.     I let some bad line calls / things outside of my control negatively impact my mental state of mind

Even though the Finals did not turn out the way I wanted, I still was very happy with this tournament. I wanted to come back to the U.S. and play well, especially given it was my birthday weekend, and I was able to do that for the most part. I recognize this the more matches I play, but tennis requires me to constantly stay present and focused on the task at hand. I still have to work on not letting things outside of my control or from the past impact me. It is amazing sometimes how hard it can be to let go of a mistake, but I have to remember that the more I can truly be in the moment, the better results I will have.

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