The
scene: serving, one point from victory against an opponent I’ve never beaten
(score: 6-1 5-4 and 40-30)
The
protagonists: the angel on my shoulder and the devil on my other
The
time: yesterday evening
ANGEL: Ok Karl, just chill. All you need to
do is win one more point to close this guy out.
DEVIL: Well, that means nothing because the
last time you played him, you were two points away and still lost.
ANGEL: Keep quiet, devil. Karl, just make
sure you hit the ball with the same pace you’ve been for the whole match. Don’t
slow it down. That’s how you got to this point.
DEVIL: Yeah, hit hard and hit out by like
10 metres.
KARL: Exactly, if I try to hit hard now
with this nervous, deadweight arm, the ball is going to fly. That drop shot I
just hit though… how the hell did I pull that off?
ANGEL: Because you’re actually good at this
game, Karl! Now remember, he won’t make a mistake if you don’t push him to make
one.
DEVIL: The other guy is probably not going
to make another mistake in this entire match. He always starts playing better
when he’s close to losing. Oh well, there’s always next time.
KARL: Yeah, if we go to a third set, I am
screwed.
DEVIL: Glad we agree. It would be your
fifth consecutive loss against him.
ANGEL: Guys, how can you be so negative
when we’re potentially one more shot from a win?
DEVIL: One more shot? That means an ace.
Have you ever seen Karl hit an ace?
KARL / ANGEL: No.
DEVIL: Precisely.
KARL: Ok, here we go…
ANGEL: First serve in! Stay focused!
DEVIL: Hmm… an actual rally on match point
without a mistake after the first three shots. You can’t keep this up.
KARL: Why am I not breathing? I can’t
breathe. I need him to make a mistake NOW.
DEVIL: It’s the nerves. They’re consuming
you. The more shots that are played in this point, the bigger it becomes. If
you lose this, it’s deuce. Then you’ll be too tired to play a good point and he
will run away with this set.
ANGEL: Just HIT! And stop hitting straight
down the middle!
DEVIL: Hahahaha – here comes that drop shot
that you always get to but always screw up when you get there.
KARL: Shit. These drop shots are killing
me… but I’m getting there, I’m getting there…
ANGEL: Backhand! Powerfully! Down the line!
KARL: YES! DOWN THE LINE! THAT’S WHERE I’M
GOING!
…
DEVIL: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. What did I
tell you?
ANGEL: It’s okay Karl, you tried. You’re
still only two points away.
DEVIL: I’ve never seen a backhand hit that
far out of the court in my life. Never. Did it hit the fence at the back?
KARL: That was completely horrible.
ANGEL: It wasn’t. You won the first set 6-1
and are leading now.
DEVIL: How far away does that first set
feel now? I can barely remember it. In fact, I can’t at all. #fluke
About 6 minutes later…
ANGEL: YOU DID IT!
KARL: I DID IT!
ANGEL: Sweetest win ever?
KARL: Definitely, by a long, long shot.
ANGEL: This is why you play this sport,
right? For these epic victories that you really need to work for? Even if it's just club tennis and there aren't thousands of spectators? It's still the place that's made you happiest over the past eight years that you've been coming here, right?
KARL: Absolutely.
DEVIL: …
Final
score: 6-1 7-5
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