'15 - Love, Ludington

[XLFD]

A Brief History of Tennis

When not dealing with local issues, I engage primarily in local living.  One of the ways I enjoy the area is to get out on the tennis courts and play with my brother, John, who's five years older than me.  Back when we were kids growing up in Scottville, we would head down to the courts down at the eastern end of McPhail's Field and mainly play against each other.  Scottville schools had no tennis program, so often the two courts available for play saw little use other than by us, and over the years as the courts became more weathered and unplayable.

Still we went there and played, usually just to practice, but when we played games it was typically intense.  My tennis heroes were along the lines of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, who were known for their intensity and their tantrums on the court.  Rackets were wooden or aluminum and pretty fragile back during my childhood, so when the rackets failed to live up to my high standards I had a habit of throwing my racket in disgust at the outer fence, at times breaking my racket when I would accidentally hit the fence's support pipe. 

Thankfully, I grew out of this costly and embarrassing habit, eventually internalizing the court rage into more useful energies.  But never did I gain the ability to totally get over making a poor shot at an important part of a match, without being upset with myself.

Throughout our adulthood we would often play tennis when we had the weather for it and when we were in the same location.  We even became good at doubles, winning a small California tournament and beating some of Ludington's top doubles players back in the 1980's.  We actually have never lost a doubles match. 

Still over the years, we have been mostly living in different states and often doing other projects and pursuits when we got together.  After a long hiatus, we started playing tennis regularly when he would commute to Ludington during the summer months.  Last year, we tried competing in the Ludington Tennis Open after not having been in competition for upwards of thirty years.  He played well, but lost to the eventual tournament winner in the first round.  I won two matches but came up just short of the title, losing in a tie-breaker in the finals.  We were both disappointed.

My brother wasn't up to doing the doubles the next day, but vowed to redouble efforts so we could do better the next year.   Starting in May, we were playing together a couple of times each week trying to improve our perceived weaknesses and retain our perceived strengths.  Both of us thought we were primed to do better at the Schoenherr Tennis Center (below).

The 2015 Ludington Open Singles

The morning of Saturday, July 11, 2015 was destined to be a perfect summer day, mostly sunny and in the low 70's.  The initial draw had me going against a very tough competitor who had won the doubles event last year, Tom Micka.  With a consistent game and a tough serve, Micka took most of our games to deuce at least once and I had to give just about everything I had to be successful in winning against him.  Meanwhile, my brother dispatched his first match before I was done with the first set of mine.   

We were on the same side of the bracket, so we met next in the semi-finals.  As sisters Vanessa and Serena Williams could tell you, it is mentally tough to play your sibling in such situations.  I managed to win the first set, but my game was beginning to be noticeably worse as I was getting physically tired.  I dropped the second set before I seemed to get some of that energy back, which led us to a sudden death tiebreaker, where the first person to ten points would be the winner.

Despite our years of competition on the court, and off the court as brothers, it had been a very friendly match even when we both had periods of frustrating play on our parts.  I barely had the energy to get around the court.  I started cramping during the tie-breaker.  I even considered that the best way to stop the physical pain I was feeling was to lose and not have to endure another match of pain.  But even so, I never mentally gave up.  I even led four-nothing.

But then I lost the next seven as my tank ran out, and his chugged on.  When he finally got the tenth point I was satisfied that he was going on to the finals and would play probably a lot better than I was currently capable of.  What was missing was a sense of disappointment in my performance and my loss, instead what I had replaced it with was pride in my brother and what he had accomplished to that point.  In my previously hyper-competitive tennis mindset, this was a new and odd feeling indeed.

He went on to win the final against Ron Link of Epworth Heights, basically outlasting and lobbing his way to the singles championship. 

The 2015 Ludington Open Doubles

We nearly arrived late the next day for the double's tournament, he had to even double back to get some supplies while I practiced with our first round opponents.  The day was just a little warmer and less windier.  When it came time to play, I was serving well, John was playing great at the net, and our doubles play, albeit a bit rusty, gelled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.  The quick match allowed us to be able to gauge our next opponent in their match. 

Tom Kudwa was paired with Vic Burwell against Tom Micka and Bob Knudsen.  Kudwa won singles the previous year and was the organizer of the event, Micka, as noted, had won doubles the previous year with a different partner.  This was a marquee matchup for the first round, and in viewing the match, Micka and Knudsen looked the most formidable, as they took control of and won the match.

With the same tools we used in our previous match, we eked out a 6-3 win in the first set of our match, and developed a 4-0 lead in the second set after a clean service victory on my part, but then the walls came down on the Rotta brothers.  Our opponents play noticeably improved while they racked up three straight games and it became my turn to serve again to stop the bleeding. 

But the bleeding would not stop, them taking four straight points on my best serves to tie the set at 4-4 on their way to winning the set with six straight games.  We entered the sudden death tie-breaker with hope for our game to turn around, but with little expectation of a reprieve.  We kept close early on, but they developed a seemingly insurmountable 9-4 point lead on a point where my visor fell off and I booted it over the fence.  They only needed one more to secure the victory.

We managed to play just good enough to secure the next point.  Then the next point.  Before long we had tied it at nine, and then we got the next point, but we had to win by two.  After a serve and return a perfect lob over my brother's head was coming back to the baseline where I was.  The safe thing to do was to let it drop and hit it back.  But I advanced and treated it like a first service, smashing it at the feet of Micka  who was at the net and got a racket on it, but not enough of it. 

Victory!  I couldn't suppress the fist pump and the relieved but emphatic "YES".  

We went into the finals against Tennis Instructor Cliff Perez and Probate Court Judge Jeff Nellis after a brief respite, but played flawlessly in the first set en route to a 6-0 win.  After losing an edge and the first two games of the second, we stormed back with six straight games and captured the title. 

My best memory of the final was smacking one of Judge Nellis' serves down the line for a winner while Perez was at the net and moving towards the center (a technique in tennis called poaching) to intercept the usual cross court shot I make.  I then chided Cliff by saying:  "You shouldn't be caught poaching like that right in front of a judge."

Though prideful of my own accomplishments, I can't help but be doubly proud of the accomplishments of my brother, who is at the tender age of 56 and taking the singles and doubles titles of the local tennis open tournament.   According to the City of Ludington Daily News, he not only did that but was the runner-up of the tournament last year, as seen in the article below from Monday's paper.  I guess if I lose that title to anyone, my brother is most deserving.

Update:  The Tuesday edition of the paper had a picture of the adult Ludington tennis elite

[Willy]

Congratulations. Pretty good for a couple of senior citizens.

[XLFD]

Until I can get a free beverage at Taco Bell (which happens at 55 years old), I can't consider myself a senior citizen.  Thanks for respecting your elders, you young whippersnapper.

[stump]

Good job, The news paper reporter must not have linked your name , they actually had something good to say about you..

[XLFD]

When I finished second place last year, they spelled my name wrong; this year they took my second place finish of last year and credited it to my brother.  It's what I've come to expect from the COLDNews and my accomplishments, but they try the best they can to get things right.

[shinblind]

Looks like the staff of the COLDS are too embarrassed to sign their name to what write. I guess an anonymous byline  is one way to avoid being the fool. 

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain.

[Willy]

Wonderful quote shinblind. Mark Twain has been one of my favorite authors since I was very young.