sjsprWriting

Center court, mid-day heat, down six-two, four-one, and at least fifty people watching me struggle. I wondered if there was any way I could turn this match around...

While I was waiting to get called for the match, I could tell that a decent amount of people were looking forward to watching this match; it was me, an up and coming player trying to prove himself, facing a player that had just returned to Puerto Rico after training in a world class academy in Europe for two years. It was the kid’s first tournament in Puerto Rico in years, and everyone was talking about him, spreading the word that he was back, and ready to take over. The match began, and I had absolutely no answer for my opponent’s strategy in the first set. The crowd was already somewhat disappointed with the match, and began leaving. After being dominated in the first set, the second set started off the same way: I was down four-one. By then, I would estimate only ten people were still watching the match. It was clear that my opponent believed he had already won the match, and by looking at how the match had gone so far, I could understand his logic.

In the water break, I sat and tried to think of a way to pull this off. It was really hot, and I cannot emphasize this enough. Thirty seconds later, I stood up ready to begin a battle that would end up shocking many people, but mostly myself. At one point of the match, everyone thought I was done, and although I did see that as likely, I did not give up. I gave it all I had, and after a lot of sweat and effort, I came back to win the match in front of a huge audience that had returned to watch the match. I was overwhelmed; I had achieved what no one expected me to do, and there is no better feeling than that. In reality, I did not know I was able to beat my opponent. I was surprised, and there is no better feeling than realizing I underestimated myself. In fact, this is not a feeling of happiness. I would describe it as a feeling of confidence surging through my veins.

A few hours later I had to play in the semi-final of the tournament. I was pumped, I thought I was ready to take on anyone in this planet. Well in fact, I got killed. My opponent got rid of me in 60 minutes, facing an Alvaro that could not feel his body from last match, but thought his confidence would be enough. What I really took with me from this day however, was that I did not know what I had in me because I had not been put to a test like this before. I had played against similar and even better players, but the mental aspect of this match, that fear that everyone felt, was the difference in this chapter of my almost professional tennis career.