tennis, life and a few things in between

So, another lesson in serving, and the take home note:

1. Left foot 45° to the baseline
2. Make a box
3. 2 seconds medication
4. Toss
5. Look up at the ball
6. Rotate to face the net and hit

A winning day: Graham 5-3, Dave G 5-2. It’s my first time playing with Vijay who has serious spins, not much serve tho.

Bob took a fall from one of my forehand drop shots… I felt terrible … but at the same time, each player has to know his or her limit, (?)

I always utilize drop shot, especially backhand. But since I decided that I prefer forehand side of the court, I also practice forehand drop shot: it’s decidedly obvious, that my backhand drop is lower and better.

^{Isn’t the court looking beautiful? … eeehhhr … the irrigation has problem.}

A 3-0 day: w/ Graham 5-3 & 5-4 (Denny said they want a rematch), w/ Denny 5-4. Didn’t get to play with Alan – we were all pretty tired.

For the past two matches, I felt pretty good about my serve.

… and a few forehands, and backhand

“The Tennis Partner is the second of Abraham Verghese’s books. Published in 1999, when he was a physician practicing internal medicine in El Paso, Texas, this is an autobiographical memoir, and Abraham Verghese writes of his experience moving to El Paso in the midst of an unraveling marriage. Once there, he meets and eventually becomes a mentor to David Smith, a medical resident at the hospital where Verghese worked and a brilliant tennis player recovering from drug addiction.”

Abraham Verghese (1955-) has an interesting journey: born in Ethiopia to Orthodox Christian parents from India. His elder brother, George Verghese, is an engineering professor at MIT and his younger brother, Phil Verghese worked at Google as a software engineer.

His books:

1. 1994 My Own Country
2. 1999 The Tennis Partner
3. 2009 Cutting for Stone
4. 2023 The Covenant of Water

Played with Glenn 5-3, w/ George 4-5 and, with Brad 5-4: we came back from 0-4.

As for serve, it’s been over a year but I’m still working on it. … the wet mark is from my bathing suit – just climbed out of the pool.