Another cluster of courts in better shape but no nets; Sharon in action
Pumpkin won her doubles 6:2 on home turf, against the other middle school in town. They won over all decisively. Her partner played very well too, impressed me a lot. Many shots I thought she couldn’t have gotten it. The short girl on the opposing team constantly making bad line calls. It’s hard to tell she wanted to cheat or was just too nervous; a good experience for all the girls. Toward the end, short girl’s partner told her ‘don’t ask me’, :).
Sharon lost her singles 7:5 in tie break, (one of the two matches they lost) wasn’t happy about it: she plays her opponent all the time and was never able to beat her. I told her the story about Michael Chang and Pete that during their junior years, Sampras was Chang’s victim and finally got over it on the center court here (US Open), went on to win that year’s championship. After that match, Sampras sat in his chair with a huge sly grin. Bud Collins interviewed him, asking why did it take so long to win and how did he finally manage to win. Talent doesn’t come over night. Sampras, with his usual subtle manner, said very little other than joked that he now is taller. I reckon that all is in your mind. Well, it’s easy to say than done.
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