After working the UK Tennis camp this past Monday thru Thursday, I jokingly said to longtime UK Tennis Coach Dennis Emery that I was going to come back over and sign up for the Qualifying tournament of the Kentucky Bank Challenger on Friday night. To my surprise, he was very encouraging and repeatedly said “you should do it.” So encouraging in fact, that later Thursday night he called me and said, “you know there is only one player around here so far that is going to sign in for the qualies. I think you would get in, I am going to sign you up!” I just laughed it off as I knew there surely would be more coming to sign in. The Kentucky Bank Challenger is one of the top Satellite tournaments in the country. One that the players always enjoy and leave talking about not only the great tennis, but also the hospitality and kindness of the people of Lexington.
Friday morning after four days of Tennis camp calls for a day of relaxation. For me, it was an opportunity to play my second round of golf this summer. Unfortunately, the back nine was rained out, which gave me some unexpected quiet time to think. That’s when it hit me. What if I do get in the qualies? I haven’t hit other than feeding at camp in 5 days. Luckily for me, the weather changed. I scrambled to call a friend to hit with, even if only for a little while. I got a 20-25 minute hit but more importantly, I felt better afterwards knowing that at least I had put some time in on the court!
The Friday night sign up period is from 5pm to 7pm. Although I was busy, I caught myself checking the clock intermittently during that time frame. One last glance and 7:30 had rolled around and no call from Dennis . I thought to myself, good, I ‘m safe. No call. Dodged a bullet. I admit I was a little disappointed, but at the same time I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Come on, I’m 60 years old! When I started playing tennis, players used wooden racquets! Now it’s high tech strings and frames and players hit every ball as hard as they can! I thought the coast was clear. Then it happened. The phone rang at 9:15pm. It was Dennis. His first words were, “Your in” After a stunned silence, I broke into nervous laughter. When I regained my composure, I asked “who am I playing?” I should have asked what time am I playing? The opponent wasn’t really going to matter.
After we hung up, my mind and emotions went on their own little rollercoaster ride. This will be fun. What if I can’t win a point? I hope my opponent isn’t upset he has to play some old guy? He should be happy as this match will be more like a “hitting bye!” (You are going to advance, but you have to hit a few balls first). The rush continued, and I immediately packed my tennis bag. Wait a minute, slow down, you won’t need everything you see in those “bag check” episodes on Tennis Channel. Maybe a towel, although I think they have towels there. An extra racquet, just in case I break a string. Maybe a shirt if it gets really hot, and some fluids. I haven’t had dinner. I better carb load! It’s really late, Wendy’s taco salad and baked potato will have to do. Great pregame meal! You can do this without embarrassing yourself, you have played in exhibition matches with Jennifer Capriati, Martina Navratilova, and Jimmy Connors. You once had a chance to return Andy Roddick’s served in Rupp Arena. Make the most of it. Feel what it is like out on the court for pro tennis players. You won’t have your teammates or a coach out there to help but that’s tennis. This continued through the night. Needless to say I didn’t get a very good nights sleep.
Over the years, my wife and I have housed multi players participating in the tourney. The first time we did and probably the player currently enjoying the most success, was a young 16 year old Ryan Harrison. So now, we may have housed the youngest and the oldest male tennis players ever to participate in the Kentucky Bank Challenger!
As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t sure what time I played. Giving up on trying to sleep, I rose early assuming it was a 10 am start. The plan was to hit inside to warm up for about 15 minutes. I felt pretty good. Serve- solid, backhand- grooved. Forehand -always smooth. Then I found out I won’t be playing until the 2nd match on court 3, or not before 11am. That’s what they mean when they say hurry up and wait. Imagine being 2nd on in a Grand Slam event where it’s best 3 out of 5 sets! The good news, it gave me more time to be nervous!
Idle time is not good for an active mind. Waiting to begin I walked around the courts. I started wondering if players that I passed were upset that I was taking someone’s spot, although the reason I got in is because not enough players signed up. Or, was it insulting to their profession this 60 year old guy trying to get out here. Finally I came to the conclusion, and probably what the majority were thinking was, they didn’t care one way or the other!
Next thing you know it’s match time. The first order of business is the coin toss. I called head and heads it was. At least I won something! I chose to serve but as I began practicing my serve, I notice all the clouds in the sky had disappeared. This sounds like an excuse, but for me, a high sky makes it tough to judge my toss. Because of that, I started out serving poorly and it never improved. Hold the toss arm up, push with your legs, lift your elbow up, relax your wrist. I tried everything but nothing helped. My first serve percentage must have been terrible and you can’t win starting the point constantly on second serves. You are always playing defense and whether it’s basketball or tennis, defense was never my strength! My game plan was to play deep down the middle or to his backhand. That’s tough to do when you are constantly fighting just to get the ball in play. Most balls I returned were middle but short, or soft enough that he was able to run around his backhand and rip forehand winners! As poorly as I served all day, he served great. If it wasn’t fast down the T, it was a kicker out wide. Somehow I did manage to get 3 game points and came back in the last game from down 40-5 to actually get to my ad, but eventually talent won out. My professional tennis debut came to a close with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat. Could I have played better, definitely. Was it fun? You bet it was! Would I do it again if I ever got the chance? Without a doubt. In the meantime it’s back to the practice court. Thanks Kentucky Bank Challenger for a memory of a lifetime!
(Kyle Macy/Special to YourSportsEdge.com)