Continuing a nostalgia theme for this week’s post, here is an article from a San Antonio newspaper (The Light? The Express? The Light-Express?) on June 16, 1979:
Oh the Jack Kramer racket. The adidas clothes. The slice backhand return of serve. Those days are gone forever … I should just let them go …
I had just beaten friend and doubles partner Craig Kardon (who, honestly, was probably a bit better than me) in the semi-finals of the Texas Sectional State Championship.
The reporter asked me why I played and I guess my answer intrigued him.
That win set me up for the finals the next day where I beat Paul Crozier (who, honestly, was definitely a lot better than me) to become #1 in the state. That was one of those matches where, as tennis players say, I was tree’d.
I do still like to win. It fuels ambition which is healthy. It nourishes competitive jealousy which is harmful.
It does seem like I don’t have try very hard to hold on to 17 as long as I can.