Playing to win, not lose

Having picked up tennis again last year – after saying goodbye to the sport 15 years ago – I am now glued to televised matches and have begun to recognize the new tennis world champions. Needless to say, I’ve been watching the US Open, and watching breathlessly as champ after champ trounced each other in the hard court. As of this writing I do not know who won the women’s singles, but the three-hour semifinals featuring the Dutch player Justine Henin-Hardenne and American Jennifer Capriati was the most thrilling of matches I’ve ever seen. The winner was Justine, and how she fares in the finals – whether first or second – does not obliterate the glory of her performance – and that of Jennifer, too – last Friday.

Justine, a diminutive player, displayed indomitable wit and courage to win the semis as she fought the onslaught of Jennifer, a taller and bigger-built opponent.

It was a see-saw battle that saw the score change hands many times. In the first set, Justin was ahead 4-1, only to be overtaken and lose the set 6-4. In the second set, Jennifer led by 5-2, but Justin remarkably rallied and nailed Jennifer 7-5, demonstrating pinpoint accuracy with her backhand shots and occasional smashes and drop shots that confused her opponent.

The third set was a soap opera, a nerve-racking drama where Justine was way behind 2-5 and was handicapped by sudden cramps on her left leg. But one noticed that her eyes were like the eyes of a fox, well-focused to hit the ball at the right time and place, making unanticipated drop shots and sending high-speed spinning balls that Capriati hit out several times at the most crucial point of the match. Justine sprintered from baseline to net and one end of the baseline to the other. Struggling against her leg cramp, she performed slow serves that Jennifer, who preferred powerful balls, hit back with disdain and out of the court. Most astonishing of all was Justine’s display of confidence, courage and mental tenacity to give all what it takes to win against the backdrop of an impending loss – two match points in the second set, and very much behind in the third and final set.

Justine will be long remembered for this finest performance in her tennis career and one of the best games during the US Open.

The US Open opened with a touching testimonial for Pete Sampras, one of the well-loved tennis players of our time, who retired from professional tennis this year. As his peers delivered tributes with tears in their eyes, Pete himself was teary-eyed as the audience gave him a long, thunderous applause. Pete, who was born August 12, 1971 in Washington D.C., first captured the world’s attention in 1990 when he upset Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi in the last three rounds of the US Open to become the youngest men’s champion at 19 years and 28 days.

In 2000, Sampras won his seventh Wimbledown crown to go with four US Opens and two Australian Opens. The only Grand Slam he has not won is the French Open.

A good-looking man, Sampras is a favorite among tennisters for his fine court manners and gentle ways. His friend, Andre Agassi, and long-time tennis rival, delivered an emotional message and best wishes to Pete via a remote TV hook-up. Perhaps the idea of saying goodbye to Pete was heart-breaking for him.

I’m now playing with "Golden Girls" at the Camp Aguinaldo tennis courts. I might be a beginner compared with these girls who play three times a week there and in other courts, but we have fun chasing after balls and winning games over retired male judges and colonels. These players are the entrepreneurs Priscilla Pacheco and Mely Lucas, nurses Noy Lacson and Eli Banez, dressmaker Eva Garcia, dentist Baby Jhocson, and housewives Belen Santos and Patty Ong.

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