Controversial Tennis Game

Waking up at 4:30am, I drove an hour from New Orleans to meet the Office Guy for our weekly 6:00am tennis court duel. This was a weird game. The Office Guy played PERFECT for the first four games. He had no unforced errors. He hit fast and furious winners that stung. I was shell shocked. I am playing a robot! How can I possibly win if my opponent is playing the PERFECT GAME?

I gulped when I was suddenly down 0-4. I was staring down a shutout and there was nothing I could do about it. I was playing nearly perfect placing 90% of my shots with pinpoint accuracy and returning every single shot from the Office Guy. But his perfect game would eventually hand me the loss each and every game.

Then it happened. I finally won my first game! The only way I achieved this was to play my own PERFECT GAME. The Office Guy double faulted once, hit long twice, and then watched a cruel overhead shot nail the back line. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I realized I had just won. I even made a comment... "God...to beat you today... I have to play my own PERFECT GAME."

It was my turn to serve as we switched sides on the next game. As is customary before you serve at the beginning of a new game, I called "1 serving 4". That represented the wins/losses in the match thus far. The Office Guy didn't say anything. I played hard and won again. The Office Guy seemed to be stumbling. After the game, I announce the set score was 2-4.

At that moment, the Office Guy says "What?! That was the first game you won!" I was perplexed. I said, "What are you talking about? I won my first game on the other side making it 1-4." The Office Guy said he thought he had won that game. I was sooo confused. I told him I would have surely remembered if I was down 5-0. That didn't happen.

I knew I was right because when I lose a game, I feel as if someone shot me in the heart. I take every single loss personally. Every minute on the court, I am thinking of what the final score would be if I lose every game from here on out. Then, I think of what the score would be if I put together a string of consecutive victories. I am ALWAYS aware of how many games it'll take to either lose or put away my opponent. ALWAYS!

Despite the controversial account of the true score, we continued to play. But the damage was done. We each played VERY deflated. We didn't play BAD. We just no longer had our hearts into the game anymore. I ended up tying the set 4-4. Then Office Guy won one more game. Then I rattled off three straight victories making the final score of a one set match 7-5.

But I couldn't enjoy the victory because of the controversy. You could tell we were both still deflated over the whole mess. I went home and showered. When I arrived into work, I was greeted with "Congratulations. I heard you won today in tennis." I said "Yes. Thank You!" But me and the Office Guy still haven't spoken about the game. Typical male behavior.

In light of the very competitive play of the Office Guy, I am moving him into a tie with Whipping Boy. Whipping Boy hasn't played in some time as his handlers are keeping him away. If the Office Guy would have won, he would be ahead of Whipping Boy. I also decided to put some distance in the poll between the competitors because lately no one seems capable of beating me. The Office Guy, Whipping Boy, and E.Shrew have all lost two straight matches to me. Heath hasn't beaten me in years.

It'll be interesting to gauge how well my tennis skills truly are when I go to Houston next weekend. I'll be playing someone that regularly wins tournaments and is very highly ranked in our division.

NEW Brettcajun's World Rankings:

1. Brettcajun
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5. Office Guy, Whipping Boy
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8. Heath
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10. E.Shrew (Getting drubbed only makes you stronger. Try hauling ass more to improve your ranking)