Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 29, 1990 TAG: 9004290096
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LARRY LINEBERRY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
\ 1970: I lose 7-6 (5-4), 7-6 (5-4) to a guy from Westchester State University in a college match. I attend Old Dominion University, and we play nine-point tie breakers. At four-all in the second set tie break - match point for him and set point for me - my opponent hits a serve up the middle that I want to call out so badly, but I can't. It is just a great serve for the moment. I learn now that it is possible to play well and still lose.
I feel bad, but I am not devastated. Very few players could have gotten that serve back. My effort is great, but I still don't win.
\ 1970: I meet Arthur Ashe in Hampton at the National Indoor Championships. He is in his prime. So is Rod Laver. I ask Ashe why Laver is so much better than anyone else (Laver has just won his second Grand Slam - 1969). Ashe replies, "He is more consistent." I think, "What a cop-out statement!" I am looking for some brilliant formula that will change my life. Later I realize how truly brilliant Ashe's statement was. Consistency is the hallmark of performance - even at the top level.
\ 1972: My doubles partner and I win a straight sets match in round 16 of the Division II NCAA Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. The win secures a ninth-place national finish for Old Dominion, and it is the cap of a great year for us. It has been the most important match of my life so far, and I have played well. I will draw on the confidence I have gained here many times in future matches when the situation is tight. It provides me with a very positive image.
\ 1973: My last collegiate match: Old Dominion vs. William and Mary. I win 7-6 (5-4) in the third set. I play lousy, and I still win. As badly as I have played, it has never occurred to me that I would lose. No way am I going out a loser. In a match that close, almost any negative thought would be enough to assure defeat. But I don't know that; I only know I am not going to lose. Many times we have to "fake it 'til we make it," with our minds holding us over until our bodies can catch up.
\ 1973: This is the first time I ever played Ian Crookenden. He is my first employer since my graduation, and he is a man to whom I owe a great deal. Crookenden is, in 1973, one of the best players in the world (NCAA doubles champion twice, Wimbledon semifinalist, New Zealand Davis Cup). I think I'm hot stuff: just out of college, a tennis pro, single, etc. We play. The first time I come to the net on him, he hits the ball so hard I can't even get out of the way. I get tagged on the thigh. He's playing at about 50 percent, and I'm so tired my lungs hurt. A very humbling experience, to say the least.
\ 1980: I meet Martina Navratilova. She has won her second Wimbledon and is No. 1 in the world. I ask her if she needs to work on any particular part of her game. Without hesitation, she says, "Yes, footwork." Here is the top player in the world saying she needs to improve her footwork. I figure if Navratilova needs footwork, so does everyone else.
\ 1982: It is the first time I lose to a player I have taught. Alan Cannaday is in college, and he comes back for the summer. We spar verbally, and I say he will never beat me. We play. He not only beats me, I don't even come close. I am remembering when he was a skinny little seventh-grader sneaking a hit on the indoor courts every chance he got. Now he is as big as a door, and he simply overpowers me. And it actually makes me feel good, except for the fact that a few of my current crop of seventh-graders witness the drubbing.
\ 1986: Raissa Remandaban wins the Virginia 12-and-under singles title in a three-hour final. She is a tough competitor, especially as a match progresses. She has learned to win, and in this match, at the end, she has played on sheer guts. I have taught her strokes, but I couldn't teach her "guts." The coach is only one aspect of the formula. Just as I do not take credit for a player's wins, I also do not blame myself for his or her losses. There are too many other components to the complete player, such as the determination that carried Remandaban to her win this day.
\ 1987: James Thompson obtains a world ranking and a top-15 national amateurs ranking in singles. This young man, whom I have coached, has graduated from college and gone on the pro circuit. He is playing tennis for a living. He literally is living his dream at age 22. I have helped a person toward a unique experience. He has wanted to play pros since he was 14 years old, and now he never will have to wonder if he could "have made it." He will have no regrets. He will have had his shot. How much is this worth to me as a coach? The value is incalculable.
\ 1988: Palm Springs, Calif., the National USPTA Team Championships. I have won four matches, with no losses, at the 35-over singles position for our team. I am ranked 15th nationally, based primarily on these wins. Why have I played so well? While here, I switch to a racket I don't like, but which has tighter strings. This helps me in the lighter air of Palm Springs. A good decision. It also is so beautiful here that it is very difficult to have any negative thoughts.
\ 1990: I win my first singles tournament in a very long time. I play 108 games in 29 hours on clay (not my favorite surface) in Roanoke. Usually I don't play tournaments in my hometown - there is too much to lose, nothing to gain. But this time I play and win against some very good opponents. I win the 2-hour, 20-minute final against my friend Bill Haynie on his home court. What is the key to these wins? During the tournament I have successfully walked the fine line of being a confident fighter and of playing only one point at a time, even when ahead. It is easy to play when one is behind. Playing with a lead and being favored to win is the most difficult situation. The solution: Play one point at a time.
\ PREDICTION: The guarantees to players for appearances at tournaments will be out next year. It is not working.
\ PET PEEVE: I really do not appreciate a doubles partner commenting on his partner's missed shot, especially when everyone else can hear. It is demoralizing, and even when the comment is made with good intentions, it is heard in a negative vein. It is best to make comments one-on-one between partners. Only positive words should be spoken by partners during competition.
by CNB