While many will claim that the French Open finals were the focus for all things tennis this past weekend, the truth is that a cut-throat mixed doubles competition was brewing down in San Antonio. The No. 1 ranked Serve-Ace-A's took on the less-well-known Other Team. (Apparently the other team had neither the creativity nor the energy to come up with a team name so, for ease of reference, we're calling them the “Other Team.”)
The Serve-Ace-A's have been playing together for just a short time but have come to dominate mixed doubles tennis at what remains of the Hill Country Hyatt's once massive tennis complex. The Serve-Ace-A's consist of Kim, a well-known tennis blogger (see, for example, this entire blog) who spends a lot of time thinking up good tennis team names. Her partner, Mike, is a lefty who plays an unorthodox and physical brand of tennis, almost as if he had once been a star baseball player at Texas A&M for 4 years. He is known for his cutting edge work in the application of pylometrics to tennis. And occasionally this actually works to the benefit of the team!
The Other Team is made up of Denise, known by some as “greatest tennis partner ever.” Says her partner, “she brings a lightning bolt forehand to the game which is unreturnable when it goes in. If only it would go in more often.” Andy, working with Denise, is a truly great tennis player. His spin serve and backhand drop shot were the subject of much discussion down at the Hyatt's Lazy River.
The Hill Country Hyatt Open took place over the course of two hot, humid energy-sapping mornings. In retrospect, its hard to remember what was most impressive – the fact that not a single player was hit with a ball or the sight of at least one player consistently jumping and pirouetting on the court and never once distracting his partner?
In the end, when the dust and humidity-laden air had settled, the inevitable had happened: total game count – Serve-Ace-A's 13, the Other Team 11. Victory for the Serve-Ace-A's.
It was a memorable tournament, one that will not soon be forgotten by the legions of fans who were there to witness it those two days. The one question in all of their minds: will the Other Team be able to regroup and take on the Serve-Ace-A's again at some time in the future? I'm sure tennis fans everywhere truly hope so. How else do you get to see tennis of this quality? See you next year Other Team.
The victors and the losers pose for a friendly post-match pic:
© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved