Strung

“We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong”

Rafael Nadal was wiped out in round two and Roger Federer barely survived his latest match at the All-England Club. The Fed managed to keep it together, but hasn’t won a grand slam championship since 2010. I hope he doesn’t win another Wimbledon because I don’t want Pete Sampras’ record to be challenged. Sampras’ legendary white shorts and wanton shots will reign in my heart for a long time to come.

What keeps you together during a match? Do you reset your mind, restart your wheels or revamp your game? Does it really matter how you string things together as long as you get the job done? In B-school, we are taught all about ethics, so I would argue it does matter for the business world. The same argument could be made for tennis. After all, nobody likes a cheater or unfair opponent. And, is that how you want to be known? Look at what happened to David Nalbandian at the French Open. His flashy off court rant is what may abjectly define the man’s career in the long run.

I find it most intriguing how in life we are joined together with others by the most trivial things. A similar train schedule. A mutual admired hobby. Proximity at a musical concert. The people we call our friends are those who we manage to find and associate with commonalities, but we are joined together with strangers by mere circumstance. Nadal was stunned by a no-name twenty six year old player from the Czech Republic (who has since been eliminated). Who knows what the string will join together next? Will Nadal’s ouster cause another to rise to fame? Will Federer fall and string together another Wimbledon loss? Who will you meet by mere circumstance, or mere fate?

“We’ll always be like one”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVib2ie9-68

Slice Of Life

“All the usual places, the same destinations, only something has changed”

Today is the 23^rd of June. In three days, I will have earned my Master’s in Business Administration. It’s a dream come true and a dream I have longed to achieve since I was very young. I haven’t been this excited about my future since I went away to college at age eighteen. The chance of playing college tennis was one of the leading contributors to that excitement eleven years ago. Today’s excitement is a different type. It’s a contentment I have not felt for a long while. It’s a happiness I’ve stored away for the right time. The road we walk is often treacherous and lengthy. There are no guarantees, but I can finally say I’ve conquered the gravel path. I’m looking forward to the upcoming year and my relocation to Austin, Texas in one month. The city represents to me a step in the direction of the future I dreamed up when I first discovered my dreams. The excited feeling I now possess is like picking up a tennis racquet for the first time after a difficult winter. When that sun is shining, the only place I want to be is on the tennis court. It’s the first swing of the season, the one I’ve anticipated all too long.

I’m grateful for all that has happened this past year: the friends I’ve met, the opportunities that have rolled my way, good health that keeps me going. I’m most thankful for the future waiting in the wings like the feather tip of a tennis ball in the wind. I think to the future and what it will mean for my dreams and bring to my life. There is still so much I want to accomplish, so much to be done. As graduation nears, I think it’s important to understand the prerequisite for success is a vision, hard work and persistence. Taking life one slice at a time is the only way to reach the apex. Whatever it is you want to achieve, whoever it is you envision in your future, don’t give up on that. Be persistent in your goals, but take life as it comes too. You can’t control the elements of the game any more than you can control the forces of this unpredictable world. It’s a hard lesson to grasp if you’re anything like me and are striving to reach that apex in your life. Sometimes life just takes over, and you’re forced to go with the flow…and you may find yourself, too, dreaming of cowboys in Austin, Texas.

“Now is greater than the whole of the past”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CMr3oDfL_o

Unending Set

“I guess that’s just the way the story goes”

If you play tennis long enough, there will come a time when you wish for the set to never end. John Isner may disagree, but every tennis player reaches the point where they want to play on and on long after the set has ended. Whether it’s pure energy, enjoyable weather, or a terrific opponent, the unending set is a phenomenon you will go through at least once as a tennis player. I think my moment came two summers ago in a recreational match. It was a Saturday at the peak of summer. The sun was beating down on the hard surface of the court in the early dawn of the morning. There was some sort of 5K race going on around the tennis courts. My opponent and I were not distracted by the commencement of the race, nor did the award ceremony throw off our concentration. We played six sets of tennis that morning. Our endurance outlasted that of the runners competing in the street race. My water bottle, warm after just the first switchover, was completely finished by the second set. There’s a certain splendor to the kind of tennis that you never want to end. It’s even better when you’re opponent feels the same way. After the fifth set, our stamina no longer mattered. The points and the games were strung together into one unending set. We played for the enjoyment of basking in the unending set (and the dehydrating heat).

I had a different type of ‘unending set moment’ this week. Did you ever have a night you didn’t want to end? I have had several, but none quite like the most recent. It was my last night with a close friend before we both move out of state. We were full of energy. We laughed hard. He was a terrific opponent, and the one who has shown me that winning isn’t about who totals the most points. No, winning is about finding the person who makes you smile inside and out. After that night, it’s hard to believe we will never see each other again. It pains my heart, but I know the next set is waiting out there for both of us. All good things come to an end, even the unending set. I think there is always an end because it’s the only way we can enjoy what has passed.

“No I can’t forget this evening or your face as you were leaving”

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vZUqxlW88