I Keep Falling Out of My Chair

How many of you watch tennis? I don't have a TV at home and I watch it online. It takes a bit of time and trouble to find a functional live stream channel whenever a match is on, which is one reason why I skip a lot of the ATP World Tours even though I'd like to watch more often. The other reason is, huh, it gives me heart attacks. Most of these matches are on past midnight HK time, or even 5am if it's the US Open. Who wants to sit in front of the computer screen alone, at such hours, to wave their fists at some world-class athletes spinning magical shots across the court, displaying superhuman mental strength to take each other down? The match that could go on forever takes that sudden turn you've been waiting for, and the crowd goes nuts at those fatal last shots that leave one of these guys walking off the court, disgruntled, even destroyed. What do you do with yourself when the match is over?

Sometimes I feel I'd fall out of my chair just watching a match. Other times I feel a terrible sense of dread and I'm almost tempted to closer the browser, stop watching right then and there. Most of the time I don't work regular hours and I have the luxury of staying up late to watch sports. Just the same, it sucks up my energy whenever I do it, esp. when my favorite player is losing and I feel a little crushed.

So, Rafael Nadal, please adjust your game now. You've got a new nemesis and he's getting too good. The clay court in Madrid was somewhat favorable to Djokovic and you hadn't had much time to prepare for this tournament, but he played better than you today as he does these days. Whatever it is, you've gotta change and step up on your game and beat him. You're still at the top and in world's sports, you're one of those guys who can bounce back against all odds. You can do it. Because if you don't, I'm going to be raging mad and losing a bit of sleep next time you lose to Djokovic! 

Now, people, don't get me wrong--I'm not a Nadal fan because of his muscle or anything like that. I have a soft spot for him because he's the first tennis player I sat down to watch years ago and that experience got me into this sport. Growing up I was a soccer fan, but it got boring and a tad too dirty. Now I like tennis because there's always a lot going on, so incredibly competitive and classy, and it shows me what perseverance means. Shot by shot, game by game, these guys give the best of themselves until they win or get broken down. One day I'd love to learn to play tennis, just to get a taste of hitting that ball across the court.