Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

The Home Stretch...at Roland Garros!

tradi’tion n. body of beliefs, facts, etc., handed down to generation to generation without being reduced to writing; the process of handing down.

In honor of all those players who have ever participated in a tennis Grand Slam event. To all of those players who dreamed of participating, but never made it. To John Yandell. To all of the readers of TennisPlayer.net. To my students. To my fellow Americans. To everyone under the sun...it's only x degrees of separation that we are separated by.

Now we head down the home stretch...it's the final sixteen! The boys have all gone home. Only the men are left standing.

This poem never fails to get to me...no matter how many times I read it. Does anyone else feel the same way? My old coach introduced me to this, as he introduced me to Tilden, as he introduced me to Gonzales, as he introduced me to all of the old Aussies...way back when...thank you Sherman.

If...by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t give way to lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master,
If you can think-and not make thoughts your air;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
to serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty second’s worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And-which is more- you’ll be a Man, my son!

[don_budge]

Separating the Men from the Boys...

tradi’tion n. body of beliefs, facts, etc., handed down to generation to generation without being reduced to writing; the process of handing down.


Have not heard back from my challenged friend, Francois, down in the Caribbean. My advise to her has not changed. Poor kid. She’s been sacked from her job. Something about drugs, gringos and backstabbing. The usual intrigue when you are a foreigner. I told her to be careful. If you are playing poker and look around the table...if you don’t see a sucker, you know you are it. All alone thousands of miles away from home. I know how she feels. It helps to be a little older and a little wiser. But not always. Sometimes it is a case of knowing too much...not being able to keep the mouth shut. To not go too far. To be careful, to be cautious. Yes...but back to my advise. What do you tell someone who is looking for the meaning of life? One thing that I always tell them is to play tennis and this is what I have been telling her from day one. Go to the tennis club and meet some nice people participating in a noble activity. You are never alone if you can play a decent game of tennis. At least you can pretend that you are not alone. If Springsteen could find the answer in an old parked car...why not find it on the tennis court? The only other things I told her was to seek the higher power, which is not going to happen as she is firmly convinced otherwise,but you never know, and I advised her to read Celine’s “Journey to the End of the Night”. Go figure. Good advice, like good coaching is tough to find these days.

Francois is a boxer. A woman boxer. That beats all, doesn’t it? I figured the footwork had to be there. And the fighter, too. But anyways, a boxer for a student is not such a bad place to start on the tennis court. I sometimes thought I would of made a good boxer, I throw right but play tennis left, golf right but batted left...both hands are somewhat ready. I can look at life from both sides. You know, the usual win a few, lose a few story. Maybe boxing would of knocked some sense into my noodle. Who knows? Do I sometimes sound confused? Boxing and tennis....both are one on one. Just one opponent, that is, if you don’t count yourself. It’s a fight...in the end. Trying to knock out the other. Or at least knock them off balance. No time to be afraid...you are either defending or on the attack. And neutralizing too. Winning the final point is the goal. No need for the Seals or anyone else for that matter. It’s just you. In the end, you are the captain of your ship.

I regretfully did not have time to watch any of the French Open yesterday. I wanted to see Federer... and only Roger. Gustav watched his match. He said it inspired him. Federer is capable of inspiring young men. He is a classic in a more traditional sense. The Swiss men are on a collision course. Too bad they had to meet in the round of sixteen. Luck of the draw...that is all. Wawrinka came back from down two sets to beat the French hometown favorite in the fifth. That will definitely make a man of him. That’s a long road to hoe. Tsonga’s no pushover. Not in front of that crowd. My wife likes Wawrinka. He’s her favorite. She likes Llodra, too. She doesn't know a whole lot about tennis. Roger will be ready though...he’s not quite ready to turn his ship to England to hone his grass game. He’s the one and only...these days.

Yesterday I was coaching. My three boys, or rather...my three young men, Gustav (16 years), Olof and Philip (both 19 years), are playing up this year in the men’s class. The first couple of matches they have had their asses sort of handed to them, but yesterday they showed signs of benefiting from some our work and training. If I am not the best coach in Europe I advertise that I am the best bang for the buck, at any rate. I go to their matches gratis...because these boys, or rather young men, are very important to me. It was a Friday afternoon/evening at the club. It rained cats and dogs so we went inside on the carpet. Green inside the court, orange on the outside of the lines.

Soon these young men are going to be out there on their own and I am teaching them to play tennis...and to think for themselves. I stress this to them all of the time. School is a place where they teach you some things about some subjects. You can’t deny it. Personally, I never liked school all that much. The occasional teacher perked my interest...inspired me. The tennis court is a place where you will actually learn something...about yourself and about life. If you can put two plus two together. If you put yourself in the fire enough times...you will learn a thing or two. These guys are learning. I’m there to teach them. It’s a tough lesson. It's a tough road to hoe. Winning and losing. Life's no picnic either. Not for most of us. First, you must open the door of being a loser. And then you enter...to the journey. I have done my share of losing.

Gustav won his match 6-1, 6-1. We sat together and talked as we watched Olof and Philip lose in almost identical fashion. Both lost approximately 6-4, 6-1, We talked about a lot of things. One subject was that as an American I see things differently than the Swedes. It is only natural. That is culture. Not that I am a typical American. You have to be careful to not give yourself too much credit when you are a foreigner, though. My ideas are...well you are getting your ideas. Swedes tend to play it a bit safe and they are winning, at least for the moment in some respects...and I am a bit more outside of the box, not that it makes me a gambler. They seem to be alright with me. Maybe more so than Americans. I never seem to quite fit in. I try to play the percentages. We talked about tennis and how it relates to life. We talked about strings and the spin of the ball. No biomechanics or slick presentations. Just basic stuff...man to man. We talked a little bit about forehand technique...how to get more spin on the ball, using Roger as the model. I am waking up to this reality. About the strings, that is.

So I had two scenarios going...my conversation with Gustav while watching the other two play their match. Brain equally divided down the middle. Perfect for me...not really, I am easily annoyed when I am distracted. They both played reasonably well for the first set but lost, then they got discouraged and basically folded and packed it in for the second set. Olof’s serve is improving. Philip needs to work on his concentration and competitive spirit. He’s a musician...trying to be an artist. A little scattered.

The lesson against the backboard is paying off for Olof, I hope. The motion is much better...very promising, in fact. I spent two hours with him on Wednesday when Gustav couldn’t make it to practice because of some school commitment. We focused on his one hand backhand, which we converted from two hands about eight months ago. I started in Budge mode. Then we will graduate to the modern backhand...more Swiss style. He actually came over the ball a few times in his match...it's a sign of confidence. The format for the match is three singles and one doubles and Philip and Olof were scheduled to play the doubles. Both Gustav and I were not sure if these two would have the stomach to play another match but they decided to have a go at it...so the four of us sequestered ourselves in my tiny office and I gave them the talk.

We sat there, Gustav was the only one left standing because there wasn’t a chair, but I had the other two squarely in my sights, looking directly in their eyes. You can feel the love. I talked to them about their first match. I was acting a little tough. Just a little...I don’t want to scare them, I just want them to act tough on the court. I told them how my old coach used to tell me that I must play five tournaments in a row to be match tough. I told them that they both should of beaten their opponents, but losing is a huge part of the lesson. We have only begun, I tell them. Sometimes it is about dealing with losing. Sometimes it is about dealing with winning.

The two masks of drama and life. Dealing with these two impostors...ala Kipling. One is not necessarily a loser if you learn something from the experience. To lose the first set is no reason to pack it up. The fun has just begun. The fight has just begun. Every point. Every point has a meaning. I told them of an old friend of mine, Mike Rose, who was just so much tougher after losing the first set. He really knew how to dig in. You were almost tempted to throw the first set to him in order to have a chance of winning the match. They are looking into my eyes, trying to find themselves...searching the eyes of an old warrior. They trust me. They know that I have been there, that I am there...for them. They went out and won their doubles 7-6, 7-6. A small victory. But not for two young men growing up to be men in Sweden. And an old coach from nowhere...who lives in the woods. Tomorrow I will tell them how proud of them I am. Every Saturday the four of us play doubles. It's a tradition...of sorts.

Now we are in the round of sixteen at the Open...the men are separating themselves from the boys. One set apiece for Del Potro and Djokovic...whose the man? A big break for Del Potro as now it is a two out of three set match...but it's a "different" Djokovic these days.

[don_budge]

Yesterday...

What did I miss? Yesterday I was off on a bit of a cyber intervention...a cyber rescue. It was a friend of mine...her name is Francois...a French girl that I met in the Swedish For Immigrants class here. She was the first person that I began my teaching comeback with, my first student in the modern age of tennis. I gave her a couple of lessons over at the local golf club here that has a couple of courts that have been eroding over the years.

Things went sour here for her...she and Magnus dissolved things because of an infatuation she had for some Italian boxer for some six years, she was keeping it to herself all those years, he just happened to be Magnus' best friend. Nothing ever happened between her and the boxer...it was just an infatuation she says. Now she is in the Caribbean, in the Gulf of Mexico and life is still playing havoc with her. She sent me a rambling email about the diving business, drugs, men, gypsies and of course Magnus...he was her "rock" she says but they didn't want to get married. She just couldn't get over the Italian. Computers are good like that...cyber rescues, cyber missions!


But...upon my return to reality and the French Open, I caught Mats Wilander on the Eurosport channel (sort of Europe's version of ESPN lite I suppose). He was talking with his comely British cohost, Annabelle something or other, at the French Open...they host a show called "Game, Set and Mats" every evening after the matches to recap what was going on, even if nothing was. They sort of make it up as they go along. A lot of drivel sometimes it seems. They showed one of the women victors doing the "moon walk" when she did her victory dance. Victory dance?

Boring day, except for Nadal's third set, if you ask me...not that anybody is, but Wilander said something interesting about a meeting that he attended. Mats commented that he hoped that the tournament did not change venues, from Rolland Garros to someplace else...I think that I detected a bit of nostalgia in his demeanor. A weak moment. He didn't really say who the meeting was with, but the topic of discussion was, apparently they are back at it again...they are thinking of ways to "modify and improve" the game because they are losing audience.

He specifically mentioned the age group of under 50 as being MIA. But that seems to be just about everyone that might possibly be interested in watching a game that is currently being played at nearly the speed of light on the professional level. The audience under 50...that is pretty funny. Down right crazy if you think about it. Houston...we have a problem.

Anyways, his mentioning the meeting was a bit of a ramble...the only thing I remember him saying was something about speeding up the matches. He said something about eliminating the let call on the serve and I forget everything else he said. They are back at it again. Changing the thing that was never broken in the first place. What will they think of next? What about all of that tradition? Oh never mind.

All of this discussion about strings in the forum has sort of woken me up a bit. I pulled a Rip Van Winkle...never touched a racquet for 15 years. The spin on the ball is just unbelievable. I cannot believe how the ball is arching. I wonder what Tilden would of said. I never did care for the equipment guy types, no offense, geoff. It's only past experience. Besides, you are the exception because of your contributions to our forum. I'm gleaning from you, too. I follow all the clues, no matter the source.

No wonder nobody wants to go to the net. They would be taking their own life into their hands. It was sort of surprising how much Laver and Rosewall were going to the net in that archaic piece that Phil was so kind to post in this thread earlier.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring...for Djokovic. Yawn. An early exit at the hands of Del Potro, I hope. I am dreading another Nadal vs. Djokovic final. Soon they will be calling it one of the greatest rivalries of all time...like Federer vs. Nadal. Roger may have his hands full...his opponent reads Dostoyevsky from what I understand.

Phil, Stotty...it's only x number degrees of separation isn't it! So cool!

[stotty]

Thanks for the photo.

That tall block of apartments (on the far side of the photo) is where my wife's parents live!

The world gets smaller and smaller, doesn't it?

[gzhpcu]

Porto Ceresio in the winter time... Golosone means gluttonous.... Will try it out...

[stotty]

I'll look forward to it, Phil. We are off to Majorca this year, but next year (or even later at the end of the year) will be spent in Porto Ceresio. Be great to meet you and have a game....shall we spin for serve now?

Yes, the promenade in Porto Ceresio is lovely, isn't it? There is a wonderful ice-cream parlour called Il Golosone there too... do try it....best ice-cream I've ever tasted!

[gzhpcu]

Phil

I am married to an Italian who worked in Lugano, at a jewellers call Bonaglia. She lived in a place called Porto Ceresio on the Italian side of the border. Her parents still live there. She came over to England to marry me 15 years ago.

It's a beautiful place Lugano. I went there many times when visiting my wife before we married. When my wife and I next visit Porto Ceresio, I will drop you a line. We can meet up and have a singles!

Small world, isn't it?

Small world indeed Stotty! We often go to Porto Ceresio for a walk on its promenade... Great if you can make it! Not only can we play some singles, but my wife is a very good cook...

[stotty]

Phil

I am married to an Italian who worked in Lugano, at a jewellers call Bonaglia. She lived in a place called Porto Ceresio on the Italian side of the border. Her parents still live there. She came over to England to marry me 15 years ago.

It's a beautiful place Lugano. I went there many times when visiting my wife before we married. When my wife and I next visit Porto Ceresio, I will drop you a line. We can meet up and have a singles!

Small world, isn't it?

[gzhpcu]

bottle,
I am not an expat. I am Swiss Italian, and at the tender age of three immigrated to Los Angeles with my parents.


My Dad played tennis and taught me to play at the tender age of 10, from my Mom I learned to swim and excercise. My Mom also taught me to paint, which I still do to this age...

Always an avid reader and bookworm, as a kid I'd read up on dinosaurs, Roman history, cosmology, etc., not forgetting Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, however...

Was lucky enough to see the two Panchos train now and then as a kid, and my Dad lucky enough to play mixed doubles with Gorgeous Gussy Moran (my Mom didn't particularly like it...).

Came back to Zurich when I was 21 to study electrical engineering at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technogy).

Played interclub tennis in Zurich for close to 40 years.

Figured I had made enough money to retire at the age of 56, and returned to my home town Lugano, where I now work out a lot, play tennis daily, surf the internet, paint, read books (so much to learn, so little time...), enjoying life with my beautiful wife...

Here is a short video, showing a rainbow over Lugano, as seen from our balcony...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8quZaPZ1L0

[bottle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI-QiXbIw_I

I include the above video simply because I like it. I have no ulterior motive.

The freedom to kid around here is surely one of the great features of this forum, but I want to be serious now-- very, very serious.

Stepping back and viewing everything sub specie aeternitatis, as my Swedish girlfriend used to say, I am intrigued by the two seeming expats who contribute with such regularity.

I use the word "seeming" on purpose because these two fellows, the one living in Lugano, the other in the Swedish countryside, do not appear to suffer from the glibness and bitterness so apt to characterize expats everywhere. This makes me think they're not expats at all but rather simply Americans living well in another country.

The way that tennis fits into this equation, along with Steve's translation, has to appeal to me in a personal way (despite the contempt that the American publishing industry holds for all things personal) since about a decade ago or more I tried to move to Budapest hoping to teach English and maybe tennis and then to graduate into translation, which would be the way to actually succeed by earning money, according to my pro-active Hungarian friends.

Learning Magyarul, one of the most difficult languages in the world, however, proved beyond me, especially when I wasn't out in the street engaging in constant conversation but rather was sequestered in a bullet-riddled apartment building writing unpublishable American fiction.

Listen, surviving in this country is pretty damned difficult. Where I live now,
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, has one of the highest cancer rates in America, for instance. Living in another country, though-- making the tennis or whatever
work-- is a terrific accomplishment. I'm thinking of the Swedes, Swiss and Hungarians I've known who made it in the United States as well.

One of the many reasons tennis is so great is the way it contributes to multi-culturalism. There is nothing this country needs right now more than the ability to get outside of itself.

Just as I seem to go nowhere in my tennis invention until I start comparing two different players trying to achieve some shared, very specific and technical aim, one may not be able to think straight, ever, if one is a
landlocked American. One doesn't have to travel all the time, though that would be nice, but one does need to be more open to other cultures.

So as an Escher whose family comes from Zurich I'd like to say to Phil, please
do anything to make us more aware of where you live. (And your tennis videos and memorabilia are indeed very, very priceless.)

And to Steve, keep hanging out with those intelligent beasts and maybe add
two pinches of Thoreau. Your promise as a writer is considerable because you're willing to put yourself out there, with honesty, which means that your ego can take a hit.

I remember when I said something in one of William Golding's classes about self-indulgence, and suddenly he was taking me seriously. Self-indulgence is a big thing in writing. That subject certain comes up frequently in the posts here and yes, we can all easily become so personal that nobody knows what the hell we're talking about.

On the other hand there are a lot of scared people, too, deathly afraid that
they will embarrass themselves. Does that lead to good tennis or any other kind of good writing or even talk? I don't think so.

Best, when somebody reveals something of themselves we can see that they're having a good time, and without some kind of a good time there is nothing.

Take the greatest novel ever written, DON QUIXOTE. Is it self-indulgent? Of course. Except when it isn't.

As a former student of John Hawkes at Brown, I would have to say that everything is about finding the right voice-- for talking about tennis or anything else.

It's easy to find great voice in a forum as lively as this one-- happens all the time for a significant number of people. There's a lesson in this. This forum
happens to be a special place right now (but please, nobody, don't take it for granted, and believe me when I say it hasn't always been so good).

Readers, let us have our fun-- we won't hurt you, I promise.

P.S. When I first came to Stockholm, I stayed in the Superior Judge's apartment on Odengatan. In his daughter's bedroom I read my first novel,
WINDWAY, out loud. But the judge kept bursting through the door. Well,
we weren't just listening to my fiction. We talked, too, and stuff. One time when the judge burst in one or the other of our four legs was still up on the bed, and I was banished from that bedroom forever. So we rented an apartment one block away.

[bottle]

Celine, ha-ha. That's where those...three dots come from. Samuel Putnam translation of DON QUIXOTE in Phil's bookcase...the best.

[don_budge]

Wrist bands...

No vanity sofa for the boys to take a bit of a rest between changeovers. Laver retrieves a couple of dry wristbands from his racquet cover. No suitcases or accessory bags.

God bless Mr.Budge...see how his chest is out over his front knee giving him the leverage for a powerful swing on the backhand. Look at those white pants with the shirt still tucked without a single wrinkle at the conclusion of his match. He never changed. Not a wrinkle.

Gave me a chance to brush up on my French....Merci Phil!

[gzhpcu]

How about Laver - Rosewall Roland Garros?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCsIEx7ykDY

or History of Roland Garros...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezUDvIzZmWg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwcrH1H-3Rk&feature=related

[don_budge]

ahem...

Ahem...

Re # 6,
what happened to Olof?
He was studying for a physics exam but he chickened out of calling me...I got the message from Gustav.

Or is it simply that, because of all the socialism, the standard of living has dropped so low in Sweden that nobody can afford new shoes?
The standard of living remains largely status quo but I see signs...struggling auto companies, inflated real estate prices, families living beyond their means on credit. Sound familiar? Some say it is the 51st state. The most obvious thing identified with socialism is the healthcare system...which all have access to. It isn't free...but nearly so. The people do tend to think that it is better to be part of the middle class with few sticking their neck out to become outlandishly rich. The object of the game is to not stand out...to become to obvious. Blend in with the crowd.

Now, Steve, you say you want to write, but your writing is too personal.
Wanting to write and having talent to write are two separate things. You, sir, are a creative writer and I am but a timid translator of Swedish research papers. I wish that I would have taken your lit classes when I was younger. I am just a hermit who lives in the woods with the other dumb beasts, trying to stay in touch with civilization by participating on this blog.

About Olof-- by using that name you mean to imply that he is "a stupid Swede," right?
Olof is anything but stupid. I believe that he could do anything he set his mind to. He could be the next "Olof Palme" if he chose to. He is one of the most handsome, smartest, talented young men you could ever hope to meet. My neighbor's wife met him at the Davis Cup match against Italy and she said, "He looks like one of those perfect boys that a older Italian gentlemen would keep for his amusement." That comment had her husband looking a bit perplexed. Olof could be "Larry" from Maughm's "On the Razor's Edge".

I'm glad you won his match for him, and I'd say, don't feel bad about beating up on a 15-year-old.
The kid actually took it quite well. He seemed to get a kick out of the "blast from the past". He mumbled something about "having to practice more" after our match as we shook hands. I sort of avoided his parents.

I'm 71 and recently, in a board game, beat a 7-year-old of Czech extraction who regularly beats his father. Pinned his queen, I did.
I wish that I could have seen the look on your face.

Afterwards, I started to feel guilty, too, especially since, when I wasn't looking, he went to his father, our host, and cried.
I wish I could of have seen the look on your face when the tears started to flow. You are killing me!

It's hard though when you haven't played chess in 18 years to throw the game.
Really?

If you don't mind me saying so...bottle, you are a real classic. Please continue.

[don_budge]

Amazing...

A white t-shirt, two racquets and a towel, spectacles and a wood racquet. Probably were drinking out of the can for the tennis balls. Savages. This is even before my time, but I can appreciate the tradition...anthropologically speaking. Look at that Parisian skyline...one lone tower. Maybe Ferdinand Celine was in the stands.

It's amazing how we have evolved from the savage to the civilized. Even in tennis. Beautiful. Keep 'em coming. How about a couple of Aussies at Roland Garros? You are a classic, my friend. Thanks Phil.