Senior Games - Round Robin

  I finished up my New York Empire Senior Games tennis matches this morning.   Five matches over two days was a pretty exhausting schedule.   My opponents were feeling it about as much as I was.   We all were feeling the effects of some pretty competitive matches upon our feet, legs and bodies.   However, it was a great time of camaraderie even though we all have a strong will to win.   There were five men in my singles 75-79 group.  Dave Shannon and Dave Usher certainly were the superior players and proved it with a one-two finish followed by Walt Schoonaker in third.   This years format was lots of fun since we used a round robin scheme which had each one of us playing the other four.   With the 8 game pro set matches the matches were not as long but still had enough games to give everyone a chance to come back from being down.
    Past tournaments have used a one and done for the loser format which can be discouraging for someone to travel hundreds of miles to play and have their participation finished in as little as an hour. The French Open has been played over the last couple of weeks and I truly can agonize with the players that go out in the first round.   One and done has to be tough on the psyche!   I guess they do get some money to show, but that has to be a hard way to make a meager living.   Truly the grunts in the trenches that fill out the brackets in the lower seeds don't get the appreciation they deserve.   In the past Nancy and I have gone to the semi finals of the U.S. Tennis Open and sat high in Ashe Stadium while the stars performed.   More recently we have gone to the early rounds and enjoyed sitting a few feet from the lesser known players competing in their matches on the perimeter courts.   I think I have enjoyed the latter experience the most.   They may not be the very best in the sport, but they are professionals and give it their best.
    I don't know how entertaining the geezer tennis players are for the gallery but we still give it our best shot and thank the Lord we are enjoying life this side of the grass.   Oh for the love of the game!
   As and end note, Nancy and I for the first time competed in mixed doubles.   We had a great time even in a losing effort.    And our marriage remains as strong as ever!

Victor ready to receive.

Dave Usher -Great serves.

Gerry - Post match smile

Walt -Preparing to serve.