Page 51 of Off Court Fix

“Damn straight,” I say, and when I look away from the TV, I find Dave standing in the doorway.

“Who are you talking to?” he asks, scratching his temple.

I shake my head, muting the TV again. “What’s up?”

“Hot as hell today. Didn’t want to watch the game in the tennis hut. What happened to getting an AC unit in there?” Dave plops into a chair.

“Take it up with the board.”

Dave lifts off his hat, dropping it to his knee. “She’s kind of killing it.”

I say nothing, instead biting my nail and unmuting the TV.

“Alright, here we go. So for those who are joining in just now, we’ve got three sets to be played today. Gonzalez took the first set, Draper the second. The third and final right now is tied 6-6 for games, so what we do now is a 10-point super breaker. The first one to reach ten points, with a margin of 2, wins the set and, thus, the match. That’s what the umpire just reviewed with the players. And Gonzalez is up with the first serve...”

On the screen, Maxine is already waiting at the baseline, hopping lightly between her feet. She looks good, energetic, and ready, considering they’ve already been playing for over two hours. I watch as she rolls her neck side to side, spinning her racket, readying herself at the right side, prepared to return the oncoming serve.

Which is an ace.

“Fuck,” I mumble, ignoring the look Dave gives me as I lean forward, rocking in my desk chair.

But then, the swift kick in the ass is all Maxine needs, and after a quick pace along the baseline and, from what I can see, mumbling some not-so-kind words to herself, everything changes, and Maxine goes on the offensive. Gonzalez doesn’t get another ace off her the rest of the tiebreak.

My knee bounces as I crack my knuckles. “Thatta girl, Maxine.”

I tune out the commentary from the peanut gallery announcers as well as Dave’s noises and remarks. I can’t hear anything apart from the game—Gonzalez’s grunts and yelps, loud and fighting. But sometimes, silence is more powerful. And that’s all that comes from Max. She’s so quiet, I bet if I were at the stadium, I’d hear the creak of her racket strings as she powers through each hit.

The silence continues until she’s won and lets out the fiercest victorious cry, and damn, she’s never looked more beautiful than in that moment—as she drops her rackets and raises her arms high—three thousand miles away and through satellite TV.

I pump my fist and sit back with a smile. Dave raises an eyebrow to me, and I turn my head to him. “What?”

“Youhatewomen’s tennis.”

I tip my chin toward the TV. “She built that win onmygrass,” I tell him.

Dave’s mouth turns into a skeptical twist.

“It’s a club win,” I offer instead. “You should be just as thrilled.”

“Yeah,” Dave says, plopping his hat back on his head. “I should go check on the knuckleheads and make sure they get back to work.”

I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees, folding my hands and watching Maxine’s sportsmanship with Gonzalez before she shakes the umpire’s hand.

And then she twirls as the crowd chants her name.

It’s another few minutes of useless commentary—what can you really say about a win like that?—before Maxine is interviewed on court.

“Maxine,whata match! I’m wondering how you felt when you found out you’d play Paulina here today.”

Maxine nods, still breathing a bit heavily. “I’m of the mindset that you’ll never grow or get anywhere in tennis if you do two things—worry about who you play and worry about who is better than you.” She pauses. “If it were someone else, I’d feel the same way. A match is a match.”

“And what a great one it was. We know you had some trouble in Europe coming off a massive win at Indian Wells. How did you feel going into Wimbledon?”

“Clay and I haven’t been the best of friends lately. But it’s just onto the next one. If I let one match or tournament determine the next, I would’ve been out many losses ago. But I took the time to train hard on grass. I put in the work, and I’m going to keep working harder in the quarterfinals.”

I nod because I know she will.

“And you know, I’m sure many agree with theIn Sportsarticle about you being part of this new kind of era Tennis is in. Tell me, you’ve been a professional athlete now for over a decade. How did it feel to be a cover girl for the most elite sporting magazine in the world?”

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