Page 29 of Game Point
‘That is good advice,’ he said. ‘Just breathe, don’t throw anything.’
‘I don’t need the reminder.’
‘Well, you have a history.’ If he was in the room, I’d stick my tongue out at him. ‘Don’t throw anything, and you’ll be fine.’
‘Thanks,’ was all I managed as I realized how just talking to him had helped dissipate the anger, how much better I felt from one phone call with him.
‘Go get ’em killer.’
I smiled as I said goodbye, knowing if I didn’t go face Rachel now, I might never go back. I took a deep inhalebefore using the light from my phone to find the handle of the door and leaving the cupboard. I arrived back in the interview refreshed; my back straightened as I tried to remain in that strength the talking to Oliver had given me.
Take control of the interview. I can say no.
Rachel grinned at my return, her beady eyes lighting up with a twisted kind of hunger, like she hadn’t had her fill of me yet.
‘Where were we?’ I asked, refusing to apologize for needing to step out of the room. She leaned across to her phone, continuing the recording before she returned to another question, seemingly moving on.
I somehow managed to keep the rest of my rage under control through the second part of the interview. Despite Rachel’s probing questions about my techniques and training, even going as far to try and dig up some gossip on others around the court. But thankfully, it wasn’t long before Brooke appeared at the door, interrupting Rachel’s line of questioning to let us know time was up.
When we stood to say goodbye, I knew from the look on her face at the end she was already dreaming up some awful headline, maybe even found some dirt for her column, but I’d made it without being escorted out in handcuffs, and that had to be a win.
9
Oliver
Figure 8 – Paramore
Anderson vs Roy
Davis Cup, AO Arena, Manchester GB vs Canada
I slumped into the bench, emptying the remainder of my water bottle onto my sun-burnt neck. It wasn’t just the heat that made it feel like I was in hell, it was this match. I’d barely scraped a win in the first set, taking it all the way to a tie break. Then Roy came back and took the second set.
Now in the third, he was on fucking fire, and I was staring down the barrel of having to find my own comeback in this set or face the reality that I could be the reason my team, my country drops out of the Davis Cup in the group stages.
I stared out at the court, trying to rally, to convince myself I could do this. I could take this back, gain control over the situation.
When the break finished, I was still far from certain. But I got to my feet, anyway, found my racket and stopped thinking about it. I pushed all that doubt, all the anxiety aside, and I played fucking tennis.
My serve. I threw the ball in the air and pushed myracket forward. The shot hit the net. The umpire declared a fault and I did it all over again. Second serve. I went through the motions, the very motions ingrained in my body through years of training beginning from when I was four years old. I served again. This time the ball landed in the box.
And then Roy, the asshole, turned to his side, and drop-shotted his return. A DROP SHOT.
The score was 0–15 and I was going to have a breakdown. It was not just that I sucked, but Roy was on fire. He had been outpacing me at every turn since the very first serve.
The rest of the game went as badly as I predicted.
0–30
0–40
15–40
And the game was his, the next serve was his.
He’d barely let me get a point, and if I didn’t fight back soon, the entire match would be his. I found my serving position, catching two balls as they were tossed to me. Taking my time, I peered at the clock under my sweaty brow. I wasn’t done here yet.Right?
I’d never been one to suffer under the pressure. After burning out a few years into my career, I found the best method for me was to take a more relaxed approach. I played the tournaments I felt good for, took a break when I needed to. It wasn’t only about injury, but mental health too. My performances were stronger then, and stepping out for a couple of months didn’t have a very long-lasting effect on my ranking, especially if I did well in the slams.
