Well, this is the last day of competition and we woke to cloudy skies and the forecast of rain by mid-day; and were treated to a clinic on hitting the overhead by Roy Emerson….

• The grip should be only the Continental, not the Eastern; because you don’t have the wrist flexibility with the latter.

• Relax your hands and don’t grip tightly

• For the amateur golfers, the toughest shot is hitting out of the bunkers; but for the pros, it is one of their easiest. Same with the tennis overhead.

• You need to have good balance, with your body coming forward on the stroke.

• Don’t let your rear foot come forward on the stroke.

• Don’t let your rear shoulder dip… try to keep your shoulders level.

• When to let the lob bounce? On the high ones because it is more difficult to hit a ball coming straight down.

The Morning

The two teams not in contention (my Wankers and the Dunnies) played our morning matches; while the Newk Kangaroos and Davidson Musclemen contested for the championship.

I volunteered to “play down” at #2 doubles; so I could play with my friend Terry Long (and i figured my tired body could benefit from an easier match). But as it turned out we were matched vs. Tom Mackessy (Columbus, OH) and a 24-year old ranch pro. But we played a polite match and nobody got hurt.

Team Results

At the lunch break Newk’s Kangaroos were tied 9-9 with the Musclemen; but the skies opened up with torrential rains and they had to finish their matches after the dried the courts.

AFTERNOON DOUBLES

We also played our third/fourth playoff playing an 8-game pro set. I figured it would just be a fool-around fun match, until I discover Mark Wirth and I were matched against very strong serving, lefty Dave Kartzinel (Henderson, NV) and BRIAN GOTTFRIED!!

They of course beat us (8-3) and our Wanker team ended up tieing the Dunnies to manage a third place tie.

Newk’s/Willy’s/Rich T’s Kangaroos dominated the afternoon matches and won the championship (making Mr. Newcombe very happy – especially since it turned out he lost the beer drinking contest the night before).

Thursday Night

After Happy Hour that included fresh shrimp from the Gulf and dinner of salmon and chicken breast there was the Awards Ceremonies. As Steve Contardi said, “This will be the longest awards presentation you will ever see!”

There were thanks all around to the Legends who made our week wonderful, the great ranch staff of young pros and in the kitchen, and to Steve Contardi and his whole family who arranged it all. Then there were plaques and pictures for people who won all their singles (Willy), all their doubles, and all their singles AND doubles.

The official ending to a truly fantastic Fantasy Week of tennis with the Legends was Roy Emerson leading all the Aussies in their rendition of “Waltzing Matilda.”

Friday morning, most will play morning drills; but the “Naples four” (plus Tom Mackessy) will take a day of rest and fly AirBerry back to Pelican Bay (and I will rest to get ready for our regular doubles on Saturday morning!).

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