Two Players; One Trophy

Will and I innocently entered the singles tennis tournament this past weekend at the Ladies Recreational Club, our local tennis haunt in Hong Kong. The tournament started with Will as the club favorite, which is a tough burden to carry. He was the number one seed and featured as the poster boy (literally) for a new evening singles tennis league - an action shot of him from a previous event was proudly displayed on a flyer promoting the league that was liberally handed out during the tournament.

My entry on the other hand, was shrouded in absolutely no fanfare whatsoever - though my hopes were high as I left the apartment at 8:00 am on Saturday to play three consecutive matches against three rather shabby players. I lost them all and thus my exit from the tournament presented itself much like my entry - with little notice at all.

Naturally, my losses were well made up for by Will's wins. Will played a match on Saturday - and walked away with an easy win. Sunday brought a tougher schedule and tougher opponents. The day began at 9:00am with a harder than expected game against an unknown Japanese fellow who though much shorter than 'Stilts' held strong and fought for every point. It proved to be a good warm up and Will walked away with an 8-4 victory (sets worked best to 8).

Two matches and two victories later Will was a sweaty mess with a tough line-up ahead. Positioned once again on center court with an even bigger crowd Will took on another Japanese player, Ryo, a regular hitting partner and Hong Kong ranked tennis guru. Ryo, though fast on the draw, wasn't much of a challenge for Will's service game and aggressive net play. He took home the win again at 8-3. The semi-final win against Ryo put Will into the final match for club champ against another American expat and new club member - Ethan.

Ethan, seven years Will's junior, had age, an ivy league degree and little else on our boy, especially in terms of charm and sportsmanship. A huge crowd gathered to watch the final match - with people rooting for their favorites (mostly Will) and cheering loudly at every hard won point. Will took Ethan down 6-4 in the first set and everyone said he was poised to win. But the tables turned unexpectedly and unfavourably for Team Willis and Ethan took the second set 6-2. The format was two sets to be followed by a 10 point tie breaker and it was obvious to everyone that Will was weak and weary.

The crowd was in an uproar - it was like watching Borg and McEnroe, Federer and Nadal or Venus and Serena. I sat on edge, biting my nails as Ethan forged ahead with an 8-5 lead. Will looked like he had given up hope. I saw money exchanged in the crowd and realized that not only were people betting on my husband but that perhaps the odds had changed. Then Will broke Ethan's serve and evened things out to 8-8. My stomach was still in knots, I felt on the edge of tears - all for a fake gold trophy and the honor of holding the the club championship title for a year - a year we wouldn't be here, and a title Will wouldn't be able to defend. Will lost the next serve taking it to 8-9 - giving Ethan match point. I wanted to sink into my chair. The crowd hung on to every second and silence filled the arena. The quiet was broken by shouts - "Come on Will" (there were a few"Go Ethans" too) as rowdy fans lifted the spirits and energy of the players. Will tossed the ball into the air for the serve - it landed inside the service box and the return went into the net. Phew. It was neck in neck and continued that way for a few points until it was 11-10 Will, and ball was in his court, literally and he nailed an ace at Ethan's face, as the crowd cheered wildly. It was his point, giving him the victory, the title of club champ - and all the glory that comes along with it - which in a small tennis obsessed club in Hong Kong, is quite a lot.

I had to work my way through a thick crowd of fans to give the champ his congratulatory kiss as all the members fawned over the new-found tennis hot-shot. "Fabulous tennis." "The best game ever." "The way the game should be played." "A new level of tennis." I even heard Clive, a true tennis fanatic say, "This is the best game of tennis I've seen in years, it's like watching Wimbledon." This coming from the guy who made his wife stay at the Bali Hilton on their one year anniversary so he could see a woman's pro-am tournament - that's how much he likes his tennis. For a tall guy who aspired to be a famous tennis player and his dotting wife, it was a day of glory. And none of it was eclipsed by the Red Sox world series victory. Not for me anyway - I'm still being congratulated on my husband's victory!

So to answer your question, who won the men's singles tennis tournament? The guy on the poster, that's who. Final score 6-4, 2-6, 12-10. Wow!

Will with his friends and opponents, Ethan and Mic Foo, before the final match