40 Serving 15, The Family Ties that Bind
Posted: September 28th, 2007 | Author: Nathan K. | Filed under: | 1 Comment »Unexpected, that is the best term I have come up with. The time I spend with my wife’s Grandfather (Gung-Gung) is more than I spend with my family. After not playing tennis for more than 10 years, Gung-Gung got me back into the game by having me play against him and his friends. Often, I play with my Father-in-law as my tennis partner. Remember, all of Gung-Gung’s friends are well into their 60s and 70s. The thing is, they often win…
Now, I think this says less about the quality of my game, versus both their competitiveness and ability to absolutely get everything back. They have also completely mastered all forms of spin; top spin, side spin, back spin, diagonal spin, willy wonka spin, crazy spin, and whacked spin… You have to follow their racket closely to anticipate what type of spin it will be for every shot. For example, with side spin you have to stand where the ball will land at your backhand and let the spin carry it to your forehand.
When you think about it, this is a rare opportunity for three generations; Gung-Gung, my father-in-law and myself to spend time together playing tennis together every few weeks for an hour and a half. Not many families actually compete against one another and I have grown quite fond of playing Tennis with my wife’s family. I do have to slow my game down, hang out a few steps behind the service line to return serves and play extremely close attention to what type of spin my opponents plan to depart to the ball!
The best thing though, is when Gung-Gung and his partner come back from 3-0 in a set to win 6-8. It was great seeing how excited Gung-Gung was to win that set. He and his partner had some amazing side spin, down the line passing shots (who knew) and of course the completely improbably drop shots…
I hope he continues to ask me out to play. Luckily, he wants a rematch in a week or two!
PS – I once bet Gung-Gung a six pack that we would beat him. We were fortunate enough to win and he bought me a six pack of toilet paper. I am still waiting on the beer.
[...] I think I skipped ahead a little too far. I play tennis with my Gung-Gung and Michael nearly every-other week and enjoy it immensely. We play hard, and Gung-Gung and I like to prepare for each match with a bit [...]