Hiding Inside the Baseline: Part 1

What’s it like in a national championship match to look across the net and see future top 10 player Aaron Krickstein?

The crowd settles in. The umpire calls out: “Players ready? Play.” I’m in the finals of my first ever major national tournament. July 24, 1983 in Louisville, Kentucky. The national Boys’ I8-and-under Clay Courts.

Win this match and I go on to the National Championships at Kalamazoo the number one-ranked junior tennis player in the United States. Across the net from me is Aaron Krickstein, future top l0 in the world professional.

Playing Aaron on a normal day in itself is an enormous task. Today is no normal day. The stands are full of people. People from all areas of my life.

At court side sits my Junior Davis Cup Coach Brad Louderback. Next to him sit half a dozen of my teammates. Quietly some of them are rooting for me, some against me. You’re never exactly sure who.

I’m part of a traveling team of the United States’ best junior tennis players. We pound on each other by day, hang out and house together by night. Rivalries and resentments come with the environment. lt’s a big deal to…