She's back ~ L. Hamilton

83. | One Week

A week later and two days before Wimbledon starts, I get a message from Lewis saying that my uncle is being released from the hospital.

I breathe out so deeply once I find out that I almost forget about the fact that the draft for Wimbledon was released earlier this morning.

"Read it to me" my uncle says over the phone

"I play Dona in the first round," I say, looking at the pages that a hotel worker had printed out for me.

I throw myself down on the sofa. Holding the pages above my head.

"Piece of cake, she can't anticipate" my uncle says "Hit your marks, you'll be fine. Who is after that?"

I gauge who is likely to win the other match. "Probably Cameron"

"She's easy to ruffle" he says.

I look up at the ceiling "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Break her early and I'm probably good. Then after that it's ..." I pull the chart up to my eyeline for a second. "Martin or Nystrom"

"It will be Nystrom, most likely"

"No way" I say. I'm up now, pacing. "Martin is the better player"

"Martin has had a lot of trouble in the past adjusting her game to grass. She plays too far back on the court. It will be Nystrom, unless Martin has gotten a better coach"

"Well, Nystrom I can take. Her volley game is good, but her serve is shit—I can break her in the first game"

"Exactly. Next?"

"Could be Esme"

"Slow as an ox" my uncle says "She can't keep up. If she gets to you, just keep the ball moving quick. If you set the pace from the jump and don't let up, she's out"

"Yeah, you're right"

"Who's next?"

"Don't you think you should be relaxing?" I say.

"No, I don't" my uncle says. "Not while my niece prepares for Wimbledon. Now, who is next?"

"Probably Moretan" I say "By the looks of it"

"Who else could it be?" he says

"Maybe Machado"

"I'd put money on Machado" he says

"Why?"

"She's an underestimated player. But she adjusts very quickly. Moretan only has one play: power. Mochado has more shots. I think it's Machado"

"So then what do I do?" I say.

"If it does end up Moretan, she's not strong on the run, so keep her there and her game will fall apart. If it's Machado... I think you stay economical at the beginning, play percentage tennis. If you win the first set, you're well on your way. If you don't, you have to win the next two sets, but you're not as tired as she is"

"Okay" I say "Sure"

"Who's next?"

I look at the chart "Uh, hard to say" I tell him. I look out the window at the river. "But most likely it's looking like it would be Charlie Thyme - if she doesn't get moved to the other side before the final 16"

My uncle is quiet for a moment.

I turn my attention back to the phone. "But I have a plan for Thyme"

"What's your plan?"

"She's faster than me, and she's good on grass," I say.

He pauses and then says, "Okay"

"So I follow your advice from Paris. I don't try to match her speed. If anything, I slow the game down"