She's back ~ L. Hamilton

90. | And Up Against Me Is.....

My uncle is shouting at my through the phone "you were incomparable! You were dynamic. You were spectacular today Del! Breathtaking! You played in a way that kept us all glued to the TV"

I laugh as I sit down on the couch. The phone was ringing the moment I got in the door. I've barely had time to put my things down.

"Thanks Marco"

"I am not exaggerating! Let me tell you something... At the end of the third set, you two were neck and neck. I watched you at the changeover. I saw you thinking it through. And I knew. I said to Lewis, I said, 'She's got it.' And you did. Oh, I am so proud of you - he was so proud of you. He was beaming"

"Where is he?" I ask

"He waited around for you to call as long as he could but he had a conference call with Mercedes. Don't worry. He and I talked at length about your brilliance today. I told him, I said, 'She goes afer what she wants on the court but not in real life. In real life, you have to be patient"

"What are you even talking about? And stop, you don't need to be discussing me with him"

"Oh, Delaney, that ship has sailed. He comes every day, and after we are done playing chess and a game of uno and watching an episode or two of Friends, what do you think we are going to do? Talk about the weather? This is Australia, spoiler alert, it's sunny"

"He's coming every day?" I ask. I look over the room service menu as if I don't know already that I'm going to order grilled chicken.

"Yeah, every day. He brings me breakfast and stays until after lunch. Or he brings me lunch and stays until after dinner. Honestly, it makes sense to me why he's here all the time. Did you know his own team didn't show up a couple times to celebrate with him after he got on the podium?"

"I know a little" I say, my mind flashing back to the time I stood alone at the podium with a helmet on my head cheering for him. The smile on his face in that moment.

"Imagine! Imagine having your head that far up your own ass that you just don't show up!"

"All right, all right" I say.

"I like him, Delaney. I really do. Even with the things he says about Daniel, you know I've come to realise that Daniel is no Saint, he doesn't exactly talk all flowers and rainbows about Lewis. But I really do like him"

"I can tell"

"No, I like him for you. This whole thing is very interesting, you two"

"Marco cut it out"

"And he seams to thinks so -"

"Stop it or I will get off the phone" I exclaim

"Ma ho ragione" he says "When does Li play?"

"Tonight. Soon" look at my watch. "Any second now, actually"

"Ay," he says. I hear him start to wrestle around for the remote, I can hear the TV turning on. So I grab the remote and turn on mine, I didn't have to change any channels, nearly all of them are showing Wimbledon anyway.

The match is just beginning

Nicki stands tall on the court. Her tennis whites are crisp and bright, a tennis skirt and tank top.

Her shoes are her own 130s, bright white.

I watch her, bouncing on the balls of her feet, stretching out her shoulder, standing at the baseline. She has a huge smile on her face, like she's living for this moment.

Charlie Thymes's face is all business.

"This is it" my uncle says. "Li wins this, and then you beat her. And suddenly, it's a whole different story"

"I know" I say, watching her first serve. "I had a drink with her the other night. I . .. liked her"

Nicki hits her first serve. My shoulder starts to sting just watching Charlie return it.

"You didn't talk strategy, did you?" my uncle says.

"give me a little credit"

"You know what I say about making friends out of your opponents"

"Honestly" I say, sighing, "no, I don't. Because you just told me to never do it"

"Well, yeah," he says. "Exacto, Del. But if you do, don't talk strategy, don't tell them how you felt about your last game, don't tell them your fears, don't tell them your strengths either. And you sure as hell never tell them how much it hurts you to lose"

"Oh, is that all?" I say. Nicki and Charlie are still rallying for the point.

"Don't tell them what you had for breakfast either" he says "They could use it against you"

"You sound insane"

"Every genius sounds insane"

Nicki hits a groundstroke to Charlie's backhand, and she misses it.

First point Nicki.

"Oh wow" my uncle says. "These two"

"They are well matched" I say

"Two of the greatest in the world" my uncle says "fighting it out for who gets to play you"

I laugh and then sit back on the couch and put my feet up.

My uncle and I stay on the phone throughout the entire match.

Multiple times he worries about the long-distance charges, but I refuse to let him get off the call.

We watch and we analyze.

Sometimes we are stunned silent at the tension between Nicki and Charlie. It is a close one. Thyme is up, then Nicki is up. Both of them are breaking each other's serves. Thyme slides across the court at one point and skins her knee.

But then Nicki steps wrong on her ankle.

"Oh shit" I say

"What is she doing?" my uncle says "Landing like that on her bad ankle? She can't keep playing like this and stay in the game many more years"

"I know"

It's the third set. 5-5. Anybody's match.

On Charlie's serve, Nicki is limping on her way back to the baseline after each point. Charlie holds the game.

"She plays through it, which is impressive," my uncle says. "It's not stopping her. But I wish I could just reach through the TV and tell her she's shortening her career"

When it's Nicki's turn to serve, she can't get the height she needs.

I gasp when Charlie gets to 30-40.

Match point.

"Oh no" my uncle says.

"Oh no" I say

On the next serve, Charlie returns it right on the sideline.

Nicki can't run fast enough.

"Oh no" my uncle says again.

It's over.

I can feel my heart drop as Nicki falls to her knees onto the grass.

"No, that can't be" my uncle says.

I close my eyes in disbelief.

I am not playing Nicki Li in the Wimbledon final.

I'm playing Charlie Thyme.

"Actually" my uncle says, "this is fabulous"

I can barely hold back my tone "Why is it fabulous? This is anything but fabulous. I wanted to play Nicki. Now. I wanted to put this whole thing to rest. And now instead I'm playing Darren - I mean Charlie Thyme"

"Nonsense" my uncle says. "You will beat Thyme she is the more predictable player. You already played her in France"

"And lost"

"But now you know what to do. And she will go down just like Wade did the second time you played her" my uncle says "This is it. This is your next Slam"