Have a Seat
On my way to Newport on Wednesday, I listened to a radio segment about penalty kicks in soccer, and how significant a role psychology plays in the oft-dreaded contest. As if on cue, I watched Argentina and Holland decide their semifinal in a shootout later that afternoon, and the persuasive argument seemed to play itself out.
What is the equivalent of a penalty kick in tennis? Or, to put it another way, what’s a winning shot you should make almost every time? I’d say it’s when you’re well in the front court, ready to hit a ball your opponent got back with hardly any pace. Yet how often have you missed one of those shots because you overhit the ball, or bashed it into the net?
John Isner did both today in his quarterfinal match with Jack Sock, and both misses were extremely costly. The first—a forehand after a harmless, floated return—landed a couple feet long and gave Sock what would be the only break of the match. Then, in the second-set tiebreaker, Isner gave his friend an early birthday present when, already down a mini-break, he clipped the net with his “sitter” forehand. This, it should be said, came directly after the top seed gave Sock a point when an apparent ace was called out (there is no Hawk-Eye review in Newport).
Despite leveling the score at 3-3, Isner lost the final three points of the tiebreaker to fall, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sock, who reached his first ATP semifinal with the win, had almost no celebration afterward. The two are regular practice partners, and the college standout certainly helped the high-school star with his mistakes. But this was a well-deserved win for Sock, who fired his forehand and displayed a versatility that translates well to grass.
As for Isner, he’ll be left to think about those two shots. Unfortunately, that’s probably what he was doing before he went up to hit them.
Getting High
