Tennis Prose




Dec/18

9

Tennis Dream: Beating Guillermo Canas

By Scoop Malinowski

For some reason I had dream last night that I beat Guillermo Canas in a set. Why Guillermo Canas, there is absolutely no logical explanation. I haven’t actually seen the Argentine in a couple of years though I did see him in a photo Tweet this week as he played in a Jack Nicklaus charity event at the golf legend’s home grass court.

There were plenty of vivid details of the match with Canas. It was on an outdoor hard court with a big grandstand behind his baseline though it was not clear what tournament it was that we were contesting.

It was an intense, emotional battle and he was getting annoyed by my spirited efforts. I was ahead and serving for the set at 5-4 and decided to tone down the emotional adrenaline out of respect for Canas who once beatΒ  Federer twice in a row in Indian Wells and Miami, when Federer was the dominant player in the ATP.

On set point, I moved Canas around the court and forced him into hitting a running forehand which he tried to hit cross court but mistimed and mishit it high and wide off his frame. I won the set and walked to the chair with the same stoic reaction of Richard Gasquet winning a practice set in Acapulco or Delray Beach.

The dream didn’t end there on that perfect note. Next was a bathroom break and to get water. For those who might care about details, I did not see Darren Cahill or Brad Gilbert sitting courtside covering the match for a TV network.

It was a good distance from the court so I also texted a couple of friends the shocking score and news that I beat Guillermo Canas 6-4. After the rest room stop, I filled my water bottle but in a daze of being scatterbrained somehow managed to leave it on the floor before the lengthy walk back to the court. When I got to the court I realized the water bottle was forgotten, due to absent-mindedness, like how Frank Dancevic once told me he was so focused in a tough match that he strangely walked back out on the court after a changeover WITHOUT his racquet. He got all the way to the baseline return position when he suddenly remembered he had to go back to his chair and get his racquet.

After going back and picking up my cold water bottle, the dream ended with no result on if the match ended in victory or defeat. But I have to admit the dream did contain giving me a sensation that I was lucky to win that set and being content with just that, as there was not a burning desire to defeat Canas. One set was enough to prove something.

After some brief analysis there is no understanding or concept of why I had this dream or what the message was from the God or Goddess of the Dreamworld.Β  Perhaps it was meant as an inspiration to keep playing and to make a run to try to be an ATP player even though I’m just a senior player in USTA tournaments with a no. 2 ranking in the Eastern 35s.

But hey, you gotta believe, they say. Last week I had a good week hitting with Hans Gildemeister in Tampa at his academy, even though he used the racquet I gave him, an old Dunlop MaxPlay wood racquet which is what he used to use as a junior and pro. He was the second to last player to use a wood racquet as a pro.

I also hit with two top Chilean juniors, both ranked no. 1 in Chile, one of whom recently beat the no. 2 seed at the Kalamazoo 16s event, which was later won by Martin Damm’s son Martin Damm over Zane Khan. I have also been hitting a lot with the New Jersey fourteen year old Mi Lan, who quarterfinaled at Eddie Herr and his getting ready for Orange Bowl next week.

Upon serious thought but no consultation with my team and entourage, I will decide to stick to USTA matches and local tournaments and some coaching rather than pursuing the gargantuan endeavor of trying to make the ATP top 50.

Defeating Canas in one set 6-4 in a dream is more than enough for me.

 

 

 

 

 

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4 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 9, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Friend on Facebook made a nice reply on my Facebook post of this article: Rob Glickman Scoop Malinowski,I have been playing tennis for 55 years now. I have dozens of tennis dreams. From 30 years ago, I dreamt that Ivan Lendl came to hang out with me for the day in Bayside, N.Y. We hit some balls and then I showed Lendl the local Pizza place, Bagel place, Delicatessen etc.One of many weird dreams.

    Gotta confess his tennis dreams are better than mine πŸ™‚

  • catherine · December 10, 2018 at 3:03 am

    Scoop – I had a dream I won Wimbledon. Funny thing was – I had no opponent and W’don seemed to be in the South Seas πŸ™‚

    BTW – I saw Gauff won the Orange Bowl to add to her impressive list of junior titles.

    I’ve seen Gauff play a few times over the past year (not live of course) and although she seems very promising at 14 she’s pretty much still a baseliner – I’m hoping she’ll develop more shots as she matures.

    The enormous following Radwanska had shows how much tennis fans appreciate a varied style – even in a player who didn’t win majors.

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 10, 2018 at 8:08 am

    Catherine, congratulations, you dreamed a more illustrious dream win than I did. Hope you got to hold up that big Wimbledon plate and do an interview with Sue Barker πŸ™‚ Coco did not have as big a year as expected this year until this Orange Bowl win which ends the slightly down year on a high note. It’s not going to get any easier for Coco as everybody knows who she is by now and she has a considerable X on her back for all the tennis hunters to target. Still, this is a very big win for her under pressure, she needed this type of win and she went out and got it.

  • catherine · December 11, 2018 at 9:47 am

    Cori Gauff ? Coco is a different element altogether πŸ™‚

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