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2003 Winter/Spring Season Tennis Scores
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| December 16 Don 7-6(7-0) 4-6 6-4 Match time: 2:32 | ||
| Another excellent match with long well played points. John was up 5-3 in the first and had one set point, but Don came back and took the set in a 7-0 tiebreaker. Don was up 2-0 in the second, but John put the whup on and took the second set. Don channeled the punisher in the third to win the match. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 2 | 10 |
| December 9 John 7-6(11-7) 6-7(7-4) 6-4 Match time: 3:09 | ||
| We both had new shoes and freshly strung rackets for this marathon match. Don was up 5-2 in the first, but John came back to win it in a long tiebreaker in which Don had three set points. John jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Don came back to win the second tiebreaker. John went up 4-1 again in the third only to have Don get back to 4-4. John started going big to end points early and somehow made miracle shots too numerous to mention (the joy of a fresh racquet?). But I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that John hit his two aces (both big and clean) on the last two points of the match. We had long, excellent points and rallies throughout the match. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 19 |
| John | 2 | 17 |
| November 21 John 6-3 6-0 Match time: 1:30 | ||
| Don couldn't keep up with John after having won a tough 3 set match with Mike the day before. Plus, John could do no wrong as he hit swinger volleys (a la Venus) from the baseline and channeled Sampras as the net. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 7 |
| John | 1 | 11 |
| November 17 John 6-4 6-1 Match time: 1:23 | ||
| Don jumped out to a 4-1 lead on solid hitting, but John managed to crank it up and win the next 11 of 12 games for the huge comeback straight set win. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 9 |
| John | 0 | 7 |
| November 10 Don 2-6 7-6(7-5) 7-5 Match time: 2:48 | ||
| Don was down a break in the second set but broke back at 4-5 to stay in the set and force a tiebreak. Many long points, including several very long points, not to mention long multi-deuce games. A few raindrops were falling during the last game as Don hurried to close it out after (having done the hard work of grinding down the Mace machine one wouldn't want a rain delay). | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 33 |
| John | 1 | 12 |
| November 7 John 6-0 5-7 6-3 Match time: 2:07 | ||
| Don's timing was way out of phase with reality in the first as John comes away with an easy bagel. Don adjusted in the second and tied the match. After John went up 4-0 in the third, Don came back to 3-4 and had 3 break points for 4-4, but John came up with several big serves just when he needed them. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 12 |
| John | 0 | 11 |
| November 2 John 7-5 4-6 7-5 Match time: 2:43 | ||
| John won 5 in a row to come back from from 2-5 in the first. Good points, long rallies, but Don lost concentration for a minute in the third and couldn't server it out when he was up 5-4. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 23 |
| John | 2 | 14 |
| October 24 Don 2-6 6-4 6-4 Match time: 2:20 | ||
| John took the first set easily after going up 4-0, but Don came back to take the second and the match after trailing 1-3 in the third. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 0 | 10 |
| October 20 John 6-3 7-6(7-5) Match time: 1:40 | ||
| John cranked up his forehand to the "smoke" setting while keeping it under control to take the second set tiebreaker after Don jumped out to 3-0 lead. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 11 |
| John | 0 | 12 |
| October 16 John 6-1 7-6(7-2) Match time: 2:00 | ||
| John frustrates Don again in another dusk through dark match. Don had points for 4-0 in the second set but John put the whup on to go up 4-3. Don double faulted on set point at 4-5, but John, perhaps feeling guilty about an earlier call, offered to replay the point, opening the door for Don to go up 6-5 and set points before John forced the tiebreaker. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 11 |
| John | 0 | 11 |
| October 10 John 5-7 7-5 6-2 Match time: 2:43 | ||
| The Mace train picks up speed again as John comes back from a set down to win his third in a row. The second set took nearly an hour and a half due to long games, long points and a 10 minute delay waiting for the lights to come on at 5-5, 15-15.. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 26 |
| John | 2 | 18 |
| October 8 John 6-2 7-6(8-6) Match time: 1:36 | ||
| John won the first set efficiently, taking it in only 27 minutes. Don came came back from 5-3 to save 2 match points, going up 5-6 and playing one set point of his own before John held to force the second set tiebreak. John was up 5-1 in the tiebreak when Don made another run, winning five straight points and another chance at the set. John served up a sizzler to the body to close it out. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 8 |
| John | 0 | 9 |
| October 4 John 6-2 6-4 Match time: 1:12 | ||
| John stops the A-train in straight sets with a mix of power, finesse, and auto-slice that kept Don off balance and out of sync. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 13 |
| John | 2 | 10 |
| September 30 Don 6-2 7-5 Match time: 1:25 | ||
| Don wins again after a break that included two doubles matches, a practice match and rain. Don had his eyes on and managed to rack up the winners while losing serve only once. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 1 | 7 |
| September 21 John 5-7 6-2 6-2 Match time: 2:17 | ||
| Don won the first set, but John picked it up in the second to force a third set. John was hungry and hit harder and harder as the set went on, pushing Don back and wearing him down. John also had a major stick-a-racquet-out and good-things-can-happen thing going on in the third set, hitting at least 4 winners on indescribable jab action shots. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 16 |
| John | 1 | 16 |
| September 20 Don 2-6 6-1 6-4 Match time: 2:05 | ||
| Don comes back again from one set down, fueling further speculation of a regime change in Spencer. Excellent match, with many well played points. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 12 |
| John | 0 | 11 |
| September 18 Don 5-7 6-2 6-0 Match time: 2:10 | ||
| The first set of this pre-Isabel morning match was a breakathon, with John holding twice to Don's once. Don recovered to win the second set easily and go on to bagel John in the third set. Don came back from 3-5 in the optional 4th set and won the tiebreaker 7-1 | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 0 | 8 |
| September 16 John 6-4 2-6 7-5 Match time: 2:45 | ||
| John came back from a break down in the third to win on his birthday (we played several very long points in a game that would have given Don a second break had John not dug out several near winners from Don). | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 10 |
| John | 2 | 7 |
| September 12 Don 6-2 6-0 Match time: 1:11 | ||
| Don switched back to his triple threat racquet and came up with his first bagel over John. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 7 |
| John | 0 | 5 |
| August 31 Don 4-6 6-2 6-4 Match time: 2:37 | ||
| Another long match, sweat-fest and break-a-thon with 7 breaks in both the first and third sets. Don was up 4-0 in the third when John made a run, but was able to hold at 4-3 and squeak out the final break. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 20 |
| John | 3 | 17 |
| August 24 Don 7-5 4-6 6-4 Match time: 2:32 | ||
| Both John and Don were running down and returning balls that would have been unreachable without the new shoes. The third set was disrupted several times by a group of foul-mouth kids on the courts causing a disturbance. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 17 |
| John | 3 | 10 |
| August 17 John 6-3 7-6(7-5) Match time: 1:42 | ||
| John continued his domination, though Don played good points. Singles tennis was followed immediately by doubles, but John was starting to hurt and Don was running on empty from a late night drive home from his niece's wedding. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 1 | 14 |
| John | 1 | 6 |
| August 15 John 6-0 6-4 Match time: 1:30 | ||
| We were both a little ragged after a whirlwind trip through Ohio to attend early rounds of the ATP tour in Cincinnati, Don more so from a party the night before. John made several great saves at net and from no man's land to prevent Don from taking it to a third set. There was a whole lot of squeaking going on as we both bought new shoes in Oh. Editor's note: Don won a set on Clay in Dayton and another on the trip home (we found courts after breakfast). | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 9 |
| John | 1 | 10 |
| August 9,10 John 6-4 6-7(7-5) 6-4 Match time: 2:00 | ||
| This match had a rain delay in the first set with John up 4-3. Don came back from 5-2 down in the tiebreaker, winning 5 straight points. Excellent points throughout the match, and plenty of clean winners and un-returnable shots. We played another three sets of doubles after the match, taking the second set to 6-6 in the tiebreaker and staging a comeback in the third despite being totally exhausted. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 1 | 12 |
| August 4 John 6-4 6-4 Match time: 1:15 | ||
| Don came back from 5-1 to 5-4 in the first set and had a couple break point for 5-5, but John came up with miracle passes and volleys. Don was up 3-0 in the second, but was having trouble with his serve while John managed to dial in the corners. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 2 | 11 |
| John | 0 | 10 |
| July 25 John 2-6 6-3 6-3 Match time: 1:40 | ||
| Both Don and John had trouble holding serve during the first set, thanks to a side show on the next court. John found his volley zone for the second and third sets, while Don missed a couple overhead ducks that could have changed the outcome of the second set. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 7 |
| John | 0 | 9 |
| July 21 John 4-6 6-3 6-3 Match time: 2:09 | ||
| Once again John plays a charmed third set, making passing shots and beautiful volleys to go up 5-0 in the third despite the fact that Don had break or game points in every game. Don brought it back to 5-3 but couldn't pull off the miracle. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 14 |
| John | 0 | 12 |
| July 18 John 6-0 2-6 6-3 Match time: 1:47 | ||
| Don came back from a bagling in the first and was up 3-1, sniffing after 4-1 when John activated his magic racquet and turned on the afterburners, running down balls Don thought were winners and putting them back for winners of his own. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 12 |
| John | 0 | 18 |
| July 13 John 7-6(7-3) 6-3 Match time: 1:50 | ||
| Lots of running and excellent points, especially in the first set. Don pummeled John's backhand with deep shots to the corner, but John kept the ball in play more often than not. Don was up a break in the second, but John found the can-do-no-wrong zone for a few games. The last game had at least 8 deuces. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 14 |
| John | 1 | 16 |
| July 11 John 3-6 6-4 6-3 Match time: 2:15 | ||
| Don was up a set and 4-0 when John got steam up on the comeback train, winning 8 straight games. Don didn't really fall apart so much as John found his zone, hitting deep balls consistently and threading the needle on passing shots. Many excellent points. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 1 | 21 |
| John | 1 | 17 |
| July 9 Don 6-2 6-4 Match time: 1:16 | ||
| Don took care of his serve in his second straight set win in a row, losing only 4 points on serve in the first set while reaching break point on all of John's serves. John made a good effort in the second set, coming back from 3-1 to reach 4-4 before Don put it away. Good ball hitting on both sides. | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 1 | 16 |
| John | 1 | 8 |
| July 5 Don 6-4 7-6(7-4) Match time: 2:12 | ||
| John's comments:
Don brings his A game to the "sweat-fest". Long games, great points. Don covered the court better than John, and kept him from coming to net, by coming up w/ deep lobs, and crisp passing shots. Don was hitting overheads better than ever, and charged the net often coming up w/ winners. John offers Don a dry shirt in the 2nd set, and he comes up w/ the goods to win in straight sets.
Don's comments: Don finally gets a win in this long 2 set match in 100% humidity that began under the sun and ended under lights. John made a valiant effort to win the second set, holding a long game from love 40 for 4-4 (the lights were off when we started, we played several deuce/add points before the lights came on, 4 more deuce/adds while they warmed up and another half dozen or so before John won the game. |
||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 0 | 11 |
| July 2 John 6-4 6-4 | ||
| John rolled to his third win this season in this well played match. Excellent shots and gets from both sides resulting in hard hitting rallies. Don managed (at least) to win all 6 points when John threw up high altitude lobs. John was Mr. Net man extraordinaire, winning plenty of points at net, and making at least 5 excellent drop volley winners on low, relatively decent passing shots. Match time: 1:50 | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 25 |
| John | 2 | 21 |
| June 30 John 6-4 7-5 | ||
| Don started the match well, hitting solid shots with good placement to go up 3-0. John switched to a racquet with a good grip and barreled back to take the first set when Don experienced a bad run of serves. Don had set points in the second but John came up with the goods under pressure. Match time: 1:45 | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 16 |
| John | 1 | 19 |
| June 23 John 6-1 6-4 | ||
| John starts the season with a win in this morning match. Don was suffering slightly from party lag, but still hitting good shots - John just ran most of them down and sent them back a little harder. All but a few games went to deuce or multiple deuce. Match time: 1:35 | ||
|
Aces |
Winners | |
| Don | 0 | 15 |
| John | 0 | 12 |
Preparation
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