The match
Lost to Noel Warfel 4-6, 7-6, 4-10 in the match tiebreak. Two hours and a quarter at the Tennis Center.
He has a good kick serve and he does not beat himself — very few unforced errors. The kick jammed me all night and it took me most of two sets to do anything about it. He mixes spin and shot selection well enough that you have to stay switched on for every ball.
First set I gave it away at the edges. Had him 0-40 in the very first game and he held. Had him 0-40 again at 4-5 and he held that one too.
Two triple break points, zero breaks.
The one break I did get came from just hitting deep and making him move, which tells you what works against him. In between I held some good games — three aces at 3-3, two or three more at 4-4. But when he broke me at 2-2 and again serving at 4-5, both times it was my first serve not landing. 4-6.
Second set was a fight. Lost my worst service game of the match at 2-2 and somehow held it anyway, almost entirely on second serves, and aced him on the last point. He broke me at 2-4 with straight winners, nothing I did wrong.
Then I figured out the return. Stopped trying to do anything with the kick serve and just put every return in play. Broke him at love for 3-4 when I needed it, held with three aces, broke him again at 5-4 doing nothing but getting the ball back.
He broke me at 5-5 with one first serve in and two double faults, held for 5-6, and I held at 6-6 with three more aces to force the breaker. Won that 7-2.
Then the match tiebreak got away immediately. He went up 4-0 and I never got back into it. 4-10.
The honest read: I lost this on break points, not on ball striking. Two 0-40 games in the first set that both went his way. And the answer to his serve was sitting there the whole time — just put the return in play, which is exactly what won me the second set. I found it in set two instead of set one.
Not thrilled that a ten-point breaker settles a match, but it was running long for a weeknight and that is the format.