It’s been a couple days since the battle of the roommates I wrote about in my last blog. Sorry to keep you in suspense. The day kinda went like this; our alarms both went off at 8:30 a.m., we ate breakfast together, we caught a taxi to the courts together, warmed up together and then went and played our match. Since the alarms went off in the morning, the tension seemed to grow stronger and stronger all leading up to an intense match.
 
Conditions were very different that day from the 100 degree temperatures of the weekend. It was about 75 degrees and very windy at times. This meant that the way the court played and the flight of the ball slowed down which helped both of us on our returns. We both broke each other three times in the first set (which is extremely weird for a serve and volley player like me) and he eventually took the set 7-6. After a quick bathroom break to calm myself down, I came back and took the next two sets 6-2 and 7-6 after a total of three-and-a-half hours on court. I later had to go back to the courts to play doubles which we won convincingly. Off to the finals!
 
The next day (yesterday) was the definition of a hard day in the office. I was playing a Mexican ranked in the 400s in the world. I was playing great tennis and my volleys were on! I had every chance in the world to win that match, but in tennis if you don’t win the last point you lose. I was serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set after winning the first set. The game I won to break at 5-5 in the second set was one of the most fun games I have ever played. I hit two volleys that landed on my opponent's side and spun back to my side out of his reach (I love that shot!) However, I got broken after having two match points on my serve and eventually lost the set 7-6.
 
After losing that set it takes a lot of mental focus and the ability to delay your reaction to a tragedy like that so you can play a good third set. Honestly, six month ago I don’t think I would’ve had the ability to do that but I did yesterday. However, I eventually lost the set and match 7-6. OUCH!!! (Do you feel my pain?)
 
I couldn’t have gotten off the court and into a taxi any quicker than I did. I wanted to get out of there as I left to the sound of the Mexican crowd of college students chanteing for their guy. I then went through a series of emotions: mad, sad, denial, extremely mad, sad again etc. etc.
 
I had about four hours from the end of my match till the start of the doubles finals. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to let it go quick enough to rise to the occasion of playing a final. I used about three hours of my time watching youtube clips (mostly of Australian rules football and comedy clips) to escape into something else and to remind myself that there’s more to life than just tennis.
 
I went into my doubles match feeling a bit better and was more accepting of what happened. I was decked out in my all black quicksilver outfit that they had sent me to try out. I definitely felt like wearing black. I tried to remind myself of the first (and only so far) singles title I won in August this year and how I did so by winning six tie breakers and 7-6 in the third in the finals. I guess you win some, you lose some.
 
Well the match got under-way and just when I thought things couldn’t get any more painful for me, we lost the first set 7-6. I thought to myself "not again!" in very different words (that was the sensored version). I had a chat with my partner and he calmed me down a bit and we came out strong in the second set which we won 6-3 which meant it was super-tiebreak time. It was hard-fought and close the whole way. We were down a match point at 9-8 but somehow came back to win 11-9!!!
 
What a day! It’s a lot for my heart to handle but that’s apart of the game. And as for me now, a massage, a steak dinner and a beer would be a great day off but I am writing this on my 10:20 a.m. bus to Hermosillo to catch my 4:50 p.m. flight to Guadalajara. It will be 8 p.m. when I arrive so I have a long day of traveling ahead of me.
 
So I leave Obregon with some mixed emotions. To give you the facts about what I earned this week it was 2 ATP singles points, 17 ATP doubles points (plus my fifth career Futures title and a nice plaque) and after a 21% tax out of my prize money to Mexico for reasons unknown to me, $478 USD.
 
My next mission in to get some wifi access to send this out. Happy Halloween!

I am finally back in my hotel room after a looong day at the courts today here in Obregon, Mexico where I am playing an ITF Futures tournament. 

Native Australian Nima Roshan has been playing on the Challenger circuit for about three years. His prior blogs include Life On The Challenger Circuit and Friendly Fire. He played college tennis at Brigham Young University from 2003-2006. He is currently based out of Southern California and has played about 30 tournaments this year including Futures, Challengers, a main Tour event, alongside some money tournaments to help fund his travels.