Tennis stars Fred Vernon and Yuta Wakobi took center stage on the main grass court on a blistering 100° day. Fans spritzed themselves with water when they weren’t hydrating. Little did they know, they would witness a tantalizing tennis match. In the early moments, Mr. Wakobi utilized his powerful serve to get Mr. Vernon playing off his heels. However, as the sun faded providing much needed afternoon shadows, so did Mr. Wakobi’s powerful serve.

As the match started, game one saw Mr. Vernon face a rapid early deficit as he failed to successfully return any of Mr. Wakobi’s serves. It appeared this would be a fast match. But, as Mr. Vernon served in game two, the highly anticipated bout of volleys began. “His serve is one of, if not, the best in world right now. I feel a little embarrassed I didn’t return any in the first game,” said Mr. Vernon. “But, I felt if I could get a series of volleys going in the second game, I could rely on my endurance.” Mr. Vernon was correct. As game two progressed, the back and forth began to take its toll on Mr. Wakobi. “I know it was just one game but I felt like I lost the match in game two,” said Mr. Wakobi.

With the score evened up at 1-1, Mr. Wakobi returned to powerful serves to secure the third game. “I was completely spent after the third game,” he said. A casual fan may not have seen it coming, but Mr. Wakobi’s service suffered a steep drop off in velocity and spin rate from game one to game three. His serves from game one averaged 127 mph. While his game three serves averaged 111 mph. Mr. Vernon was able to successfully return each serve and draw out a volley. In comparison to Mr. Wakobi’s point of view, Mr. Vernon had a renewed confidence after dropping the third game, “Even though he won game three, I felt very loose and still had a high energy level. I could see how hard he was working for each point,” said Mr. Vernon.

With the score now 2-1 in favor of Mr. Wakobi, Mr. Vernon applied a risky strategy. Rather than serving with the goal of an ace, he purposely served to induce a return from his tiring opponent, “I wanted to zap him of any remaining energy he might still have,” said Mr. Vernon, in reference to his strategy to move Mr. Wakobi east and west with his volley. “It was a gamble, but I felt he could rest the whole game and then beat me with his serve in the fifth game if I was getting aces off my serve. I needed to lengthen the game and make him move.”

The strategy paid off as Mr. Vernon won game four and handily won the deciding fifth game, thanks to a heavy-legged Mr. Wakobi. “He played very smart. I win a lot of matches early with my serve and my conditioning needs to be better,” said Mr. Wakobi.