Yelling the joy of victory, he put his fist in the air after finishing the game. The opponent was a good tennis player, but not good enough to defeat Francis Petelin, the junior River rat.
It was early Saturday at Saline. The air was a little cold, but tension was high. Then 20 players for each schools appeared on the tennis court. The games were going to be 2v2 matches of a ‘pro set’ where the winner is the first one to 8 set points. Francis started to warm up with his teammates, including Andrew Gadwey, Robert Pan, Jon Seyhun, Max Teener, and Kunjan Singh. Everybody's move was in the great shape. They practiced everyday after school; they played 2v2 and some 1v1 matches, practiced running from side to side across the court. Francis also told me that they also did backhand and forehand stroke practice,volley and overhead hits. They were more than ready.
The game had started. Francis went up to the court, shook the opponents hand and started off with great serve. I asked him whether he was confident at that time when game has started.
"Yes I was confident," he replied. "Because as I walked across the courts when the school was warming up, I observed the players and they were just alright, not too good. I’ve defeated some good players before, so I knew I had a strong chance."
In fact, he did crushed the opponent team. In the end, he and his teammate won the game by 8-0. The high energy from winning the first game, continued in the second game. Francis and his teammates won the second game by 8-0 again. He gave his partner a high-five and smiled as they walked off the courts.Defeated opponent team just couldn't shut their open mouth. "I’ve never had a better tennis day," Francis said.
After the best tennis game he ever had, he responded to the question about next year's goal in very serious tone. "My goals for next year are to become much better, move up on the team and play against more difficult opponents, and to not lose any matches. I am not good enough yet."
In the last of this interview, he gave an advice for freshman and sophomores who look up to him. "Don’t stop after the season ends; keep playing in clubs and indoor facilities. In the winter play indoors and join organizations to keep getting better...Practice all the strokes, different situations, and serving especially. You can always get better at any stroke, even if you’re very good already." Maybe, never satisfying to yourself is the key for him to improve.
I have a good feeling about next year's tennis. I can't just wait to see what they can do.