Devil May Care

and saw the ball rebound on to his own side. Double fault: a craven way to lose one’s service.
    It was difficult for Bond to find a way to break up Gorner’s rhythm. He remembered with Wayland in Barbados that he could sometimes slow the game down, mix it up and make the young man overhit in his desire to attack. Gorner made no such mistakes. His slashed forehand was hard for Bond to volley: he had to get his racquet right out ahead and punch through it to nullify the spin – not that Gorner gave him much chance to volley, since as soon as he saw Bond advance, he unleashed another lob that fell, with irritating regularity, just inside the baseline, leaving a clear mark in the reddish surface.
    When Bond served, Gorner would swiftly call ‘Out’ and make no attempt to play the ball, which would hit the back netting and rebound. Just as Bond was about to hit his second serve, Gorner would shout ‘Hold on’ and trot back to push the rogue ball out of the way. ‘Can’t be too careful,’ he explained. ‘I saw a man break his ankle by standing on a ball only last week. Carry on.’ By then, Bond’s rhythm was disrupted and he was glad just to get his second serve in play.
    Tenaciously, Bond clung on to his service games until he found himself facing Gorner at 3–5 down. It was his lastchance of breaking back before the set was over. He decided to stay back, work Gorner from side to side and hope to elicit a mistake. For the first time, Gorner began to look fallible. He twice hit his fizzing forehand long, and for the first time in the match Bond had a break point, at 30–40. Gorner served wide to the backhand, but Bond hit a solid cross-court return and got himself into the rally. He then hit deep to the base line and Gorner spooned up a half-court ball off the backhand. This was Bond’s chance. He closed in, kept his eye on the ball, and whipped a forehand topspin winner down the line. ‘Out,’ called Gorner. ‘Deuce.’
    Gorner was into his service procedure again before Bond had time to protest. Gorner won the game and the set: 6–3. As they changed ends and Bond went back to serve for the first game of the second set, he went over to where he thought his forehand drive had bounced. There was a clear scuff mark three inches inside the sideline.
    Bond gathered himself. As he went into his service action, Gorner was jumping around, twirling his racquet, feinting to come in, then rapidly retreating. It was an old tactic, Bond knew, but not an easy one to counter. He forced himself to watch the ball and smacked a hard first service down the centre. ‘Out,’ called Gorner.
    ‘I think not,’ said Bond. ‘I can show you the mark where it landed.’ He walked up to the net and pointed.
    ‘An old mark,’ said Gorner.
    ‘No. I saw my service land there. I deliberately left a margin for error. It’s at least six inches inside.’
    ‘My dear Mr Bond, if your idea of English fair play is to question a man at his own club, then please be my guest and play the point again.’ Gorner smacked the sole of his shoe with his racquet to remove any loose particles of dirt. ‘Go on.’
    Bond’s first re-taken serve was long. He hit the second crisply, with slice, and was disappointed to see it hit the netcord and skew off into the tramlines.
    ‘Double fault,’ said Gorner. ‘Poetic justice, don’t you think?’
    Bond was beginning to feel enraged. From the advantage court, he fired his best, angled serve wide to his opponent’s backhand. ‘Out,’ came the prompt and confident call.
    As he wound up for his second, Gorner called, ‘Careful! Behind you.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I thought I saw a ball just behind you.’
    ‘I’d prefer it if you left me to look out for these things.’
    ‘I understand, Mr Bond. But I could never forgive myself if my guest were to come to some harm. Please do carry on. Second service.’
    Tennis, more than most games, is played in the mind. Anger is useless unless it can be channelled and kept under control – as a key to concentration.
    Bond knew he had to change his game against Gorner. For a start, he seemed to be having no luck at all. He had hit an inordinate number of netcords on his service, few of which had rebounded into play, whereas Gorner, even with his rather flat service, had not once touched the net. Furthermore, there was no point in Bond’s hitting the ball close to the line. Every shot he played from now on had to bounce at least two feet inside the court.