Naked Hero - The Journey Away

head. ‘ Keep the pressure on, make him crack.’ With that in mind, he zoned in on the forehand again. Normally the stronger side, but he took a gamble, hoped for a crack to reappear.
    It did.
    One shot from Jackson found the net then another drifted just wide of the tramline. The defending champion served his way back to thirty all, but on the next point, Lewis fired his own forehand down the line and clipped the baseline before Jackson could reach it. Most other players would have challenged the call and hoped for a technical blip from Hawkeye, but not Tommy Jackson. His eyes had never left the ball, and he knew better than anyone that the shot had landed in. Challenging would only upset his rhythm and underline the fact that he was in desperate trouble.
    Now the pressure was really on, the first break point that Jackson had faced in the set. But the pressure weighed not just on him. On the other side of the net, a young man clad in tartan stood with his back to the court, desperately trying to calm himself. He had played such points before - but try as he did, the magnitude of this one could not be ignored, nor could the crowd whose mixture of calls in support of each player rained down on him. The crowd were important, and they were playing their part, for it was his own name that he heard far more than the other. With a pounding heart he turned round to face the serve, still willing himself to find some calm: then one more shot.
    The first serve went wide on Lewis’s backhand side, and once again the crowd roared. Almost a minute passed before they could be silenced. Jackson again went to his backhand with the second serve, expecting it returned with heavy slice, cross court, to his own backhand, forcing him to play the next shot, keeping the pressure up. But Lewis threw caution to the wind and went down the line with the shot he had fine tuned against Livyenko. Jackson scurried to retrieve it, and floated the ball high over the net with the aim of buying himself some time to recover his position. It would have worked against most other players, who would have remained at the baseline ready to hit the next ground stroke. But Lewis was a net court man, and that’s where he stood, instinct and adrenalin having taken him there, before natural talent put the smash away.
    Lewis sat quietly at the change over - eyes closed, trying to block everything out - trying to ignore the frantic roaring of the crowd who now scented victory for their newly adopted son. He forced himself not to think of that victory and all that it meant, but instead envisaged the points: saw where he would place the serves, and the volleys that would hopefully win the rallies.
    Four points later, having turned the vision into reality Lewis Macleod sank to his knees, the new Australian Open champion.

Chapter 59
    Ten minutes later, Lewis was back in his chair, smiling up at the crowd, enjoying the moment and trying to take it all in. The preparation for the presentations had been completed and the players were being called forward. Tommy Jackson went first to receive his runners up trophy and a handsome cheque, the value of which would be added to the already impressive numbers which comprised his Swiss bank accounts. As was only to be expected, he was gracious in defeat, congratulating Lewis on his second Grand Slam title, and saying how he looked forward to the many other finals he now expected to be meeting him in. The crowd cheered their old champion, knowing he would be back.
    Now was the moment – now came the rush!
    “Ladies and gentlemen, ” said Cliff Drysdale, who was having his own moment, and an embarrassing one at that, although he did his best to make amends for his earlier stance. “We’ve had a fabulous tournament this year, and witnessed some great matches here at Melbourne Park during the fortnight, but I’m sure you’ll all agree with me, that the best was certainly saved till last. I’d like to thank Lewis and Tommy for giving us such a thrilling final. It was a classic, boys!
    “Our champion this year has had to do it the hard way, both on and off the court. Not many people expected him to be here in the final today, and probably even fewer expected him to win, but he’s proved us all wrong. Ladies and gentlemen… the new Australian Open Champion… Lewis Macleod!”
    Lewis walked over to receive the trophy, his bowed head concealing the grin that covered his face. He shook hands with Cliff Drysdale then