Stokie had given me the "Kong" (one-hand block) &
I was too embarrassed to call a timeout to tape my
finger. Smith/Stokie went on to win the double final, &
what made the loss even more nauseating was the
extended celebration they went through, making us wait
even longer at the net to shake hands. <br><br>Of
course, that win was No. 63 for Sinjin, & that broke the
all-time record held by Ron Von Hagen, so I guess they
were entitled. Worse than the celebration was facing
the brutal truth that my best game wasn't good enough
to deal with Stoklos & his all-around skills.
<br><br>The way he was blocking had elevated the game to a
level I was not accustomed to. Sound familiar? I
believe those same words have been used to describe Jack
Nicklaus, & in more recent times, Tiger Woods. I remember
sitting in the hotel room with my wife, Patty, confessing
that in my heart, I didn't feel like I could deal with
Stokie's block. Patty told me that maybe I needed to take
a hard look at my game & search for a way to win.
Great advice from a great lady. <br><br>To make a long
story short, I did take a long, hard look at my game. I
hit a lot less & moved the ball around a lot more --
especially against Stokie -- and ended up finishing the year
on a good note. Hov & I actually won the last 4
tournaments of the summer. Stokie's excellence had forced me
& everyone else on the tour to try to raise our
games to another level.