Love. The number of points won and the corresponding call.

Smack. Smash

“That’s my story and I am sticking to it.” He thought.

Practice makes perfect.

Bonix.

Bonix loves balls

Game.

Set.

Match.

Smack. Smash.

Repeat.

Love. The Number of points won.

Bonix glanced over at the bench. Nothing. No lights. Nonnotifications.

His phone is stone-cold silent at the moment.

No buzz.

No ring.

No pre-recorded jam.

Playing its way out onto the court.

Smack. Smash.

He returned back onto the court. To smash away his disappointment. At the silence. Of the silence.

Bonix was working hard. Working his way up. The ranks of the best of the best. He must, he knows, channel the smashes and smacks appropriately. The alternative. His Mom would plan to enroll him in boxing lessons.🥊🥊 Or worse. The wrestling team🤼‍♂️.🤼‍♂️🤼‍♂️🤼‍♂️🤼‍♂️

Smack. Smash.

No way. He thought. Punching another guy in the face may sound cool, even, glamorous. But. No thank you Bonix thought. And. Ick. No thank you to rolling around on the mat with another person’s sweat either.

He was too far into this game. His love was growing. His intensity was obvious. He intended to win. Bonix was in it to win it.

In it to win it all. So.

He studied the game.

His natural talent helped, too.

Smack. Smash.

For those who may not know. Tennis is a game. Fairly simple equipment: A racket. A ball. A net. Since Bonix loved balls, this game seemed like a no brainer. He liked the idea of a friend—a racket—to assist him in demolishing his opponent. He knew full well why he was here. Channel his inner demoned energy onto the ball, in the direction of the person on the other side of the net.(wk)

Smack. Smash.

School was difficult for Bonix. He wondered why, in the world, the world expected a kid to sit for eight hours and listen to words, numbers, stories and equations—while at the same time the energy drained the life outta him. In the course of the lessons. Who or whom thought this was a do-able idea?

Smack. Smash.

Here on the court of last resort. Bonix decided he would be the match. The match of another match of all matches. Someday. He continually studied the game. A match is composed of points, games, and sets. He planned to dominate them all.

Smack. Smash.

A set consists of a number of games (a minimum of six). He planned to dominate them all. He planned to dominate the points, too.

Smack.Smash.

A set is won by the first side to win six games, with the margin of at least two games over the other side. (e.g. 6-3 or 7-5). If the set is tied at six games each, a tie-break is usually played to decide the set.

A match is won when a player or a doubles team has won the majority of the prescribed number is sets. Matches are either a best of three (first to two sets win) or best of five (first to three sets wins.) set format.

Smack. Smash.

Score calling. Keeping score.

Score calling in tennis is unusual in that (except tie breaks) each point has a corresponding call that is different from its point value.

Why Bonix particularly loved this game. He had to earn everything about it. Earn his points. Earn his wins. During a match, the current point score is announced orally before each point by the umpire, or by the server if there is no umpire.

The Score System consists of 0=“love”. 1=“15”. 2=“30”. 3=“40”.4= “game.”

Smack. Smash

Tennis is an international game. Played in many countries. The origins of the 15, 30, and 40 scores are believed to be medieval French. The earliest reference is in a ballad by Charles D’Orleans in 1435 which refers to “quarante cinq” (“forty-five”), which gave rise to modern 40.

In 1522, there is a sentence in Latin, “we are winning 30, we are winning 45”. The first recorded theories about the origin of 15 were published in 1555 and 1579. Apparently. The origins of convention remain obscure. (wk)

Smack. Smash.

How do we tell the time? Of the points. In time. In real time? Bonix wondered aloud.

The clock face. The part of the analog clock that displays time through the use of a flat dial, were used to keep score on the court, with a quarter move of the minute hand to indicate a score of 15, 30, and 45. In order to ensure the game could not be won by a one-point difference in players’ scores, the idea of “deuce” was introduced.

Smack. Smash.

To make sure the score stay within the 60 ticks on the clock face, the 45 was changed to 40. Therefore, if both players had 40, the first player to score would receive ten, and that would move the clock to 50.

Smack. Smash.

Bonix was in his grove. Smashing back the machine delivered “pitches” and “serves” with strength and precision back to the other side of the court. He loved balls. He loved this game. The relief that over came him while he controlled his forehand and back hand was like nothing else he had ever felt. Ever.

Especially. Punching a guy in the face or rolling around with his sweat on a sweaty mat.

Smack. Smash.

In about 1690, when the more accurate pendulum escapement was invented, that clocks regularly had minute hands, helped inform the concept of tennis scores originating from the clock face could not have come from medieval times.

Bonix especially liked the inner feeling of strength, the “stiff upper lip” mentality he was allowed to cultivate while he learned this amazing game of love and matches.😊.

Ironically. The Wells Cathedral in England, which dates from 1380 had an inner dial too. (An inner compass, so to speak) The Wells Cathedral had an inner dial with 60 minutes and a minute indicator and chimed every quarter hour.

Smack. SMASH………

It was at this moment, Bonix noticed he was out of balls and ran to the other side of the court immediately to retrieve the balls like a loyal golden retriever. He methodically and hurriedly placed them into the “pitch” and “serve” machine.

And. Ran back to the other side of the net just as quickly.

Bonix planted his feet firmly back on the court in anticipation of the next “round” of pitches and serves.

Who WAS the opponent, on the other side of the net that day?

Fear.

Bonix’s fear.

No matter today. He was facing it. He was smacking it and smashing it. He was in the groove. He was in the quest to conquer it.

Ironically Bonix forgot about his silent phone on the bench and continued to smack and smash back at the invisible fear force on the other side of the court.

Love. The number of points won and corresponding call.

May mean zero to some……..

That day it meant the world to Bonix!

Game.🎾

Set.🎾

Match🎾

Go Bonix Go!!