I can hear the shuffling of papers and the readjusting of microphones. But all eyes remain on me.
“I’ve proven so far that my game is outstanding,” I say. “So everyone can whine and moan all they want about me being here, but I’ve earned the right.”
Everyone’s hands go up. There is a woman, young and focused, standing on the edge of the press corps.
“How are you feeling about the challenge ahead?” she says. “Your return may be controversial, but there are many spectators out there thrilled to see you playing again. It is expected you’ll be playing Carla Perez in the next round. She seems to be the first player who could match your power. So…how bullish should your fans feel about seeing this run continue? How confident do you feel?”
I smile wide, and it grows into a laugh. “I’m gonna crush Carla Perez and anyone else I play on my way to the final. I am going to hold their beating hearts in my hand.”
For a fraction of a second, none of the reporters in the room know quite what to say.
God, I’ve missed this.
Transcript
SportsHour USA
The Mark Hadley Show
Mark Hadley: …and Bowe Huntley appears to be doing better than anticipated. He annihilated Greg Simmons in the first round and even held up against Wash Lomal.
Briggs Lakin: Which is no easy feat, given that coach Peter Gardner left Huntley to work with Lomal. But Huntley came out the victor.
Hadley: Turning to the women’s matches, Nicki Chan is sailing through, no surprise. Though we are seeing some pressure on that ankle.
Gloria Jones: She’s an intense player. Intense players are prone to injury, we know that. But Nicki seems to have a handle on it.
Hadley: Natasha Antonovich meeting no resistance yet either. Let’s talk about Carrie Soto. Some surprises there. Gloria, thoughts? You played her back in the day, did you not?
Jones: I did, Mark. And look, what can be said about Carrie during this tournament except that she’s blowing us all away?
Hadley: She’s a former world champion. Should we be impressed that she’s in the third round? Dvo?áková, Flores—these are not hugely formidable opponents she’s faced.
Jones: Well, when you consider how many people had written Soto off before she even set foot back on the court, I do think it’s impressive, yes.
Lakin: But, Gloria, I’m curious, because I consider you an incredibly gracious player—you were always respectful and polite on the court—so I’d love your take on Soto’s attitude right now.
Jones: You mean the “Who’s next?” thing?
Lakin: Well, yeah, screaming out “Who’s next?” after your first round seems a bit brazen, no?
Jones: Well…
Lakin: And then in her match against Josie Flores, she gloated when she won.
Jones: She danced on the court.
Lakin: That’s not gloating?
Jones: I don’t know. But—
Lakin: If she has to come back, fine, I say. You know, I was one of the people saying from the beginning that it’s her right to do it.
Jones: Yes, you did say that. I remember that.
Lakin: But is it not another thing entirely to come back and then act like an animal? “I am going to hold their beating hearts in my hand”? Where is the grace? The poise? This is a sport of ladies and gentlemen.
Jones: I’m not sure I agree with that. But your point, Briggs, I understand. Carrie Soto is a loud, abrasive player. She always has been. If we thought she’d mellow out, we were wrong.
Hadley: Unfortunately, Gloria, I agree with you on that. Looking forward, she’s up against Carla Perez. Perez is a tough opponent. Can Carrie hold her own?
Jones: I’m not saying no—
Lakin: I would not bet on her, I’ll say that.
I am sitting in my hotel room, watching Nicki play Andressa Machado. She has one set behind her; it’s 7–6 in the second. Machado is serving, and Nicki is running all over the court, making every shot. I don’t know how running with that much speed and hitting with that much intensity doesn’t deplete her.
Nicki gets Machado to match point. Machado serves it low and wide; Nicki runs and hits the backhand with full force. It flies past Machado, sealing the match for Nicki. The crowd cheers. The commentators are fawning over her. “Nicki Chan sails to the third round, as if anyone had any doubt!”
No one but me seems to notice that as Nicki walks off the court, she’s favoring her left ankle.
The phone rings, and I assume it’s my father. That ankle won’t have gotten by him either. But it isn’t my father at all, it’s Bowe.
“Oh, hi,” I say.
“I mopped the floor with Lomal,” Bowe says. I can hear his smile through the phone.
“I heard,” I say. “Congratulations.”
He says, “Congrats on beating Flores.”
“Thank you, thank you. She never stood a chance.”
“No,” he says. “She didn’t. But we all knew that, didn’t we?”
“Knew what?”
“That you were going to come back and it would be like you never left.”
“It might be a little early to say that,” I say.
“You have something, Carrie,” Bowe says. “You always have.”
“And so have you.”
“Do you really think that?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say. “I do.”
Bowe is quiet for a moment—a second too long. “Are you still there?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m here,” he says, but his voice becomes low and quiet, breathy almost. “Carrie, let me come up to your room.”
I freeze.
“Carrie?” he says.
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“That’s not what this is,” I say. “It’s not like that.”
“It could be like that,” Bowe says. “It was like that before.”
“That was more than a decade ago.”
“Please do not remind me how long I’ve been at this.”
“I’m just saying…things are different now.”
“Can’t they be different in a good way?” he asks. “Like this time you don’t tell me not to call you. Or if you do, I don’t listen?”
“Bowe,” I say, shaking my head. My heart is racing, and I immediately resent him for making me waste this much angst on something like sex, when I need to focus on my game. “No.”
“Okay,” he says, his voice sharper now, back to normal. “Message received. I won’t ask again.”
“Good, please don’t.”
“Good luck against Perez. I hope I get to see you crush her.”
“Who do you play next?” I ask.
“O’Hara.”
I inhale a bit too sharply, and he hears me.
“My thoughts exactly,” he says.
“You can take him. You can.”
“Uh-huh,” Bowe says, laughing. “You’re starting to sound like my sister. But I want you to sound like Carrie Soto.”
I think about it for a minute. “He’s going to exhaust you. If he gets you to five sets, you’re done for. So don’t let him get to five sets. Break his serve early in the first––that’s your shot for an upset.”
“Yeah,” Bowe says. “I was thinking that too. About me being toast if it goes to five.”
“So you do it in three,” I say.
“Oh, sure, just take O’Hara in straight sets?” Bowe says. “It’s that easy, huh?”
“It can be. If you want it bad enough.”
“That’s not always true, Soto. But thank you. I appreciate the pep talk.”
SOTO VS. PEREZ
1995 Australian Open
Third Round
It is scorching hot. I can feel the sweat across my forehead and on my upper lip. I wipe it away with the towel in my hand as I sit down on the sideline, catching my breath.
On the opposite side of the court is Carla Perez. They call her the Baltimore Baseliner—and sportscasters have long talked about her forehand power. But they’ve never felt it like I’ve felt it today. It is devastating, the ball coming at me like a bullet shot from a gun.
She caught me off guard in the first set. But I came back to take the second, meeting her power and keeping my angles sharp. So now we are 5–5 in the third.