It took about ten minutes to adjust to the smaller court, racquet, and three walls. I had two distinct bruises on my left arm from taking solid hits that stung. Brack had several more than I did. He finally figured out I was aiming at his balls and protected them. He was smarter than his muscle-bound jock looks indicated.

I was down by four, dripping sweat, and trying to keep my frustration under control. He was good and had obviously played for a while. I was better than ...