Anyway.
We are in a state of emergency and a number of politicians and media personalities are being criticized for papalism (nasty word) for not following the set and required restrictions. Public criticism and pillorying comes even on matters that do not violate any regulations. Tennis player Kvitova, after returning from the Australian Open, where she played a number of matches, went to a soccer match in accordance with all that is required. An athlete tested perhaps a hundred times in the last few weeks. She was one of the six hundred chosen ones who could. Tennis, it seems, shows certain signs of exclusivity and it's good to be a tiny part of it.
And I'm finally back on the court after a few weeks. Seven weeks to be exact. Four Dunlop tennis balls, a Wilson racquet and against me my traditional and regular opponent Jindra. It's eleven o'clock in the morning and we're both really happy to measure our strength again. Jindra is a mathematics professor by profession and at the same time an enthusiastic tennis amateur who projects his own sport-coaching vision into his 14-year-old daughter Ivy. I am a tennis player without good basic strokes, but with a desire to play "smart" tennis full of unexpected strokes. However, many of my pins, drills, volleys and lob shots end up in places that I don't expect and their final placement is therefore sometimes a pleasant but more often an unpleasant surprise for myself. Crucially, Jindra and I are able to play balanced matches and enjoy the movement, enjoy a few good strokes and one of us even enjoys the victory achieved. Usually many spectators don't cheer for us, but this time there are more pairs of eyes on us. The multi-story apartment buildings that surround the renovated outdoor south court have hundreds of windows, and behind them a few onlookers watch in amazement as a pair of mature men fish their tennis shoes out of the mud after cross forehands that directly adjoin the court's modest side enclosures. Occasionally a gentleman with a dog or a mother with a stroller stops for a moment to add this tennis attraction to their list of today's experiences. A few hundred metres away, an inflatable tennis hall peeks out from behind a cluster of buildings and trees. But it is empty. If we played there, we would probably get less fresh air into our lungs, but we would also have less risk of slipping, cleaner balls, a more regular surface and no risk of catching a cold. We'd be happy to pay the owners to rent the inflatables and help them out of their economic problems. Increase their immunity. And in general.
"