The Uninvited Guest

In Holland, where I grew up, the interclub spring league matches are played on Sundays all over the country. For several years, I played for a club in Amsterdam called Joy Mozaik, a unique tennis club located near the Olympic Stadium with many interesting people. For instance, one of my teammates lived on a houseboat in the canals of the city. To this day, this remains an alternative way of living.

I remember a hot day in May, which is pretty unique in Holland. Our league season starts around April 1 and is played exclusively on outdoor red clay courts. I remember many matches in frigid conditions, but this was a hot day in late May. A team match consisted of six matches, often only played on one or two available courts at a time. An all-day affair! On this particular day, I had played an away match with my team and we had finished relatively early at around 5:00 p.m. I could not wait to get back to our home club. At Joy Mozaik, we had a large terrace with lots of tables and chairs. To me, there was nothing better than watching and cheering on our other club teams while they were finishing their matches, after a full day of tennis.

On courts one and two, our second-ranked club team was playing its mixed-doubles matches. This was my favorite team to watch. The team was made up of four true Amsterdammers which means they were nuts! It was not rare that, after the matches were over and darkness had set in, that some of these characters would run a lap outside around a jam-packed clubhouse buck naked, with shampoo still in their hair.

Anyway, the male player on court one was Bas (short for Sebastian). He was 6”3’, thin and extremely flexible. His nickname was “Snakeman,” as he would often come up with some incredible shots from seemingly impossible positions. The terrace was filled to capacity for this match, which was going down to the wire. The crowd was “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” with every point. It was 6-5 in the third set, when an incredible rally ensued. Back-and-forth volley exchanges until finally, it looked like the home team was going to win the point after a pop up. Bas had his tall frame under the ball, his racquet was up as he looked ready to spike the ball when inexplicably, he ducked, barely avoiding the ball as he ducked below the net. The crowd moaned as his partner made an unsuccessful attempt to save the ball from bouncing twice.

In a flat Amsterdam accent, the gentle giant known for his dry wit uttered, “Oh man, this can ONLY happen to me … as I am about to smash the ball for a winner, a fly comes by and lands on my NOSE!”