Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
SAM
London, UK – July
Wimbledon
I’d arguably never found Naomi more attractive than during her final grass court season.
Scheduling meant I could hardly watch her at Eastbourne until her successful defence of her title, making her two for two so far in her grass court campaign. But we were on alternate days at Wimbledon, so I was courtside again. And she was on fire.
Following a triumphant second-round match, I was slowly cycling on a bike next to her as she cooled down.
“You still want to do the doubles here?” I asked. Her eyes drifted to me in our reflections before she turned her head to look at me properly.
“They start tomorrow, and we’re in the draw, so yes. Why, do you not want to?”
“Not why I’m bringing it up. You seem locked in on the singles front, you might—”
She shook her head. “I’m gonna stop you right there, babe.
We have two more opportunities to play together, and I’m not giving one of those up because I happen to be through to the third round in the singles.
Having said that, normal rules apply. If you need to narrow down your focus, just let me know. ”
“You’re my focus right now.”
Naomi’s legs slowed for a moment before she went back to the correct pace for her cool-down.
I forgot Naomi didn’t know that following Melbourne, my whole season was built with the intention of making sure I could be there by her side in the mixed doubles in Madrid.
I’d been lucky so far that nothing had been too strenuous for my shoulder, so it wasn’t a concern right now, but if it was, I’d modify my singles schedule accordingly.
“What?” she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.
“It’s as it sounds. From now until August, my primary concern is playing with you. So yeah, if it means I’ve gotta pull back on the singles side, I will. In theory, I’ve got a few more years left, so taking the hit for one season isn’t going to be that big a deal in the long run.”
“You’re serious? That’s kind of a big deal.”
“It’s not really. I only made the third round here last year, and I’m not putting myself through best-of-five matches just to defend those points. The Olympics are more important. Where do you wanna get food from once you’re done here?”
Naomi looked like she might have more to say, but instead, she just nodded in acceptance.
“I don’t mind. As long as there’s a Caesar salad on the menu.”
It was very easy for me to keep my promise to Naomi because Wimbledon and I seemed to be in the kind of relationship where I was incapable of a deep run, so I was knocked out in the second round.
I didn’t feel like I played badly. I felt good in warm-up, but when I got on court, that all seemed to disappear, and I couldn’t find a way to break through my opponent.
So in a straight sets loss, the mixed doubles—and supporting Naomi through her final grass court singles campaign—became my only focus.