the entertaining write-up! - United States Court Tennis

The 2008 Bathurst Cup
a selective memoir by Ryan Carey
There comes a time in every man’s life when his country comes calling in need of his services, for Kris
Motz and I that time was the first week of April to play in the Bathurst Cup in Paris.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Bathurst Cup, it is essentially the Court Tennis version of the Davis
Cup. Every two years, England, Australia, France and the United States send teams to battle it out over
six days.
On paper, we were obvious underdogs. Australia and England both had “plus” handicap players on their
team and France enjoyed the home court advantage. Maybe it was due to the lack of oxygen at
altitude, but over the course of the 6 ½ hour flight to Paris, Kris and I managed to convince ourselves
that a team as seemingly overmatched as ours, was clearly a dangerous team and poised to cause
problems for the opposition.
We arrived at the Jeu de Paume in the mid‐afternoon. Although we
were exhausted from the flight and it was physically visible that we
took the red‐eye, excitement started to take over as the reality that
we were actually there and going to play the world’s top amateurs
set in. As we walked into the club, the Australians were on court for
their practice session and they were all business. Five minutes on
one drill, five minutes on the next drill, a scheduled water break, etc.
The English team took the court afterwards and within a few minutes
it was obvious how skilled their team was. Kris and I looked at each other and sarcastically chuckled.
What have we gotten ourselves into? Next it was our turn to take the court. At this point, we had been
awake for a good 24 hours and we were just trying to make contact with what we thought was the ball.
The first half hour went well as we were rallying and not embarrassing ourselves in any way. We soon
got comfortable and started to hit harder and harder until we were basically just forcing and volleying
back and forth, which is natural for Kris and I coming from lawn tennis,
but there was a buzz in the dedans by English and Australian teams
scouting us out as they had no idea what to make of such unorthodox
play! On the next water break, Kris and I thought we should try a more
traditional approach, so instead of standing in the middle and forcing we
decided we would play the same way only this time we would hit corner
to corner. The other teams quickly lost interest and that played right
into our hands as we didn’t want to show them too much!
After practice, the Official Draw was held to find out which countries would play against each other and
when. The Draw called for the team captains to be the only ones in attendance. Kris and I hadn’t really
discussed who would be captain, but I suggested that he should be as he had a more honest face. He
agreed and went into the meeting. Australia was the defending champion and as England was the

previous finalist, they were both “seeded” and could not face each other in the opening round. That left
ourselves and France to find out who would be cannon fodder for whom. Kris came out of the room
with a blank stare and looked a little pale. I initially thought all the travel had finally got to him, but that
wasn’t the case, it was the news that we were to play England in the opening round. The English team
consisted of Spike Willcocks (+5.6), David Woodman (+2.5), Jamie Douglas (2.8), and David Harms (7.1),
so we certainly had our work cut out for us! Under normal circumstances, we would have been up all
night formulating strategies, breaking down shots, watching video tape, and worrying if we would come
out of our singles matches all in one piece as Woodman and Willcocks both have devastating forces,
however we were spared such anxiety as jet lag took over and we went right to sleep.
Kris and I had decided to rent an apartment close to the club as it was a lot cheaper than a hotel. It was
a simple flat but had the basic necessities: bathroom, washer, fridge, a bed for Kris and a sofa for yours
truly. Now I didn’t realize it at first as I was so tired, but when I woke up in the middle of the night I
thought I was camping on the side of a mountain as my sofa “bed” (and I use that term loosely) was at a
45 degree angle. I later joked with Kris that I should put on my North Face jacket and take a photograph
to send in to the catalogue. The next morning came early as no one told us that the apartment also
came with an automatic alarm clock. The automatic alarm clock was a drill in the adjoining wall of the
neighboring apartment that started promptly at 7AM every
morning. Not very refreshed or rejuvenated, Kris and I started the
short walk to the club down Rue Lauriston. Now my French is
pretty bad, but I am fairly sure that Lauriston translates as
“minefield” because there were frequent “reminders” that this was
a dog walk as well. Angus Williams had been kind enough to warn
me about that the day before, but just as I was starting to relay the
warning to Kris, he stepped on a “black betty”. Hopefully this
wasn’t an omen of things to come!
This was our second practice day so we thought we would swing by the Boulangerie for some breakfast
as these two‐hour practice sessions required a lot of energy! As if it wasn’t obvious by the embroidered
American flags on our shirts, our attempt at ordering breakfast confirmed that we were the
stereotypical American tourists. We were told early on that we would be “treated like Kings” on this
trip, but in retrospect we should have asked which Kings as our loyal subjects looked to be less than
impressed. We practiced successfully on Day 2 and almost without incident. The Paris court plays in a
completely opposite manner as our home court in Washington. The main wall really grabs spin and
slings it towards the galleries. The cut doesn’t hold on the back wall and the balls bounce up fairly high.
Not to mention that the chase lines are measured in feet rather than yards, so this presents a whole
different way of marking chases that we would have to try and decipher over the course of the week.
Our team liaison, Fontainebleau Head Pro Angus Williams, was helpful in trying to explain everything,
but it, like everything else around us, was familiar and foreign at the same time. We tried to build our
confidence a little with the same force/volley drill that we executed during the first practice, but this
time Kris unknowingly thought he would try to use the side of his racquet to volley and my force
ricocheted off his racquet and hit him in the head. Remember, that we are only a two person team, so if

one of us goes down then we would be compelled to forfeit!
Luckily, he shook out the cobwebs and was able to continue.
After practice, we took a quick trip to the Arc de Triomphe with
the hope that a little “triumph” would rub off on us and carry over
to our tete‐a‐tete versus the Empire. The day ended with a
cocktail party at the club, in part to celebrate the club’s Centenary
, and featured an Jeu de Paume photography exhibition and
an
exhibition match featuring Matt Ronaldson and Spike Willcocks.
Finally, the first day of competitive matches had arrived and we were ready to battle. Even though we
were outmanned and outgunned, I seem to recall a similar historical scenario where the Colonies came
out victorious! Kris was to play first against the amazingly talented Spike Willcocks. The anticipation of
the first match was not only eating away at as us but at head professional Matt Ronaldson as well, as it
was 10 minutes until our scheduled match time of 11AM and Spike was nowhere to be found. Under
strict rules, if Spike didn’t show up within a certain amount of time he would have to default the match.
The English team didn’t look terribly worried as they probably felt they could, in the worst case scenario,
afford to spot us a match and still win the contest fairly easily. Kris and I had to smile again thinking
about the possibility of reporting back to the States that we had split 1‐1 with England after the first
day! But any dreams were quickly vanquished as Spike arrived and was on court within the allotted
time.
Kris played well in his first match, albeit in blinding sunlight on the hazard end. The tournament
organizers passed out Jeu de Paume baseball caps when we first arrived and what I thought was just a
kind gesture was actually a survival tool as the sun shines brightly through the skylight onto the hazard
end in front of the grill and tambour from about 11AM‐1PM. Kris played steadily, trying not to make
any unforced errors and thus allowing Spike to win easy points. This tactic actually worked and Kris shot
out to an early lead (by winning the first game). Spike settled in quite quickly after that and it was clear
who was in charge. For every two steps Spike took, he would make Kris take ten. Kris was moving and
defending the best I had ever seen him and while he lost the match in straight sets, he did win many
compliments from the English side and Matt after the match saying that Kris played much better than
his handicap (click here for video highlights). It should be noted that Spike has been working on a
“railroad” return of service, where he takes his opponent’s railroad serve and hits what appears to be a
railroad forehand which curves into the side galleries! (click here to see)
Down one match, it was my turn to try to level matters. I had met my opponent, David Woodman, a
few months earlier in Tuxedo at the Gold Racquets. As it turned out, we were both billeted at the same
house so I got to know David a bit during our time there. I thought surely I could use this personal
knowledge to my advantage. For instance, I could subconsciously tip the scales in my favor by casually
inquiring on a changeover how much pressure he must feel having to “shoulder” the burden of victory
(knowing full well that he has a bad shoulder). Default by injury was the only plausible scenario if I was
to be victorious on this day I’m afraid and I almost took him out on one shot (click here to see). At the
end of day one, England was in the lead 2‐0 (click here for video highlights).

That night we went out to eat with the English and Australian teams for a bit of camaraderie, in the
spirit which I would imagine the Bathurst Cup was founded upon. Over the course of dinner, it was
revealed that this was something like the fourth straight night that the English team had eaten steak!!
This then lead us to the revelation that we had both been eating breakfast at the same boulangerie but
their breakfast consisted of chocolate éclairs! Armed with this insider information, Kris and I
immediately started on the Team England Official Training Program and ordered steak at dinner, had a
pint or two afterwards and subsequently got a chocolate éclair the next morning. Even though we were
down 2‐0, we were optimistic that we would do better in doubles. I am a much better doubles player
than I am singles player, so I was looking forward to redemption. Michael Do and I had just won the
Cherry Blossom doubles title the day before we left for Paris, so my confidence was running high and
Kris having a lawn tennis background could handle the “heat” of England’s forcing. Kris got off to a bit of
a slow start but I was playing much better than I had been the previous day. This didn’t seem to matter
in the grand scheme of the match as Spike and David won the first set 6‐0 and the second set 6‐1. Even
though we weren’t winning the games I felt like we were playing close to their level and were in most of
the games. The third set started in the same manner as the first two sets except we won a couple of
games. Then the impossible happened, we went on a run. I started to find the range on my force and
both Kris and I were volleying well. If I recall correctly, we were down 5‐2 and won the next three
games to level the match at 5‐5. I was serving at 5‐5 to Spike and missed the first serve that had been
giving Spike some trouble during the match and Spike made me pay by hitting the hardest force we had
seen straight into the dedans right between us. Spike did the same again on the next serve but missed
the dedans and created a chase. We changed sides at 30‐Love facing two good chases. They finally shut
the door on us, but we were proud of almost taking a set off of two of the best amateurs in the world
(click here for video highlights).
We were full of anticipation on the morning of Day 3, the reverse singles. Full of anticipation not
because we thought we would do any better, but rather the Paris marathon was that morning and we
were awoken at the crack of dawn to the sound of a full‐force marching band! Therefore, with so much
time before our match we became quite anxious. Since England had clinched the rubber by winning the
doubles, they elected to play their “reserve” players. I had to face the confident and prodigal Jamie
Douglas. Over the course our dinner a few nights prior, it was also discovered that Jamie’s dad had
beaten me in the finals of the Cherry Blossom a couple of years ago and it seemed that fate had
afforded me this chance at payback against the Douglas clan. However, it was I who was the one who
had to pay once again. I’m not sure whether it was because his girlfriend had just arrived that day or
what, but he put on quite a display for the spectators including a main wall boast that destroyed my
video camera in the dedans! (click here for video) Therefore, I will be extremely weary going forward to
play anyone with the surname of Douglas. Down to our last match, Kris played England’s other alternate
David Harms. Mr. Harms was very friendly with us in the days prior and seems like a genuinely decent
fellow…that was until you got him on the court and he was downright merciless! Kris again played well
and although he lost 6‐2 6‐2, he very well could’ve won by that score, as most games were competitive.
Usually Sunday mornings are for sleeping in, but the Olympic torch was winding its way through the
streets of Paris and the sirens were blaring so no sleep for the weary. We thought we were in good

shape going into the consolation rubber with France as we had been adjusting to both the time change
and the court gradually each day, but after a hard fought day one we were again down 2‐0. I was
thrashed by Julien Bey and Kris fought nobly against Charles Blanchot, but couldn’t quite win the
“deuce” games. In my opinion, home court advantage played a big part in these matches as Julien and
Charles looked way too comfortable with the play of the court and knew where each ball was headed
(bad bounces and all!).
Kris’ birthday was the next day (April 8 th ) and
what better way to celebrate then to beat the
French in doubles and extend our tete‐a‐tete
another day? However, we had a few
extracurriculars to deal with first. The Club had
arranged for some of us to play Trinquet that
morning. Trinquet is a mix between Jai Alai and
Paume and played with wooden racquets in the
SmashBall style. We played for 2 straight hours
and it was great fun! Kris and I took on the
“Rest of the World” team (Blanchot, Harms, and
Sayer) and managed to actually win a few
sets…our first of the week! The two hours flew by and we had to hustle to the Metro to make it back to
the club in time for our doubles match. We had a few minutes to collect ourselves and came to the
realization that Trinquet is pretty tiring, especially when you don’t know what you are doing! Very well
planned France, soften us up a little in the morning ☺ We certainly didn’t need much warm‐up for our
doubles match against Blanchot and the talented youngster Mathieu Sarlangue, whose father I believe
was the club champion for 10 straight years . As expected, this match was much more competitive than
the matches earlier in the tournament. We lost the first set 6‐3 and I think that was a “trinquet
transitional” set as we had to slowly remember how to hit our Paume groundstrokes rather than
trinquet shots. However, once we shook off the trinquet we played true to form and rallied back to take
the second set 6‐2. We were (finally!) playing well and carried the momentum into the third set to take
a 5‐3 lead. At this point, there was rumbling in the dedans…not about how well we were playing, but
rather about how long our match was taking as England v Australia were due to play after us and we
were running out of our allotted time. Kris and I became distracted by this and lost focus. This short
lapse allowed France to rally back to 5‐5 and eventually steal the third set 6‐5. That one hurt, I must say.
The week’s matches and the trinquet earlier that morning caused Kris to “hit the wall” physically in the
fourth set and I was trying to do too much to compensate, so it was a recipe for disaster. We wound up
losing the fourth set and in doing so I felt quite horrible that we couldn’t deliver a victory to Kris for his
birthday. So what is one to do in the face of such abject failure? Celebrate, of course!
One of the members at Prince’s Court, who is originally from France, made us promise that we would
visit one of his favorite bars in Paris. So, that was our first stop as we needed to properly toast Kris’
birthday and we were certainly ready for a drink after the last few days of defeat. Even though we were
completely overmatched on the court, we still have pride and it does hurt a bit to get crushed day after

day. Luckily for us, this bar is famous for a drink called the “Pick‐Me‐Up”. It must have been fate. After
a few of those, we were ready to take anyone on! On the way home, as insurance, we stopped by that
other American embassy to the world, McDonalds, with the hope that these particular (Golden) Arches
would lead us to “Triomphe” the next day.
Convinced that the odds were in our favor to win at least one match over the course of the week, I took
the court with renewed vigor and confidence. My opponent was the youngster Sarlangue. The first few
games were back and forth and he was up 3‐2. Then, a film crew stopped by and started to film our
match. Sarlangue evidently means “show off” in French as he started to hit some unbelievable shots
and I could not force him into any errors. His solid play brought me to an all too familiar place, a straight
set loss. However, I did leave my mark as one of my forces hit the bandeau and caused part of it to
explode, stopping play. (click here for video)
Team USA’s final hope to win a match then rested on Kris and in order to secure a win, he would have to
avenge my loss the previous day and defeat Julien Bey. Kris again held his own and set up the points in
his favor, but would either just barely miss the “put‐away” shot or Julien would turn a defensive shot
into a winning offensive shot. Julien used these kinds of shots and skill to his advantage and although
Kris successfully fought off three consecutive match points (click here for video), Julien secured the
straight set victory and the sweep for France. (click here for video highlights)
Alors, just like the number zero, we had come full circle and ended the week just as it had began,
without a match win. However, it should be noted that I am almost certain that we won in the “best
dressed” category as many of the other players complimented us on our uniforms throughout the week
and expressed jealousy. Being in Paris, I would contend that this victory is undeniably more important
than the matches themselves. Therefore, we may have lost the battle (of matches on court), but we
won the war (of fashion) and even though our results on court might have been a silent nod to
Napoleon’s effort at Waterloo, I firmly believe that we “carried the flag” honorably and represented the
USA in a manner which the other countries had to acknowledge and respect. I wish to sincerely thank
the USCTA, the USCTPF and Prince’s Court for their support in allowing Kris and I the opportunity to play
in this competition as it was without question an honor. I would also like to thank Gil Kressmann, Matt
Ronaldson, Angus Williams, Patricia Gallagher, and Danny Mandil for all of their organization and hard
work in making this a memorable event. In conclusion, I would like to congratulate England on winning
the Bathurst Cup. It was well earned, but please don’t forget who helped you get there!
Au Revoir,
Ryan (on behalf of Kris and Team USA)