DISTILLING THE GOODS

“My strength in the game is probably my forehand,” Li said, smiling. “I really love to stay on the baseline and out-hit my opponent and move him around.”

Indeed, Li’s deep and powerful baseline game, when coupled with an impressive serve, allow him to dictate play against opponents who are oftentimes much larger than he is.

“Jack had a lot of talent coming in,” co-captain David Lingman said, “and a lot of us saw that. It was pretty evident.”

But, said Fish, “everybody’s going to have talent.”

“It’s like the Boston Celtics,” the coach explained. “[They] won 10 world championships, and they ran it with seven plays. They didn’t let everybody do whatever they felt like just because they were so talented.”

Fish added that, “the people who really [succeed are those who] learn to focus their game the way you would focus light through a lens.

“It gets more penetrating—it gets like a laser. And that’s what high performance is at the college or the pro level.”

And it seems Li is learning to concentrate his efforts. Fish spoke of the freshman’s commitment to fitness, adding, “Jack can do just about anything with the ball.

“[The goal is to] get him to distill what are the best things that he can do with the ball, rather than doing them all.”

Li echoed these thoughts, saying that he prides himself “on playing a smart game.”

WHICH PART OF ACHILLES?

In today’s world of violent and fast-paced sports, tennis is often viewed as a country-club hobby. Anyone who has set foot on a competitive tennis court knows, however, that this is not the case. The game is a battle, both mental and physical, and even the nicest of players must shed his geniality before stepping in between the lines.

“The personality of our team is, for the most part, just nice guys,” said Fish said. “When someone wants to come out on the court and rip your heart out, it’s a little shocking to them at first.”

And so, Fish explains to his players, they have a choice.