By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2019

First published in the Spring 2020 Edition of the Pennsylvania Literary Journal

Radiating tennis brilliance, flashing genius everywhere,
He commands center court, invoking unrivalled fanfare,
Unleashing serves of fury spinning wide or up the “T”,
He crushes seconds without mercy at one-hundred forty;

Employing guile and deception to mask his clever thoughts,
He forces rivals to play deep to cover threatened shots,
Then showboats mid-air drop-shots with gentle backspin touch,
Befuddling top-ranked players, un-swung racquets in their clutch;

He thunders airborne backhands crosscourt or down the line,
And whips cross-court forehand winners from outside the baseline,
When opponents lob him, acrobatics take front stage,
With implausible “tweeners” out of Yannick Noah’s page;

A cat at the net, he has the softest hands on tour,
Deftly punching volleys with crisp placement deep and sure,
The net he fearlessly approaches behind his roaring serves,
Short-hopping angled passing shots with uncanny curves;

Unmatched worldwide in mens’ talent, a potential ATP number one,
He now embraces pro tennis, realizing its potential to be fun,
Thriving off of fan energy, his antics bringing tennis to life,
May Nick continue to love this game, overcoming distraction and strife.