Moments of Beauty: Western

Moment of Beauty #1: Byeong Min Lim

On the very first point of the day, Byeong played a beautiful shot. Playing against Clayton Douglass, a player who took him to three sets in last year's tournament, Byeong opened our day with a beautiful return. The serve got into him and he sliced underneath it while moving out of the way. The ball zipped close to the net, dancing close to the net chord and looking like it could fall back onto Byeong's side. But by the slightest of margins, it cleared the net and landed softly in the court in front of the service line. Douglass was standing straight, not expecting the ball to come over and bounce so low. The drop shot didn't even let him get into the point, and Byeong took the early lead in a match where he'd eventually take the first set win 6-0.

Moment of Beauty #2: Brandon Nguyen and Simon Hurst

Umm... the whole match versus Western was beautiful. Crosscourt groundstrokes, cutting off the middle of the net, volleys through the middle of the court, smashes on the outside. Aces. Brandon and Simon played like a dominant force in this match. It was so much fun to watch this match. And those matches are the best. The ones that bring you joy even to watch!