Page 56 of Match Point

“Define long-term.”

“I don’t know for certain, but they usually give out three-year contracts. I might be able to talk them into four.”

Four years doing the same thing?“I’ll think about it.”

Hammy gave a start. “What’s there to think about? You said you loved broadcasting.”

“I do… for now. That doesn’t mean I want to do it for the next four years.”

“Whatdoyou want to do, then?”

“I don’t know,” I answered curtly. “That’s the point. I want to spend the first year of my retirement figuring that out.”

Hammy moved two bouquets of lilies off the coffee table and sat down on the edge, facing me. “These opportunities are available to you right now because your name still carries a lot of weight in the tennis world. But the longer you wait, the more that name fades away. I know that’s a harsh thing to say, but I’m your agent, and it means telling you the truth. You need to take advantage of these opportunities while you can. A four-year broadcasting contract would help cement your place in the NBC booth.”

“I know. I’m just not ready to make big commitments in my life.” I reached out and patted his knee. “You’re working hard as my advocate, and I appreciate that.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Fine. But as soon as youdoknow what you want, be sure to tell me.”

“You’ll be the first person I call.”

“The network sent over the Wimbledon brackets,” Hammy said, reaching into his bag and handing me a stapled stack of papers. “They’re not public until tomorrow. The matches you’re broadcasting are highlighted in yellow.”

“Why didn’t you give these to me at the airport!” I said, flipping to the first page. “I could have read this during the drive over, instead of listening to the cabby drone on about cricket.”

I checked my broadcast schedule first. A good mix of men’s singles and women’s singles matches. Then I checked the bracket arrangement. Gabriel and Dominic were the top two seeds, at opposite ends of the bracket. Dominic had an easier route to the final, in my opinion. Tristan was ranked fifth, and had a difficult road ahead of him based on some of his potential matches. Even the early matches in the first three rounds. And Wimbledon was played on grass, which was one of Tristan’s weaker surfaces.

Then I turned to the bracket showing Women’s Doubles. I wasn’t broadcasting any of them, but I still had professional curiosity. Caroline Dolehide and Shuai Zhang were paired together this tournament. That was interesting; one was American and the other was Chinese, and as far as I knew, Shuai didn’t speak any English. Of course, Su-Wei Hsieh and Barbora Strycova were the top seed. I would have bet my career winnings on them breezing through to the final without much resistance.

I flipped back a page to the Men’s Doubles section. Like a magnet, my eyes were drawn to two names… which happened to be right next to each other.

T Carfrae, D deGrom

vs.

D Altmaier, A Karatsev

“What?” Hammy asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Anakedghost.”

“Tristan Carfrae and Dominic deGrom are playing doubles together.”

“Oh yeah. I heard about that from Tristan’s coach. Why does that surprise you?”

“No reason,” I said. “I’m going to change and think about getting some food.”

I met Tristan at a little cafe that sold sandwiches and tea. He was seated at one of the tables outside, and smiled when he saw me.

“I know those clouds look ominous, but all the tables inside are full. We can move if it starts raining.” He stood, and his smile faded away. “I can tell by the look on your face that you know.”

“You and Dominic are playing doubles together?” I said without hugging him. “When were you going to tell me?”

“I was waiting until it became official from Wimbledon,” he replied as I sat down. He took his seat again, folding his long legs under the table. “They notified us two hours ago that Dominic’s partner switch was approved. That’s when you texted me asking to meet. I figured I would tell you in person.”

“How could you do this?” I hissed. “You and Dominic are… you’re both…” I couldn’t say the words.

“It wasn’t my idea,” he said defensively. “I had to take whoever I could get. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, mate, but I can’t be your partner because we’re shagging the same woman.”

“I don’t know.”

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