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The movie Challengers is not just a straight movie about tennis. It gets into the ins and outs of the game and literally dives into the reality of the challenger tennis circuit. On any given Sunday, any tennis player can beat anyone else, also what keeps players from rising in the rankings sometimes can be that one player you just cannot beat, it is the luck of the draw. It plays as two against one romantic trio, a former female, phenom, tennis player in college and two hotshot male tennis Academy players who to get her into bed, however, the movie Dell deep into the human relationships and psyche, the realism of the tennis is not bad. If you have seen the movie Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and Paul button, you can tell the differences. In the reality of things, the tennis players on the court are taking too many steps to try to cover the court in one instance there is a female opponent of the lead character who takes seven steps to run from corner to corner. Where is a professional tennis player will take three steps to cover the court. The ex-boyfriend serve is a hackers type of serve with no Baltas and coordinated swing his head turn and the elbow is right beside his head. This is a sign of server who has not been able to overcome his security and tossing the ball straight up. Nonetheless, he is very cocksure player, and for sure there are plenty of cocks on display in the movie. There is an athletic bodies confidence in the athletes who portray the tennis players in the sauna you’re wondering when the towels are going to start dropping.
The movie Challengers is not just a straight movie about tennis. It gets into the ins and outs of the game and literally dives into the reality of the challenger tennis circuit. On any given Sunday which is usually the finals day of a tournament, any tennis player can beat anyone else. Built into the system and what keeps certain players from rising in the rankings is there can be that one player who you just cannot beat, it is the luck of the draw that keeps you from winning the match and moving onto the next round. The challengers level is akin to the minor leagues of baseball; playing your way up the system and hoping to get into the Top 100 when you can qualify to entry or another round of tournament play-ins or qualifiers which usually are three days of one on one head to head mini-tournament. How many open spots are held in the draw for qualifiers or wild cards is dependent on the particular tournament. Whoever makes it to last day of qualifying without losing do get into the main draw of a main tournament. “I’m a tennis player, I am in the tournament,” says the character who has to sleep in his car, unable to afford a motel room. Tennis players on the circuit also have to live the day to day, pay their expenses, depend on any winnings or nest egg to pay their way.
The premise of Challengers is the sliding doors of three players, two of them best mates from tennis academy days Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig – Tashi Donaldson is the famous female collegiate star who has already played the Australian Open.
Challengers plays as two against one romantic trio, a former female, phenom, tennis player in college and two hotshot male tennis Academy players who compete to get her into bed, however, the movie delves deep into the human relationships and psyche. The level of compete of the tennis is realistic. The movie Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany was etched more as a love story with Wimbledon and the surroundings providing the romantic background. (Kirsten Dunst had three months to learn how to play tennis, but the movie survives.) Challengers is a sponsor’s dream. Luxury of luxury brands. Sports cars. Sports brands. Adidas attire. Head tennis racquets.
“He’s not in love with you.”
In the course of things, a very careful observer of the tennis would say the action may be a tad overplayed, in one instance there is a female opponent of the lead character who takes seven steps to run from corner to corner, whereas the professional tennis player will take three steps to cover the court. Shots as seen in the real life or on the television, a point is usually player grabbing the right ball to serve, serve ball toss, hit serve, and point over after serve return, and returner hits out. Within the movie, it is almost Ben Shelton, hit or miss going for it mentality, and lines, in or out. Mind games and psyche out is a deep part of the Challengers challenging mindthink. As coach and psychologist and scouting on the internet for video and information on her husband’s next competition ranked in the 200s for Donaldson, Tashi Duncan now Donaldson has to balance being mother to child and mother coddling Art. Now in his thirty-second year, his heyday may be over; however, there is one challenge remaining: winning the US Open to complete his own career slam (Australian Open, French, Wimbledon and US Open are the four major Grand Slam tournaments. Winning even one is a career achievement, winning the four Slams in one season is the actual Grand Slam, which in reality has been only been one twice by Rod Laver, The ex-boyfriend serve is a hackers type of serve starting with no backswing and coordinated swing his head turn and the elbow is right beside his head. This is a sign of server who has not been able to overcome his security and tossing the ball straight up. Nonetheless, he is very cocksure player, and for sure there are plenty of cocks on display in the movie. There is an athletic bodies confidence in the athletes who portray the tennis players in the dour men’s dressing room and showers, and in the sauna in the scene between Patrick and Art, one could be wondering when the towels are going to start dropping. “This is a sauna.”
Bits of verisimillitude give further kudos to the depth of which the world strives. The narrative goes back from the now to the time thirteen years ago back to the 2011s. Flashing back to the time of names such as Marty Fish and the American domino Andy Roddick appearing on promotional banners are true to the times of 2011 where Roddick squared off against Nadal in the US Open finals, and the pair of Donaldson and Zweig won the U.S. Open boys doubles when they were teenagers, Zweig opting for the flashy shot, an exaggerated and unnecessary tweener at match point for victory. The thank you with their opponents at the net at match end, then cut to the party. Their pose for the cameras with their trophies shows an insouciance for polite manners. Zweig keeps flashing his irritating smile, getting under the skin of Donaldson, an annoying hustler’s characteristic that he continually hides behind while his career flounders in the lower 200s of the rankings in his thirties while Donaldson has gotten to the top winning his majors bearing a hard serve and a very traditional one hand backhand. Single-handedly he should be cruising over Zweig. But back at this point in time, the Tandi Duncan element – fresh in university concentrating on getting her degree while playing tennis rather than go the professional route – enters the picture, not wishing to be a home wrecker she ends the defining scene of the night, leaving the two boys to it to see which gets her number.
Forward to the time three months from the present, the dream duo of Donaldson and Donaldson appearing on a flash banner for Aston Martin, the high end car brand of James Bond. And beneath it Donaldson and Zweig diving into it in the backseat of his trashy car, Donaldson trying to ensure Zweig holds to his word that he will tank, and maybe a rekindling of a bout of feelings that will not go away because he is still crazy about her, whether vice versa is up in the air.
The world of Tandi is all-consumed by tennis. “Unfortunately my only skill in life is hitting a ball with a racquet. “In her forced retirement post-playing life she has no other choice, it is all she concedes she is good at. As a hired hitting partner for another player on the tour, and as a mother to child and more mother than wife to husband Art. She is single-mindedly focused on trying to get Art to focus on the US Open slam ahead while navigating his crisis of confidence. The US Open is the single tournament remaining to complete his own career Grand Slam which would be quite the achievement. She has to be tough-minded because he is not, even mulling his future as they live the hotel life their daughter favours – but they would have to pretend to be rich. So in her plans, instead of playing in Cincinnati, one of the main tournaments leading into the US Open, and playing top tier players she devises a plan to get him into one of the challengers tournaments in New Rochelle, New York – which would get him a lower level of competition (below 100 in the rankings) and victory he needs. Entering the challengers is a ploy sometimes even the top ranked players use to tune-up and regain their game. The caveat is the challengers is filled with the downtrodden and the up and comers on their way up to being a force in the future top tournaments (or even such as Alcaraz #1 in the world). Patrick Zweig is the former. In the world of challengers, it is every player for himself, paying all expenses, coaches or trainers or psychologists are beyond the ken of players unless bankrolled by a rich patron or daddy figure, eking out a living from cheque to cheque, craven enough to look for his next bed for the night over the phone app.
The rhythm and rhyme of tennis, proscribed by rules inside the lines, no rules outside. Every man for himself, it is a love game. Two guys vying for the same girl and she calls the shots. However, he finds out after sleeping overnight in the parking lot in his car and eyeing the breakfast sandwich the organizer is eating, that Art Donaldson is a wild card entrant into the tournament. His friend and nemesis. All over a girl. It’s always about a girl. Tandi Duncan. Her fans wear The Duncanator shirts, Duncan is the face of Adidas. Her life is before her, turn her family into millionaires, fashion line, a foundation. Zweig still has one trump card up his sleeve: he knows how to get into the head of Art Donaldson, and its face card is Tandi.
The movie is filled with endorsements, and likely sanctioned by the ATP tour and JP Morgan sponsor itself even if slightly outdated, if the posters be true of Sam Query (recently retired American), John Isner (retired American) and Rafa Nadal are postered on the tournament corridor walls as Donaldson walks before them on the way to the court and next match. I’m playing for both of us, Tashi, he says from their hotel bed. Providing background to Art Donaldson vs. Leo Du Marier are the real deal experts Mary Jo Fernandez and Chris Fowler (both high end tennis commentators from Tennis Channel and other major networks) are dissected on the television coverage.
Challengers also goes into the world public and practice tennis courts where you can be side by side with the next star or club hacker. Donaldson and Donaldson are Game Changer(s) on poster ads for Aston Martin. Aston Martin x Donaldsons. Zendaya on the left, Art Donaldson on the right. Tashi Donaldson who is his coach, also his wife. As a star player, she tries to explain what happened with her opponent during their time on court. “You don’t know what tennis is. It’s a relationship, we went somewhere beautiful together.”
Zweig only has his charms and wiles to get ahead, and a psyche-out mentality. He has an idiosyncratic serve and still a modicum of talent to get by. Flying ants everywhere in the challengers circuit buzzing around for the next honeypot. Keeping him going is the day to day grind and undoubtedly the game of tennis itself. Ranked 271 in the world and still dreaming of cracking ahead.
In between sets of the Challengers final, they ooze their final bits of confidence in themselves, doffing their shirts and stripped to their skins, showing off and taking a set break. A bit of anachronism as the final set break is starting at game 1-0, (in the modern game all set games are their own break and changeover at 0-0.) Ramping up the pressure of the finale; the watchers glued to their seats following the back and forth, Tandi at the centre of it all from her spectator seat (but more than a spectator) and perspective, this game gets into the guts and heart of tennis and carrying all that backstory would be soul crushing if it was not for that irksome grin of his nemesis fueling his own inner competitive spirit. At the height of his powers, to finally crush his foe, and unleash the anger, to get even, and beyond.
ROLLING STONES
Midnight Matinee 