Love 15 (A Dominic Thiem Fanfic)

Chapter Nine

Love 15

Author's Note I'm so excited to see the closure of this fic, you have no idea.

This was written originally in [2018] so some of the facts might be dated.

FYI, Italics, different language, should be self explanatory, normal, in English; just in terms of conversation.(Excluding texting)

Disclaimer Fabricated filaments of my imagination.

"Players, could you please come to the net for the coin toss?" asks the chair umpire. Maja follows Dominic to where Ivan Dodig and Sania Mirza are standing. "Miss Mirza, if you would so kindly make the call."

"Tails," she replies, running her fingers on the inside band of her skirt, flattening out the creases.

"Tails it is," says the young boy who has just retrieved the stow away coin. The opposition mutter a few sentences under their breaths to each other.

"We'll serve."

"Warm up time starts now, five minutes on the clock," announces the umpire, Maja and Dominic move towards their chosen side of the court and ask the ball children to toss them a couple tennis balls each.

Their attitude going into the match today is to play to the best of their ability, but still be proud of themselves with what they have managed to achieve in the last week or two regardless of what the final score is. It has been a phenomenal result for the virgin pair. Ivan and Sania are a very established and well seasoned team, who have been ranked quite high on the mixed doubles ladder for a number of years now.

Marin Cilic unfortunately ended Dominic's campaign at the Australian Open the previous day. Maja was quick to just to conclusions and pin it on their cheeky activities before his match but Dominic insisted otherwise.

She is still not convinced and wants to claim this title as their own. For him. She's hungry for it. Perhaps a little part of it is because of Kristina, if they take this title as their own it is something that he and Kristina have never achieved together, or never will for that matter. A title is still a title regardless of whether it is done individually or in a doubles capacity.

"You okay?" asks Dominic, turning his racket over with his bandaged hand as he waits for the opposition to hit another ball in order to restart the rally.

"Nervous," replies Maja. "You?"

"I'm okay, a little nervous but I think that is natural," replies Dominic, smiling. "And don't be, we've got this."

"Thanks Dom," she replies, focusing back on the court, just in time to retrieve a ball  plummeting her way, in her return she takes as much pace as possible off it. Sania runs in for a volley but it shoots out of the court, wide on Dominic's side.

"Two minutes."

Maja steps up to serve, she and Dominic have worked out a method where they both receive optimal serving opportunity in the last two minutes of the designated warm up time. Maja starts with two serves, one on each side of the center base line whilst Dominic waits in the wing with two balls ready, when she finishes he immediately begins and they rinse and repeat until the conclusion of the warm up time.

She turns around swiftly, completely unaware of his close proximity. Dominic loses his balance and stumbles back as she falls on top of him. He lands with a thud, his back against the concrete and Maja across him, still with a racket in hand and several balls sprawled around them.