So how did you get your start?

When I was 12, I lived on a military installation in Germany.  My housing unit was right next door to some tennis courts that belonged to the Junior High School.  In March of that year, I started noticing a guy out playing on the courts by himself.  He would spend hours rotating between serving and then hitting against the backboard.  As my curiosity increased, I went from my bed room window to standing out side the fence.  After a couple of days, he asked me if I wanted to learn.  Eagerly I said yes.  So he taught me a forehand, two-handed backhand and how to hit a flat serve.  During our conversations I came to find out he was preparing for the qualies for the French Open.  Unfortunately, I totally lost touch with him and never found out how he actually did.  But the rest is as we say, is History.