Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part story about the life of professional tennis player Cecil Mamiit, the only athlete to compete at the USTA Challenger of Champaign-Urbana since the tournament’s inception a decade ago.

In Champaign, Cecil Mamiit’s back injury flares up. But he reacts quickly to nullify the pain. As soon as he realizes he has an extra few minutes to spare during his match, he leans back and pushes his pelvis forward to crack his back. His dry-fit T-shirt that used to be cardinal red, has turned a deeper maroon shade from the sweat that causes the shirt to cling to his slight 5-foot-8, 155-pound build.

Mamiit is one of the smallest athletes at the tournament, but he is also one of the most recognizable because he is the lone athlete to have competed at the United States Tennis Association Challenger of Champaign-Urbana since its inception. He returns to the college town every year because he feels comfortable there and has had some success at the challenger.

He arrived at the tournament Saturday afternoon, nearly three full days before his first match, toting a black, partially zipped Nike duffel bag – his puffy, winter USC coat protrudes from inside. He is wearing a long-sleeve white dry-fit shirt with a USC Cardinal-colored Nike swoosh and the letters “SC” intertwined on the right, just below his collarbone. He has not always felt such strong affection for USC, though.

To attend college he had to leave the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where he trained, played and lived since the age of 15. Andre Agassi and Jim Courier went to the same tennis academy. Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Serena Williams, all former top-ranked women also trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

But as Mamiit was departing for USC, the Trojans’ perennial success was of little importance to him.

“I never went to the school for orientation or even on a recruiting trip. I just went to the school because it was close to home.”

Since then, USC has become instrumental to his life. He still returns there to train when he stays at his small loft condominium in Los Angeles. As a NCAA singles champion, he now has a deeper appreciation for the school that boasts 13 NCAA singles champions and 20 doubles champions in men’s tennis.

“I grew to love USC. I had a lot of great times there. It was tough for me to make a decision to turn pro that year (1996).”

After college, he was determined to travel the world as a pro for at least part of his 20s. He did, traveling with several of his former teammates including Adam Peterson and Kyle Spencer. But slowly, as Mamiit ages, the number of people he grew up playing and traveling with that are still playing professional tennis is decreasing. Both Peterson and Spencer have stopped playing professionally, although Peterson remained tied to the pro tour through early December by coaching Lindsay Davenport, one of the world’s former top-ranked tennis players.

“Deep down inside, I feel like I still can do this,” Mamiit says. “I still love the game.”

Now, he takes comfort in watching Eric Taino, 30, and Kevin Kim, 27, play and have success. Kim and Taino both went to UCLA and live near Mamiit in the Los Angeles area. The trio trains together often, although Mamiit and Taino are more likely to travel together because they have similar rankings. Taino and Mamiit compete together too. They teamed up to win the Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam challenger doubles title. Both men competed for the Philippines at the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in December too.

All three of them have competed at the USTA Challenger of Champaign-Urbana at the same time. However, Kim is the highest-ranked of the three. He achieved a career-high ranking in March when he was the world’s No. 63 singles player. In 2003, Kim reached a career-high doubles ranking of 118.

And although Mamiit finds it comforting to watch men his own age play tennis competitively, there are new opportunities for former top players, who are at least 30 years old to play against other athletes 30 years old or older. On Nov.13, Courier defeated Todd Martin to win the inaugural event of the Champion Cup Series, a collection of four tennis events in the United States featuring the top current or former professional tennis player who are 30 years old or older.

However, Mamiit does not feel handicapped when he is out on the court and is not in a rush to join the other players in the senior circuit. In many ways, the passage of time has been kind to Mamiit. He looks 25 at most, although in a college town, he could easily be mistaken for an undergraduate student. His chocolate-colored eyes still sparkle when he sees faces he recognizes on the road. In other ways, though, the effects of playing tennis at a highly competitive level shows.

When he was younger, he could be ready to play faster. Now, he must warm up slowly and methodically. Instead of bouncing into action on the court, he tends to use the full amount of time allowed to sit on his bench, dabbing himself with the mint-green towel the tournament supplies, touching first his forehead, then his right arm, then his left. He takes two gulps of water from one of the two mini-water bottles next to him, draining the liquid inside.

Most nights, after matches, he takes a long hot shower, stretches, eats and heads to his hotel room to watch a movie, instead of spending the night at local bars like some of the younger athletes. While in Champaign, he saw “Jarhead,” a movie that was based on a former marine’s pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

“It’s all about preparation. It’s all about planning. You plan for the next tournament or you plan for your next match or you plan for the next day.”

Back at the Atkins Tennis Center, though, Mamiit must win to plan ahead for the next day. His preparation tomorrow will depend on the outcome of the match he is currently engaged in. Mamiit narrows his focus. He needs to advance to the next round. He needs this win over Bobby Reynolds. With the score tied at six points apiece in the third set, he needs to muster his remaining strength to put this match away.

Cecil Mamiit pumps his small fist twice in fairly contained motions. When he was younger, he believed that just thinking positive thoughts was enough. Now he speaks loudly to himself in between points to try to motivate himself to perform better.

“Come on, come on,” he says, his head bobbing quickly up and down with each cry of encouragement.

He tugs gingerly at a few of the racket strings. First, he pushes them apart. Then, he pulls them back into place. Sometimes he just plucks them lightly, like guitar strings. He flips his racket a few times before he steps up to the baseline where he sets up for the next serve that will be hit in his direction. What is going through Mamiit’s head?

Despite being out of college for almost 10 years, he just got a place of his own two years ago. Originally, when he thought about getting a place of his own, he imagined a house with sprawling gardens on the beach. Then he realized that he would still be playing professional tennis, calling different cities -from college towns to large metropolitan areas – home for the majority of the next few years and knew he would never be able to take care of his home by himself.

“There are so many positive things about traveling and getting to see the world. The drawback is that you can’t get a consistent relationship with your friends or your parents. But you have to realize that there are sacrifices to be made and just take advantage of all of the good stuff that the tournaments have to offer.”

Mamiit simply packs his pillow with him to provide the “comfort of home.” His computer is another constant for e-mailing friends throughout the country and world, trying to keep in contact. Tonight, if Mamiit contacts his friends, he can tell them he was victorious over Reynolds, who reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2005. Mamiit can also tell them about beginning doubles competition with Hyung-Taik Lee the next day.

It has been about 15 minutes since Cecil Mamiit’s singles match has ended. He won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), forcing Reynolds’ first-round singles exit from the tournament for the second consecutive year. Reynolds packs up his rackets and belongings before scurrying off the tennis court.

By the end of the week, Mamiit will earn $860 for his singles performance that ended in a second-round defeat. For his part in reaching the doubles semifinals, Mamiit takes home $540. He has made $1,400 not counting the money he spends on traveling to and from the tournament. He has traveled to Champaign from Nashville and will fly back to Los Angeles before leaving for the Southeast Asian Games. He also has to pay for his own meals and getting his rackets strung.

But those matches and expenses will come later. Now he is recovering from the match against Reynolds.

Mamiit takes his time. He sits on his bench, drinks a little more water and catches his breath. He is not in a hurry. When he returns to the players’ lounge overlooking the court where he just finished competing, he is dressed in a white T-shirt and matching shorts that offset his caramel-colored skin. He dashes around, preparing for the next day’s matches, which could include both his second-round singles match and his first-round doubles match. He reserves court times for the next day and finds someone he can warm up with. He takes two of his rackets to have new strings woven into them before leaving the tennis center to have dinner with a former high school classmate who is working toward his doctorial degree in biomedical engineering.

“We, as tennis players, live in the moment,” Mamiit says, among the flurry of activity. “We plan for things, but we plan things for the next day – we don’t look long term at all. Whatever happens after tennis, I’ll deal with it later.”