Monday Tennis Oct 20

I managed to get just 5 games out of 21 games. I have no reasons/explanations. I didnt play too bad but didnt play right or used the right shot at the right time.

Against Paul i started well broke him the very first game only to surrender my serve.
The worst was yet to come. I dont know what happened but i left court open or didnt put the shots deep enough. I managed to win just two games. one on my serve and one on his.

I played a Sub Henry. Very good consistent player with excellent Topspin forehands and a decent backhand. He held his serve and i held mine (for the first time with some booming serves). Then i lost the plot. Towards the end, i realized a mistake i made all summer and tried to correct it--too late. i ended up with 1 game.

Against Jack, more or less same story though this time it was based on my intention to stay aggressive and practice the forehand. I know i could have slowed down the game and played defense and probably win more games but i more or less decided to focus on long term. I won two games.

Part of my problem (apart from Serve) is the diminised winners from Forehand. Usually i get 4-5 winners a set (thats last season anywayz). I dont remember hitting any in recent times in any match. While some of it can be attributed to better play from opponents, it has also to do with a shift in technique.

In order to hit a good topspin forehand , wrist has to stay loose and have a smooth low to high motion. All summer i hit forehands with tight grip and tight wrist. This helped my defense but hurt my offense. I should have caught it during my ball machine sessions but i had very few of them and most of them are to practice backhands. It occured to me yesterday as i was watching Henry and i tried to match his forehands.

So, now i know how to fix some of my issues. Whether it will be enough i dont know. Yesterday's results are hard to swallow. I doubt that all other players have improved so drastically and i have fallen so much behind in one summer.

Given the recent results, i need to start slowly and build up. Do the Hard work and Start focussing more and win more games. Focus on hitting forehands. My game can withstand loss of serve or loss of forehand but not both. In any case i rather have my forehand back. The serve will come in.

I may stay at 7 pm mostly due to Technicality than my performance. If i do drop to 0830 its no big deal. Afterall i didnt play well enough to be at 7pm. I will try to climb up again.