Another year ends and a fresh year(and a decade) begins. As i look back on my tennis in 2009, it appears as a mixed bag.
I probably had the most inconsistent summer in 2009. I played very less, I lost more matches and for most part, my wins arent convincing. My work consumed a lot of my summer and that is a significant reason in my results. But another reason is that i lost my TopSpin forehand. Yes, most of my game is about forcing opponent to hit one extra shot, but i also used to hit a few winners here and there , based on the oppurtunities. This year, i rarely hit winners, if any. Even my serve was off most of the summer.I scraped through matches mostly on defense.
The only positive change is that i started playing more two handed backhands. I have gotten more and more comfortable with the Two handed backhand.
At the end of summer/mid fall, my weight ballooned up by almost 12 pounds and i didnt even like the look of myself. With Winter about to set in and the winter ladder about to begin, i needed some serious work. I realized that I cant really improve my game by much (not enough oppurtunities for practice) but i thought i will work on my fitness and i did. Fast forward to Jan 2010 and I am into my fourth month of my regular work outs. My weight returned to normal levels and ofcourse my cardio is very good.
The improved fitness and the Two handed backhand helped me get to my personal best showing in the ladder (at #2). Last year i never played for #1 and i only made a couple of appearences at the top of 7pm. This year, despite increased competition due to influx of new talent, i am a 7pm player so far (I played 0830 two weeks to clear the 0830 blocks and move up).My serve has returned for most part though it isnt as consistent. I still dont have my forehand but i guess i will have to live with it for this winter sessions.
All in all , i guess i improved as a player in 2009 especially with a Two handed backhand and some good results in the winter ladder.
I have been playing non-stop in this winter ladder and i am planning to take it easy towards late january and eventually drop out of ladder sometime in february. While a difficult decision, i have to do this as my tennis budget more or less runs out. Other reason is that i want to focus on muscle building (and ready for Spring-summer 2010) and i cant do this while playing the ladder in a competitive manner. As some of you know, My tennis performance dips for few weeks if i do muscle building. Lastly i want to use some of the monday evenings to play and train my daughter so that come summer, she can be ready to be coached.
Finally, my buddy Jack had a solid season. He had a strong outdoor season in 2009 and except for a slight early wobble in the winter ladder, he is back to where he belongs.
Time to get ready for New Year and New challenges.
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