I won 9 games in total. 3-4 against Luciano, 2-5 against Al (sub) and 4-3 against Dave C. I tied with Dave on total # of games but will get through in a tie breaker. Luciano won 10 games and will be moving up.Al is a strong 4.0 player and that shows!!
I didnt play with any plan intentionally. I just tried to play and hit shots and tried to be positive. Net result is that i have hit more winners from both flanks and felt good on those shots. However my alternate week of tennis has hurt my consistency --a neccessary keel in my game.
It didnt help that i struggled with breathing issues all through the week and i am currently undergoing tests for my doctor who thinks it is allergies.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tennis Results Feb 08 2010-- Couldnt get it done
I lost to Paul in a disappointing 3-6,6-1, 5-7 (tie break) game. My game wasnt on and i didnt really get good bearings on my game. I didnt serve well or played well. In the second set i did have occassional flashes of good serves and good passing shots but thats it.
After 6 attempts at #1, it wasnt to be this year. I plan to come back stronger and better next year and hopefully get the job done. The feeling i had after the match is still livid in me and hope that fire burns in me and forces me to practice and play better.
I am not planning to play next week and may play the week after. That gets us into March and i may continue playing alternating weeks until end of March. If there is any oppurtunity to compete at the top, i may be tempted again but i am not eagerly looking forward at this time.
I havent been to Gym since last saturday as i have trouble putting weight on my left leg ankle. I plan to rest till it feels better and then resume work outs and conditioning. I am planning to take some tennis classes in March /April and supplement them with good practice so that i can reinforce what i learnt during the outdoor season.
Overall the season so far is still a very successful season for me. I played consistently at the top and been at #2 for about 6 weeks out of 17 weeks I played so far and been at 7 pm for 15 weeks (just the two weeks i needed to get out of 7 pm). I have beat every player except two (Eric & Vishwas). Made good improvements in Backhand.
So a lot to look forward and learn for the Outdoor season-- Cant wait to take on Jack and Andy outdoors.
After 6 attempts at #1, it wasnt to be this year. I plan to come back stronger and better next year and hopefully get the job done. The feeling i had after the match is still livid in me and hope that fire burns in me and forces me to practice and play better.
I am not planning to play next week and may play the week after. That gets us into March and i may continue playing alternating weeks until end of March. If there is any oppurtunity to compete at the top, i may be tempted again but i am not eagerly looking forward at this time.
I havent been to Gym since last saturday as i have trouble putting weight on my left leg ankle. I plan to rest till it feels better and then resume work outs and conditioning. I am planning to take some tennis classes in March /April and supplement them with good practice so that i can reinforce what i learnt during the outdoor season.
Overall the season so far is still a very successful season for me. I played consistently at the top and been at #2 for about 6 weeks out of 17 weeks I played so far and been at 7 pm for 15 weeks (just the two weeks i needed to get out of 7 pm). I have beat every player except two (Eric & Vishwas). Made good improvements in Backhand.
So a lot to look forward and learn for the Outdoor season-- Cant wait to take on Jack and Andy outdoors.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
More Monday Tennis stuff (01-Feb-2010)
Its official now. Commissioner decided that i have enough points to move up (factually i do!) to move up and play for #1 next week. One slight change is that i will be playing Paul as he beat Vishwas last week to remain at the top of ladder World Rankings. My challenge remains still tough as ever with the only change being that i happened to beat Paul in the past.
A few other items that i felt worth mentioning are that i will finish February at 7pm regardless of how i play the remaining sessions. If we consider the fact that last year and year before, i struggled to make 7pm cut ,to Now , a regular presence at 7pm is a big turn around.
The win against Luciano is also satisfying. Strategy wise i have the best possible plan to play him that is still within the limits of my game --attack the Backhand. In the past, i would jump into big lead with this strategy but somehow let it slip by. This time, i sustained the same urgency through out. I was also helped by the fact that Luciano chose to attack the net and helped me rip some passing shots.
I probably will play next week for one more shot at Paul and #1 -- too much of an oppurtunity to pass up.
I have started working on strengthening muscles. I am trying to build a platform for first couple of weeks before i start pushing myself very hard. I am hoping that if i can build a strong core that will go well with my current cardio stamina for a strong Spring-summer-fall Tennis season.
I have approximately 8 weeks left before we are in April --possible start of outdoor season. It isnt a lot of time but can be done if i execute correctly. I need to clear my head from getting bogged down with Tennis results for the rest of the season and look at the big picture as i decided i would early january.
I have also got commitments from some of the players in the ladder that they would play us (me/Jack) during the outdoor season. This variety and experience can go long way in improving the game.
Badminton season is in full swing as well. I am playing good in patches but no where near to the standards i used to play couple of years ago. Some of that has to do with my doubles partners and their desire to stick to game execution plans. However my level also dipped mainly because of not paying enough focus to results. May be during march and april, i will try to push more on Badmiton.
A few other items that i felt worth mentioning are that i will finish February at 7pm regardless of how i play the remaining sessions. If we consider the fact that last year and year before, i struggled to make 7pm cut ,to Now , a regular presence at 7pm is a big turn around.
The win against Luciano is also satisfying. Strategy wise i have the best possible plan to play him that is still within the limits of my game --attack the Backhand. In the past, i would jump into big lead with this strategy but somehow let it slip by. This time, i sustained the same urgency through out. I was also helped by the fact that Luciano chose to attack the net and helped me rip some passing shots.
I probably will play next week for one more shot at Paul and #1 -- too much of an oppurtunity to pass up.
I have started working on strengthening muscles. I am trying to build a platform for first couple of weeks before i start pushing myself very hard. I am hoping that if i can build a strong core that will go well with my current cardio stamina for a strong Spring-summer-fall Tennis season.
I have approximately 8 weeks left before we are in April --possible start of outdoor season. It isnt a lot of time but can be done if i execute correctly. I need to clear my head from getting bogged down with Tennis results for the rest of the season and look at the big picture as i decided i would early january.
I have also got commitments from some of the players in the ladder that they would play us (me/Jack) during the outdoor season. This variety and experience can go long way in improving the game.
Badminton season is in full swing as well. I am playing good in patches but no where near to the standards i used to play couple of years ago. Some of that has to do with my doubles partners and their desire to stick to game execution plans. However my level also dipped mainly because of not paying enough focus to results. May be during march and april, i will try to push more on Badmiton.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monday Tennis 01-Feb-2010 -- For Arbitration
I didnt play on Jan 25. Originally i was planning to sub to save money but later on i was forced to do it because of terrible bout of cold. That past weekend was so bad that i couldnt as much watch tennis let alone play. After lots of antibiotics and traditional cold remedial measures, i started feeling better. All the while i tried to catch up on Australian Open. I was disappointed that Nadal and JustineHenin lost. I am glad Roger Federer won because every grandslam he wins now puts him that much further ahead of Pete Sampras. I think at this time, Federer has left behind every other great player and is in his own place as the closest one can get to Tennis Perfection.
Despite me not playing, Luck was on my side and a player substituting for me made a good showing and allowed me to keep my spot at the top of 7 pm. This definitely is luck because i wasnt expecting it. So the line up for this past monday (01 Feb 2010) has me against Luciano , Ding and Carl.
Heading to the courts, i wasnt feeling great , to put it mildly. I have no reasons other than that the i havent fully recovered from the cold. I did resume my Gym workout during the past week but wasnt pushing myself. In the past, i played anywhere from awesome to worst when i felt like this and i wasnt sure which mode will my game be when i am on the court.
After the warmup, i won the toss with Luciano and started serve. Two good first serves and 30-0--didnt have to play at all. Then things went offline a little bit but i ended up winning with a great first serve at Deuce. Luciano held his serve though i fought to Deuce. I broke Luciano later on to go up 3-1 and held on for a 5-2 score line. I felt cold and tired but i was happy with the score line for couple of reasons. First of all, i have hit a decent number of forehand winners --some of them cross court passing shots when Luciano tried to get close to the net. This is a good step towards my goal of rebuilding forehand though long way to go.
I won the toss with Ding and lost my serve right away. This is the first time i am playing Ding and he has excellent touch and very good shots overall. Even though i had three chances to break him, i couldnt and he was up 2-0. At this time, i thought i wouldnt even make the par of 11 games needed to stay at the top of 7 pm. Despite stuttering, i held my serve mostly due to Ding's unforced errors than my game plan and then broke him to make it 2-2. I have a better read of his game now and held my serve more comfortably and then broke him again for 4-2 lead. I however lost the last game meekly to end the match at 4-3. The highlights for me are a Nadal like around the net post forehand winner and some good defense.
Carl elected to serve and came out blazing and raced to 2-0 lead. His shots were falling and his game was on and that meant that there isnt much i could do other than weather the storm. I broke him back--thanks to a net chord and we are back on serve at 1-2. I still was able to crack a good inside in forehand winner against Carl , which is one of my highlights for the night.
We had to stop the match as we ran out of time. As it turns out Luciano and Ding couldnt finish either. With no empty courts to continue , we had to call it a night and leave the standings for our Tennis Commissioner to figure out.
When we stopped play, Here is what we have
Player ---NumberofgamesWon (RemainingGames to play)
Ding --------8 (2)
Luciano---- 10 (2)
Carl-------- 8 (4)
Satish-------10 (4)
I am not sure how our Commissioner would resolve this but i feel good about my chances of topping the group. Since i won against Luciano, if we only consider the 'games won' at the time of stoppage, i will still move up.
If we apply some kind of projections to the remaining games, the only scenario where i wouldnt move up is when i lose all my remaining games. In fact i have to lose atleast three of my remaining games for anyone else to move up.
Here is some more of that 'projection' stuff.
I am assuming that i would be moving up for another showdown with Vishwas, who beat Paul to remain at the top. I havent yet decided if i should play next week or stick to my alternate week schedule. Because it is another shot at #1, may be i should go and try.
What do you think?
Despite me not playing, Luck was on my side and a player substituting for me made a good showing and allowed me to keep my spot at the top of 7 pm. This definitely is luck because i wasnt expecting it. So the line up for this past monday (01 Feb 2010) has me against Luciano , Ding and Carl.
Heading to the courts, i wasnt feeling great , to put it mildly. I have no reasons other than that the i havent fully recovered from the cold. I did resume my Gym workout during the past week but wasnt pushing myself. In the past, i played anywhere from awesome to worst when i felt like this and i wasnt sure which mode will my game be when i am on the court.
After the warmup, i won the toss with Luciano and started serve. Two good first serves and 30-0--didnt have to play at all. Then things went offline a little bit but i ended up winning with a great first serve at Deuce. Luciano held his serve though i fought to Deuce. I broke Luciano later on to go up 3-1 and held on for a 5-2 score line. I felt cold and tired but i was happy with the score line for couple of reasons. First of all, i have hit a decent number of forehand winners --some of them cross court passing shots when Luciano tried to get close to the net. This is a good step towards my goal of rebuilding forehand though long way to go.
I won the toss with Ding and lost my serve right away. This is the first time i am playing Ding and he has excellent touch and very good shots overall. Even though i had three chances to break him, i couldnt and he was up 2-0. At this time, i thought i wouldnt even make the par of 11 games needed to stay at the top of 7 pm. Despite stuttering, i held my serve mostly due to Ding's unforced errors than my game plan and then broke him to make it 2-2. I have a better read of his game now and held my serve more comfortably and then broke him again for 4-2 lead. I however lost the last game meekly to end the match at 4-3. The highlights for me are a Nadal like around the net post forehand winner and some good defense.
Carl elected to serve and came out blazing and raced to 2-0 lead. His shots were falling and his game was on and that meant that there isnt much i could do other than weather the storm. I broke him back--thanks to a net chord and we are back on serve at 1-2. I still was able to crack a good inside in forehand winner against Carl , which is one of my highlights for the night.
We had to stop the match as we ran out of time. As it turns out Luciano and Ding couldnt finish either. With no empty courts to continue , we had to call it a night and leave the standings for our Tennis Commissioner to figure out.
When we stopped play, Here is what we have
Player ---NumberofgamesWon (RemainingGames to play)
Ding --------8 (2)
Luciano---- 10 (2)
Carl-------- 8 (4)
Satish-------10 (4)
I am not sure how our Commissioner would resolve this but i feel good about my chances of topping the group. Since i won against Luciano, if we only consider the 'games won' at the time of stoppage, i will still move up.
If we apply some kind of projections to the remaining games, the only scenario where i wouldnt move up is when i lose all my remaining games. In fact i have to lose atleast three of my remaining games for anyone else to move up.
Here is some more of that 'projection' stuff.
- Luciano moves up if he wins all his remaining games(2) AND Carl wins all his remaining games (4)
- Carl moves up if he wins all his remaining games (4) AND Luciano should lose atleast on eof his remaining games.
- Ding will not move up regardless of results of remaining games.
- I will move up if i win two games out of remaining (4).
- Myself and Luciano will not move down
- Ding is likely to move down unless Carl loses all of his remaining games (4)
- Carl will move down if he loses all his remaining games (4).
I am assuming that i would be moving up for another showdown with Vishwas, who beat Paul to remain at the top. I havent yet decided if i should play next week or stick to my alternate week schedule. Because it is another shot at #1, may be i should go and try.
What do you think?
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