Magnificent!!! -- 25 Oct 2010-- The Dream Final is On (again)

Magnificent !!

Oh , Oh, Magnificent

During my drive to the Tennis club, i was listening to U2 (the Irish rock band from Dublin) 's famous number "Magnificent". As we finished the evening, This tennis season was looking magnificent.

In a match befitting of his Tennis Samurai title, Reigning World #1, Jack successfully defended his world ranking in a pulsating final against Luciano. Defending the ranking is a tough act and in this process Jack has proved (again) that he belongs in the Tennis Elite and also set the history straight against a player he had losing record against.

CONGRATULATIONS JACK.

I have followed Jack's Tennis game very closely over the years and this season he is playing in an altogether different level. He showed great poise in winning a tie breaker when the match was tied at one set all. At this time his game is well rounded and he has found great balance in using his variety.

I can report more good news. Having not played last week (due to work commitments) i was bumped down to #3 and i had to play Dave. Though it wasnt pretty, in fact it was anything but that, i managed to come out a winner with a 3-6,6-0 and (7-5) tie breaker. In spite of falling behind twice (first game 0-5 and 0-4 in the tie breaker), i managed to fight back and pull the match.

Our respective wins means that the Dream final is on , again. Jack and I will be squaring off against each other next monday. For Fans who missed out the last time due to my schedule constraints, there will be another opportunity next monday.

I wasnt happy with my match at all. I started off slow and fell behind 0-5. This is only week 2 of my 5 week training and i was still erratic on my fitness and couldnt warm up fast enough. My opponent has one of the best Slice Chop shots and is good at deflecting his opponent players pace with biting slice. I definitely had difficulty timing my shots on his chops and slices.

I generally try to block out my opponents antics but unfortunately this opponents were beyond tolerable. I was ok with his meaningless ramblings about aches, pains, grips, lights and what not. I was even ok when he made blatantly incorrect calls. Where it struck a nerve was the fact that he would stand up to serve at the centre line with one leg on either court (This is against Tennis rules which clearly states that both legs should be inside the imaginary extensions of Center line and Singles line). He then tops it off with a commentary about how he could never lose a point and heavens forbid should it happen , is due to an opponent being lucky.

Though i fell behind 0-5, it could easily have been 3-2. I lost two of my serve games on Deuce (at No AD). Both times my first serve was called OUT. I didnt get a good look at first one but the second time it was blatant. My serve hit the T and skidded off with a very noticeable movement.

Another game was on his serve, At deuce, he hit a good serve but i happened to hit a good return albeit from an off position. I was certain my return was in but he called out.

I said to myself that at 0-5, i shouldn't give up and at least win a game. A bagel set would almost certainly result in my elimination (as my opponent just needs to win one game in second set to come out winner as he would have won more games than me). Before thinking second set, i at least want get my serve going which wasnt clicking. I played a good game with decent serves and made it 1-5. I broke his serve at love and made it 2-5. As luck would have it, i converted a Deuce game on my serve (though i was up 40-15) and made it 3-5. I would have one more deuce game on his serve,but i couldnt convert it and lost the set 3-6.

During the break , i didnt talk much with my opponent as i was still feeling cheated on line calls and more importantly on him crossing the center mark on serves. I resolved to fight better.

I stayed strong on serve and tried playing deep in rallies. Though his slice is still troubling, i got a measure of his shots and also was able to guess where he is going with his shots. Leading 4-0 (after a double break of my opponents serve), i stuttered a bit and fell behind 0-40. One ace, one service winner, one good rally bought it to Deuce. Another service winner made it 5-0.

This when my misinterpretation of rules almost proved costly. I assumed if i win the second set right away (ie giving less than 3 games to opponent) i would be the winner of the night because i would have won more games. I couldnt be more wrong. I broke my opponents serve again and made it a 6-0 bagel. I was ready to walk off court.

Ofcourse it wasnt that easy and there is more drama. My opponent went and spoke with commissioner , who made a ruling that we have to play a tie break. This completely threw me off and i was fuming. In the hindsight, i probably shouldnt be this animated(or agitated) but i can attribute it to my opponent antics. I am not in agreement with this ruling at all. We determine winners by "Sets" or "# of games" but not both. On one hand, this ladder rule book says that it is the # of games that determines the winner . Very recently , a match was awarded to a player despite losing first set because when the match stopped this player won more games (eg: player A lost first set 6-7 but lead second set by 3-1 when the play stopped. Player A was declared winner)

I didnt want to pick up a fight then returned to the court to play the tie breaker. My heart wasnt even in the breaker. I fell behind 0-4 and one of them was a bad call on my serve. I wasnt sure what exactly i did but some how pulled it back to 4-5 and it included two good serves (an ace and a winner). My opponent serving at 5-4, lost both points with good rallying and moved forward at 6-5. I won a rally on second serve as opponent went long handing me the match. He wasnt happy with that call but of course the ball though close was clearly long . In fact i was standing right behind where the ball handed and had a very good look at it.

I then started watching Jack's match.I only caught the tail end of the match (actually their tie breaker as they both had one set a piece). Jack closed out the match with an awesome backhand cross court passing shot.

All this sets up a dream final match for Jack and me. New computer rankings will have him retain his #1 rank while i will be placed at #2. This is actually an inverse of where we stood exactly two weeks ago.

We both will have our chances and barring any off night scenarios, it is likely to be a long match. Jack's current form makes him a formidable challenge for me but i am looking forward to the match. We waited for 3 years to play at the top of the ladder and finally it looks like it will happen. No matter who the winner is, the result isnt likely to change much. Having played a hundred or so times so far, we both won (and lost) against each other. Make it hundred +1 this coming monday.

What makes me really happy is the fact that , this season, Jack and I finally assumed control at the top of the ladder.In 6 weeks of the regular season, Jack and i were #1 at 4 of them. This fulfills one of the goals we both set for us--ie for us to play each other in the ladder final. Three years ago, we were players at 0830 hoping to move up and make a presence at 7pm. Though few players left,Most of the players still remain the ladder and we had some new talent coming in as well. From being a push over, when we made the 7pm cut to being the 'players to beat', our respective games have come long way. Though we cant bask in this glory forever, we at least need to pause a bit and enjoy the moment (yes, this isnt a Grandslam or a world champion ship.But we arent professional tennis player either. Bunch of self coached It technicians playing recreational tennis)

The season is very young and our tennis budgets are very limited. We will need to use Sub(stitutes) and have to fore go some ranking points so that we can stretch our tennis dollars into Feb/March. This and few other factors such as "off nights", "other players playing great tennis" and "new talent" means that staying at the #1-#3 spots will remain a constant challenge.

Driving back home, I felt good about Magnificent tennis season so far.

Magnificent !!

Oh , Oh, Magnificent

Monday Tennis results (11-Oct-10) -- The One -two Punch and Sold out tickets

It was three years in the making but we finally did it. Staying true to the media exit polls and current form, Jack and I won our respective matches and setup a dream final next monday. When the new computer rankings come out next week, Jack and I will be ranked #2 and #1 respectively.Minutes after the results came out, Tickets for next monday's session were fully sold out.

Congratulations Jack !!

As widely predicted, Jack out gunned Dan in a pulsating 6-4,6-2 match. Playing in the court next to me, i caught glimpses of Jack's game and it looked like he handled Dan far more easier than i did though the score board doesnt seem that way. It is Jack's show once again and this time he also bought in his serve that posed problems for Dan. Dan simply had no answer for Jack's offense and had trouble penetrating Jack's defense. Though i couldn't see all of the match, it appeared like Jack used his full repertory of shots and used them at various points to take control of the match.In the brief post match interview ,One could tell from looking at Jack that he is very happy to fight for #1 rank come next week. Dan indicated that he was rushing as he was running out of time. Not having full details i wasnt sure what it meant.

Staying with the trend this season, i started the match nervous. During the warm up i saw Luciano hitting full range of shots --slices, flat shots, lobs and the whole suite. I wasnt timing the ball well during the warm up. I picked up a few things that helped me during the match.

Despite being nervous and some what tired, i broke Luciano after he elected to serve,to begin the evening but any happiness i had evaporated quickly as Luciano broke me back. We stayed on serve till 2-2. I broke him at 3-2 and then held through the set for a 6-4 win. There were some really tight moments and I managed to navigate them using my Serve and passing shots. Though the score board says i won 6-4, it wasn't easy.

Second set was far more to my liking. With first set under my belt, Luciano really needed to win the second set by at least 3 game margin to emerge as a winner. I broke Luciano's serve in the begining of second set and then held mine to go up 2-0. With Shot clock not on his side (it was about 08:15 and Luciano needs to win 5 games in a row in 15 minutes to have a chance), Luciano tried to force action but was broken at Love. Leading 3-0, I knew the match was more or less over. It is extremely unlikely that anyone can pull of 6 straight games in remaining 10-15 minutes (and i wouldnt have stayed beyond 08:30 this night). In any event, Luciano kind of went away after that and i won the set comfortably at 6-0.

The keys to my win are my passing shots and serve. It also helped that Luciano had an Off night.Luciano is one of the good net players in the ladder. He sneaks in almost unnoticed and can hurt you with his net game on both sides. I missed my first few passing shot oppurtunities in the first set and i am thinking that he might have been encouraged by that and was charging net more. I believe that my passing shots are underrated. In any event, i won a lot more than i lost on passing shot oppurtunities. Excluding the one game i got broken, i saved the only break point of the night with a clean Ace down the T.

I am thrilled that i managed to defend the #1 ranking successfully. It adds a little more credence to the player when he defends his title. Another confidence boosting aspect for me. Coming into this match, Luciano lead 26- 21 when considering the games played,against me. Post this match i turned it around and now i lead the head to head with 33-30.

Now the bad news for me. My work priorities will have me travel next week and i will not be able to play next Monday night to defend my ranking. Even sad for me is that, i will be missing the matchup against Jack. Despite the fact that Jack is playing awesome tennis and is probably the player to beat, I think i would have my fair share of chances against him in the final.Over the years , we played so many matches and there are no surprises when we play each other. Because of me withdrawing next week, i will be dropping to #3 and will be playing against #4 player the following monday (Oct 25).

But the Good news is that, assuming the Commissioner follows the rule book , Jack will assume the #1 rank as he is currently #2 and with the #1 player (me) withdrawing from next week's draw. As a former #1 player and as someone who reached #2 last year, Jack is a deserving #1 player and this result shouldn't come as a surprise. From a match up perspective, Jack might be playing Luciano next week and a strong showing would cement his place at the top.

Regardless of what happens during the rest of this young season, It is a great achievement for Jack and me. Over the course of three years, we talked several times about how we both should be playing for the title in prime time. We both contributed to each others game improvement and shared our scouting reports and other tips. Of course neither of us are planning to stop here and will continue improving our respective games.

While it is clear that Jack results are due to his improved game, my results are nothing but shocking. There are No noticeable improvements in my game. While my serve has gotten a bit more consistent, i have been known as a decent server in the ladder for quite some time. While a favorable draw could be a reason for #1 ranking, it still doesnt explain the mostly one sided results i have been having. I am winning 75% of the games played and that is way above my career average of 50%. So sooner or later i expect a market correction and my game to come back to earth.

New World Order , Double Impact and Monday Tennis 04 Oct 2010 resultsetc

When the Computer rankings come out next week, we will have a new #1 and a change at #4 in the ladder. (Drum roll and applause please). Both Jack and I won our respective matches and therefore I have clinched the #1 rank after beating Dan 6-2,6-3 while Jack will move to #4.


Congratulations Jack. Jack is showing the form that catapulted him to #1 ranking two years ago, except that he is playing even better. He is one of the best counter punchers in the ladder and when he is playing this well, he is almost unstoppable. He will be playing Dan next week and I fully expect Jack to win that duel and move up to challenge the #1 rank in two weeks from today. He is playing Smart, serving well, playing the net well and his court positioning is awesome. if we manage to hold form, who knows?. we both might be playing at the very top of the ladder.


As you all know, Except for a little outfit that goes by the name ATP (Association of tennis Professionals) where players like Nadal and Federer play, every one else recognizes our ladder rankings ;)


#1 spot eluded me for quite some time and i have been at it for about 3 years now. Its been quite a journey. I still remember the first day i played in the ladder in 2007 October (when i threw away the last 3 games after i won first 4 against Warren thinking that i have won the match , not realizing every game counts). Finally i can check off the #1 ranking off my list.


Though the end result (6-2,6-3) and score seems like easy work, it was far from that today.
My serve wasnt firing today and i really had to do it the hard way. Dan ran me from side to side and front to back. Rallies were extremely long and there was a rally that i believe was like a 50 shot rally or something --i wasnt counting but that rally lasted 4-5 minutes. Despite being outgassed, serve not firing, No particular weapon clicking, i still managed to win. I did it with lots of defense and ofcourse some trade mark tactics.


Despite telling myself several times to chill a bit , i guess i put some pressure on myself. Last couple of weeks i played as if i got nothing to lose. This was predicated on the fact that i didnt have a good summer and tennis wise i did nothing to add to my game.I came to the court this evening very tentative having lost several finals before (last season i played for #1 rank 6 times--3 times it was Eric,Vishwas once , Luciano Twice. I had match points against Luciano and Vishwas but didnt convert). I knew tonight was a great chance as i am playing an opponent i have beaten before. Despite not wanting, these past facts were circling in my mind and made me nervous and tight.

Another rule change in the ladder also contributed to my nervousness. Unlike the past where winning sets carried a lot of weight, our commissioner switched to "Number of game won" approach. For example, if Player A won the first set 7-6 but was down in the second 1-3 when the play stopped, it is advantage Player B (as B has 9 games to A's 8) and he will be considered winner for the night. Though i think this is a bit unfair, there are really no good options here. We are playing in a time bound ladder where the courts need to be freed up for the next batch to come in and play.


The biggest disadvantage in this format is , if a player loses the first set by a big margin, it is almost impossible to stage a come back in the second set. In fact winner of first set can "run out the clock" (almost like running out Shot Clock in Basket ball) in the second set and virtually leave the other player no chance.


With this in back of my mind, i knew first set is extremely critical and that only added to the pressure.


After a brief Warm up Dan won the toss and elected to Serve. I did pick up couple of things from the warmup. Dan has an improved backhand and that he has got good slice. This was something different from when i last played Dan. Ofcourse this didnt change my game plan per se but was something i knew i had to factor in.


The first game was uneventful and Dan held despite me keeping it tight till 30-0. Serving from behind (as i lost the toss), i fell in 15-40 hole. This is when i said to myself to take it easy and if i lose the match, it is not the end of the world.With serve not clicking, i played some great defense to win the first point, hit a passing shot on second and at Deuce (we are playing No AD) i hit a service winner into Dan's Body to even the set at 1-1. I broke Dan at 2-1 after losing a rally which i believe was a 50 shot rally or something.


Entire night followed the same tone. I couldnt really hit winners off the rallies. Dan played very tight and i couldnt over power him as i was tentative and couldnt really rip winners. Serve wasnt particularly clicking but at the same time worked in patches to bail me out.The key was my defense which stayed sharp and really forced Dan to be conservative. i pinned him to the middle of the court to cut off the angles that his lefty forehand can come up with.After a while he realized what was going on but couldnt really counter that tactic.


Once i broke Dan and held my serve to make it 3-1 Dan was playing catch up and i broke him again and held to make it 4-1. I finally had good serving game to close the set out 6-2.


Now with a set under my belt, i looked at the time and we had about 30 minutes left. Normally this is enough to play out a set (Jack and i average around 23 minutes a set when we both play each other). My goal now (and this where this new rule change is not good for coming from behind) is to win 3 games and i will have effectively won the match as Dan won only 2 in the first set. I however have to watch out for some things. By winning first set at 6-2, i have a 4 point lead however i dont have the tie breaker in case we tie on the game won (as Dan was the prevailing #1 and he would hold the tie breaker) . What this meant was i only have a 3 point advantage. In other words, i have to make sure that i should not have more than 3 point differential.


Eg: If Dan was leading 5-1 OR 4-0 OR 6-2 in the second when the play stops, He would tie me on the total games and hence will win the evening.


Dan held serve albeit easily and played a great second game on my serve that went to Deuce. Luckily i managed to pull the game and even the tie at 1-1. I broke Dan on the next game and brought me a 2-1 lead. It is almost 0830 and i knew if i stop the play then, i would be the winner anywayz. Dan wanted to continue playing. I was tired and Dan's top spin shots started to wear on me. Players who got the court at 0830 walked in. Dan wanted to continue playing on another empty court. Despite my brain saying not to(tactics wise), i agreed to play.


The real reason why i agreed to play was to stay true to the spirit of the game. I am fortunate to play some good players who are extremely sportive. I remembered Jack , who still calls questionable calls in opponents favor , despite him being break point/match point down. I also remembered Carl ,Paul and Dan himself. All these guys are good sports and play the game in a fair and square manner. So i decided to continue and take the result whatever it may--even if it costs me #1 ranking. It isnt really that risky considering that i already have a 2-1 lead in the second and just need one more game to put the match away from Dan.

Luckily , despite me losing serve one more time, i managed to break Dan's serve enough times to win the set 6-3 and make it a convincing victory. Looking back at this very young season which is just 3 weeks old, i put up some impressive numbers. I played 52 games (39 won, 13 lost) for a 75% win.

I didnt expect to become #1 this season , this early. So how did i do it?. Sit on couch all summer and add 10 lbs to my weight. No running (ankle injury) , No works outs (not enough equipment or time at home. Not a lot of tennis matches (Ankle injury and Jack's availability).
Now that this has been done, what are my next goals? I will reflect on those items on another post.