Tennis results 29 Nov 2010-- Another win

After a tight set and a couple of games, I have won the match with Dave 6-3,6-1 and will stay at #1.Every Victory is sweet but this was extra sweet due to the opponent and the challenge he poses. My good friend Jack had a sub par performance but because he plays in the 7 games x 3 players format, he will more or less hold his spot in the Top quarter of the draw at #6.

I didnt get to the courts with right frame of mind as my family fell sick over the weekend and i am feeling some effects of it especially since i had less than 3 hours of sleep last night. My opponent , as is typical of him, had a few excuses himself.

I won the toss and elected to receive. No specific reason but i thought i can put some early pressure on him and also use that game to warm myself up {a tip i learnt from an online tennis forum}. Interestingly the game came down to deuce and on the following No-ad point , after a long rally, i hit a Down the line forehand shot that clearly clipped the line. My opponent even pointed where it hit the ground. I assumed i went up a break and started my serve and i announced the score as 1-0. After holding my serve ,i assumed i went up 2-0 but thats when i was surprised by my opponent who called the score as 1-1. I was a bit miffed but i broke his serve again and then held to move up 3-1. We then stayed with serve until i broke on his last game to win the set 6-3.

In the second set, I was indecisive as i couldn't decide between playing the Clock (as it is around 08:10 pm) Or play the full set. My original thought was as long as i win 3 games, the match is out of reach for my opponent as i didnt want to stay beyond 0830 PM. Starting to serve, i went down a break at 0-1 but broke him back immediately to make it 1-1. I saw the situation getting tight as I was 0-40 down on my serve. If my opponent gets the lead in this set, he may ask to continue beyond 0830 and if the score is close (or in his favor) it might not be good sportsmanship to decline that. Frustrated a bit, i hit 4 good first serves in a row and managed to get my nose in front. It was relatively smooth after that as i won the set 6-1.

I used tips from Jack and from an online tennis forum. Jack suggested that i keep the ball deep with some top spin. Online forum suggested that the best way to handle a slice (my opponent is one of the best slicers in the ladder) is with some slice of my own.

Next week, i will be playing Luciano again and it will be interesting to see what tactics Luciano will use against me. Based on substitution scenarios next week, it is very likely that the winner of our match will be playing Paul.

Tennis results 22 Nov 2010-- #1 again

At first it looked like i would be blown off the court. Then it looked like it might be too little too late. Then i prevailed. It also needed a lucky break from an opponent , who isn't known for offering such breaks. I survived a hard evening at Tennis and managed to come out 3-6,6-3 ,(7-2) against Luciano.

Jack lost a heart breaker against Dave. After splitting sets (i.e. one set each), Jack lost 5-7 in a tie breaker. I overheard a few conversations from their court and it appeared like there is little bit of drama. Dave's matches generally are of controversial genre.

Coming back to my match, once again my slow start killed me. Off late, this is becoming chronic and i am not exactly sure how i fix this issue. Even before i realized , i fell behind 5-0 after Luciano won the toss and elected to serve. A lot of it is my own doing and my opponent helped my losing cause by offering a steady diet of Moon balls. Going into the match, I knew i would be playing a lot of moon balls. I spent a lot of time last week, trying to put together a good game plan against Moon balls. In the end, the best option seemed to be what Jack has indicated last time i lost to this opponent. i.e., use my forehand and stay aggressive. At a minimum, i had to score points of balls that hang around service line.

From the very beginning, i had a choice of moon balls. Moon balls to Backhand, Moon balls to forehand, Moon balls in the center, Moon balls near the net , well you get the point. I decided to go down fighting. Jack and i talked about this aspect and we decided that i should Play to win and Not to play the defensive game so as not to lose the match. I took big cuts at the ball and i overcooked several shots. I also managed to hit a few winners but wasn't consistent enough. My serve didn't click and i also lost a couple of deuce games (i wouldn't win any deuce games this night --4 in total). Behind 0-5, I more or less thought the match was over. This opponent is a great front runner and with the way things were going, a comeback seemed unlikely. However a couple of easy points on my serve made it 1-5. Right around this time, a rally showed me that i might have some hope against moon balling opponent in the following weeks (I still didn't think i had a shot tonight as both scoreboard and clock are against me)

The rally itself wasn't special. All i did was i pushed back on few moon balls and then suddenly unloaded on them. This pace change up seems to have worked as my opponent couldn't read what was coming. Even then it wasn't easy as my opponent is one of the best in making opponents hit one more shot. The more i tried this strategy, the more it worked and i managed to get the score to 5-3. On His serve at 5-3, i took it to Deuce but couldn't convert on the break point and lost the set 3-6.

There is still 35 minutes of play left but i fell behind 0-2 in the second set. Both games went to Deuce but i couldn't convert. I more or less gave up on the night but wanted to make sure that the strategy/tactic i tried is at least practical if i face him in future. So i tried to be patient on rallies and picking moments to hit big forehands. I tied the match at 2-2 and then stayed on serve till 3-3. Then i held and broke my opponent for 5-3 lead in second set.

It is 0830 and the players from 0830 walked into the court. I asked my opponent if he can continue on another court OR if it is a wrap. I told him clearly that i understand if he choses to call it a night (and i meant it). He agreed to play and we moved to another court. I held my serve to make it even. In the tie breaker, I had even more moon balls, but i now had a measure of his shots and despite long rallies i jumped onto 2-1 lead and then to 6-1 lead. I finally closed out the tie break at 7-2. I credit Luciano for agreeing to continue playing and appreciate his gesture and sporting spirit. He had every right not to play after 0830 but by agreeing to play risked losing the match (and he did). It sure did change my opinion.

The win moves me to #1 again but sadly Jack will drop to #5. If he won, we both would have played the dream final one more time. Despite us both staying at top 4 more than two months, we only managed to play once at the top spot. It just shows how deep this ladder is. I am sad that jack lost but i see this as a minor blip and is only a week away from back to Top 4.

Next week i will be playing Dave. It wont be easy but i am looking forward to it.

15 Nov 2010 Tennis results--New ranking order again

Essentially Jack and I swapped places from last week. Coming into this monday, jack is at #2 and i was at #3. We finished the evening with me at #2 and jack at #3.

Even before I hit the courts, i knew i was going to be the #2. My opponent Dan sub'd out and that basically means that irrespective of how i played today, i would be the #2 and will have a chance to play for #1 next week.

Our Commissioner Steve played with me as a sub for Dan. My focus today wasnt as much as winning but try to get back the swagger on my forehand. I didnt hold back and hit some really heavy forehands. I won the first set 6-3 and was trailing 2-4 in second when we ran out of time. Ofcourse i was leading 5-1 in first set! . I havent hit as many aggressive forehands in a while and towards the later part of the set, i ran out of steam. In Second set, i still hit winners on the forehand but clearly running empty on gas.

The intention of hitting as many forehands and staying aggressive was two fold. One is to get my forehand back. Second is to prepare for moon balling battle in the near future. Given my last week's performance against Moon balls, i feel that some opponents might chose that option against me. Hopefully i prove them wrong. I have better feel for my forehand now and hope that it continues.

While my tennis outing is mostly uneventful, Jack lost a tight battle against Luciano. No matter what the result is, it wouldnt be surprising as we are talking about the best of best players in the ladder here and they have beaten each other before. Before the match, i was chatting with Jack and i felt he had a good game plan. I have paused during my match to watch their game and hence can speak as a spectator. It came down to a few points here and there but i personally felt that Jack didnt use the oppurtunities he had. While his court positioning is excellent, he occasionally charged the net but couldnt close the rallies and this allowed Luciano to get back into the rally. Jack was successful being aggressive but at the same time, also over cooked some shots in that process.

The result is a bit disappointing and somewhat anti climatic for Jack but in the big picture this is an insignificant result. Once Jack makes his offensive adjustments, he will do just fine against Luciano. Next week Jack will play Dave , our resident Slap chop specialist. It is never an easy match against Dave but Jack has more success against Dave than most players in the ladder.

My task is cut out next week. I will play Luciano. I expect a ton of moon balls and this time i hope to do a bit better. My serve didnt show up this monday either so i am hopeful that it will be back next week. One thing is for certain. I really dont want to play a one dimensional pushing game. Sure, it got me the #1 ranking but it didnt give me the satisfaction. Hitting a bunch of winners sure feels full and makes my tennis that much complete. So i will play Positive tennis.My biggest concern right now is my right shoulder. It is paining a bit since a week or so (probably started after my Badminton game wednesday) and will need to nurse it well to be ready for next monday.

08Nov2010 tennis results

I lost my match against Luciano 2-6,2-6. However Jack won his match against Carl 7-6 and will move up. Essentially i will become #3 while Jack becomes #2.

There isnt much to write about my match. My serve wasnt working and Forehand wasnt working either. Luciano found a cash cow(point cow) and he just floated balls like in Badminton and milked me. For whatever reason, i didnt come up with a good strategy. It is not like i am not familiar with moon balls. I probably could have moved back a feet or two behind baseline and handled them OR i could have stepped in and taken them on the rise OR I could have hit some aggressive shots instead of putting back in play. Needless to say i made a strategic error and i paid for it. Despite the score line, the games are really close and this is with no serve. Basically i couldnt get my first serves in at all. In the second set, when the outcome is long decided, i hit couple of aces. Too little, too late. I probably have about 10% of my first serves in today.

I think this loss made me realize something. Chatting briefly with Jack, he pretty much summed it up. Luciano left balls hanging in mid court and i did nothing with them. Essentially i need to get back my forehand of the past. if not for my serve, i dont even belong in the top groups let alone #1 spot. My focus going forward is to restore the forehand and make it a weapon.

Ofcourse this will take time. But if i were to play this player again, i will be ready. It is unlikely that i will have as bad a serving day as i had today. I already have a game plan in mind and pretty positive it will work.

Jack put in a good show against Carl. From what i can see he is having fun and playing as good as ever. Carl is a dangerous opponent as he can fire off both sides. Carl is also coming off a big win last week and when in form , is one of the toughest opponents to play. I fully expected Jack to win though the final score 7-6(3) is too close for my comfort, in the end having a W is all that matters. Good job Jack.

Jack will be carrying the torch next week as he squares off against Luciano. My opponent is unknown at this time but i expect it to be Dan or Dave. I will be playing Next sunday so i am not certain if i going to play next monday. With Wednesday badminton in the mix, it is very tight schedule and also hard to give 100% on all these 3 nights. I will probably make my decision around friday.

Still, The road to #1 passes through Jack or me. One of us have been playing for #1 (or been a #1) for the last 5 weeks and tradition continues next week as well.

The Dream Final - 01 Nov 2010

There was a lot of excitement and media frenzy over the dream final between me and Jack. In fact, we both did some promotion at a local pub on friday evening.

As expected, the dream final turned out to be a good match albeit a standard fare that me and Jack offered to our fans over the years. The match went along the expected lines with some service breaks and some good holds. Lots of rallies and some really tricky shots from both players.

In the end, we fell way short of time. When we stopped I lead the score 6-4,2-1 and hence i was deemed the winner. The score board doesnt say the whole story and there were atleast 4 (or 5) deuce games out of the 13 games we played. Those could have gone either way and i believe we mostly split the deuce games.

The way he is playing now, I can see why Jack is winning his matches. His serve created some issues for me. His forehand has improved significantly. His Backhand has always been solid. He knows when to pick his spots. He never let me gain any momentum and put me under constant pressure. When i tried to overpower him, he returned the shots with interest. Most of my serves, which could have been winners against other players came back with some interest.Despite trailing the match at times, Jack never gave up and constantly applied pressure and made a comeback several times.

In the end, like it does in most of our matches, came down to a few points here and there.I was lucky i got them. I didnt do any strategy in particular.This evening Jack controlled most of the rallies except when i got good serves in.

Unfortunately tonight is one of those nights, no matter what result it is, wouldn't have made me happier. I wanted me to win and i also wanted Jack to win.

With this result I will become #1 again and Jack will drop to #3 spot.

Our biggest achievement still is having both of us ranked #1 and #2. We did that Twice. Having already played 7 weeks, we have finished more than quarter of a season , may be half the season. Just to get some perspective, last year i played around 12 weeks in total.

Simply put, this is the most successful season for both of us. I am looking forward to us meeting again in the near future at the top of the ladder.