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.