I did play little more outdoor tennis than last year (when i had an injury related to a shoe) this time. I played a local outdoor circuit with mixed results. I started off well, but as i played better players, i struggled and then in the knock out rounds i lost in pre quarters to a guy who would be eventual champion. More about that match at some other time but i played my worst match in recent times on that day. May be the next time i meet him ;)
Another good thing i did during the summer is focus on fitness. Thanks to a free bee thrown by my company, i have a free membership at the Gym at my work and i made full use of it thus far. While i am not yet at the fitness levels of 2005, i am definitely better than what i was last season.
The indoor season began two weeks ago on 26 Sept but i drew a sub. This sub is a strong 4.5 or 5.0 player and he clobbered me. Two games into the match, i realized that i cant win against this guy with defense and i tried to go for my shots. The overall score (which doesn't count towards my results) isnt worth mentioning but if we consider that i was 40-15 or 40-0 up at least 4 times and i had a bunch of break points that i didnt convert, i would say i matched up OK with him. In the end, he is simply a better player than me (His second serve is as good as my best shot--my first serve). The only thing that worked for me is my forehand into his backhand and i milked it as much as i can.
The other significant news of the opening night was the absence of my good friend Jack. Due to prior commitments, Jack couldnt make the opening night and it showed (poor ticket sales, non existent media coverage, etc).
Fast forward and yesterday was the second week at the ladder. As expected, i played Luciano. We had several memorable matches in the past and he is the #1 player of this ladder for few years in a row and is a tough opponent to beat , especially this early into season.
Playing outdoor circuit gave me a lot more insights into my game and one of the things i learnt is that my game matches well against counter punchers and defense oriented players while I have most trouble against 'run and gun' players with plenty of offense. Another benefit i had is that i dont feel as nervous before a match.
I broke Luciano's serve right away after a marathon game. However he broke me again and i broke him again. Serving at 2-1, i fell in a 15-40 hole again but a good serve and 'best rally of the night' that ended with me hitting an inside-in forehand down the line winner to pull it to deuce and then held on for a 3-1 lead. I would break him again for 4-1 lead. The key thus far is hitting aggressive forehands into my opponents backhand corner and camp on my backhand side to hit the next forehand. I was crisp on my movement and my shots had good depth and action.
Serving at 4-1, running north-south on a long rally, i pulled groin muscle which was very painful (Come tuesday Am, there is lot of swelling and pain is unbearable and i can barely walk from my bedroom). From this point on, i had trouble loading on my right foot and it impacted my movement. My opponent isnt a guy who gives up with out a fight and he broke my serve easily and then held to make it 4-3. Part of the issue was my shots werent deep enough and he was able to angle the ball closer to the net on either side--i cant even chase them full steam and not going to do it when i had trouble with Groin muscle. I made some adjustments and held the serve and then broke him to win the first set 6-3. The first set only took 70 minutes.
The new timings of the ladder (runs from 8pm-10pm) allows 30 more minutes of play than the previous seasons and so we still had about 40 minutes left. Apparently the rules say that if the players split sets and were still playing, they had to abandon the third set at 09:45 and play a 10 point tie breaker. The reason why i was thinking about a tie breaker is my inability to move crisply with the muscle pain. I was almost certain that if the match were to go the distance (ie tie breaker), the advantage is with my opponent.
I opened the second set with a 0-30 hole but settled in and held. I broke him again and then held to make it 3-0. He held his serve ,after a see saw marathon game which saw him erase 4 break points to make it 3-1. Another marathon game on my serve went my way after me saving a ton of break points to make it 4-1. The next two games were anti climatic and i closed the match with a deep forehand into centre baseline. While the score looked one sided, second set was a struggle for me internally as i couldnt move well and trying to cope with the pain. I couldnt get into good positions to take an aggressive cut at the ball and often ended up bunting it back.
Muscle pull not withstanding, i am happy with the way i played the first set and how i handled the second. It was a long match and even after 2 hours, i didnt feel tired and could have gone on for one more set easily (again not factoring the muscle pain). Several times i was stretched wide but i was able to pull off my legs and i didnt have trouble chasing down the balls north-south or east-west. The fitness hours i put in didnt go in vain .
The best comment was one of the players commenting that i was the guy to beat this year. I am not sure if it is true but i would like it to be true.
And in an important development, Jack took over as commissioner for our ladder. This will provide more structure and rigor and greatly enhance players experience. He plays very fair, often to a fault and is ideal candidate for such a role. The only flip side is to balance the number of players, he had to sit out yesterday. I would much rather see him play than him on side lines.
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