Better Performance! (Tennis 11/26)

I ended the night with 4-3,5-2,4-3 (13 points for me). Given my recent slump this is a very encouraging performance.

I ran the elliptical for 10 minutes before I headed for the club. This warmed me up a bit. As I walked in I had an opportunity to warm up with my friend before the matches began.

My opponent #1 was a sub and a very decent player. He has good strokes with great depth and topspin. Decent volleyer and extremely good but erratic serve. I won the toss but chose to receive. He quickly raced into 2-0 lead though I had break points on his serve and game points on my serve. There are lots of long rallies and I liked that though score wasn’t in my favor. That’s when I made an adjustment. Instead of baseline bashing and letting opponents use my pace, I altered the pace of my shots and waited for the right one to rip. I won 4 of the next 5 games. I had break points on that one game I lost but couldn’t convert.

Opponent #2 (faiz?) is a very tricky player. When I started the match, I expected that I would win the match 7-0. However during the match I realized that there are certain aspects of his game that are good. He has a mediocre serve but once in a while he gets it in. When it does, it keeps so low and wide and becomes very hard to return. Surprisingly he has a good backhand down the line shot. I didn’t get a read on this shot until later stages of the match. He won and chose to serve and won the first game. I had break points but same story—couldn’t convert. My serve is too hot for him and I had no trouble whatsoever. Final score is 5-2.

Opponent #3 (Bruce) is someone I hadn’t played before but had some scouting report. I lost the toss and he started the match. He can blow hot and cold during the same point. I quickly figured his weakness (his backhand) and gave him a lot of them. He occasionally lost track of score and we ended up replaying some points. There were some shots that were clearly long but close enough. His expressions made me feel as if I am ripping him off. He is a nice guy though and then on I gave him more room on line calls. The final score shows 4-3 but except for 1 game on his serve, I had break points on other two games.

I wish I could convert a few of those break points but overall the results are encouraging. I could have upped my score by few more if i converted any of those break points in the 4 games. Clearly removing the “Dampener” did make a difference to game. I am rediscovering my game and I am back to my winning ways and that’s more important. This new format is not to my advantage as I generally start slow before picking up steam and this format doesn’t allow for such lapses. Btw Fitness issues are history though I picked up a slight wrist pain.

I hope I stay on the bottom ladder for one more week so that I can lock in on my game. It will also help boost my confidence which is important in facing top of the ladder. I have 3 more sessions before I go on my big vacation and hopefully I can crack into the top bracket again before i take the big break.