Monday Tennis results (24-oct-2011) - 4 weeks in a row

With so much stuff (crap) going on at work and lots of "to do's" at home prevented me from updating this blog.

After winning against Luciano on Oct 4, i assumed the number 1 rank in the ladder. Since then i have beaten Carl, Wayne and Carl again tonight making it 4 weeks in a row at #1. However i no longer attach any significance to the #1 rank. I am interested in becoming one of the top player at the outdoor circuits and in order to do that i need to focus on good execution and good offense. Most players in the ladder generally are defense oriented players and if one is patient and play defense with occasional offense, it isnt that hard to win against them and stay at #1. However in the outdoor circuits when we play top ranked players, they generate plenty of offense and cant just win with defense alone. My focus this winter is improve my offense while staying consistent.

Last week it was Wayne and it was a tough match. Wayne always plays me tough and i guess our games match up well against each other. We held at 1-1 and then I played from behind most of the set to catch him at 4-4 all along breaking each other's serve. At 4-4 i broke him and held serve to make it 6-4. After winning first set, i jumped on an early break and held and soon was serving at match point at 5-3. It is already past 10 pm cutoff but my opponent wanted to continue.I had a tough line call (i believe the serve clipped the service line and skidded off ) as my first serve was called out. However i threw in a cotton puffy second serve and he punished it and then on i lost the plot and eventually the set at 5-7. At this time we are way past our 10pm cut off. Technically if we stopped then , i would have won the match because of # of games won. Nevertheless my opponent still wanted to continue. With clock around 10:30 Pm or so, i really didnt want to play another set (as it would be way past 11 pm and unfair for the rep working the front desk). We ultimately agreed to play 'first to 3 games win the match'. He held serve easily and very quickly had break points on my serve. My serve was off all night but came through suddenly with Three clutch serves and suddenly it became 1-1. I broke his serve some what easily and went up 2-1. The last game was a tough one with several intriguing rallies but i prevailed to win 3-1. There arent any silver bullets in this match. It is lot of work and some lucky breaks in the end (to be fair, it shouldnt have come this far as i was leading 5-2 and just needed to win 1 of the 3 games and i couldnt).

Tonight's match with Carl was a bit anti climatic as compared to our match two weeks ago. That match was a tight encounter where i won 6-3,6-3. I had to pick my spots and hit serves into them and took chances on short balls to win that match. Carl was playing very tough that night and a couple points here and there would have changed the match's complexion. Compared to that tonight's match is a simple one. For one, my serve was on and didnt face a break point until late in the second set (actually serving for the match) . Compounding this ,Carl's game was off the mark and he made some uncharacteristic errors. In the begining of both sets, it would appear like he would blow me away and take the set but both times i survived the mini storm by playing some offense myself . In the end, it was a comfortable 6-2,6-2 win for me.

Jack played again (only for second time this indoor season) and it looks like he might drop from the Top4 group . This year we only have 12 spots and the way the format works is #1 vs #2 ; #3 vs #4 ; #5,6,7,8 (called as Top4) ; #9,10,11,12 (Called as Bottom4). He indicated that he won only 8 games tonight. Unless there are Substitution scenarios (which we dont have in his group) , 8 games isnt enough to keep one's spot.

It is surprising for me considering that yesterday (Sunday) Jack beat me 7-6 in a friendly outdoor match. While the conditions may be different, we both played for win and i lost the tie breaker. Given that warm up, i assumed Jack would handle his group and move up. His group doesnt have players that would pose him match up problems (on the other hand, he can pose night marish problems for some of the players).

Historically Jack makes his run to the top towards Thanks Giving and Christmas time. He hasnt played much lately and will need a couple more sessions to get his game grooved. I would pick him to move to the top in 4 weeks time (assuming he gets to play)

I am considering taking some time off from Gym. I am putting in a lot of cardio work at the Gym and i might have hurt myself in that process---my right shin hurts and feels numb after work outs. No doubt that fitness played a huge part in some of my results but i am thinking i can take a break and come back to Gym with renewed energy.

...And New Season begins

The Indoor season is back. The outdoor season and the summer went so quickly as a blur. Next thing i know , it is all long coats, snow clearing and what not. Technically the outdoor season is still on as we probably have couple more weeks left before really cold weather sets in.

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.

End of Indoor Season-Impressive Season Comes to an End

Its Official. Indoor Tennis season is over. After 7 months (season began on Sep 20), It is now officially a season with the April 28 session.

The last session also included prizes and i ended up finishing #3 for the season with a 25$ earnings.Considering that i missed a significant portion of the season due to my travel and injuries, this is a good accomplishment.

The highlights of the season definitely include me hitting the #1 spot quite a few times. In total, i had 7 weeks at #1. Prior to this season, i came close but couldnt become #1. The most significant achievement this season still is my run to the top after i ended up at the last position on the ladder due to travel and injuries. Even if one wins every week it will take 6 weeks for someone to become #1 and i did it in 7 weeks which in itself is quite an achievement.

The season ended for me the way it started.I won 17 points 6-1 against Dan,5-2 against Darren and 6-1 against my other favorite player in the ladder Carl. Both my serve and forehand clicked and i counter punched well.I probably hit a dozen aces and a good number of forehand winners.

Before the season began, my recipe to getting #1 was to work on cross court forehand,improve my backhand and work on fitness.I truly believed that i needed a better backhand and some more pop on my forehand to become #1. After 7 weeks of #1 with what is my most dominating season, my tennis game can be summarized as --"Hammer the serve and play defense". My forehand and backhand didnt improve much but they held steady. Instead my serve, especially the first serve pace, accuracy and consistency improved a lot.I am not sure how this happened either. Only big change since last year is that i am a little heavier (thanks to the addl 5 pounds i put on).

I dont know if my serve form carries forward or not. But as far as this season goes, i am arguably the best server in the ladder. Except for Jack, no one was able to read it well in the ladder. After the initial successes, my confidence in my serve improved. Originally i was only able to hit a couple of spots on court with my serve. Now i can go down the T or wide or into the body and i am able to do it on Deuce and Ad courts.Several times i was down break points and some of them are at hopeless 0-40 but was able pull those games with big serves. This clutch performance is the key to win close matches and moving up.My W-L ratio is very impressive.I lost to Luciano twice which caused me drop down in rankings. I lost once to Carl and Jack but it didnt cause any rankings impact. Next indoor season is quite far away and i plan to perform even better.Now that most players in the ladder have taken notice of my game, i expect even tougher games when we return in the winter.

Jack also had an impressive season capping with two appearences at the top of rankings as #1.His game came a long way and is one of the best counter punchers in the ladder today besides having a beautiful all court game.

The outdoor season is here and i plan to work on my game during the Outdoor season and have fun.Me and Jack are planning to play some local circuits during the outdoor season besides hitting and practicing with each other.

Lot of credit for my results belong to my good friend Jack. Besides being my hitting partner, His scouring reports, insights are always spot on and i can always count on him for support. He is also a very good sport often to a fault.I have seen him calling out balls in , in favor of his opponents.I have never seen him ever erring on a line call/score to his favor.People took advantage of him but he doesnt seem to mind and is a symbol of Tennis spirit. Another Colleague Dave ,Iron man, Canoe racing and Volley ball champion provided some great fitness tips to help me get fit faster.

I am eagely looking forward to playing in the warmth of the Sun and enjoying slight outdoor breeze. Outdoor tennis has its own challenges. Wind and sun become a factor. Court speeds are also a factor. It requires some adjustments from the indoor game.

I also plan to work on improving cross court forehand and backhand.

Hopefully i can repeat the magic of indoor season outdoors !.

#1 again. Monday Tennis results 21-Mar-2011

Monday tennis results (07-Mar-2011)-- Three way Tie

Jack , Wayne and I all ended up on 11 points. To further complicate matters, I beat Wayne (4-3) , while Jack beat me (4-3) and Wayne beat Jack (4-3) to make it a Three way tie.

Dan sub'd out and we ended up playing Sub John again who gave me lots of trouble the week before. This time around i was up 4-1 against him and then 4-1 against Wayne but kinda let them back into the matches to make it 4-3 against them. This time around i have served well and played a good strategy. I did have 3 deuce games against John and Wayne but couldnt convert them.

Jack played very well and i didnt react well to his game. I played too passive and jack used his drop shot effectively. we played last and towards mid point of the match, when Jack is leading 3-2, we knew the result of John-Wayne match and hence the winner of our last two games would move up automatically. Jack won his game and i held my nerves to hold on to my serve and make it 3-4. Though Jack won this match, we all tied on 11 games.

A quick look at rule book used by our commissioner states that in such cases where there is no clear winner, the higher seeded player is given the tie. Based on last week's performance, i was seeded higher than Jack and Wayne and perhaps i will move up.

The campaign to move to the top still continues though i only have 3 more weeks left. I am travelling the first two weeks of April and wont be able to play. Once i return from my trip, i want to focus on fitness and conditioning for the remainder of April as the outdoor season gets underway in late April. Regardless of my results in the coming weeks, It is still a great season thus far. I started at the very bottom (seeded 22) and was able to work my way up in a very short span. Assuming that i move up this week, i will be seeded #4 and that in itself is a great accomplishment though i wouldnt want to stop there.

Monday tennis results (28-feb-11) -- staying put

Though i won 12 points and tied with Carl, i am staying put as i lost tie breaker to him.

The only shocking \ surprising part is that i happened to beat Jack 7-0. I lost 2-5 to Carl and 3-4 to a sub John. Had several opportunities to win a few more games but couldnt convert them.

The lopsided win against Jack is somewhat bizzarre. Last season i did have 13-0 against him once but Jack is playing too good now. I expect market correction to occur pretty soon and our scores will level off.

Update and Monday Tennis 21 Feb 2011

7 weeks....Yes.. its been that long since i last updated this blog. I was out whole of January on Vacation visiting my folks and when i returned there is a ton of work waiting for me to pick up and clear off.

I did start my tennis action on the ladder 3 weeks ago. Since i was out of action for such a long time (8-9 weeks), I had to start at the bottom of the ladder. There is also the fitness factor. Since i got sick in December (Dec 02 to be exact) and lost the finals on Dec 06, i havent trained in about 2 months. It doesnt help that i added about 7-8 pounds to my weight , thanks to my vacation.

I however am determined to return to the ladder and make an impression. I started training again and its been 2+ weeks thus far. Traditionally i see noticeable difference in my fitness in about 12 sessions or so and i am almost there. However this only means that i am actually ready to train harder.I estimate that if i sustain the training program and intensity,it will be mid march before i can claim to be Mr.Fit.

The first two ladder sessions (feb 7 and Feb 14) were fairly routine. Since i am playing at the bottom of 0830 (feb 7) and top of 0830 (feb 14), i mostly stayed clear of the big guns who are feasting at the 7 pm. I know that i am going to win my matches but due to the nature of one-sided matchups at this (0830) level, to actually move up one needs to win them lopsided. In a traditional setup, we have scenarios where 11-12 points were enough to push people to the top but over this part of the world, that is not sufficient. We often see two players in a given group posting lop sided scores and it comes down to how big a margin was in their wins against players that lost.

In that sense, playing at 0830 was challenging as i set myself a goal that i need to be back at 7pm in 3 weeks (two good weeks is all needed to move up but i wasnt sure of my level of play). I was probably playing a little better than i expected and posted good results.

Feb 7 --> 6-1 (A llan) , 6-1 (B ruce), 3-2(Stev e) when we ran out of time.

Feb 14 --> 6-1 (T olu), 5-2 (B ruce), 5-2 (A llan)

Some of the matches arent as easy as the scores would indicate. I might have made it harder on myself by putting more pressure on me to win every game instead of playing normally and let the result become automatic. However the end result is to my liking and i have made my way back into 7 pm.

Fast forward to Feb 21 and for my first outing at 7 pm in 3 months, i got W ayne , J ason (sub by R obert) and D arren. W ayne is a bad matchup for me. He has lots of offense and generally goes for lines and placement with plenty of power. He is one of the very few players in the ladder that i have a losing record against. R obert sub'd for J ason and i have played him before. I did not play D arren but i had a false sense of confidence as i learnt that Jack had him 7-0 the week before.

W ayne was hitting hard and his serve was threatening. We stayed with serve for the whole match. I had a 3 break points on the second game of the match but i couldnt convert. Two good serves and then a decently constructed point. It was also that i wasnt sufficiently warmed up and my timing was off. I had scares on my serve and i came close to being broken on the 7 game but i survived all of them , thanks to some clutch serves. I came out 4-3. It came down to the deuce point on this 7 game and i didnt realize how important winning that point was until much later.

I didnt have too much trouble with R obert. However i am not looking to just win this match with him but to actually win as many game as i can so that i can establish a lead. I suspected that the winner of this group would be either W ayne or me. Since i had one game lead on my match with W ayne, i was hoping to maintain it , if not stretch it. I broke R obert on 2 game and soon i was leading 4-1 with his win coming from a very close fought game which i couldnt convert. He followed up with a very solid game after to make it 4-2. Serving the 7 game, i faced the possibility of losing one more game but i held serve comfortably to make it 5-2.

I later realized why i lost these two games. I lost focus and was paying too much attention to the other match between D arren and W ayne. D arren was playing really good and heading into the last match of the night with him, i wasnt so sure of my chances. After i learnt that he handled W ayne 4-3, i knew it will be a tough evening.

Like always i tried to summarize the equations and i had 9 points, W ayne had 6 and D arren has 8. It suddenly became a 3 horse race. My magic number became 13 , ie i need to win my match 4-3 or better. W ayne can only win (7-0) in his last match and he cannot score more than 13 and even if i tie with him, i own the tie breaker. Ofcourse, first i need to win my match or it would be W ayne or D arren moving up.

I have no idea how Jack handled D arren 7-0. My wife had a reason later on. D arren puts lot of back spin on the ball with a weirdo action and it was very hard for me to pick up. In addition, he was hitting his first serves a lot, with good placement and became very hard to control. He won the spin and won his first game easily. I fell behind 0-30 and then again at Deuce but somehow won the game. Even the second game had a similar story --he held serve with ease while i struggled a lot ,still it is 2-2. One shot he puts so much action on the ball that i expected it to land out. Instead it lands close to the net and then backspins. Since i cant get a read on these, i am often caught at baseline.As i tried to counter it by preparing to move in, he unleashed a few good forehands deep into corners. Add to this the fact that he was making lots of first serves and didnt seem to be tiring while i am huffing and puffing. One thing i did notice was that his backhand doesnt have the same action. The few balls i was able to get into that corner, i was successful in majority of them. I started to direct the action towards his backhand . It wasnt easy as he managed to run around or camp in that corner to hit forehands. This started yielding results. As the match went on, i could also read his shots better and when they landed close to the net, i was able to track them down and put them in tough spots for him. I broke him and went up 3-2. With two games remaining i needed one and i held serve comfortably by aiming at backhand. Now that i have 4 games, i knew i was going to move up. For a good measure, i broke his serve on the 7 game to make it 5-2.

With 14 points, i will move up but to use an idiom "out of the frying pan , into the fire". next week, i will be facing Carl, Rich and ofcourse Jack. It is a challenging round and if anything i probably will have the least chances. Both Carl and Rich bring plenty of offense and can take over the games with relative ease. Then there is Jack. He is playing pretty good and been extremely consistent at the top of the ladder. In addition he knows my game all too well. Add to it the fact that while i struggled against D arren , Jack schooled him 7-0. The reason why it was possible is because of his high level of play. I will need to lift my game couple of level above if i have to have any chance.

There is also a controversy which might impact me. There was a one game descrepancy in Jack's group , thanks to Dave---wonder why such things always have him. Depending on which version we consider, Jack could have moved up (and thereby saving me from facing him early in the draw) or Dave might move up. Ultimately it looks like Jack chose not to challenge and it means that i will have the toughest draw ever.

I

Happy New Year 2011

For all followers of my BLOG and tennis lovers.....Wish you all a Prosperous New year 2011.

Commitments outside of tennis resulted in me not updating my blog. I last played the ladder on Dec 06. I gotten sick over the weekend and almost pulled out. Nevertheless Tennis bug bit me hard enough that i showed up to defend my #1 rank. I lost to Luciano 2-6,0-6. I won the first two games of the match and all other games went to deuce but i couldnt convert. After first set, i ran out of steam and was a non factor.

The next two weeks are terrible for me as i fell in and was miserably sick. Visits to the doctor confirmed that i need to rest for a bit. At the same time my long pending trip to India has been confirmed and i will be out globe trotting for Three weeks starting II week of January. Considering all these things, i have paused on the ladder. I will be back in action from Feb 07 (or Feb 14).

Even if i wanted to , i am not in a position from a physical fitness perspective. I have played badminton twice and also Played an exhibition with Jack on Christmas Eve. I simply couldnt keep up with the level of energy to sustain top gear game against a quality opponent like Jack. I lost 3-6 and 1-4. In the past when i played tennis or badminton, it used to take an hour or so before i started to sweat and almost never got tired. In these 3 episodes, i started sweating almost after the start and felt very tired.

All this however results in me not able to challenge for #1 over the season. I will be far behind in rankings and Luciano will be able to build an unsurmountable lead. There arent many players that can challenge him successfully and they arent playing at the top of the ladder to play him.

Though it is a bit disappointing, Looking back, this is the best season for me results wise. I have been #1 for 5 weeks and twice defended the #1 rank. The only opponent who beat me in the ladder this season is Luciano. Despite several set backs during the outdoor season with injuries and etc, i still managed to achieve the goal of attaining #1 rank. Another important aspect from last season is that i am even more confident of winning.

Heading into New year, i have some ambitious goals.besides becoming fit, I want to play the "Circuit" during outdoor season (april - Sep) and then come back into winter ladder (Oct-) and this time maintain a sustained presence at the top. Ofcourse i am not ruling out the rest of this season ie from Feb - Apr. My goal is to try to become #1 one more time this season--tall order but possible if i can stay healthy.

Meanwhile Jack kinda had a slump but started his way back up and now is just two outings away from challenging the #1. I am sure he will do it again.

Ofcourse all this wouldnt be possible with out your support. Thank you all and wish you all a happy new year.

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.

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.

Monday Tennis results (27-Sep-10) -- Double Whammy

Unlike other posts, you dont have to read till the end to know the result. I am spilling the beans right away. Both Jack and I posted impressive results tonight. Jack finished with 15 games and I won both sets i played. Jack will make an appearance in the TOP 8 of the ladder while i will be at #2 and will have an oppurtunity to play for #1.

Both Jack and I are tucked away on different parts of the draw so there is no classic Jack vs me. My draw consisted of playing Carl in best of 3 sets. This is the new format our commissioner drew up this season. Not sure how long he will continue with this but essentially we have two singles matches at the top, followed by two groups of 4 at the 7 PM. Simply put,

#1 and #2 play a best of 3 sets match

#3 and #4 play a best of 3 sets match

#5,6,7,8 play the Top of 7 pm with each player playing 7 games each against other three.

#9,10,11,12 play bottom of 7 pm with each player playing 7 games each against other three.

The advantage of this format is that instead of traditional 10 slots at 7pm, it provides 12 slots.

The Night simply belonged to Jack.Jack draw is what i would describe as wild wild west. It originally consisted of Roger, Richard,Paul and Jack. This was tempered a bit by Richard's subsitution with Gabe. Regardless , Jack was playing in the toughest pool of the night. Squaring off against Roger to start the night, he fell in a 0-3 hole but came out 4-3 and followed it with a 5-2 rout of Paul and ended with 6-1 domination of Gabe to take his tally to 15 points. Though Roger kept close with 14 points, the night clearly was Jack's. I caught a few points during the breaks in my match and it was classic Jack counter punching, outrunning, volleying and some good hard court shots.

Congrats Jack..This win is definitely confidence boosting and could be the stepping stone in Jack's journey to the very top of the ladder.

Coming back to my outing, it is a bit different story.I played Jack on friday and won 7-5. I also played on saturday with another friend and had a good outing with 6-2 and 1-3 score line. I had a poor sunday. Jack and his friend Andy steam rolled me. They blitzed me with 3-0 score lines-twice. That is i lost all the 12 games i played against them. So i wasnt sure what to expect on Monday.

Carl and me were playing a best of 3 sets match as players seeded 3 and 4. I won the toss and elected to serve. The first couple of serves gave no indication whatsoever of the night i was going to have. Serving at 30-0, i hit the first ace of the night and from that point on, my serve lit up.

I broke Carl quickly to go up 2-0 and stayed strong to finish the set 6-0.

In the second set Carl held despite me having 3 break points to make it 1-0 on serve. Serving from behind, i fought off deuce points to make it 1-1. Then broke Carl, held my serve to make it 3-1 for me. Carl has a strong game and the score line read 3-2. We had to move to another court when i was leading "AD in" . We moved to another court and i finished the game with an Ace. I broke Carl again to go 5-1 and then blasted 3 aces and 1 service winner to finish off the night.

Once again, my serve was the key and it is an understatement. I dont ever remember serving this well. I thought i cant top my last monday's performance on serve. I was wrong. I must have hit a dozen or more Aces and a ton of service winners. It is more amazing if we consider the fact that i didnt win any points on my second serve. Every second serve i made today, Carl punished it with Winners. I am certain that i clocked close to if not more than 100MPH on serves. With Serve staying so strong, i was able to overcome an otherwise mediocre showing of my forehand and backhand.

Clearly there is something about Indoor courts that aids my game. Though i am serving a little bit better these days even outdoors, it isnt even close to how i am serving indoors. I have a theory that might explain. Firstly we use fresh balls indoors; These definitely help hard serves. Secondly, The Indoor club courts take the action on the ball. Ie if we put some spin on the ball, we can see it work In indoor courts better than outdoor courts.

Then there is the wind factor. Indoors offer the advantage of not worrying about Wind, Sun and etc.

Ofcourse there is another secret that i am not going to spill out now.

I havent figured out my next week's schedule. Originally i thought i would switch to sunday's ladder from next week for a few weeks to see how it works out. If it works out well, it would be a better fit for my schedule.

However because of today's results, I will have a chance to play for #1. It is a tempting offer and i will ponder a bit before i make a decision.

Tennis Ladder Opens for Season 2010-2011 (monday night 20-sep-10)

Even before i realized, it is time for indoor tennis season. I have no idea what happened to the Spring and Summer. Injuries consumed most of the time. I couldnt train nor practice and basically this outdoor season is a dud for me.

Unlike other outdoor seasons, i didnt play much tennis and played even less number of players. basically i played tennis samurai Jack and may be once or twice another friend.Added to that i caught some viral infection (or bacterial for all i care) and it hurt my cardio. I couldnt last more than 3 games on Saturday when Jack invited me to play him and a colleague.I tried to hit with another friend on sunday and that lasted even less time.

I was contemplating pulling out of the monday draw for sometime before i realized that i had some time to kill. So i thought i might as well show up and swing fearlessly with out worrying about the results.

Originally myself and jack are on different parts of the draw and arent scheduled to face each other. However some last minute adjustmens to the draw meant that myself and Jack were going to play each other at prime time.

I started out with lefty Mike. I won the toss and chose to serve anywayz. Since this is a 7 game match, by serving first, i can serve 4 games as opposed to my opponent who can only serve for 3 games. Even in the event, i lose my service game once, i can still keep the match close because i can serve 3 more times. For reasons i cant explain, my serve clicked pretty well. we went with serve until i lead 2-1 . I broke mike's serve to go up 3-1 and then held again (on a deuce game) to make it 4-1. Mike also appeared a bit rusty and in the end it was a comforatble 5-2 score for me.

I have no idea how i managed that score line considering that i got so gassed out at times that i stopped chasing the balls. Also i was coughing too much and definitely needed to dial it down a bit.

My next match was with Ding. Despite leading 30-0 on my serve, i ended up losing my serve. I however broke him back immediately to make it 1-1.I held and then broke him to go up 3-1. I held my serve again to make it 4-1. Ding held and i got the last game on my serve for 5-2.

Ding made me run side to side , front to back. Already running on empty tank, this left me even more out of gas and options.

Both with Mike and Ding, i was able to serve very well. In fact , today is the most number of aces/service winners i ever hit during indoor season. Especially i dialled in on the Ad court serve. From that side , i was able to hit down the T or Wide with relative ease. My forehand wasnt working well and back hand is below average. Simply put the score board doesnt say the whole story.

Finally, the match every one was waiting for. me and Jack squaring off on Opening night. This is what our fans are looking for ever since me and jack confirmed our entries into the ladder. Jack is always a tricky opponent for me regardless of H2H (head to head) record. Because we play each other a lot, things that i do which pose challenges to some opponents, have minimal impact on Jack. For example, Jack can read my serve better than any other played i played against. He also knows the spots i attack often (eg:backhand corner) and he probably knows my weakness.

I won the toss and started the serve. My goal was to win atleast 3 games. Walking into this match, i lead the pack with 10 games, Jack had 6, Mike has 7 and Ding had 5. If i can win 3 games then results of other matches doesnt matter and i will top the group--ensuring a 7pm slot the following week.

Like most matches between us, this match went on predictable lines until 2-1. Though there were some interesting rallies , in the grand scheme of things, neither of us did anything different. I kept the ball in play and deep in the middle trying to keep Jack away from Service line area. Jack does most of the damage when the opponent leaves balls hanging around midcourt close to the service box area. He can go cross court or Down the line or dropshot or hit an approach shot. Basically at that point, he dictates the rally and often it is a short rally.

I broke Jack's serve to go up 3-1 and then held mine to keep it 4-1. At this point, i knew that i got enough points to lead the group. I decided to be aggressive on the last two games and not worry about points. I broke Jack's serve to make it 5-1. I was too casual on the last game(my service game) and went down two break points. Two good serves bought it to Deuce. I couldnt get a good serve on my last game and Jack played a good point to draw me to the net and then hit a good passing shot. I didnt even bother to chase as by this time i am spent.

In the end, i won 15 points (5 each against Mike, Ding and Jack) and likely to move up. Ding finished at 11 while Jack and Mike tied at 8 with Mike owning the breaker.

I am impressed with the way i played and was happy with the results but at the same time the underlying issues arent resolved yet. My forehand/backhand didnt work well. My movement wasnt good but i hope once i recover sufficiently from my illness, i will be alright over there. Just waiting to get better to start the training.

I cant be too harsh on myself. It is just the begining of the season. Given the miserable outdoor season i had, i am really not expecting to make a dent at the top of this ladder. I will be happy if i maintain a presence at the top of the ladder. Hopefully i will do better next summer and add enough ammunition to make a good run next year. For this season, my goal is little tempered.

So it is a decent start for the season.

I am not even sure if i play next monday. It depends on the weather (and fitness/health). if there is oppurtunity to play outdoor, i would rather play outdoor and save some $$. Jack is not sure if he would return next week either. It is unknown at this time if he will play at 7 pm or 0830pm next week. Jack loves the 7pm time slot and may return if he stays at 7pm.

A word about 2009 Cricket for charity

Apparently there was a press release about my 2009 cricket for Charity appearence.

http://sites.google.com/site/cricketforcharity/blog/cricket-tournament-to-raise-charity-for-dana-farber-cancer-society

It talks about the last ball catch i took to help my team win the Trophy. Even though its been a year, This little one day outing somehow ended up as good memories of recent times.

I havent played cricket in a long time. I wanted to play this season. Early May i went to participate in my teams practice session. I bowled a few overs and batted a bit and looked good. Clearly tennis game has impacted my cricket game and it was more evident in my batting when i tried to hit every ball after it bounced [in the past i used to quick step to the ball and take it on the rise, especially against slow/spin bowlers]. I thought i would play more cricket but injuries and other commitments kept me away.

Coming back to this 2009 episode, I wasnt sure if i would figure in the Hunts county team (this isnt my regular cricket team but teamed up with a few colleagues ). with 30 people in each team (only 11 get to play), Team management decided that they would alternate players so that every one would get atleast one match to play [teams are guaranteed two matches so they can accomodate 22 players overall].

I didnt get to play the first match for our team. I played in the second match. I got to bowl 1 over and i guess i made the most of it. I didnt give any runs but got 2 (or may be 3) wickets. One of them included a senior executive of our company. I wasnt trying to get him out as i knew he wasnt a cricket regular like me. I was spinning the ball in so that he can get a bat.

I guess that performance convinced teams management to put me in their eleven for the final.I never got to bowl though i would have loved to bowl especially during the later overs. When the game is tightly poised , cricket offers a nail biter excitement far beyond tennis. I enjoy those conditions. primarily becuase such situations require precise execution of game plan. Ie, if bowling during those situations, one's got to keep a tight line and length and try to have the batsmen in check. One loose ball and batsmen can crack a 4 or a 6 and the game can turn on a dime. I have been through several such situations and came out successfully more often.

The game got so tight to the last over (6 balls remaining). finally they needed 2 runs to win off the last ball. All through the match, i was fielding at the point (square of the batsmen) but used to vary where i stand based on what i percieved batsmen was doing. For that last ball, i deliberately moved to my right by about 10 feet. This is strictly gut feel but i also knew that this batsmen is more likely to hit to where i was standing than to my left based on his batting stance.

The ball was bowled, batsmen tried to go square and ball was in the air, i was already running for the catch . The real question at that time was if i fumble the catch. At stake was , batting team making a single run and tie the scores. In case of a tie, batting team would have won based on their net wicket loss. I took the catch fairly comfortably and my team erupted in joy.

The captain needs to be credited as apparently there was a discussion to move my fielding position to opposite side but he persisted anywayz.

I took home the ball that i caught as a souveneir. That game definitely rekindled my interest in cricket and brought back some great memories. The most dominant MCC cricket team that i was part of during early 2000's here in USA, my victorious college team and school teams from the days as a teenager back home.

It is one of those days where i happened to be in the right place at the right time. I took two catches, got 2 (or may be 3) wickets for the 1 over i bowled and didnt concede any runs. I played 1000's of matches since my childhood but never had a winning cup with this little effort.

Injury Update

I am still recovering and havent played tennis a while. Basically Entire July and August of this year are lost for me due to the Ankle injuries.

It started out with Right Ankle swelling in July and early August it was left Ankle. After several tests and deliberations, the leading theory is that the new Addidas Barricade shoes i bought seem to the culprit. Interestingly enough both times when i started seeing Ankle issues, i was playing with these new shoes in the days leading upto the injury. Doctors theorized that i do have flat feet and this new shoes arent providing me with enough Arch Support, thereby putting enough stress on my ankles.

I am on the path to recovery and right ankle has already recovered while left ankle is around 80%. I do plan to start rehab exercises and also start playing some tennis , albeit reduced intensity.

With two full months lost to injuries, i am not in a good position leading into the winter season. With no new additions to my game, lack of match practice, lack of conditioning, all indications are that i am not going to challenge the very best in the winter season, if the season were to begin today.

At this stage, health is more important and i am putting more emphasis on ability to play some tennis than not playing at all. I have taken some time off during September and i am hoping that if i can put together a good september, it is still possible to regain some lost edge.

I estimate that i have about 6 weeks of outdoor season remaining. I can probably squeeze in 10-15 sessions of tennis at the best. I have to rework my plan and decided to focus on the following three aspects.
1) Conditioning/Fitness
2) Overheads
3) Cross Court Forehand

Conditioning/fitness isnt new and up until mid June i am probably one of the fittest guys before injury. Hopefully after rehab of my ankles, i can put in a few good weeks of Gym work and be back to full fitness.

Since i dont have time to rebuild and rework my strokes, i thought i would focus on items that doesnt need major work but are still impactful. I believe i have decent serve mechanics (and smash is my go to shot in Badminton) and hence overheads shouldnt be that hard to learn.By having good overhead shot, i can take away opponents Lobs.

This season (or whatever little of it i played), i was hitting the down the Line forehand pretty good. This has become a money shot in those few matches. Off late i am struggling with Cross court forehands , especially on consistency of that shot. If i can turn it around and make it consistent, my forehand will become formidable.

It is about a year ago, i added Two handed Backhand to my game and now my backhand is very consistent. If i can add overheads and strengthen my forehand , i will be within a shot when the Winter tennis league starts.

I hope to start playing tennis this coming weekend. My agent is working on the schedule ;)