On Friday I played with Jack Indoors. The weather outdoors was very cloudy and we thought it might rain and opted indoors though in the hindsight we could have easily played outdoors (if we ignored the occasional gusts).
We arrived late and hence started the match right away after an abbreviated warm up session. Jack ended up winning 7-5. I didn’t play badly but didn’t play good enough to win. Just about every game went to Deuce and I managed to hold my serve only once in 4 tries. Some of that may have to do with my opponent who moved me side –side and front – back. Little bit of chip and charge, few shots that skidded off lines, some Serve and Volley he did it all. My topspin shots lacked depth and ended up as sitters. My only take away is that I liked the way I played my backhand. I discovered a few interesting things I can do with it.
I definitely can use a practice session for my Serves. Probably sometime this week I am going to do that. I am not too worried about rest of my game ..Yet.
I went on the Big auction site and fell for a misrepresenting bid on a ball machine. This machine is selling almost 70-80$ cheaper than comparable ones and I though I am getting a great deal. The Bid was later on cancelled and meant nothing.
This frustrated me enough that I am almost willing to put money on a new machine. Having watched the used ball machine market for quite some time now, I can see that these machines hold their value for money. I can use this machine for a year and can still sell it for a 100$ or so less. The way I see it, 100$ is a fair price for a ball machine for 1 year. Probably within next few days I will decide.
This week except for Tuesday is looking good from weather and scheduling perspective. I am still planning to play Badminton on Wednesday. There are only 4 sessions left this season and I like to play them all.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
River Race 2008
This weekend two colleagues of mine participated in the Kayak/Canoe race in the local river. I love all sports but only played a few. I went with my family to watch the race as we thought it might be fun. It’s a bit windy and cold but we did have fun. I got a better sense of appreciation for the participants. It is quite competitive and fun at the same time. Age wasn’t a factor as I have seen lot of people from different age groups compete. We saw them off the starting point and then we went to one of the vantage points to see the boats coming across the Rapids. It is really fun to watch the boats chase each other as well as maneuvering across the rapids.From the safety of the banks it looks very easy…just like Tennis. Once you start actually doing it, you realize how tough it is.
Both my friends did great in the race. One of them finished third (he did the doubles with his brother) and other one raced alone, finished in the Top 20 or so. If I ever participate (I and my wife did discuss the possibility of trying it next year) I will be glad just to finish it.
You can read about it here http://mangolds.blogspot.com
I got some photos from the race and I will post them soon once I obtain permission.
No On court tennis last weekend, my schedule didn’t allow on Saturday and weather didn’t cooperate on Sunday. I did catch up with the action in Sony Ericsson open at Miami, Florida.
I have officially moved out of the ladder. With the outdoor weather improving significantly I expect the outdoor tennis season to pick up steam real soon. My schedule will be a tough thing to mange though. Given my work and family commitments, I will be on a two week schedule with one week significantly busier than other. Still I am committed to playing as much tennis as possible. I want to play in the top most part of next year’s ladder and I want to do it by having a great forehand, great serve and decent back hand besides the intangibles.
Despite all the fitness, weight work I did, I still need to drop probably 1-1.5 pounds to have my BMI will be in the Normal category. Phew..
Both my friends did great in the race. One of them finished third (he did the doubles with his brother) and other one raced alone, finished in the Top 20 or so. If I ever participate (I and my wife did discuss the possibility of trying it next year) I will be glad just to finish it.
You can read about it here http://mangolds.blogspot.com
I got some photos from the race and I will post them soon once I obtain permission.
No On court tennis last weekend, my schedule didn’t allow on Saturday and weather didn’t cooperate on Sunday. I did catch up with the action in Sony Ericsson open at Miami, Florida.
I have officially moved out of the ladder. With the outdoor weather improving significantly I expect the outdoor tennis season to pick up steam real soon. My schedule will be a tough thing to mange though. Given my work and family commitments, I will be on a two week schedule with one week significantly busier than other. Still I am committed to playing as much tennis as possible. I want to play in the top most part of next year’s ladder and I want to do it by having a great forehand, great serve and decent back hand besides the intangibles.
Despite all the fitness, weight work I did, I still need to drop probably 1-1.5 pounds to have my BMI will be in the Normal category. Phew..
Friday, April 4, 2008
Let the Show begin - Tennis 2008
With the weather cooperating, we kicked off the 2008 Tennis season on Thursday (03 Apr). It is still cold as the temperature is probably around 50 with some wind chill. There was slight breeze which changed the flight and path of the ball.
After brief warm up (besides tinkering with Nets as they weren’t installed in some courts) we started off. I won the toss and elected to receive – no real reason. My serve takes a hit when the weather is cold and I wanted to warm up some more. I broke Jack twice and held my serve to quickly go up 4-0. Jack then held his serve twice and I finally served out the set for 6-2. I had trouble in the last game when I faced a break point. A good body serves and a kick serve into the back hand corner of the deuce court saw me pull through.
There wasn’t enough time for a complete second set but we played 6 tight games anyway. We stopped with me leading 4-2 having just broken Jack. We also broke each others serve in the first two games. He is much crisper and sharper in the second set and I could see the set heading to a tight finish. He hit some of the best serves including 3-4 aces (all of them wide to forehand corner on deuce court). I hung in there mostly by moving Jack side to side with some top spinners.
Overall a good start for the season. I liked my forehand and my movement. My serve is off but I am not too concerned. I did hit some good backhands to force the point. I didn’t feel any nerves or signs of fatigue (despite playing badminton on Wednesday night). Just to ice it off, I went home and did my normal workout minus weights. I need to be more Consistent but given this is the first game of the season –it is to be expected.
I may play on Sunday depending on availability of a fellow pro.
A quick word on Badminton. Finally after 3 weeks of really bad frustrating performance, I came up with better Badminton show this Wednesday (April 02). No, I wasn’t in a zone or something nor I won all my matches. I won most of my matches and I lost a few. However my performance all night has been steady and controlled. Before I started the evening I thought to myself? What changed so much that my game is downhill. I decided to use the ‘over the head’ forehand smash that made me popular in the early 2000’s.
For the past few weeks opponents have been pounding onto my backhand and reaping benefits as my tennis like one handed backhand was found wanting. However I stuck playing backhands as really that’s one of the few ways for me to learn it. Yesterday I hit several backhands back into play and some for winners. I think I got my forehand smash back and hit several winners.
There is probably 3-4 badminton sessions left before we call it a season. I won’t be playing next Wednesday as I have to stay home.
I am also planning on visiting my colleague’s race their Kayak’s at the Hockennum river this Sunday. It should be a fun event.
I don’t have any updates on ball machine. Nothing at the price I am willing to pay.
After brief warm up (besides tinkering with Nets as they weren’t installed in some courts) we started off. I won the toss and elected to receive – no real reason. My serve takes a hit when the weather is cold and I wanted to warm up some more. I broke Jack twice and held my serve to quickly go up 4-0. Jack then held his serve twice and I finally served out the set for 6-2. I had trouble in the last game when I faced a break point. A good body serves and a kick serve into the back hand corner of the deuce court saw me pull through.
There wasn’t enough time for a complete second set but we played 6 tight games anyway. We stopped with me leading 4-2 having just broken Jack. We also broke each others serve in the first two games. He is much crisper and sharper in the second set and I could see the set heading to a tight finish. He hit some of the best serves including 3-4 aces (all of them wide to forehand corner on deuce court). I hung in there mostly by moving Jack side to side with some top spinners.
Overall a good start for the season. I liked my forehand and my movement. My serve is off but I am not too concerned. I did hit some good backhands to force the point. I didn’t feel any nerves or signs of fatigue (despite playing badminton on Wednesday night). Just to ice it off, I went home and did my normal workout minus weights. I need to be more Consistent but given this is the first game of the season –it is to be expected.
I may play on Sunday depending on availability of a fellow pro.
A quick word on Badminton. Finally after 3 weeks of really bad frustrating performance, I came up with better Badminton show this Wednesday (April 02). No, I wasn’t in a zone or something nor I won all my matches. I won most of my matches and I lost a few. However my performance all night has been steady and controlled. Before I started the evening I thought to myself? What changed so much that my game is downhill. I decided to use the ‘over the head’ forehand smash that made me popular in the early 2000’s.
For the past few weeks opponents have been pounding onto my backhand and reaping benefits as my tennis like one handed backhand was found wanting. However I stuck playing backhands as really that’s one of the few ways for me to learn it. Yesterday I hit several backhands back into play and some for winners. I think I got my forehand smash back and hit several winners.
There is probably 3-4 badminton sessions left before we call it a season. I won’t be playing next Wednesday as I have to stay home.
I am also planning on visiting my colleague’s race their Kayak’s at the Hockennum river this Sunday. It should be a fun event.
I don’t have any updates on ball machine. Nothing at the price I am willing to pay.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
First dose of Outdoor tennis
Yesterday Jack and I decided we will try to play outdoors. So we showed up around 5 pm. As we got on the courts, there is cold breeze and occasional gusts. It was hard to setup Jack’s ball machine as the wind didn’t allow us to get consistent readings.
We still managed to hit for a bit and then played a no limit tie breaker. Jack played very good under the cold conditions. We stopped tracking score towards the end but I know at one point he is leading like 16-5. His serving was good and he hit a lot of winners. Other than one or two serves where I really hit the spots, there wasn’t much to write about on my game.
Good start I guess though weather conditions could have been better. There was a time when I felt that I needed gloves to keep my hands warm.
Yesterday I lost a bid on a ball machine. So the search continues.
We still managed to hit for a bit and then played a no limit tie breaker. Jack played very good under the cold conditions. We stopped tracking score towards the end but I know at one point he is leading like 16-5. His serving was good and he hit a lot of winners. Other than one or two serves where I really hit the spots, there wasn’t much to write about on my game.
Good start I guess though weather conditions could have been better. There was a time when I felt that I needed gloves to keep my hands warm.
Yesterday I lost a bid on a ball machine. So the search continues.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Getting Ready for Outdoor Tennis
I haven’t posted in a while as stuff at home kept me very busy. I did not play any Tennis and my badminton performance is average at the best. I am losing to players I used to comfortably beat before. I am not too overtly concerned as I know some of the reasons. I am trying to hit the Badminton Bird (shuttle) as if I am hitting a Tennis ball with a low to high motion and often with topspin finish. This usually sets up the bird to be hit by opponent. Most of my opponents are now picking my Backhand. In the past I used to run around and force the shot with my forehand. These days I am content on trying to hit with a backhand as I know in the long run it will help me improve my backhand. My smashes aren’t effective sometimes as I am more emphasizing the back scratch position (like Tennis serve).
So even though my Badminton game isn’t great guns at the moment, my moment on the court is crisp. I am still doing my work outs. I dropped a few pounds and I am doing weights to improve strength. I have incorporated some special exercises to focus on Abs and core. Cardio is great.
I am basically getting ready for Outdoor tennis. I am very keen on taking my tennis game to the next level and some of the steps I have taken above will help me accomplish that goal. I have watched lot of Indian Wells Tennis (pacific Life Open) and observed some great strategies by Nadal and Mardy Fish. I watched one of my favorite players Juan Carlos Ferrero in his victory to Quarter finals (he lost to another favorite player David Nalbandian).
The biggest concern I have for Tennis season is the schedule. Between Day care, wife’s career and my own, lawn mowing, gardening, it will be tough to squeeze out lot of time for Tennis. I will be happy if I can play twice a week (may be 3 times with an optimistic look). I also need to carve out some Ball machine sessions. I haven’t bought it yet but I have narrowed down my choices. If I can get an Ebay machine for 500$ , I will take it. Otherwise I will buy the Silent partner Lite (goes for 675) with the oscillator (helps spray the ball side ways) and Spin (helps simulate topspin and slice). I will wait until the outdoor season heats up (probably late April – early May).
I pulled a neck muscle last Thursday. Luckily Ibuprofen and lot of IcyHot helped. I recovered to probably 90%.
Schedule and weather permitting, I will attempt to play some outdoor tennis with Jack. If this week doesn’t work out I am sure the next week will.
So even though my Badminton game isn’t great guns at the moment, my moment on the court is crisp. I am still doing my work outs. I dropped a few pounds and I am doing weights to improve strength. I have incorporated some special exercises to focus on Abs and core. Cardio is great.
I am basically getting ready for Outdoor tennis. I am very keen on taking my tennis game to the next level and some of the steps I have taken above will help me accomplish that goal. I have watched lot of Indian Wells Tennis (pacific Life Open) and observed some great strategies by Nadal and Mardy Fish. I watched one of my favorite players Juan Carlos Ferrero in his victory to Quarter finals (he lost to another favorite player David Nalbandian).
The biggest concern I have for Tennis season is the schedule. Between Day care, wife’s career and my own, lawn mowing, gardening, it will be tough to squeeze out lot of time for Tennis. I will be happy if I can play twice a week (may be 3 times with an optimistic look). I also need to carve out some Ball machine sessions. I haven’t bought it yet but I have narrowed down my choices. If I can get an Ebay machine for 500$ , I will take it. Otherwise I will buy the Silent partner Lite (goes for 675) with the oscillator (helps spray the ball side ways) and Spin (helps simulate topspin and slice). I will wait until the outdoor season heats up (probably late April – early May).
I pulled a neck muscle last Thursday. Luckily Ibuprofen and lot of IcyHot helped. I recovered to probably 90%.
Schedule and weather permitting, I will attempt to play some outdoor tennis with Jack. If this week doesn’t work out I am sure the next week will.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday Tennis 03/10
I chose the wrong day to show up at the ladder. I didn’t gain much and felt like I should have chosen another day.
I went there just on time and looked at the draw sheet. First match against Bruce, second against Faez and then with Andy (#1 player of the ladder). I was very happy as this draw sets up nicely. I can warm up against Bruce and Faez for a showdown with Andy. Cant go wrong here. Then I looked around --Attendance was extremely light. Out of the 13 players, only 4 of them showed up. Two for the top bracket and two for the bottom bracket. For my part of the draw only Bruce showed up. So we ended up playing a best of two sets (and a tie breaker if we split sets) in No Ad format. I prefer the longer full set matches (as opposed to best of 7 games on the ladder) as the full matches give more time to get used to the opponent and work out a counter attack strategy.
I played Bruce in the past and he is tricky. He can play great tennis and worst tennis in the same point. After warm up he started the serve. I broke him at Deuce but immediately got broken back to go 1-1. He started match by repeatedly attacking my Backhand. He had some good pace & placement on the serve towards my backhand that I was unable to counter (especially with my new “Sword from Sheath” technique). We both held serve until we are 3-3 when I broke him and then held my serve and eventually served out the set for 6-4. I hit a lot of heavy top spinning forehands and he had trouble returning them.
Now fully warmed up, I took over the second set 6-1. My forehand is grooved in and my serve has loosened up and started kicking out very well. After the match we played ground strokes for about 10 minutes and it was good drill. Overall it is a good match but apart from a few backhands, I didn’t learn much. My opponent has a good backhand and I was able to see his technique.
I will once again move up the ladder though it won’t make much difference. I will be sending out my withdrawal shortly. Unless Snowy weather returns and I miss tennis badly, this is it for this season. The manager indicated that the ladder runs till end of April (probably another 6 weeks) however I don’t see a lot of attendance once the outdoor temperatures climb to 50’s. I am more aggressively pursuing the ball machine and hope it get one before outdoor season catches fire.
On a positive note, I am ending the ladder on a high winning note.
I went there just on time and looked at the draw sheet. First match against Bruce, second against Faez and then with Andy (#1 player of the ladder). I was very happy as this draw sets up nicely. I can warm up against Bruce and Faez for a showdown with Andy. Cant go wrong here. Then I looked around --Attendance was extremely light. Out of the 13 players, only 4 of them showed up. Two for the top bracket and two for the bottom bracket. For my part of the draw only Bruce showed up. So we ended up playing a best of two sets (and a tie breaker if we split sets) in No Ad format. I prefer the longer full set matches (as opposed to best of 7 games on the ladder) as the full matches give more time to get used to the opponent and work out a counter attack strategy.
I played Bruce in the past and he is tricky. He can play great tennis and worst tennis in the same point. After warm up he started the serve. I broke him at Deuce but immediately got broken back to go 1-1. He started match by repeatedly attacking my Backhand. He had some good pace & placement on the serve towards my backhand that I was unable to counter (especially with my new “Sword from Sheath” technique). We both held serve until we are 3-3 when I broke him and then held my serve and eventually served out the set for 6-4. I hit a lot of heavy top spinning forehands and he had trouble returning them.
Now fully warmed up, I took over the second set 6-1. My forehand is grooved in and my serve has loosened up and started kicking out very well. After the match we played ground strokes for about 10 minutes and it was good drill. Overall it is a good match but apart from a few backhands, I didn’t learn much. My opponent has a good backhand and I was able to see his technique.
I will once again move up the ladder though it won’t make much difference. I will be sending out my withdrawal shortly. Unless Snowy weather returns and I miss tennis badly, this is it for this season. The manager indicated that the ladder runs till end of April (probably another 6 weeks) however I don’t see a lot of attendance once the outdoor temperatures climb to 50’s. I am more aggressively pursuing the ball machine and hope it get one before outdoor season catches fire.
On a positive note, I am ending the ladder on a high winning note.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Farewell for Winter Tennis
I decided that I would go and play tonight. Unless the weather turns too cold and I miss Tennis too much, this will be the last session with the Ladder. The only reason why I am playing today is my email system was down over the weekend and the email I sent out for a Substitute bounced back. I don’t want to pull out at the last minute (unless of course there is a valid reason). Another reason is since I play in the bottom group, I can test my Sword from Sheath Backhand (read my last post).
My preparations are far from ideal. I haven’t played recently and based on badminton sessions, I am not playing optimal. My family got sick over the weekend and we spent considerable time trying to recover from it. However the past 3 workout sessions are good and I once again started to enjoy them. I started doing weights as well – so back to full fledged workouts. I also bought a new machine to work out the Abs, lower body and builds core strength- many Tennis pundits say key for more power in tennis. We will see how it goes. The heart rates and etc (including the warming up part) have returned to normal.
It will also give me a chance to test my theory. As I indicated in the past my performance dips when I start doing weights. I want to see how tonight goes.
With any luck I might play Andy (the #1 player of the ladder) who is currently at the bottom of the draw because he hasn’t played in a long time. In the same boat as me. I want to use this last session to collect some readings against him.
Weather looks decent these days and I am hopeful we may get to start the outdoor season early.
So looking forward to this session. I will be officially quitting the ladder tomorrow.
My preparations are far from ideal. I haven’t played recently and based on badminton sessions, I am not playing optimal. My family got sick over the weekend and we spent considerable time trying to recover from it. However the past 3 workout sessions are good and I once again started to enjoy them. I started doing weights as well – so back to full fledged workouts. I also bought a new machine to work out the Abs, lower body and builds core strength- many Tennis pundits say key for more power in tennis. We will see how it goes. The heart rates and etc (including the warming up part) have returned to normal.
It will also give me a chance to test my theory. As I indicated in the past my performance dips when I start doing weights. I want to see how tonight goes.
With any luck I might play Andy (the #1 player of the ladder) who is currently at the bottom of the draw because he hasn’t played in a long time. In the same boat as me. I want to use this last session to collect some readings against him.
Weather looks decent these days and I am hopeful we may get to start the outdoor season early.
So looking forward to this session. I will be officially quitting the ladder tomorrow.
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