There were lots of substitutions tonight and I knew before hand that my place at 7pm is secure for at least one more week regardless of how I play tonight. I wasn’t really thinking about this aspect these days. I don’t mind playing at 0830 PM and if anything 0700 pm is slightly early for me. 0730 PM would be ideal but I don’t own the league.
It is only after I reached the courts that I was told there are approximately 7 players (out of 22) that called sick. The Tournament director had to rearrange the draw. He also mentioned something that I didn’t pay attention to but ultimately became a factor.
My new draw matched me against Wayne, Luciano and the lefty Dan. I chose to serve against Wayne and dropped my serve immediately to go down 0-1. I broke Wayne’s serve right away to make it 1-1. From here on the match went on predictable lines. Wayne would hit some good shots sandwiched between unforced errors. I didn’t have any trouble holding my serve and broke him one more time during the course to finish the match at 5-2.
Luciano chose to serve after winning the toss and he quickly went up 2-0 after breaking my serve. Luciano has been at the very top of 7pm for so many years now and this score line didn’t bode too well for me. Though I lost those two games, I kept up with him and in most cases played better than him-just faltered at the finish line. One of the games I lost was on a deuce point with Luciano’s ball hitting the net tape and falling on my court. I regrouped myself and broke Luciano’s serve and followed it up with a strong hold and then broke him again. At this time the score is 3-2 in my favor. This is where I lost focus a little bit and Luciano won the last two games to make it a 4-3 win for him or 3-4 loss for me.
Dan won the toss as well and chose to serve. I attacked his backhand (as I always do against him) and quickly went up 2-0. He won the next game to make it 2-1. As I served in the fourth game, the score was 40-30 when Dan called out what I felt was a completely incorrect call. As far as I can tell, my shot landed at least a foot and half inside the baseline. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. This rattled me a bit. As I stood up to serve the last point of this game, I said to myself that I am going to win this at all costs. I tried to focus and hit one of the best clutch serves for an Ace wide onto Ad court. For several reasons I liked what I did. Not only was this serve the hardest I hit all night long, but it was hit to his forehand. All through the match I went to his backhand or into the body but for this one moment, I went to his forehand. With a lead of 3-1 and 3 games to go, I thought I can take two more games. I only managed to hold my serve and Dan served out the other two to make it a 4-3 win for me. Initially the match started at baseline and Dan quickly adjusted trying to come to net as often as possible. This did get him some initial success as I haven’t played left handed net rushers in the recent times. I figured him (at least for the night) quickly enough to negate some of that advantage but it indeed seemed like a good tactic.
In summary, I won 12 games in all. It so happened that I overlooked the Tournament director’s note that I am playing in a group of 6 (instead of the usual 4). In other words, the rankings will be between the 6 players and each of them played 3 matches. It also means , luck of the draw determined which two players one WONT be playing. Glancing through the result sheets, it looked like Vishwas and Dan finished at 13 points each. They both had advantage of playing Carl who probably wasn’t in his best form this night. I am at 12 points and Luciano had 10 and Wayne finished at 8. I can’t predict how the standings work out but I am guessing that I may gravitate towards the top of the 7 pm draw.
Though I lost the match with Luciano and didn’t take advantage of the leads I had with him and Dan , I could take several positives. It is an understatement that the match with Luciano had long rallies. There are several 20+ shot rallies. Good news is that I won majority of them. I also believe I sent a strong message to Luciano that I can stay with him in rallies. I tracked down just about every thing he threw at me and he had to win by taking a few risks playing slightly beyond his comfort zone. Credit to him that he was able to do that but at the same time I am also not happy that he took a point off me which could have brought the score to Deuce. I walked out of the match feeling that my game matches up very well against him. This is a consistent trend from my past encounters with him.
Continuing with the positives, I was consistent with the serve , movement and forehands. My improved fitness has clearly showed in the match against Luciano and I wasn’t winded. It is a different matter that I ran out of drinking water. I hit a few down the line and cross court winners against Dan with Two handed back hand.
I can definitely improve on my forehand and get back to my 2007-08 form so that I can be aggressive with it. I think I can also be aggressive from the backhand. I should learn to focus more especially when I am serving.
Jack took the day off being sick. He is still a bit disappointed at the results and wanted to work out a strategy. I know his game well enough to say that he will be back in the midst of 7 pm in no time.He has the game, weapons and enough variety to trouble the very best. Since several players didn’t play today, may be he wont drop down a block and this chance could be enough for him to start hitting big. [Dropping to the II block at 0830 pm would mean that the player will need at least two good weeks to make it to 7 pm].
The classic Jack and me match will have to wait a bit as we don’t know the standings for this week, it’s hard to predict. It could be two to three weeks depending on where Jack and I landed this week (ie top or bottom of 0700/0830). There are also substitution scenarios which we have no control over.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday (02 Nov 09) results - Serve Fest!
Serve-fest , A tough day of Tennis. This is how i would summarize this Monday's tennis. Even though i am playing at 7 pm, the end of Day light savings time on Sunday meant that i was really playing at 8pm. Just for the record, I hate Standard time and I love Day light Savings. I love to come out of work and see some sun light rather than greeted by dim street lights.That is also another reason why my watches (and clocks) at home are always set to Day light time.I dont change to standard time.
My line up is to Play Vishwas, Dave and Paul S. As i indicated earlier, All the three matches turned out to be Serve-fests. There are very very few rallies and the points were very quick. The tell tale sign is, we started playing at 7:20 and we are done with all the three matches by 0820. Ie we started 20 minutes late but ended up 10 minutes early.
This was the first time in the ladder where I encountered three big servers in a row. I didnt expect it and was grossly underprepared. To make matters worse, i didnt win the toss in any of the three matches and that meant that I am always playing behind. In the very first game of the night, I took Vishwas to deuce but two big serves from him quickly erased the break points. We went with serve until it is 3-2 and he broke my serve to go 4-2. I broke him in the last game to make it 3 (me)-4(Vishwas).Vishwas served exceptionally well but I felt like I am always in the match within striking distance.
Dave and i went with serve 2-2. Then he won 3 games in a row (breaking me once). The most disappointing tale of this match is that i had break points in two different games but couldnt convert. The score line read 5-2 in his favor.
As I walked onto next court for my final match of the night, the situation looked pretty dim. Unless i can pull off a big 6-1 0r a 7-0 kind of match, my chances are extremely slim to stay at 7 pm slot for the following week. I met with Paul S (we call him Sandeep for his resemblance to a coworker of mine/Jack) and it turns out he didnt have a spectacular night either. We both tied at 5 games each thus far. So the winner of this match gets to stay 7 pm and loser will drop down to 0830. Easier said than done. Paul S fired at me some of the best Twist serves i have ever seen. With so much of action of his serves , that kick very high and clocking around 90-100 mph, There is very little i could do.The only kink in his armour seems to be his ability to rally.He held his serves very easily. Not to be left behind, i held my serves comfortably to make it 3-3. This is where the Toss comes into play. Because he won it, he gets to serve the last game.I played a very gritty and determined game to break his otherwise impenetratable serve and finish the evening a little bit better with 9 games. Paul S dropped down as he won only 8 games.
Looking at the positives, I stayed at 7 pm and it was a hard earned win. Playing from behind on all my matches put a great deal of pressure on my serve but I more or less lived up to the task (I served 9 games and won 7 of them).I did impress myself with some of the serves as its been quite a while since i hit then. I attribute it to my improved fitness which was lacking all summer.Especially in the last match , I had to win my serve and then break Paul to stay at 7 pm. That i was able to do that is something i feel good about--especially the mental aspect of it. Another thing that i also noticed is that , when it came to rallies, i had the edge most of the times. The rallies were far and few tonight but when we did have them, i won most of them.
As far as the negatives go it is the usual. I was tentative at times in taking big cuts at the ball and leaving the door open for opponents. I dropped the ball short in the middle of court at times for opponents to take a big cut.I developed two handed Back Hand (2HBH) to specially counter the Dave's of the world. I rarely used it. Vishwas repeatdely attacked my Second serve and threw me off rhythm. Probably he is the only player thus far to attack my second serve as consistently as he did.
To make it further up in the ladder, I need to improve on all counts. That said, i find it very unusual that i run into Three big servers all on the same night. This is really a factor as I couldnt return some serves into play. Part of it due to lack of match practice. The biggest server that i ever faced this whole summer was my friend Sk.We played very infrequently and not consistent enough to feel comfortable against big servers.
The challenge next week isnt any less daunting. I am up agaisnt Dave (ugh! again) , Lefty Dan (who more or less is circling around the top of the ladder) and a red hot Wayne (who i played on my ladder opening night for a 3-2 score) who beat Richard and Jack. It will be a struggle to stay at 7pm let alone move up. On paper, myself and Wayne are the most likely ones to drop down.
Before wrapping up the night, I caught glimpses of Jack's match with Rich.Jack isnt as consistent as he was during the summer and made many unforced errors. Rich and Wayne beat Jack to push him down but Jack did enough to beat Dave and still stay at the top of 0830. To me this is a defining moment for Jack as his efforts to get out of 0830 arent coming to fruition.Sooner or later he is going to break free and display the level of consistency and efficiency ,that he showed in his run to the top last year.
Badminton season starts today at my club and i am very excited about it.Hopefully it will help my court movement and other intangibles that are common across racquet sports.
My line up is to Play Vishwas, Dave and Paul S. As i indicated earlier, All the three matches turned out to be Serve-fests. There are very very few rallies and the points were very quick. The tell tale sign is, we started playing at 7:20 and we are done with all the three matches by 0820. Ie we started 20 minutes late but ended up 10 minutes early.
This was the first time in the ladder where I encountered three big servers in a row. I didnt expect it and was grossly underprepared. To make matters worse, i didnt win the toss in any of the three matches and that meant that I am always playing behind. In the very first game of the night, I took Vishwas to deuce but two big serves from him quickly erased the break points. We went with serve until it is 3-2 and he broke my serve to go 4-2. I broke him in the last game to make it 3 (me)-4(Vishwas).Vishwas served exceptionally well but I felt like I am always in the match within striking distance.
Dave and i went with serve 2-2. Then he won 3 games in a row (breaking me once). The most disappointing tale of this match is that i had break points in two different games but couldnt convert. The score line read 5-2 in his favor.
As I walked onto next court for my final match of the night, the situation looked pretty dim. Unless i can pull off a big 6-1 0r a 7-0 kind of match, my chances are extremely slim to stay at 7 pm slot for the following week. I met with Paul S (we call him Sandeep for his resemblance to a coworker of mine/Jack) and it turns out he didnt have a spectacular night either. We both tied at 5 games each thus far. So the winner of this match gets to stay 7 pm and loser will drop down to 0830. Easier said than done. Paul S fired at me some of the best Twist serves i have ever seen. With so much of action of his serves , that kick very high and clocking around 90-100 mph, There is very little i could do.The only kink in his armour seems to be his ability to rally.He held his serves very easily. Not to be left behind, i held my serves comfortably to make it 3-3. This is where the Toss comes into play. Because he won it, he gets to serve the last game.I played a very gritty and determined game to break his otherwise impenetratable serve and finish the evening a little bit better with 9 games. Paul S dropped down as he won only 8 games.
Looking at the positives, I stayed at 7 pm and it was a hard earned win. Playing from behind on all my matches put a great deal of pressure on my serve but I more or less lived up to the task (I served 9 games and won 7 of them).I did impress myself with some of the serves as its been quite a while since i hit then. I attribute it to my improved fitness which was lacking all summer.Especially in the last match , I had to win my serve and then break Paul to stay at 7 pm. That i was able to do that is something i feel good about--especially the mental aspect of it. Another thing that i also noticed is that , when it came to rallies, i had the edge most of the times. The rallies were far and few tonight but when we did have them, i won most of them.
As far as the negatives go it is the usual. I was tentative at times in taking big cuts at the ball and leaving the door open for opponents. I dropped the ball short in the middle of court at times for opponents to take a big cut.I developed two handed Back Hand (2HBH) to specially counter the Dave's of the world. I rarely used it. Vishwas repeatdely attacked my Second serve and threw me off rhythm. Probably he is the only player thus far to attack my second serve as consistently as he did.
To make it further up in the ladder, I need to improve on all counts. That said, i find it very unusual that i run into Three big servers all on the same night. This is really a factor as I couldnt return some serves into play. Part of it due to lack of match practice. The biggest server that i ever faced this whole summer was my friend Sk.We played very infrequently and not consistent enough to feel comfortable against big servers.
The challenge next week isnt any less daunting. I am up agaisnt Dave (ugh! again) , Lefty Dan (who more or less is circling around the top of the ladder) and a red hot Wayne (who i played on my ladder opening night for a 3-2 score) who beat Richard and Jack. It will be a struggle to stay at 7pm let alone move up. On paper, myself and Wayne are the most likely ones to drop down.
Before wrapping up the night, I caught glimpses of Jack's match with Rich.Jack isnt as consistent as he was during the summer and made many unforced errors. Rich and Wayne beat Jack to push him down but Jack did enough to beat Dave and still stay at the top of 0830. To me this is a defining moment for Jack as his efforts to get out of 0830 arent coming to fruition.Sooner or later he is going to break free and display the level of consistency and efficiency ,that he showed in his run to the top last year.
Badminton season starts today at my club and i am very excited about it.Hopefully it will help my court movement and other intangibles that are common across racquet sports.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday Tennis Preview (02 Nov 09)
The draw for Monday (02 Nov 09) is out. True enough, I am playing at 7pm but got a tough draw. I have never played two of these players and the other one was Dave against whom I have a 1-2 record. None of these players dropped below 7 pm so far this season (Dave is a perennial 7 pm’er). While the situation for me is similar to last week, where I knew only player of the three, the difference is in their playing styles. A baseline-baseline game is definitely to my liking but Dave doesn’t play that. Looking at his record against other players, he has dominated so far and I will be lucky to get out with 3 or 4 games against him. I never played Paul (S) and Vishwas and judging by their record so far, they are equally tough to contend with. I need my serve to hold up and probably also take some big cuts with forehand. If I stay at 7 pm, I consider it to be an excellent result. Sure, I do want to challenge the best of the best. But around January time frame and I want to use the time in between to round up my game as much as possible.
Jack is playing at the top of 0830 and he has an excellent chance to move up to 7. So far Rich (twice) and Me (once) have been his road blocks for 7 pm but Jack has given himself so many opportunities that its only a matter of time before he hits purple patch. Lets not forget that he is a former #1 in this ladder and knows what it takes to get to the top. His draw has him against Rich, Wayne and Dave. He should have no trouble handling Dave and his consistency should prove too much for Wayne. Rich would be the iffy match for him but if anyone can handle Rich, Jack would be one among them.
Jack is playing at the top of 0830 and he has an excellent chance to move up to 7. So far Rich (twice) and Me (once) have been his road blocks for 7 pm but Jack has given himself so many opportunities that its only a matter of time before he hits purple patch. Lets not forget that he is a former #1 in this ladder and knows what it takes to get to the top. His draw has him against Rich, Wayne and Dave. He should have no trouble handling Dave and his consistency should prove too much for Wayne. Rich would be the iffy match for him but if anyone can handle Rich, Jack would be one among them.
Monday Tennis results (29 Oct 2009)
The Big night was upon me even before I realized. My pre-match preparations (Apply Icy-Hot, stretching, packing water bottle, etc) were a bit rushed as my daughter wanted me to play with her. I did reach the venue little earlier than usual and saw the line up. My line up starts with Dave then Jack and finally Rob—Format is 7 games per match.
I started warming up with Dave and he is really eager to get started right away. Being older than me, I assumed he would like to spend some more time warming up. He won the toss and elected to serve. He has a weird action and on the deuce court, he stands way too close to the centre line (I have observed him actually standing on Ad court and still serve into deuce court). His ball stays very close to the net and keeps low with a decent pace. He also rallies well and probably has a good court sense and knows where to put the ball (not to mention the slices). I managed to break his serve right away on a deuce game but I lost my serve also on deuce call even though I led 40-15 to make the score 1-1. We stayed on serve to make it 2-2. I became a little frustrated with the way things are going. Every game counts and this match looked like to a 4-3 situation. I tried to increase my depth a bit and tried to move him side-side. I went on to win the next 3 games to end the match at 5-2.
Then the match everyone is eagerly waiting for. As we expected, Jack and me are the front runners at this time.
Jack just finished hammering Rob for 6-1. This meant Jack has a 1 game lead on me (as my score was 5-2). Even before the match, I suspected that Jack is likely to win more games against others than I can win. If this match were to follow our usual pattern, I need to win at least 4 games to make it even. Jack won the toss and elected to serve and we both started a bit nervous. He went up 40-30 but lost the next two points to lose the game. With a few good serves here and there, I won the next game to go up 2-0. Over the past couple years, Jack and me played a number of matches and it isn’t unusual for one of us to jump into big leads before the other catches up and at times winning it all. I was expecting a come back but that didn’t materialize. I ended up winning all the 7 games. Other than playing consistent and a few good serves I didn’t do anything special. The score line definitely was a shocker. During outdoor season, both Jack and I lost a few times for such one sided score lines but never indoors.
This result meant that after 2 matches and with one more to go (with Rob), I am the clear front runner from this group. I had 12 points thus far, Jack has 6 and Dave has 8. I did the match and figured that I need 3 more games to take my tally to 15 and eliminate any possibility for others in this group to move up to 7 pm [If Jack or Dave were to sweep their last match 7-0, they could theoretically be at 13 (Jack) and 15 (Dave) but since I won over both, I will still move up in case of a tie]. Rob won the toss and started to serve. I thought he can hit some good forehands (especially into my back hand) and seem to have a good net game. He isn’t that consistent and I used that to my advantage and ended up breaking him twice while holding my games with a few well placed serves to take the 3-1 lead and reach my target of 15 games. I also want to see if I can better my best ever result in the ladder of 16 games. I won the last two games to close the match at 5-2.
I finished the night with 17 games- my best performance in the ladder thus far. As it turns out, Jack beat Dave comfortably (5-2) and finished with 11 games. Dave finished third with 10 games. Rob is likely dropping down a block with 4 games. I don’t think I played as well as the score indicates. I played safe in the rallies and I probably hit like 4 winners whole night. My serve held up well though some of my hardest serves were returned with interest and I had to scramble. Few rallies were exhausting and I am thinking it is due to lack of sufficient match practice. I run 2 miles a day at home with interval training and occasionally add a 1mile elliptical work out. This is as far as I can go at home given my schedule. I will be starting Badminton from next week and after couple of weeks of Tennis and Badminton I will have enough data around Mid-Late November to reevaluate my fitness.
The difference tonight was the anti-climatic game with Jack. He was predictable with his game. The trade mark Jack volleys weren’t there and his drop shots missed targets. On my other matches, I had a few giggles. The first one was when I saw Dave stepping up way into the baseline for my second serve. Obviously he was thinking of an aggressive return on my second serve and probably assumed some dinky serves. True enough, my second serve doesn’t have a lot of pace but it does kick up high and isn’t easier to take a big cut unless one has a good top spin shot.
The second one was with Dave as well. He indicated every single point that he doesn’t keep track of the score. Late into the match, I purposefully said I don’t remember the score and he was able to accurately tell me how the last 4 points were played and why the score was 30-30. I still like his approach as he is ensuring that score is known to both parties after every point and it can only be a good thing.
I started warming up with Dave and he is really eager to get started right away. Being older than me, I assumed he would like to spend some more time warming up. He won the toss and elected to serve. He has a weird action and on the deuce court, he stands way too close to the centre line (I have observed him actually standing on Ad court and still serve into deuce court). His ball stays very close to the net and keeps low with a decent pace. He also rallies well and probably has a good court sense and knows where to put the ball (not to mention the slices). I managed to break his serve right away on a deuce game but I lost my serve also on deuce call even though I led 40-15 to make the score 1-1. We stayed on serve to make it 2-2. I became a little frustrated with the way things are going. Every game counts and this match looked like to a 4-3 situation. I tried to increase my depth a bit and tried to move him side-side. I went on to win the next 3 games to end the match at 5-2.
Then the match everyone is eagerly waiting for. As we expected, Jack and me are the front runners at this time.
Jack just finished hammering Rob for 6-1. This meant Jack has a 1 game lead on me (as my score was 5-2). Even before the match, I suspected that Jack is likely to win more games against others than I can win. If this match were to follow our usual pattern, I need to win at least 4 games to make it even. Jack won the toss and elected to serve and we both started a bit nervous. He went up 40-30 but lost the next two points to lose the game. With a few good serves here and there, I won the next game to go up 2-0. Over the past couple years, Jack and me played a number of matches and it isn’t unusual for one of us to jump into big leads before the other catches up and at times winning it all. I was expecting a come back but that didn’t materialize. I ended up winning all the 7 games. Other than playing consistent and a few good serves I didn’t do anything special. The score line definitely was a shocker. During outdoor season, both Jack and I lost a few times for such one sided score lines but never indoors.
This result meant that after 2 matches and with one more to go (with Rob), I am the clear front runner from this group. I had 12 points thus far, Jack has 6 and Dave has 8. I did the match and figured that I need 3 more games to take my tally to 15 and eliminate any possibility for others in this group to move up to 7 pm [If Jack or Dave were to sweep their last match 7-0, they could theoretically be at 13 (Jack) and 15 (Dave) but since I won over both, I will still move up in case of a tie]. Rob won the toss and started to serve. I thought he can hit some good forehands (especially into my back hand) and seem to have a good net game. He isn’t that consistent and I used that to my advantage and ended up breaking him twice while holding my games with a few well placed serves to take the 3-1 lead and reach my target of 15 games. I also want to see if I can better my best ever result in the ladder of 16 games. I won the last two games to close the match at 5-2.
I finished the night with 17 games- my best performance in the ladder thus far. As it turns out, Jack beat Dave comfortably (5-2) and finished with 11 games. Dave finished third with 10 games. Rob is likely dropping down a block with 4 games. I don’t think I played as well as the score indicates. I played safe in the rallies and I probably hit like 4 winners whole night. My serve held up well though some of my hardest serves were returned with interest and I had to scramble. Few rallies were exhausting and I am thinking it is due to lack of sufficient match practice. I run 2 miles a day at home with interval training and occasionally add a 1mile elliptical work out. This is as far as I can go at home given my schedule. I will be starting Badminton from next week and after couple of weeks of Tennis and Badminton I will have enough data around Mid-Late November to reevaluate my fitness.
The difference tonight was the anti-climatic game with Jack. He was predictable with his game. The trade mark Jack volleys weren’t there and his drop shots missed targets. On my other matches, I had a few giggles. The first one was when I saw Dave stepping up way into the baseline for my second serve. Obviously he was thinking of an aggressive return on my second serve and probably assumed some dinky serves. True enough, my second serve doesn’t have a lot of pace but it does kick up high and isn’t easier to take a big cut unless one has a good top spin shot.
The second one was with Dave as well. He indicated every single point that he doesn’t keep track of the score. Late into the match, I purposefully said I don’t remember the score and he was able to accurately tell me how the last 4 points were played and why the score was 30-30. I still like his approach as he is ensuring that score is known to both parties after every point and it can only be a good thing.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Next Monday draw released- Conspiracy Theories abound
The draw for next Monday evening came out and it gave plenty for Conspiracy theorists to ponder around. I am pretty sure this draw is going to cause some concerns amongst the players as well.
As expected, I moved up a block. The shocker was Jack stayed put at top of 0830. This development means that the marquee match up of Jack and me takes place next week (assuming we both commit to playing) albeit at 0830 as opposed to primetime 7 pm. Tennis fans all over would be disappointed to see us playing on what’s equivalent to a court 13 at Usopen at Flushing meadows Or Court 11 at Wimbledon as opposed to an Arthur Ashe at Us open or Centre court at Wimbledon. Some fans even likened this to Sampras and Agassi meeting in Quarter finals instead of much later in the draw.
These theories aren’t completely with out reason. Rich and Jack are two former #1’s in the draw playing low down the order at 0830. Rich despite topping the group last few weeks chose to stay at 0830. However this week, he moved up to 7pm and we are not sure why.
The draw is now written in stone and barring any substitution/retirement scenarios, Jack and I will have to square off. The bad news is that only one of us can move up to 7pm. The good news is that Jack and I have a combined 50% percent chance of moving up. We will play with Rob and Dave. I haven’t played them but I believe Jack did. This means Jack probably has a slight edge as he has played against all the 3 players he is going to face Monday.
I also like my chances though not by much. It largely depends on my serve and forehand staying consistent. I am not particularly known for jumping right off the gate and this format where every game matters wont bode particularly well for me. If I can repeat the start I had last Monday, I have an excellent opportunity to move up-again. As long as I don’t drop down, it will be a good result for me.
As expected, I moved up a block. The shocker was Jack stayed put at top of 0830. This development means that the marquee match up of Jack and me takes place next week (assuming we both commit to playing) albeit at 0830 as opposed to primetime 7 pm. Tennis fans all over would be disappointed to see us playing on what’s equivalent to a court 13 at Usopen at Flushing meadows Or Court 11 at Wimbledon as opposed to an Arthur Ashe at Us open or Centre court at Wimbledon. Some fans even likened this to Sampras and Agassi meeting in Quarter finals instead of much later in the draw.
These theories aren’t completely with out reason. Rich and Jack are two former #1’s in the draw playing low down the order at 0830. Rich despite topping the group last few weeks chose to stay at 0830. However this week, he moved up to 7pm and we are not sure why.
The draw is now written in stone and barring any substitution/retirement scenarios, Jack and I will have to square off. The bad news is that only one of us can move up to 7pm. The good news is that Jack and I have a combined 50% percent chance of moving up. We will play with Rob and Dave. I haven’t played them but I believe Jack did. This means Jack probably has a slight edge as he has played against all the 3 players he is going to face Monday.
I also like my chances though not by much. It largely depends on my serve and forehand staying consistent. I am not particularly known for jumping right off the gate and this format where every game matters wont bode particularly well for me. If I can repeat the start I had last Monday, I have an excellent opportunity to move up-again. As long as I don’t drop down, it will be a good result for me.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday Tennis results (Oct 19)
My pre-match preparations were spot on (ie getting gear ready in time, popping in Contacts, applying Icy-hot on knees, start driving to the club in time) but I was still nervous before my first match. As it turns out, the format for this Monday was little different and I was scheduled to play 4 matches- five games each. In other words, the winner would be the one who wins most of their 20 games.
I started with Steve who was substituting for another player. Though I have played him in the past, I am not familiar with his game. He isn’t a power player and he relies on slices and spins and works the point. I chose to serve and I am still nervous enough for a 30-30 score line. At that point, I had two good serves in (the second one , an Ace down the T) to go up 1-0. I felt a whole lot better when I broke him to go up 2-0. For the rest of this match, I basically stayed consistent with my game and Steve made series of unforced (and forced) errors for me to go up 5-0.
I elected to serve against Wayne and held serve comfortably despite hitting three second serves. I never played Wayne but I watched him play Jack and I know he has a powerful (but inconsistent) forehand. He hit three forehand winners to make the score 1-1. I made some tactical adjustments and tried to keep the ball deep and in the centre. This worked and I held the serve and broke him to go 3-1. Serving the last game, I was up 40-30 but left the ball too short for him to crack couple of cross court forehand winners to force deuce. I repeated the same mistake for the last point (mostly expecting that it is hard to hit three winners in a row) and he won that game to make the score line 3-2.
Heading into match with Colin, we both had 8 games each (Wayne probably had 6) and it is very likely that the winner of this group might be the winner of our match (ie Colin or me). I scouted him playing an earlier match on my next court. He has a powerful (but inconsistent) first serve and he doesn’t seem to have a second serve. He has an excellent Two handed backhand that I would love to have and also has a respectable forehand. He won the toss and offered to receive but then changed his mind after realizing that this is a five game match( and first to serve can serve three games while the opponent only gets two). I won the first point on a rally and second on a double fault. This appeared to put some pressure on him and I quickly went a break up. I held serve comfortably through out. There were some very hard shots hit by him but some how I tracked them down and was able to rally with him and despite an occasional winner, he wasn’t consistent enough to win games and I ended up at 5-0.
At this point, we ran out of time and our Tournament director (as I call him) decided to end the night and abandon the fourth match. With 13 games (and only losing two) , it is very likely that I move up a block. In Summary, My serve held well despite occasional stutter. My defense made the difference. My new tool, Two handed back hand was consistent and in some cases far exceeded my expectations.
Though this result is not completely unexpected given my past results, I don’t want to get too carried away. I don’t want to put any additional pressure on myself by trying to challenge the top and best of the ladder right away. The goal still remains to peak around January and make a run to the top. Bigger challenges wait next week as I will be playing more consistent and experienced players in the journey to the top of the ladder.
Regardless of the results, I enjoyed my time on the court playing a different set of opponents. I have played a lot with my friends (Jack, SK, SS) that there aren’t much surprises and our games seem to follow a predictable pattern. In the ladder , except for Jack, I don’t know others that well and that gives a more match like atmosphere.
It looks like my good friend Jack had a great outing as well. Incidentally he won 13 games and is primed to reappear at 7pm. This means that the marquee match between me and Jack will have to wait at least one more week if not more.
I started with Steve who was substituting for another player. Though I have played him in the past, I am not familiar with his game. He isn’t a power player and he relies on slices and spins and works the point. I chose to serve and I am still nervous enough for a 30-30 score line. At that point, I had two good serves in (the second one , an Ace down the T) to go up 1-0. I felt a whole lot better when I broke him to go up 2-0. For the rest of this match, I basically stayed consistent with my game and Steve made series of unforced (and forced) errors for me to go up 5-0.
I elected to serve against Wayne and held serve comfortably despite hitting three second serves. I never played Wayne but I watched him play Jack and I know he has a powerful (but inconsistent) forehand. He hit three forehand winners to make the score 1-1. I made some tactical adjustments and tried to keep the ball deep and in the centre. This worked and I held the serve and broke him to go 3-1. Serving the last game, I was up 40-30 but left the ball too short for him to crack couple of cross court forehand winners to force deuce. I repeated the same mistake for the last point (mostly expecting that it is hard to hit three winners in a row) and he won that game to make the score line 3-2.
Heading into match with Colin, we both had 8 games each (Wayne probably had 6) and it is very likely that the winner of this group might be the winner of our match (ie Colin or me). I scouted him playing an earlier match on my next court. He has a powerful (but inconsistent) first serve and he doesn’t seem to have a second serve. He has an excellent Two handed backhand that I would love to have and also has a respectable forehand. He won the toss and offered to receive but then changed his mind after realizing that this is a five game match( and first to serve can serve three games while the opponent only gets two). I won the first point on a rally and second on a double fault. This appeared to put some pressure on him and I quickly went a break up. I held serve comfortably through out. There were some very hard shots hit by him but some how I tracked them down and was able to rally with him and despite an occasional winner, he wasn’t consistent enough to win games and I ended up at 5-0.
At this point, we ran out of time and our Tournament director (as I call him) decided to end the night and abandon the fourth match. With 13 games (and only losing two) , it is very likely that I move up a block. In Summary, My serve held well despite occasional stutter. My defense made the difference. My new tool, Two handed back hand was consistent and in some cases far exceeded my expectations.
Though this result is not completely unexpected given my past results, I don’t want to get too carried away. I don’t want to put any additional pressure on myself by trying to challenge the top and best of the ladder right away. The goal still remains to peak around January and make a run to the top. Bigger challenges wait next week as I will be playing more consistent and experienced players in the journey to the top of the ladder.
Regardless of the results, I enjoyed my time on the court playing a different set of opponents. I have played a lot with my friends (Jack, SK, SS) that there aren’t much surprises and our games seem to follow a predictable pattern. In the ladder , except for Jack, I don’t know others that well and that gives a more match like atmosphere.
It looks like my good friend Jack had a great outing as well. Incidentally he won 13 games and is primed to reappear at 7pm. This means that the marquee match between me and Jack will have to wait at least one more week if not more.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Summer Summary and Welcome to Winter Ladder 2009
I once again joined the winter ladder for 2009 -2010 and will open tonight. The ladder started few weeks ago but chose to skip the first few weeks, mostly for schedule reasons and partly for conserving $$ especially when some outdoor tennis was still possible.
What I did during outdoor season:
Work took precedence and I spent most of my spring and summer working late nights and weekends and what not. Didn’t really get a chance to play as much except for an occasional evening or weekend outing. To make matters worse, I didn’t exercise and added around 10 pounds to my frame. Whatever little tennis I played, I mostly won by bunting the ball back and trying to make less unforced errors than my opponent. I probably took out the ball machine 2 may be 3 times and didn’t really do much either. Bottom line, this is the worst tennis outdoor season I had since I actively started playing tennis 5-6 yrs ago. I also had knee issues and doctor figured out I needed lots of D vitamin.
From Mid September things started looking better at work and my schedule became little better. I also was able to get my basement arranged and was able to set a spot for my treadmill, weights and elliptical machine. I started working out , initially low impact and now moderately intense. So I got the weight under control (dropped around 6 pounds). I proactively tried to play outdoors as much as situation permitted.
Fast Forward :
I probably wont get back to the fitness or game levels I had during 2007/08 when my forehand and serve are pretty good. Fitness wise I am in a good shape but I haven’t been match tested enough. The only players I played are Andy , Jack and Sk (if I discount the matches against SS early in spring).
Sometime after mid last year, I lost my sting on forehand. I am not sure why. I also realized that one of my tennis Idols Rafael Nadal also has similar issue. Here is an excerpt from Tennis.com on him.
>>>
Increasingly, one of the most feared shots in the game, Rafa's forehand, seems loopy and is starting to look like a liability. (I haven't seen Rafa hit his forehand so ineffectively at any time , not even in 05-06. Heck, he was more aggressive against Fed in Miami 2004).. Rafa is hitting the ball with too much spin and elevation but with no depth. Every time he gets the ball on his forehand he cannot gain control of the pt like he used to before. His down the line forehand is AWOL and he's pushing with his bh instead of attacking. He returns serve from 3-4 meters behind the baseline, but doesn't move in at all as the rally progresses. Rafa is getting pushed back (further behind the baseline) as the match goes on and he's getting increasingly frustrated because he knows that he really has no weapons to hurt a half decent hard court player with his game at the moment
>>>
This more or less also depicts my Forehand. I quickly need to discover my forehand form back.
I have developed consistency on two handed back hand. I am hoping this would provide me the edge when I face attacking players who attack my backhand. However I haven’t gotten used to the movement that is needed to compensate for the extra step lost while hitting a two hander backhand. In the grand scheme of things, this is another tool to have in my tool kit. I can still play with 1HBH just as I used to.
The Badminton season this year also got rescheduled and will start in first week of November. I believed that Tennis and Badminton for me, fed off each other. My tennis game greatly benefited from the badminton reflexes and court movement. My badminton game was better because I was able to use my tennis court coverage and some tennis like shots. At some high up level, these are similar sports and the intangibles are common across them.
Last year I went as high as #3 (though I was seeded #4) in the ladder. The goal this year is to improve on that result though I want to give more emphasis on staying aggressive.
Tonight :
I am opening up at the very bottom of the ladder ie Bottom half of 0830. I don’t remember playing any of the guys on my half of the draw and that adds a new challenge as well. The way the ladder stands right now, it will be quite an effort to get to the top. The very fact that we have two former #1 players at this ladder playing at 0830 (Rich and Jack), last year’s champion is now placed a distant fourth should provide a sense of what I am up against. Having said that all my game lacks right now is “match practice” and once I have some good matches under my belt, I can match up with any in this ladder.
As I prepare for this match ups, my going in position to not to win it all right away. My target is to make a run at the top around January. This will give me sufficient time to get good match practice and also be strategically ready to face the tennis heavy weights.
While it is a disadvantage that I don’t know how my opponents tonight play , it is both ways. They don’t know my game style either. Traditionally in such cases, the guy with a better serve usually scrapes through. My serve though not as consistent as I like it to be is still a decent one and I hope that can provide me the edge.
A quick work about my friend Jack . Tennis Samurai Jack had a good first week but then went out meekly in the second week and is now starting at 0830. He is safely tucked away in the top half of the draw and we don’t face each other tonight. His counter punching game should pose problems for all the guys on his side of the draw and I like his chances of scraping through for a 7pm slot next week.
What I did during outdoor season:
Work took precedence and I spent most of my spring and summer working late nights and weekends and what not. Didn’t really get a chance to play as much except for an occasional evening or weekend outing. To make matters worse, I didn’t exercise and added around 10 pounds to my frame. Whatever little tennis I played, I mostly won by bunting the ball back and trying to make less unforced errors than my opponent. I probably took out the ball machine 2 may be 3 times and didn’t really do much either. Bottom line, this is the worst tennis outdoor season I had since I actively started playing tennis 5-6 yrs ago. I also had knee issues and doctor figured out I needed lots of D vitamin.
From Mid September things started looking better at work and my schedule became little better. I also was able to get my basement arranged and was able to set a spot for my treadmill, weights and elliptical machine. I started working out , initially low impact and now moderately intense. So I got the weight under control (dropped around 6 pounds). I proactively tried to play outdoors as much as situation permitted.
Fast Forward :
I probably wont get back to the fitness or game levels I had during 2007/08 when my forehand and serve are pretty good. Fitness wise I am in a good shape but I haven’t been match tested enough. The only players I played are Andy , Jack and Sk (if I discount the matches against SS early in spring).
Sometime after mid last year, I lost my sting on forehand. I am not sure why. I also realized that one of my tennis Idols Rafael Nadal also has similar issue. Here is an excerpt from Tennis.com on him.
>>>
Increasingly, one of the most feared shots in the game, Rafa's forehand, seems loopy and is starting to look like a liability. (I haven't seen Rafa hit his forehand so ineffectively at any time , not even in 05-06. Heck, he was more aggressive against Fed in Miami 2004).. Rafa is hitting the ball with too much spin and elevation but with no depth. Every time he gets the ball on his forehand he cannot gain control of the pt like he used to before. His down the line forehand is AWOL and he's pushing with his bh instead of attacking. He returns serve from 3-4 meters behind the baseline, but doesn't move in at all as the rally progresses. Rafa is getting pushed back (further behind the baseline) as the match goes on and he's getting increasingly frustrated because he knows that he really has no weapons to hurt a half decent hard court player with his game at the moment
>>>
This more or less also depicts my Forehand. I quickly need to discover my forehand form back.
I have developed consistency on two handed back hand. I am hoping this would provide me the edge when I face attacking players who attack my backhand. However I haven’t gotten used to the movement that is needed to compensate for the extra step lost while hitting a two hander backhand. In the grand scheme of things, this is another tool to have in my tool kit. I can still play with 1HBH just as I used to.
The Badminton season this year also got rescheduled and will start in first week of November. I believed that Tennis and Badminton for me, fed off each other. My tennis game greatly benefited from the badminton reflexes and court movement. My badminton game was better because I was able to use my tennis court coverage and some tennis like shots. At some high up level, these are similar sports and the intangibles are common across them.
Last year I went as high as #3 (though I was seeded #4) in the ladder. The goal this year is to improve on that result though I want to give more emphasis on staying aggressive.
Tonight :
I am opening up at the very bottom of the ladder ie Bottom half of 0830. I don’t remember playing any of the guys on my half of the draw and that adds a new challenge as well. The way the ladder stands right now, it will be quite an effort to get to the top. The very fact that we have two former #1 players at this ladder playing at 0830 (Rich and Jack), last year’s champion is now placed a distant fourth should provide a sense of what I am up against. Having said that all my game lacks right now is “match practice” and once I have some good matches under my belt, I can match up with any in this ladder.
As I prepare for this match ups, my going in position to not to win it all right away. My target is to make a run at the top around January. This will give me sufficient time to get good match practice and also be strategically ready to face the tennis heavy weights.
While it is a disadvantage that I don’t know how my opponents tonight play , it is both ways. They don’t know my game style either. Traditionally in such cases, the guy with a better serve usually scrapes through. My serve though not as consistent as I like it to be is still a decent one and I hope that can provide me the edge.
A quick work about my friend Jack . Tennis Samurai Jack had a good first week but then went out meekly in the second week and is now starting at 0830. He is safely tucked away in the top half of the draw and we don’t face each other tonight. His counter punching game should pose problems for all the guys on his side of the draw and I like his chances of scraping through for a 7pm slot next week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)