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.