Winning, doing what it takes

 

Having attained a year-end USTA ranking in Dec/2015, of #1 in North Carolina Southern Division in the Men's 4.0, 70-74,  I was seeded #1 this year and got a bye in the first round.

 

In the past, I had preferred not knowing who I would be playing. I believed, I would be restless the night before the match, thinking about who this person might be; and thinking about game strategy to use against them, and how well they played, and therefore not be rested and sharp the next morning.

 

Since my opponent was seeded # 2,  we were expected to meet in the Finals, which we did.

Having won this tournament--beating the same opponent-- last year in a tie-break, I felt my opponent Ron Keiger would remember I don't serve, or hit hard; but that I use a lot of psychology: laughing, using futility body language, muttering to myself at my errors, or applauding their good strokes.

 

Usually, my opponent don't suspect I'm trying to make them become over confident.

 

Drop-shooting on my return of serve to mix up my returns, as well as moving away from the center service mark to serve, which pulled him farther off court, making my angle volley easier, was some of the strategy I gleaned from two of my favorite tennis books now out if print. "How to beat better tennis players," and "Use your head in tennis;" but I'll admit it opened me up to some sharp down the line winners I could not prevent.

 

Having watched my opponent play the day before and having made notes, which I keep in a binder court side, I took the first ball of our warm up rally to go to the net to get focused, worked on my eye, hand coordination, timing and footwork.

 

This was intended to show my opponent that I volley consistently, and it would not be a good idea to bring me in to the net.

 

Thankfully, he didn't test my overhead which is suspect, and not totally reliable, because of my bad pain in my hip from prostate cancer, it's difficult to retreat from the net.

 

Many balls I would have retrieved in the past, I had to concede to my opponent, though they would have been reachable in the past.

 

I've not played or practiced since Saturday as my arm seems to be taking longer to recover since I may have unwittingly played harder, and with more intensity in the tie-break wanting, and desiring to win, but I should soon be back to exercising as instructed by my therapist.

 

P.S. Getting ready to do my annual reading of the Declaration of Independence at my teaching facility: Lake Park Swim, and Tennis. This year I'm trying to introduce Fencing.

 

Reminders can help on Changeovers in Tennis

June 4, 2016, as I sat about getting rid of some old press clippings, I found one on a 2014 French third round player Taylor Townsend, a top world junior ranked player in 2012.  What caught my attention in this story by USA Today sports columnist, Douglas Robson, @dougrobson, was that he mentioned that Townsend "referred to a small notebook of reminders on changeovers."  Something I've done for years.

This I  found interesting because today, I happened to be in a pick-up match on the Challenge Court #15 in Raleigh, N.C., and me and my Partner [who will remain anonymous] lost the first three games of the only set we were to play 0-3.  My partner appeared happy to be playing, but overly anxious, and made several errors, as he had just finished a Tie-Breaker League Match.

Ironically, I happened to have my own personal "Over the net" note cards that I had brought with me, so I slipped them in my pocket during the cross over, and thumbed through them before our opponents had taken their position on the court.  With their back towards us, they were giddy, playful and silly to be up 3 love and my partner serving again, whom they had previously broken.

They didn't see me show my partner one of my( 28) "Over the net Tennis Tip Cards," that read: "Doubles is won at the net."  He began to come in and they lobbed over him to his chagrin.

Me, unable to run like I used to at age 74, [Muhmamad Ali died today, he was 74] I took a moment to whisper in my partner's ear.

As I did  so, our opponents started to laugh again because they had heard me tell others about my warning card which read:  "Anything over your head is yours."

Well, we finally won that game after I presented my partner with card No 5: "Tennis is a thinking man's game."

However, we didn't get settled in the match until we were behind 2-4 and I pulled out card No. 9: "Get the first serve in and win," let them make the errors.

During the changeover at 3-4, my partner was late getting into position in the Deuce court--conversing with our opponents and I found time to show him card No. 17: "...Converse with your opponents after the match.  I then added: "Stay focused to win."

Miraculously, we get up 5-4 in games, and at 30-40 in the 10th game with me  receiving.  I coyly
caution my partner at the net to "Watch the net man, he may be poaching."

As the serve crossed the net, it handcuffed me, and I stepped back to get sideways in order to angle the ball cross court and farther away from the opposing net man.

Woops!  Out of the corner of my eye, and peripheral vision, I see the net man start his run.  Being sideways to the net, I was able to re-direct my return quickly enough  that although the net man came back, he was not quick enough to prevent the "Winner down the line."  Game! 6-4, Young-Eric over Phil and Bob.

Form in Tennis is Economy of Motion

Arthur Ashe wrote a tennis book called Poetry in Motion.  That is exactly what Tennis used to look like when Ashe, Newcomb, Laver, Gonzales roamed the courts with their agility, speed and reach.  Of course, these players had their quirks like incessant bouncing of the ball before the serve, but the majority of them used, displayed classical stroke production and equally classic footwork in their movement about the court.

To see the difference, you can look at any professional photographer’s photos of players today who use two hands and those who use one hand.  There is a stark difference in the balance of the subject in their photo, and in their activity. By this, I mean there is a pleasing esthetic well-balanced quality to subject matter in the  picture.

Look at the photo above and see if you can discern what I’m talking about.  There is, in my opinion, a certain amount of harmony in the photo.  There is a sense of balance, stability and grace.  For example, the feet are well apart. This player could remain in this position as long as necessary. This player appears to be stroking the ball down the line with his foot placement.

Here are some finer points to compare with your game: racquet parallel to the ground. Feet are well spread.  The forward foot is flat and stable. The player's body gives a sense of moving into the ball. The left arms counter-balances the racquet arm, as the fingers can barely bee seen behind the player. The player is down on the end of the racquet with the fingers slightly spread, and the arm is straight.