Rallies and Match Play with Julio

I was with the ball machine, but got a great rally and match with Julio. Julio is a strong 4.0-4.5 who plays a Western FH and a one handed BH. He actually flattens out his forehand, and has great control. He plays pretty similar to Alex, in which he possess great control and can open up with some pace and hit some real winners. Oh and he plays varsity tennis at Felix Varela High school.

We had some really good rallies while I was playing with the APDC with the PHT at 54#. I'm really beginning to like the lower tension, especially since I'm using Poly's. I definitely need to hit more winners off my backhand wings. I don't want it to seem like a liability. We played a match and naturally he took it 6-1. I think we took a few points to deuce a few times. My only saving grace was my serve at times was really on fire and I was bringing the heat. That and I was able to rip a couple forehand winners.

I'm really getting the hang of disguising my forehand. Though I since I take such a huge cut on the ball, most of my forehands have both good pace and a ton of spin. I have been flattening out every so often and doing a straight flatter drive type forehand. I tend to aim for low clearance over the net anyways, so I'm not afraid anymore to open up on a flat shot.

Since I've found myself hitting the slice out of comfort, I've learned how to hit it correctly. I think I was just doing a chopshot before. Mostly its just footwork. If I can get in position early, I can get ready and just crack a nice 2 hander out.

Service wise I'm happy. I had to resort to hitting 2 first serves bc Julio was just abusing my weak 2nd serve. I put some work into my kick and slice serves but is coming along slowly since timing has never been a strong point of mine. Once I work back into my strength training routine, I'm pretty sure my 1st serves will be pretty devastating.

I look forward to more good games and hitting sessions with Julio. Considering I played one hell of an ultimate frisbee game and had a nice run in the morning, I think if I had my wheels with me, I could of gotten a few more points off him.

I Think I might have a problem...

This is the most racquets I've ever had at any given time. Craziness to Recap...
3x Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex
1x Babolat Aeropro Drive
1x Babolat Pure Drive Team+
2x Wilson k6.1 95 16x18
1x Wilson k6.1 95 18x20
4x Head FXP Radical
1x Head Microgel Radical
1x Prince More Response
1x Prince More Precision
1x Prince More Control DB
1x Prince Precision 730

17 racquets... craziness!

It's the Strings!

So I've been trying out these new strings from a company called Superstring. They feel good but the strings I'm using in the crosses are much stiffer than the Sensations I'm used to. I'm going to take down the tension to about 58 and see how it plays.

Played Monday with John and Anoop. With the stiffer string bed I was having trouble on softer shots. I played another APDC of mine with 54# PHT's and I was firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately with the leaves everywhere I lost my footing a bit and tweaked my achilles. Nothing too serious, but I do get a little twitch when I launch off a bit.

Had a match against Gottfried too. I got bageled real badly while trying to find my strokes with the Superstring. I decided to swap it out with the PHT APDC and I took the 2nd set 6-2. We decided to call it quits since I wasn't wearing tennis shoes and my Achilles was acting up again.

Service-wise, I was serving more consistent than usual. I wish I was serving as consistently as I did during warmups but that just takes time I guess. I'm really liking this open stance serve motion. I can't believe how I was serving before...



... following through on my right side... so high of a toss... so many things to go wrong. I really have to thank Alex Propman for fixing my serve. With a bit more practice I think I can really have a lethal 1st service. My second serve however is pathetic. I think this weekend if I'm going to work on my kick serve. That and my backhand. I need confidence with it and that will only happen if I go out with the ball machine and drill it.

Rallies with Puerta

I always like hitting with David. Mostly because we goof around and crack jokes and its pretty casual. David is actually a former #5 seed with the FSU tennis team. He hasn't had the opportunity to hit as much as he'd like but he still gave me plenty to deal with. Man I wish I didn't pop my strings last week. I had been using this new Super String Pure Control v8's in my mains which felt a world better than the kirschbaum I usually use.

Going back, I found myself lacking some pop and dwell time in the string bed. I was hitting short and to the net again. My backhand was solid at times, but I still deferred to the slice if I felt uncomfortable. Rattled off a few serves to see if my serving streak was a fluke, but they blasted nicely and consistently. Too bad alot of our best rallies weren't video taped. I'll make sure to leave the camera on next time.

Oh and I promise to never wear that shirt again... didn't realize I looked like a crossing guard from behind.

New Year, New Goals

So I've been keeping this blog for almost a year now, and looking back, I've made some considerable leaps and bounds in my play. Earlier this week my monday hitting session with John was canceled but I was able to find a real quick 4.5 practice partner with Anoop. The dude is quick and can handle the pace I put on the ball so hopefully that pans out into some good hitting sessions. For a while I've been playign with some older balls in my basket, mainly bc I can unleash on them, without the fear of them flying long. Also bc BJs hasn't had the bulk packs of tennis balls on sale for a while now. I don't know, I just like extended rallies. Anoop and me hit with fresh balls and after adjustment I'm over my fear. I think this will translate into more confidence during match play where we use new springyier balls.

I think the best thing to come out of this week was my hitting session with a guy I met on tennisopolis, Alex Propman. He's actually a distributor/rep of a new string I've been trying out, SuperString Pure Control v8. On a side note, I'm pretty happy with them and I think I'm switching over from the kirschbaums.

Anyways, this guy was ridiculous. Massive serve, massive strokes. I think he was playing at half speed and still quickly bageled me 6-0. I will say he is an incredibly nice guy and gave me some really great pointers into my serve. Its amazing, with the amount of video reviews I do on my game, a trained eye catches much more in 15 minutes. I tried out a basket this morning and were hitting the 1st serves around 50% maybe higher. I'm really stoked about this. Just opening my stance up a bit and focusing on the shoulder turn and follow through did a lot for my serve. My previous motion was just unnecessarily complicated. I think I still will try a bit of a knee bend though, bc of my height, or lack thereof, to get some more clearance.

I've also resolved to play more matches this year. I'm pretty confident with my game now, and I guess its time to stop running around and rallying and focus on winning points. We'll see what this year has in store for me...

Match vs Alex

Wow, so I got spanked 6-2, 5-2 (before the lights went off). But I was way out classed by Alex who's a 4.5. Overall considering I'm about 15 lbs overweight, and rusty fron being vacation I was happy with my play.

Forehand
You know I'm fine with it. I'm still hitting a bit shallow, but when I open up, it flies hard, deep, and kicks like a motherf-cker. I need to realize I can hit with more clearance over the net since I spin it so much. My directional control is ok, but I'm still natively hitting to the center. If i'm conscious (ie: not scrambling) I can play it, and even hit a few nice DTL and cross court winners. The running forehand needs some work and my approach windshield wiper needs fine tuning. Hitting a few of those long.

Backhand
Problematic but what else is new. I'm still hitting the backhand off the backfoot which kills all power from that shot. I need to time the footwork right and take a more aggressive cut on the ball. If I'm in position I can kill it, I'll probably devote a weekend to the ball machine one of these days.

Serve/Returns
My service during warm ups are fine. In game they're terrible. My flat 1st serves are particularly bad. I can get power, but consistency first I guess. I'm about 20-30% on the deuce side... On the ad side, I'm ok since I hit a hard slice serve on the 1st serve. I'm reverting to a moderate slice serve on the 2nd serve. My kick serve is too unreliable. I'm rolling over, instead of brushing from the back. I'm working on adjusting the pronation of my wrist to see if that will help.

Service returns were good on forehand side. Backhand I'm hitting slices unless its a gimme serve.

Net Game
What net game? I don't think I botched a volley, but i rarely if ever came to the net. Even if I did, against Alex, with his control he can pass me easily.

Overall
I honestly think if I didn't serve so poorly I could of stole another game from the sets and made it 6-3. Groundstroke-wise I can keep up with Alex. I hit just as hard as he does if not harder with much more spin. His placement is just immaculate and he can definitely deal with my pace. Placement before power... I always have that backwards...

More Rallies

So had another good pair of hitting sessions with John and Aaron respectively. Had an especially good couple rallies with John. We're both getting better with our consistency and I'm actually coming to the net more and actually winning a point here and there. I just need to remember to keep the racquet in front of me. I notice I'm just sitting there at the net waiting to be passed most of the time. I need to work on close avenues but whatever, it felt really natural coming to the net at times and its not like I'm forcing it.

My forehands seems like I'm miss hitting a bit bc I'm noticing I'm not getting a clean sound from the hit. The backhand is also getting more reliable and not a liability.



Aaron's been out sick for a few weeks so it took him a bit to get his bearings. It was tough getting some good rallies going bc of the amount of net balls (hey I'm partially guilty too I guess). Still though, every hitting session is a good session in my book.



For some reason youtube is making all my vids look darker than they really are. Its kind of annoying.

Rallies with Franco, the Spin Doctor

Yeah, hit around with a guy from work, Franco. He's a very strong 4.0. I usually have no issues hitting with guys higher than me, bc I have no problems dealing with their power and giving it right back. Franco's a different case, he has pinpoint accuracy, impeccable reflexes, killer net game and some crazy spins.

No, its not like my heavy topspin shots, Franco gave me a ton of dropshots, slices, side spins, he basically threw the kitchen sink at me. It really forced me to stay on top of my footwork, bc predicting the ball was impossible and I was rarely in position to fire off one of my kill shots...

... and in the event that I did, he had to problem, blocking/slicing them back to me. Franco is exactly the type of I need to exploit some of my biggest glaring weaknesses. I wish I hadn't left the memory card in the laptop or there would be some hilarious footage of me being caught flatfooted and passed.

The one good thing would be he knew to bring me to the net, and luckily I only botched 60% of my vollies (as opposed to 90%). Looking forward to some interesting games.

11/10/08 - Rallies with John

Finally new Videos!

Added a new hitting partner to the rotation. John is a solid 3.5 with excellent footwork and flat groundstrokes. You can see he has S & V tendencies, but hasn't felt comfortable deploying it yet. We're definitely well matched up and had some pretty good hitting sessions the past couple weeks.

John's Groundstrokes


I'm decently ok with my performance. A couple too many net balls but I know I didn't warm up before hitting and it shows with my lazy footwork. I'm tending to scooping those low forehands too much. Need to bend those knees. I'm also whipping my forehand, need to stop that and drive the ball deeper into the court. Backhand wise I'm getting there. I know what I need to do:

• Time my step and shoulder turn for more power
  
• Hit away from my body and in front of me
• Drop the racquethead

My service has just not been the same since the leg injury and that sucks bc i was serving so well. The timing is off and I'm not leaping into the court. I guess I just need more time. I'm actually plowing through the kick serve and I realize that some of my "kick" serves due to a bad toss actually ended up being slices.

And yes, I can't volley, not even to save my life...

At the end of it all, I'm just happy being out there. The weather has been excellent and Me and John really push the envelope with lots of running on our rallies. Its almost starting to feel like a workout.

Good Rallies, No Matches

Started off last week with some rallying with Aaron. He was about 1.5 hours late so I really got to work on my serve and I think I just still need to learn how to hit through my kick serve. My 2nd serve is still a liability.

Aaron really wanted to focus on control drills so we tried hitting crosscourt to crosscourt for a while. I realized that the degree of control I have is very fuzzy. Down the line and sharp angles cross court I'm fine with, but I'd say 50% of my inside out forehands landed center and for rallying purpose, hitting slightly left, or slightly right is a bit of a problem.

I tend to use alot of topspin to control my ball. I give my cross court forehands tons of spins to give it a massive topspin to have it land shallow and wide and my running forehand down the line has a mix of topspin and sidespin to reel the ball in. All in all a good session.

This weekend I got to hit with a good friend of mine. He's a rusty 4.5 - 5.0. A really knowledgeable guy when it comes to tennis. I finally got a taste of what I dish out to most people, bc Puerta hits with alot of topspin like I do. I was a tad off, netting more balls than I'd like, but considering the last time I hit with him 2 years ago, i was 1/20 on forehands, I'll take it.

We had a nice slugfest on the baseline, but Puerta's a very deliberate tennis player. He not only moved the ball left and right, but had a very good eye on the angles and depth. Definitely going to step up my game and do this again. I need to stop being so sluggish with the footwork. I seriously need to anticipate the ball bc I was getting my timing messed up when Puerta switched up the topspin and slice. My backhand was so-so, but it still needs lots of work. I can't have it be a liability.

Rallies at Winston Park

Had a nice rally session today and I've appeared to fix my shallow hitting problem. It seems when I return shots with little pace I tend to hit shallow. Luckily my hitting partner hits fairly flat and deep and I was able to plow through the ball. It was especially good to hear that the amount of topspin from my shots were borderline annoying. My backhand looked alot better as I'm just taking a bigger swing at the ball. Couple mishits but I think in a few more sessions it'll be back to normal.

My deficiency at the net was jsut too apparent. I think I'm going to have to make join a clinic or something to fix that. Maybe I'll check out some video tutorials on volleying bc mine are really just that bad. I think its bc I tend to step back instead of into the volley, but its just like a reflex.

Hopefully I should get a few good games out this weekend as i'm home for the my dad's Bday. Will try to cram in as much tennis as possible.

Hitting Shallow

Yesterday I had a nice hitting session with Aaron, no match, just rallying. I thought I was hitting decently (maybe a few more net balls than usual) but I noticed that I wasn't hitting deep at all. My shots had loads of pace, and plenty of spin, but my shots were clearing the net by a couple inches (if not clipping) and landing mid court, instead of my usually 3/4ths ways back. It was a bit disturbing bc I haven't changed my shots or strings anytime soon. Man it was just weird, I'm usually driving my opponents very far back, and in fact the only time my balls land shallow is when i step up and take an approach shot with loads of topspin.

My backhand is failing me miserably. I need to work on the timing, I know its a timing issue. I'm not timing my footwork and racquet drop with the contact point correctly. I mean they either "ping over" or go long. I don't feel theres that much spin on the good ones I hit over either.

My serve at least is getting it's timing back. After the layoff, I thought my timing with the leg coiling and jumping was off, but I managed a few really nice blasts. I'm also getting the hang of kick serving with more pace, but sometimes bc of my toss, I end up slicing and going long.

We even did a net to net volley drill which i failed at miserably. I really need to get that mid court volley thing down. I mean usually my approach windshield wiper forehand is unreturnable, but as i play better opponents, I will be a sitting duck at the net.

Practice makes perfect, and lord knows I need more practice.

A quick hit with the mythical 6.0

If you know a thing or two about tennis, I'm sure you're aware of the myths and proclaimations of the Prostaff 6.0 as being the Holy Grail of racquets. I'm a religious scourer of cL and just happened to come across a posting for one for only 40 bucks! I immediately snatched it up, gave it a quick hit to see what the fuss was about and found it a new home for a nice profit.

My overall opinion of the racquet is simple, all the fluff of O3, microgel, flexpoint, [k]factor, is all marketing. The thing hits almost identically to the k6.1 tour just with a smaller sweetspot. It is rock solid, low powered, and definitely a player's racquet. I personally prefer a bit more bit on the ball for spin so it wasn't really for me. I even compared my Aeropro Drive and Aeropro Drive with Cortex and really found no real difference (with my rubberband vibe dampeners, without them, the APDC is slightly more muted).

Alright well onto tennis... the weathers been really shitty lately with all the rain. I had been making some good progress. Matchplay wise I lost a really bad match the other week. I usually can beat Luis as I have better groundstrokes and service, and i was ripping my service returns (weak point of mine) but couple points into the game I pop a string (about time, 2.5 months, thats a record). Unfortunately my backup APD's are full poly luxilons and by the time I found my groove with the racquet, I had already lost. 

I was pretty pissed but is my game really so fragile that a stick change effectively dropped me an entire NTRP point in ability? I thought that was pretty ridiculous but I do depend on alot of topspin to keep my shots in and being in the 3.5 range I guess i'm not still comfortable in adjusting my take on the ball to compensate yet.

Had a nice rally against Aaron as well (after brushing off some rust due to rain delays). My serve has taken the biggest hit as my 2nd serves aren't penetrating, and I'm just doing something wrong I'm not sure of with my serve. I plan on bringing out the video camera again to see what the hell is going on (been lazy, keep forgetting to charge the battery). No match play bc we were both rusty and the wind was just crazy.

Its back to basics next week and I'm planning to play alot of tennis to get my game back up to snuff.

Matchplay - Me vs Aaron Round 2

Didn't play a match against Luis, I think he knew he was rusty and would of gotten bageled so we just rallied back and forth. Monday came and played another match against Aaron. Usually I get there early to warm up my serve but I spent some time giving some pointers to 2 newbies in the adjacent court. 

I came out blazing with a 3 - 0 lead but after some double faults (on both our parts) my groundstrokes got cold and Aaron's serves were acing me down the T. Luckily I closed that all and dared him to go wide and it paid off. Aaron also played with more poise and strategy, hitting deep and limiting my approach windshieldwiper forehands which I usually rip for winners. I ended up winning 6-4 but I was pretty dissappointed in the level of my play in the later games.

Serve/Return

My serve was slow to warm up but nevertheless when it was on, it was big for aces. Due t my lack of warm ups my 2nd serve was horrendous. My returns for the most part were good but as i lost focus, my coverage down the T sucked (surprising from in the Ad side which is my forehand!). I think I was miss timing the split step and I also found a very bright streetlight in the back caused alot of glare.

Groundstrokes

I'm really happy with my groundstrokes when they were warm. My mental focus really lapsed when I should of really closed off the match sooner. Aaron resorted to hitting a more aggressive 2nd serve which led to double faults and ultimately interupting the flow of the match which threw me off a bit. I knew Aaron's FH was a bigger liability than his BH (excellent preperation, good wind up and follow through, its his best shot) and I kept my forehand cross court (except for a few inside out shots when I sent him too wide) and able to hit my BH down the line.

Net Game

Aaron added much more topspin to his shot this time and really drove me back, limiting my approach shots (my fav) and my net game (my least fav). When I was at the net though I botched a few easy volleys which was pretty dissappointing.

To Work on

• Definitely need to stick to my pregame warm up and drills: serves, midcourt approach shots, and agility drills.
• My BH is coming into its own but I still have a tendency to hit off the back foot especially on the run. Need to learn how to hit an effect on the run BH.
• I need to work on my coverage on service returns. My split step timing needs to be perfect if I play against someone who can place their serves better.
• Volleys, yes i know, i hate playing at the net, but I need to learn how to close the point.
• Kick serve... omg I need it back...

Matchplay - Me vs Aaron

Man played a great match today vs Aaron. Aaron is a solid 3.5, excellent 2 hh backhand and a flat forehand. His court coverage and consistency are his main weapons. I managed the win 6-3, but it was pretty hard fought.

Serve/Return
I managed to hold serve well, with a few aces here and there but the main point was I limited the double faults. I was serving around 50% for my 1st serve which to me is great. My service returns were on point. Aaron doesn't have a blistering serve but I managed to time everything right and whip it over to convert on some break points.

Groundstrokes
I didn't have much strategy other than to limit the unforced errors. My strokes on both wings didn't fail me and I managed to have control of the ball and hit into the open court. Most of my points were won off deep driving forehands with loads of topspin. My approach shot was almost always a put away, theres usually too much angle and too much topspin to catch it.

Net Game
I seldom approached the net but actually won a few good points with a putaway volley. I didn't get flustered when we were both at the net and my reflexes weren't too slow actually.

I think if Aaron works on his service, the game definitely would of been more interesting. I was happy with my performance though and I think playing with some more people is definitely helping my game. I've become much more adaptive and reacting better to the ball.

Rain Rain Go Away

Man, sunshine state my @ss... it literally rains right when I get off campus to screw up my evening games. Doesn't even matter anyways with everyone being injured with back injuries, capsizing boats... Finally got out to hit this week and only a little bit of rust, thank goodness...

Monday

Don't drink beer and play tennis... me and Luis decided to celebrate with some beers at the courts. My groundstrokes were ok, but I had to really focus on the points I wanted to improve on. I was playing pretty lazily, but Luis being out of practice had trouble dealing with anything with pace. To make up for it I decided to chip and charge to work on my nonexistent net game. Not bad actually, just closed the crosscourt alley he always used and I was in good position.

Wednesday

Finally got some real playing time today. Played against a new player, a solid 3.5. He had some good angles on me and kept me on my toes. I was worried I was going to get rained out again but the weather held (unlike me on service... haha).  Nah, for being a bit out of practice I was happy to be out and hitting. As usually I'm just so slow to warm up and start. The consistency issues were still prevalent but it was mostly alot of mental mistakes. My windshield wiper FH was just off and I just kept running around my backhand again. Happy with the footwork, I timed most of my split steps right but I'm still lazy on the backhand side. I find myself hitting off the back foot too much. Had a couple good serve holds when my serve was on, I need to work my serve consistency back up and get some semblance of a kick serve back. I think I tried too hard to beat him with big forehands but he was usually able to chip most of them back. I should of approached more, and use my approch forehand but after an embarassing missed overhead, I just stayed back. I think my best improvement was my service returns. I actually broke more than I held which is rare. I used to have so many problems with the return of serve bc of the angle but I think I'm doing better. Man once those serves start dropping in, I'll be really happy.

Forehand

+ The power was ok, not too spinny, and I actually had a few good inside out FH which I usually don't hit well

+ Spin was definitely still there and pulled in some shots that would of definitely of sailed long.

- When on the run I need to get that timing down. I actually need to work on timing in general bc I got thrown off when I didn't anticipate the spin of the ball.

Backhand

+ Surprisingly I wasn't picked on with my backhand. I hit 1 or 2 winners from that wing, which is more I can say for it usually.

- Hitting off that back foot. I need to step in to drive the power, I need to prep early, shoot I need to do alot of things.

- Too close to the body, unlike my FH where I use my left arm to gauge the ball, I'm shanking too many BH's

Serve

+ Tried dropping the shoulder more but it felt too awkward. I still can get some good pace so its just a matter of consistency.

- %'s too low on the 1st serve and WAYYY too many 2nd serves. 

- I kept forgetting to mix up some flat serves with some slices. Especially on the ad side.

- I need a more consistent toss, and I have to stop hitting serves with a bad toss. Just mental mistakes...

- Kick serve is like gone. I'm whipping up too much, then hitting to light, I just need practice.

Oh well, thats the fun of the game, getting better and working up a good sweat. Maybe I should go back to the wall and drill the backhand a bit, and maybe work on the serves and some wall volleying drills. Well should be another rematch in 2 weeks or so. Need to find someone to play M-F next week. Anyone for some Tennis?

State of the Union

Keeping up with this trend of how much I've progressed I think I should clearly define where I was, where I am and where I want to be as a player. I'll be rating them on an NTRP scale (1-7)

Quick Summary - Past, Present, Future
Forehand - 2.0, 4.0, 4.5
Backhand - 3.0, 3.0, 3.5
Serve - 2.0, 3.5, 3.5
Net/Approach - 2.0, 3.0, 3.5
Footwork - 2.5, 3.5, 4.0
Mental - 1.5, 2.0, 3.5
Overall NTRP - 2.2, 3.2, 3.8

Forehand
Before - 2.0

• Power - 3.5
• Control - 2.0
• Consistency - 1.5
• Spin - 2.0

Now - 4.0

• Power - 4.5
• Control - 3.0
• Consistency - 3.0
• Spin - 4.0

Year End - 4.5

• Power - 5.0
• Control - 4.0
• Consistency - 4.0
• Spin - 4.0

The forehand is like the bench press of tennis. Its pretty much a good litmus test of your ability as a player in my opinion. I've always been a strong guy and racquet and arm speed hasn't been a problem. As I've progress i've managed to Incorporate more shoulder turn and better foot work to plant and really unleash on the ball. From here I'd really like my consistency to be almost perfect, and be confident to take risks on down the line and inside out shots.

Backhand
Before - 3.0

• Power - 3.5
• Control - 2.0
• Consistency - 3.0
• Spin - 1.0

Now - 3.0

• Power - 3.0
• Control - 2.5
• Consistency - 2.0
• Spin - 2.5

Year End - 3.5

• Power - 4.0
• Control - 3.0
• Consistency - 3.05
• Spin - 3.0

If the forehand is the benchpress of tennis, the backhand is the Pull ups of tennis. You don't like doing them but you have to (well in my case I love pull ups...). Its funny I don't think my Backhand as gotten "better". My old 2 hand BH was very compact, and flat. It was actually my rock when my forehands were going all over the place. Problem with it was I wasn't able to hit very low shots with it. I'm trying more and more to Drop the head down and add spin. The biggest problem is that I really need to remember to step with the right leg and hit. If I don't do that, I lose all pace and the ball gets "pushed" over. If I can get a grasp on down the line and cross court shots, I'll be happy with it at years end.

Serve
Before - 2.0

• Power - 3.5
• 2nd Serve - 1.0
• Control - 1.0
• Consistency - 1.5
• Spin - 1.0

Now - 3.0

• Power - 4.0
• 2nd Serve - 3.0
• Control - 2.0
• Consistency - 2.5
• Spin - 2.5

Year End - 3.5

• Power - 4.5
• 2nd Serve - 3.0
• Control - 3.0
• Consistency - 3.0
• Spin - 3.0

My Serve is one of my biggest weapons I haven't been able to take advantage of. I've always had good head speed in the beginning but I wasn't priming the legs and jumping enough which I've been doing to negate my height disadvantage. My dink 2nd serve has finally become a decent 2nd serve. My control is nonexistent, I either go in or fault. My over all consistency needs to go up, i'm averaging about a 50%/80% split. I hope to develop my 1st serve consistency to 60% and be able to control it to go down the line or swing out wide. I want to get more power on my kick serve so I'm able to pull an ace every now and then with it.

Net/Approach
Before - 2.0

• Coverage - 2.0
• Consistency - 2.0
• Placement - 1.5
• Power (approach) - 2.0
• Angle (approach) - 2.0

Now - 3.0

• Coverage - 2.0
• Consistency - 2.5
• Placement - 2.0
• Power (approach) - 4.0
• Angle (approach) - 3.0

Year End 3.5

• Coverage - 2.5
• Consistency - 3.0
• Placement - 3.0
• Power (approach) - 4.0
• Angle (approach) - 4.0

I don't play at the net often but I do like to use my approach shot to shorten the court and put away balls. It took me awhile to get a hang of the windshield wiper but its become a staple of my game. Reflexes have always been a weak point for me, as soon as I can improve that, I can improve my coverage at the net. One of the biggest things I can do to improve is instinctively know which alleys to close off when approaching.

Footwork
Before - 2.5

• Footspeed - 3.5
• Split Step - 2.0
• Coverage - 3.0
• Agility - 2.0

Now - 3.5

• Footspeed - 4.0
• Split Step - 3.0
• Coverage - 3.5
• Agility - 3.0

Year End 4.0

• Footspeed - 4.5
• Split Step - 4.0
• Coverage - 4.0
• Agility - 3.5

I've always had quick feet but I definitely lack proper footwork. I did the split for just the sake of it, instead of using it to prime my legs to jump at the ball. I'm getting better with my court coverage and not being caught flat footed. The things to work on is perfecting my split step timing, coming back to the center of the court, and lateral movement agility.

Mental
Before - 1.5

• Focus - 2.0
• Temper - 1.0
• Strategy - 1.0

Now - 2.0

• Focus - 2.5
• Temper - 2.0
• Strategy - 2.0

Year End - 3.5

• Focus - 3.5
• Temper - 3.5
• Strategy - 3.5

Probably the most overlooked aspect in tennis. I have a very weak mental game. I get angered (incensed actually) very easily. If i'm fatiguing I make mental slips like not split stepping, footwork, etc... Strategy wasn't a factor early on b/c I didn't have the tools (like directional control) to employ them. I need to work on staying focused, I've played a few time where I was drained physically but I let that carry over into the mental realm and was just mentally sluggish and lazy.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my tennis game. I'm about a 3.0 - 3.5 NTRP. I know I can hang with players at the NTRP of 5.0 b/c of my raw physical ability. But its technique I need and I know I've been improving and I've identified points in my game that need improvement and I'm making attempts to fix them. I got a good 4 months left and I'm going to make the most of it. Mainly by playing against a high calibre of opponents. I'm getting a bit complacent playing around with lower skilled players (even though the games are fun) and I need to make a serious effort to challenge myself.

Groundstroke Progressoin

So I wanted to compare how my strokes look in the last 5 months I've committed to playing tennis. Other than the 1st couple weeks my strokes haven't changed too much at first. Upon closer inspection and with the help of slow mo I actually notice I do more shoulder turn, left hand use, knee bend and smoother stroke. What the video can't show is how much more consistent I've become.

8-9-08 Groundstrokes and Serves

Its been a while but I've been playing some insane tennis. My forehand has become a consistent weapon with some good directional control. My backhand is becoming more reliable as well. I can slice from both wings and my service returns are much improved. My 1st serves are going in about 50% or more and my kick and 2nd serves are gimmes anymore. I still occasionally double fault but I think with some more work my service will be much better.

Groundstrokes! in Slow Mo


Serves! in Slow Mo


To work on:
Forehand
- Need some more knee bend on lower shots.
- I'm going to try finishing by my bicep and work on some depth control
- Going to see if i can sustain more higher powered rallies

Backhand
- Drop that racquet head and work on sharper angles with spin
- Consistency

Volley
- Need more time getting comfy at the net. Strategically learn which alleys to close on approach.

Serve
- must get up to 60-70% 1st serve and 90% 2nd serve.
- more Kick on the kick serve
- more knee bend and more jump

7/25/08 - I'm back

The last few outings (weather permitting) have been incredible. My forehand has really jumped in terms of power, consistency and spin. I thought the last few months, why forehand was getting a tad on the weak side but after I changed the strings and switched back to my old combo of kirschbaum and synth gut, I've been on fire. Really have the motion down for the windshield wiper shot which really helps against dink shots when i used to always hit long.

My service return has also gotten better. I'm timing my split step and cutting off the serve's angle instead of straight going out wide. My service has been reliable too. I'm consistantly using slice and kick serves for a huge improvement. The backhand is still a bit rough, but I'm finding my groove with the new longer stroke. I need to follow through a bit more to get some more spin before I'm confident with it.

Footwork has been excellent as well. I'm not getting passed and I'm not playing lazy. Hopefully I can take advantage of the next month and really do some damage on the court. If I can develop a decent net game, it might be tennis league time!