Chasing The Plock!

I have only few weapons at this time; forehand, serve and reflexes at the volley. My serve is not very reliable, but when it works, it really works. I have more chances to hit return a hard shot at the volley more often than not, which I am not sure how I do besides reading the body language of my opponent and not blinking while the ball is coming towards me. My forehand is my most reliable shot, and usually has very good pace with topspin, or I can use it to hide a slice floater or dropshot. Given this, I try to maximize the opportunities I get to my forehand and try to move around as much as I can while I am at the volley. I still have to learn to hit hard returns at the volley, currently my returns are moderately paced at best, and my overhead shots are weak. This past week two comments made me think of how I am perceived to play in doubles. First comment was something to the effect that "only if I could scale back the pace to 85%..." The second was during a match by m

My match play is improving; during the last couple of weeks I won my last two USTA mixed doubles matches with my partners, and two of my singles ladder matches.  I am mostly winning with social matches as well playing just doubles. So, you'd think I should be satisfied, but I am not. Somethings are not quite right. I do have issues with my footwork, which creates timing issues, which in turn results in inconsistencies.  At least that is my own analysis. I try to address this by increasing my cardio performance as best as I can, work on my leg muscles and abdominals, etc. None have resulted in any tangible benefits. So, what else or other is wrong? It is an ongoing search... I have not experienced being in the zone yet. Although I know how to recognize it due to having experienced it quite often during my track days (HPDEs), I am yet to find that zone with tennis.  Part of it is experience, I think I need to play many more matches before I can find the zone, amongst other things

First Singles Win!!! Finally I won my first singles match, and the best part was coming back from behind. I signed up for my club's ladder and issued my first challenge to a player that is about my level, knowing from the clinics we both attend.  However, the match was much tougher than I thought it would be.  This is ladder played based on Super 10 Pro Sets. We started with my serve as I knew I would serve better with the initial energy I have, and when my energy drops my first serves suffer quite a bit. As expected I was serving well, but my opponent wasn't phased by my flat or kick serves, and lost on my serve. Then I broke his serve, then he broke mine again and that's how it continued until 2-2. After that he kept breaking on my serves, but held his, shortly thereafter it was 2-5. Part of the problem was even when my first serves were good, I stayed passive at the baseline and not take advantage of the weak return of my opponent. This is partly due to tr

Plock Is Coming Along Well Month of September has been great, my improvement has kicked into one higher gear, subsequently my enjoyment of Tennis. I still have many issues to resolve, however, my consistency has improved dramatically, as well as spins and power I can deliver both with my backhand and forehand. First thing I tackled was my forehand, trying to find the factors that would give me good power in combination of topspin to make sure the shots do not go long, and at the same time better my technique in a way that does not put too much strain on my arm and elbow. Power is not the objective of course, I also worked on being able to hit forehands with medium pace and spin, while keeping the bounce within the last 5-6 ft portion of opposing court. It all boiled down to three things: (1) keeping my feet and legs mobilized, so I can position my body in the right place to be able to execute the next two items. I am doing much better with this, but there is plenty of room for im

All Natural Gut Experience I initially did not like it much after my hybrid experience. After few hours of play I loved it, the feel and sound of it are addictive. I also got very good in managing my spins and flat shots, it seems to be the best compromise frankly.  Additionally, there is no guessing when the strings go bad; I felt a slight drop in tension 2-3 hours before the end, and then saw the filaments separating from certain spots, and then kaboom, string broke.  A total of 14 hours of play. On my backup racket I have VS Team natural gut on mains, and Luxilon 4G for crosses. Switching back to this setup, I am missing the all natural gut feel and sound, and I think my shots were more consistent, the only negative is I think my arm hurt more with all natural gut setup than the hybrid.  I will continue to play with this setup for another 14-18 hours and make a final decision then how I want both of my rackets strung and tensions.

1st Tournament I entered my first USTA tournament in Men's 3.5 Singles category last week. I was excited to play my first competitive match, I did not feel nervous.  Apparently I was nervous however; I lost the match 6-2/6-0 to a person I should have easily beaten.  My serve deserted me, my backhand was no where to be found, my drop shots all dropped to my own court and my forehand was below par at best. Although I was not feeling nervous, I was playing for points   consciously  for sure , and I think that impacted my touch and feel; I was really lousy. I feel very good however that I got at least one match under my belt, and hopefully I learned enough that I won't repeat the same mistakes next time around.  I am certainly lacking match experience at this point, my practice game does not translate on the match play, and that is something I have to fix.  I don't know exactly how to do that just yet, but I will condition myself mentally to overcome the points battles a

First Practice Match I played a 4.0+ as part of a practice match last weekend, lost 6-2/6-0. I have to admit that I had a lot more fun that I thought I would. My forehand wasn't bad or good, my backhand was nearly non-existent, but my serves, volley and touch were... just superb! I think my 1st serves were nearly 50% and I was accurate to the point, wide or to the T. I had 4 aces, two in one game during first set, and returns were definitely not great during those serves. I also had 7 or 8 double faults, but I wasn't worried about those at all. Overall I was really pleased with my game, and now have a better idea on what to work on. First tournament is this coming weekend. I am not expecting to win any matches, but I sure will be having fun in the 3.5 Men's Single division.

Strings Of The Past, Getting On With The " Hybrids " Technology has changed certainly over last three decades. The new rackets and strings are such a huge improvement from the days I played seriously, I feel I am relearning tennis. Without understanding the best ways to use the technology available, it is no longer possible to be effective on court it seems. One of the changes that has caught me by surprise is the much closer link between racket type, composition, weight/balance to strings utilized. The sheer number of different rackets on the market is not possible for me to follow, and equally vast number of type of strings available. So, when you look at the possible permutations, it is mind boggling for me. So, I making it easy on myself: When I first picked my racket (Wilson ProStaff RF97A), I just went with the recommended string imprinted on the racket, Wilson Championship Duo string set with 59 lbs main string tension and 56 on the crosses. Incidentally, I had nev

Out of Coma, Relearning ATP and WTP Getting back into tennis I feel like I woke up from a coma after twenty-four years. All the professional players have of course changed, the game has advanced in so many different ways I am having difficulty absorbing all of it.  One player I had heard even when I wasn't interested in tennis was Serena Williams and of course I cannot discount Venus. I am surprised to find out that they both still play, and play at a very high level, not seniors tour. The level of power Serena seems to posses is quite astonishing and I haven't seen anyone that can really match it yet, but it only has been a short time I have been awake from the coma, I am sure there are many other players to see. Rafael Nadal seems to have some furious top sin forehands, I am at a loss at how he can maintain his energy through the match while hitting with such top sin at all times and with pace, mind you.  Although equally amazingly his opponents seem to have answer

50-Year Old Body Gives Up In the last two months with on and off practices and clinics, my strokes are coming back, consistency is increasing noticeably and my legs have been getting much stronger thanks to few hours in the gym and weights. Unfortunately, during the last two practices, the rupture in my meniscus has gotten worse and my knee swells up like a balloon.  An MRI confirms the rupture, and the only option at this time left is surgery it seems.  This means that just as I was getting started back into tennis and enjoying every minute of it, I have to stop for about 2-3 months.  Very disappointed!

24 Years Later Back With A Tennis Racket In My Hands A late May 2015 Friday afternoon I am taking a nap on the couch, I wake up with a this uncontrollable feeling and need to play tennis. How is this possible since I never took up a racket or watched a tennis match of any kind since 1991?  I don't know, but I was on court for a beginner's clinic at a near by tennis facility on Saturday morning. I was amazed I could still hit the ball, not that they landed back on court again, but I still had the  plock!  for sure. After seeing that I had the basic techniques already, the instructor moved me into the intermediate group (3.0 group they called it, whatever that means). I am addicted again, love hitting the balls, slicing, spinning, smashing, just pocking around.

My Way Back Into Tennis 1974, Paris, I wonder through cobble stone streets trying to make sense of the place. I am 9 years old, we just got there due to my parents new work assignment. No French, I am looking with blank eyes to people that are trying to talk to me, in my own way I am telling them I have no clue why I am there, and I don't want to be there, I want to be back home with my friends. That ain't happening of course. Quite reserved I am, scared and mute. I hate the place, and I do mean hate. After few months of unapproachable attitude, while my parents do their best to help me acclimate into the environment by trying to entertain me with various activities, they take me to a tennis complex. The place is full of red dirt, crowded, I have some silly hard and uncomfortable shoes on that hurt my feet with each step. People are playing tennis, which I don't quite understand the attractiveness, but I admit to myself that they are pretty cool looking people; white