Got egged.. :(

[aptennis91]

I went out to a tournament match today against a guy who I knew was far better than me.
I still thought I had a very good chance because his strokes are not that much better than mine, his serves are not that high-pace, but he does volley well.
So I ended up getting 15-40 on the first game against his serve.
Then, I got aced on a wide serve, hit another error, then went back and forth until I finally lost that game.
Then in my first service game, it ended up getting to deuce, but every time I got ad-in, he would win the point and ended up getting the break. That was basically my downfall and he started to beat me pretty easily from there.
My 3 questions.
1.) What do you do when trying to close out a game? Do you just play as consistent as possible and let the other guy lose the game?
2.) I seem to really struggle at on the run shots. My footwork gets me there fine, but I dump it into the net or shank the ball.
3.) What do you do to help with your confidence during a match? It seemed that every time I thought about the fact that I might miss, I missed..

[fruitytennis1]

Remember the other person is as nervous as you. Also take some big deep breaths and just play your game.

[mTm28]

^^^^

1. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i never ever play safe when im closing out a game. Never lower your level just to win a game send them a message from attacking there shots if its your ad you've got nothing to lose, try and knock their confidence by finishing it strong.

2. I used to have this problem a few years ago. i was really fast but didnt know what to do when i got there. It really depends on your level but you can either go for an all or nothing shot and blast down the line or hit it up high to give you time to recover, but again it depends on your level.

3. I still have this problem. I'm quite a shy person but when im on court i just seem to focus on each point and try not to worry too much about the other shot. Just every now and then throw a C'MON in when you win an intense point that normally gets the adrenaline running.

[VaBeachTennis]

I went out to a tournament match today against a guy who I knew was far better than me.
I still thought I had a very good chance because his strokes are not that much better than mine, his serves are not that high-pace, but he does volley well.
So I ended up getting 15-40 on the first game against his serve.
Then, I got aced on a wide serve, hit another error, then went back and forth until I finally lost that game.
Then in my first service game, it ended up getting to deuce, but every time I got ad-in, he would win the point and ended up getting the break. That was basically my downfall and he started to beat me pretty easily from there.
My 3 questions.
1.) What do you do when trying to close out a game? Do you just play as consistent as possible and let the other guy lose the game?
2.) I seem to really struggle at on the run shots. My footwork gets me there fine, but I dump it into the net or shank the ball.
3.) What do you do to help with your confidence during a match? It seemed that every time I thought about the fact that I might miss, I missed..

It sounds like you beat yourself. But really that's pretty good news, because you can change that.

1) When closing out the game, just be yourself and keep on doing what you were doing to get you to that position in the first place. My Dad always told me this analogy that he probably got from somewhere:
In tennis, never change a winning game, but always change a losing game."
2) The dumping into the net on the run or the shanking it seems to me that you are taking your eye off of the ball and possibly are looking at your opponents position.
3) Again it seems like you were psyching yourself out. I don't know if you have read this book or not but it may help you, here's a pretty good preview of it:
The Inner Game of Tennis (http://books.google.com/books?id=zA3GvAlJvccC&pg=PP1&dq=the+inner+game+of+tennis#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

Here's a website that pretty much focuses on the above book:
http://www.**************.com/inner-game-tennis-drills.html

Good luck!

[aptennis91]

It sounds like you beat yourself. But really that's pretty good news, because you can change that.

1) When closing out the game, just be yourself and keep on doing what you were doing to get you to that position in the first place. My Dad always told me this analogy that he probably got from somewhere:
In tennis, never change a winning game, but always change a losing game."
2) The dumping into the net on the run or the shanking it seems to me that you are taking your eye off of the ball and possibly are looking at your opponents position.
3) Again it seems like you were psyching yourself out. I don't know if you have read this book or not but it may help you, here's a pretty good preview of it:
The Inner Game of Tennis (http://books.google.com/books?id=zA3GvAlJvccC&pg=PP1&dq=the+inner+game+of+tennis#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

Here's a website that pretty much focuses on the above book:
http://www.**************.com/inner-game-tennis-drills.html

Good luck!

OMG this book was written for me!!:)
This is exactly what I did today.
I played the first game so well because I was too nervous to think and was not thinking about my shot then I started getting worse and worse...:(

[VaBeachTennis]

OMG this book was written for me!!:)
This is exactly what I did today.
I played the first game so well because I was too nervous to think and was not thinking about my shot then I started getting worse and worse...:(

The best thing about it, is that it's something that YOU can control. Another good book to check out, if you haven't already is:
Winning Ugly (http://books.google.com/books?id=-ycjQqzdQugC&pg=PP1&dq=winning+ugly#v=onepage&q=&f=false) by Brad Gilbert

[nfor304]

1. What works for me is having 3 or 4 plays that I know I can execute well and have practiced thousands of times. For example often if i'm closing out a service game and serving to the wide court I know I can hit a wide kicker pretty well and wait slightly left of the centre line and wait for a forehand to hit cross court. If you can develop a few plays like that then you can be more sure of yourself when you play big points. Any plan is better than no plan. On the return obviously you have less control, but you can still decide in advance if your going to go down the line, cross court etc or be aggressive or just try and get the ball back.

2. These kind of shots come naturally for some people but for others it takes practice. So now you know you have a problem with running shots make sure you practice them when you hit. Same thing with put away shots. You dont see them practiced that much even though they're crucial.

3. I dont know what to do about confidence on court, its never been something i've been able to control, so I cant really help you much there. But one thing I do is try and up my work rate if i'm missing alot or if i'm miss timing shots. I try and hit more balls cross court, take a few less risks and try and run hard for everything and move better. After a couple of games of playing like this I always feel better about my game. And I always just try and think of moving my feet and watching the ball. The basics.

[fuzz nation]

I have to comment on #3 right off the bat. Since we can only actively concentrate on one thing at a time, how likely do you think it is that you won't miss a shot if you're actually thinking about missing it? Of course things will go kerflooey out there in the middle of a match, but if you need to do a specific thing, then concentrate on that specific thing. Focusing on not missing a shot is really only focusing on missing that shot. Flip the script and set your sights on what you want to do instead of what you want to not do.

I had a really fun singles match a couple of winters ago against a strong teaching pro. The match was a huge breakthrough for me because from one point to the next, I made an effort to plan what I would do against this guy to either earn a point or at least push him. For pretty much the entire match, I quickly reviewed a simple plan for each point and this helped my composure a lot because when each point started, I already had an idea of what to do. I even broke his first service game in the first set and I earned a number of points at the net, too.

I did a lot of things right in that match, including playing big with a plan of attack instead of deciding that he was better than me, so I ought to just react to whatever he does. Nope! Even though I lost this rather heated contest 6-2,6-2, I didn't let the context beat me. I made him earn it and I know enough in the future to force the same issue with anyone I play. On and given day, your opponent is only "better" than you after he's beaten you and that status is revoked at midnight.

This brings me to #1 with that same thought in mind. Don't close out a game... earn the point! When that one is over, earn the next point! You'll fabricate undue pressure for yourself if you hang the weight of an entire game on just that one point. Since you need to win at least four of them to win the game, they all count, so take care of each one on its own. Easy to say sitting here at my computer, but if you rehearse this on the courts, I'll bet you get better at it.

As for #2, everyone has more trouble with shots when they're on the run, right? That's why it's a historically good strategy to hit the ball where you opponent isn't. In those situations, you need solid defensive shots where you can maybe slice it deep to the other end, make your opponent hit at least one more ball, and keep yourself in the point. Solid defense can be just as demoralizing as anything else because an opponent has to do more to beat you. It can force them to go for too much and start missing when their reliable stuff isn't good enough.

Bolster your confidence by keeping your expectations somewhere under the space shuttle up there in orbit. If you demand perfection in your game, you'll be disappointed forever, amen. Accept every flub as part of the cost of doing business out there and get back to work on... that's right, your next point. I often have to remind myself to keep my eye on the ball, too. Go figure!