dak95_00, I put you at a very good 3.5. If you self-rated at 4.0, I think you'd get destroyed in 4.0 USTA tournaments. I think your forehand is pretty good. Your backhand looked okay -- but no real pace or bite. Your footwork looked average -- lots of walking to the ball and hitting flat-footed sometimes.
When I saw your videos, the big weakness from my perspective was your serve. It just wasn't that fast. After the bounce, each serve sat up right in the strike zone. Since you can't drive leg drive/jump into the ball, you end up trying to get power by arming the ball with your loopy, circular, backscratch motion. I'm only a 3.5, but I'd be teeing off on that serve all match long -- unless you managed to ace me up the tee or out wide.
I know you have some physical issue with having a huge serve. So what I might suggest is getting a good spin serve -- maybe a heavy slice. Something you can hit out very wide.
It looked like your biggest asset is consistency. I'd have to see you in a match, but it looks like you're a wall. You get every ball back with decent placement. That's really awesome.
SWEET! Now, I'm an average 3.5 player. I can join a 3.5 team! I think you are right and I should self-rate at 3.5 because I am slow, flat-footed, and have a weak serve.
3.5s must be really, really good in Austin. I've played against 4.5s in Dallas and was competitive after not playing for months. That is, I'd just started playing again after taking 6 months off for fall and winter and was visiting and looking for a hit. I lost and can't remember the score. I don't remember getting blasted off of my weak serves. I also remember many games going to duece.
I know 4.5 seems to be the highest rating here in Columbus so that can mean a wide range in ability and I don't claim to be a 4.5. I do claim to be competitive against nearly any player I've gone against.
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Does anybody read the posts or do you just watch the videos and then post? I'm not talking about all of the rants that came before. I'm just talking about the OPs post.
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I need to set up a poll. It would be about pace of shots in videos and actually reading posts to get a history first.
Pace: Balls actually look slower from the side or from behind.
Reading: I just post after watching or I read first and then post.
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Oh well. I guess we'll just have to see how I do in those 3.5 tourneys. I hope I don't get accused of sandbagging. I'll have to blame it on MightyRick who "told me" I'd get blasted at that level.
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Yes, that was defensive!