Is it very hard to beat people by a large margin in a match?

[lidation]

I find this interesting phenomena about the scores of the matches I play.

Me vs. a 4.0 player, 9/10 times he beats me but we are really close like 7-6 or 7-5.

Me vs. a recreational/occasional tennis dude, 9/10 times I beat him but we are really close like 7-6 or 7-5.

However, among these three players, the level of mastery of the game is way different. My 4.0 friend has very good control of the ball but my other friend doesn't have much control over the ball but he just "push" the ball back to my side of the court. And I am in between.

I have played with these two people couple of times a week these days. I still try to figure out why I can't beat the pusher by a clear margin since I lose by so small margin against my 4.0 friend.

 

[go13illy]

what ntrp rating are you?

 

[TropicThunder]

Your thread title doesn't make much sense.

But I think the answer is pretty obvious:
Since you're still a rookie, and you could be accustomed to playing with a rythm or with someone who hits with some pace then, it's easier to time your shots and get a "rythm" going on with that player,
But when it comes to playing with the pusher, since you're still a rookie I repeat, it is more diffucult for you to fully take advantage of his weak game and tear him to pieces, because you still lack the precision and ability to put away his paceless balls and moonballs, or also you get impatient and throw the ball long in an attempt to hit a winner. Classic pusher match, read the sticky of Pushers above.

That's my opinion, I could be entirely wrong

 

[Steady Eddy]

It's all probability. The scoring system in tennis amplifies results. If you have a slightly better chance of winning each point, this will be amplified for games, and amplified even further for sets. One thing to remember; if two players are not well matched, the match will not be close, but, if they are of the same skill, it won't always be close. Sometimes two evenly matched players will finish a set 6-0. Why?, chance; it's not that hard to flip a coin 6 times in a row heads, or 6 in a row tails. But the opposite never happens, if you play a better player, you won't come close.

If your sets are always close, it might be because the probability on each point is not constant. Maybe when one players gets ahead they get lazy, and drop their lead? Even equally matched players won't always have close sets.

 

[Zell]

I find this interesting phenomena about the scores of the matches I play.

Me vs. a 4.0 player, 9/10 times he beats me but we are really close like 7-6 or 7-5.

Me vs. a recreational/occasional tennis dude, 9/10 times I beat him but we are really close like 7-6 or 7-5.

However, among these three players, the level of mastery of the game is way different. My 4.0 friend has very good control of the ball but my other friend doesn't have much control over the ball but he just "push" the ball back to my side of the court. And I am in between.

I have played with these two people couple of times a week these days. I still try to figure out why I can't beat the pusher by a clear margin since I lose by so small margin against my 4.0 friend.

Dude watch this video to clear your head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9safLA7RDzo

 

[lidation]

I don't have an NTRP rating yet. Thanks for the reply. They all make perfect sense. Like TropicThunder mentions, the pusher has no pace at all and I need to develop the kind of precision to lead the rythm myself. With my 4.0 friend, I can go with his rythm. And maybe he is really not using his 100% when playing against me.

 

[tennisfreak15347]

the MAIN reason that you miss when facing a hitter is because they ALWAYS pull you into no-man's-land, which causes you to overhit. along with constantly having to re-adjust to their shots.

*Edit* this, and the mental game they play.

 

[dcottrill]

I often get beaten by a large margin.

 

[albino smurf]

I often win by a large margin.

 

[wyutani]

i often win and get beaten by a large margin.

 

[tennisdad65]

The tennis scoring system actually amplifies the margin of victory/defeat..

Example: you lose every game in a set after getting to deuce, then lose the next 2 points in each game . i.e. you win 18 points and opponent wins 30. does not look too bad, but you end up losing the set 0-6. i.e. you win ~40% of points but 0% of games.

I'd rather lose 30-18, than lose 6-0.

 

[lethalfang]

The tennis scoring system actually amplifies the margin of victory/defeat..

Example: you lose every game in a set after getting to deuce, then lose the next 2 points in each game . i.e. you win 18 points and opponent wins 30. does not look too bad, but you end up losing the set 0-6. i.e. you win ~40% of points but 0% of games.

I'd rather lose 30-18, than lose 6-0.

It'll be even closer to 50-50 in terms of points won, if you get to multiple deuces in those games.
What's required for a 6-0 set is that the winner wins 12 more points than the loser. It can be 30-18. It can also be 112-100.
It's happened to me, on the losing end, when each game went to deuce and I lost each of them! :-(

 

[TropicThunder]

Dude watch this video to clear your head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9safLA7RDzo

That video was nasty, but fun

 

[split-step]

Match scoreline doesn't always tell whole story.

It is very possible your 4.0 friend feels no pressure when playing you and is playing at a fraction of his potential.

A better way to look at it would be to enroll in a 4.0 league and see how you fare against 10+ 4.0 players in a competitive setting. That will give you a better idea of how well you play against that level.

 

[counter_puncher]

No. Especially if you are way better than them.

 

[wyutani]

Dude watch this video to clear your head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9safLA7RDzo

i admit, it scared the s*** out of me.