I got schooled by a beginner...

[joeyscl]

Just today i went to the tennis court to hit some serves. Then i saw this guy hitting the wall, so i offered to hit with him. Left handed...likes to hit heavy slices off both sides, hits slice 100% of the time on bh, and hits slice 25% of the time on fh. His slices had heavy sidespin and were really throwing me off... and even when i pound the ball back, he could always run it down and slice it back. When i asked him "do u usually play by urself?" He said "yah, ive only hit the wall a few times and trying to pick it (tennis) up." and i was like "you've gotta be s***ing me". Anyway thats that. He looked late 20s. im 17. Im a strong 3.5, and im got schooled by a "beginner". What do you think?

[lawrence]

aha maybe he was lying about just picking it up?
i guess theres a chance that his playstyle was just heavily in favour against yours by chance, or perhaps hes a natural or something

[lethalfang]

Well I've an idea what to do if I ever play you: slice slice slice like there's no tomorrow.

[isuk@tennis]

lol @ u getting schooled by slices i would slice back
if power ain't working why waste energy

[kimizz]

I once played this older lady..much more experienced than me but pretty weak. She also hit 100% bh slice and had a weak forehand. It was hard for me at first. I wasnt used to hitting with a slicer. But luckily we had plenty of time and I totally took control of the match.

1)If u cant hit a super first serve I suggest taking power off and adding some extra top spin to the serve. She was totally screwed when she tried to return serves with slice when the ball was somewhere around her head. Those serves had little power but she couldnt destroy me because she only hit slice.

2)I didnt try to hit winners all the time. Instead I started to hit Nadal like forehand...of course the power wasnt even near Rafas FH but the topspin was huge. Again ball so high that she was screwed...

After the match she sayd I wasnt playing in a proper manner(LOL), she actually thought that my topspinners were cheating in some form...

[zapvor]

um...you must not be very good then. ever thought of that? haha i am kidding. i would slice dropshot him....wait thats what i do with everyone on my backhand.

[Sakumo]

HIT HARDER

Lol, I'm just messing around. I would just try to counter punch or push him to death.

[TennisKevin]

ive been schooled by someone not as good as me. i play baseline, and this guy would just block everything back and the ball would land between the baseline and the service line. he gave me so much junk that i would go for too much and my game self-destructed. last time i played him i beat him though. he just took you out of your game. no big deal, its probably happened to all of use. unorthodox playing styles tend to mess with us.

[no skillz]

I played against an older guy, maybe 50's who had great control and placement but weak shots. Mostly sliced and had flat forehands, almost pushing the ball around the court. At first he was beating me 1-2 but then I started to slice to his backhand and rush the net. From there I beat him 6-3.

[raiden031]

Originally Posted by joeyscl

Just today i went to the tennis court to hit some serves. Then i saw this guy hitting the wall, so i offered to hit with him. Left handed...likes to hit heavy slices off both sides, hits slice 100% of the time on bh, and hits slice 25% of the time on fh. His slices had heavy sidespin and were really throwing me off... and even when i pound the ball back, he could always run it down and slice it back. When i asked him "do u usually play by urself?" He said "yah, ive only hit the wall a few times and trying to pick it (tennis) up." and i was like "you've gotta be s***ing me". Anyway thats that. He looked late 20s. im 17. Im a strong 3.5, and im got schooled by a "beginner". What do you think?

I can't imagine how this would ever happen. Even if he can keep his slice shots in, if he's not keeping them deep consistently, you should be able to put away his short balls. How was his serve? I suspect if he was a beginner the serve would be a very weak part of his game.

I'm at the point now as a strong 3.0 to weak 3.5 that nobody that may be athletic but just picked up tennis would ever beat me.

[kimizz]

Originally Posted by raiden031

I can't imagine how this would ever happen. Even if he can keep his slice shots in, if he's not keeping them deep consistently, you should be able to put away his short balls. How was his serve? I suspect if he was a beginner the serve would be a very weak part of his game.

I'm at the point now as a strong 3.0 to weak 3.5 that nobody that may be athletic but just picked up tennis would ever beat me.

Tennis is a weird game. You really need to play a lot till you can really control beginners.

First, beginners dont play like most of the players do...they are the kings in mixing up the pace and depth simply because its pure luck how their strokes end up in the court. To them its not about style, only goal is to hit the ball back to the court with some weird spin .

2)Those with some experience(but not too much) try to apply the teachings they`ve learned in the past but still lack the execution. So instead of just trying to put the ball over the net they try to hit a textbook groundstroke and fail in it very often. When this happens the player might start to feel depressed and frustrated..."all these hours and Im getting beaten by a beginner"

In these situations its important to understand that you dont need to kill the opponent just because hes a beginner and your an experienced player. If you can get past that u realise how everything youve learned in the past is doing to work for ya...you start to control the opponent. This is what happened to me...

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by kimizz

First, beginners dont play like most of the players do...they are the kings in mixing up the pace and depth simply because its pure luck how their strokes end up in the court. To them its not about style, only goal is to hit the ball back to the court with some weird spin .

Have the posters on these boards gone absolutely mad?

Fact: Beginners suck. They can't control anything much less get the ball into the court. Let's not even talk about "mixing it up with pace and depth". LMAO

We could go as far as saying they are lucky to make contact with the ball half the time.

[SlapShot]

Originally Posted by drakulie

Have the posters on these boards gone absolutely mad?

Fact: Beginners suck. They can't control anything much less get the ball into the court. Let's not even talk about "mixing it up with pace and depth". LMAO

We could go as far as saying they are lucky to make contact with the ball half the time.

A big 'ol +1 on this one. When people are just starting out, they are lucky to keep the ball in play 3 strokes in a row.

Odds are, either the guy was full of it, which I can totally believe, or you're not a true 3.5.

[soyizgood]

Never underestimate the power of the force. Your over-confidence was your undoing. When playing against "lesser" players, you have to realize that player has nothing to lose, but everything to gain from playing you. Those players are probably the most dangerous because they are not under any pressure nor do they feel they must win. They play for fun and learn on the go.

Hitting the ball is just one part of the game. It is also a thinking man's game. You need to maximize your strengths, find your opponents weaknesses, and control the flow of the match. You have much to learn as well, don't forget.

Now move along and prepare for the next challenge.

[kimizz]

Originally Posted by drakulie

Have the posters on these boards gone absolutely mad?

Fact: Beginners suck. They can't control anything much less get the ball into the court. Let's not even talk about "mixing it up with pace and depth". LMAO

We could go as far as saying they are lucky to make contact with the ball half the time.

They dont mix it intentionally but u can never guess where they are hitting. They just hit it and sometimes its backspin,sometimes flat sometimes a drop shot cause the ball hit the frame. And yes often they hit wide... I was talking about beginners playing against those who are still trying to learn the basics of groundies.(those who have played for few months)

[kimizz]

But reading some of the past posts...how much you guys sucked when you first strated? Cant hit the ball?Cant keep the ball in play for 3 strokes?

[SlapShot]

I was terrible when I started - it took me quite a while to learn to control shot depth and velocity. I came from baseball and kept trying to knock the life out of the ball. Come to think of it, I still try and knock the life out of the ball.....it's just that now I can keep it in play.

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by kimizz

But reading some of the past posts...how much you guys sucked when you first strated? Cant hit the ball?Cant keep the ball in play for 3 strokes?

The above is a perfect description of me and EVERYBODY who has ever picked up a racquet when they first started playing (beginner). Yes, this includes federer, sampras, agassi, borg, laver, and YOU.

To even contemplate that a beginner is able to mix his shots with depth and spin is crazy.

[Jracer77]

Originally Posted by SlapShot

A big 'ol +1 on this one. When people are just starting out, they are lucky to keep the ball in play 3 strokes in a row.

Odds are, either the guy was full of it, which I can totally believe, or you're not a true 3.5.

Absolutely.....a beginner beating a 3.5?......not gonna happen.

[shindemac]

Maybe he wasn't a beginner. Maybe you aren't as good as you think. Think about why you lost. Was it him forcing his game onto you, or were you losing to yourself.