dr325i
G.O.A.T.
WOW, eye opening...and leg burning!
Joe_Sch and I were fortunate enough to have a chance to hit against former #113 (2011), South African (recently, 3 years ago) retired player. Great and completely exhausting 90 minutes of hitting. Long, rallies, deep shots with a lot of weight on them. And yes, the former Pro was putting probably about 30% in to these rallies, with the exception of a few times that he ripped the ball.
What I noticed being on the other side of the net:
- his shots felt very effortless and to some extend confusing as I expected the ball to come slowly my way but instead, it came faster and with a lot of action and weight.
- Even though he was considered a very flat hitter, there is a lot of spin and action on his (30% effort) shots
- the sound of his shots - heavy - propagating pop, no matter what wing he hit from - FH or 1HBH
- the net clearance was very consistent and low.
- it felt like there is almost no chance to hit a winner against him at 30% his effort. Yes, he is a 6ft 5in guy, but it felt like my shots (4.5) traveled so slowly from my racket to his and so fast the other direction.
- this is when I realized how bad my movement/footwork really is. It felt like I was getting jammed or I was mistiming a lot of my shots while he was in constant, floating-like, motion and easy reach to all of my shots.
I will add more observations as it settles in and after the next session(s).
We have had some discussions before on these forums if it would be possible (for a 4.0-4.5) to GET (not necessarily win) a single point against the Pro, and I can definitely say yes. It is a human nature to hit at 30-40% against lower level players and to be less involved (move different). I was able to hit a few winners, he shanked a few times and I mishit a few times that created a weird winner. If somehow he would have engaged at a 100%, there is absolutely no way to hit a winner against him. Maybe a super lucky first serve (I doubt even at 110 mph (my standard 1st serve) as our serves have very little action on top of that speed)...
Funny enough, after he left, Joe and I hit for another 20 minutes and both of us had a similar reaction - it felt like we moved to the red clay court...
I am looking forward to the next hitting session.
Joe - please feel free to add more observations.
Joe_Sch and I were fortunate enough to have a chance to hit against former #113 (2011), South African (recently, 3 years ago) retired player. Great and completely exhausting 90 minutes of hitting. Long, rallies, deep shots with a lot of weight on them. And yes, the former Pro was putting probably about 30% in to these rallies, with the exception of a few times that he ripped the ball.
What I noticed being on the other side of the net:
- his shots felt very effortless and to some extend confusing as I expected the ball to come slowly my way but instead, it came faster and with a lot of action and weight.
- Even though he was considered a very flat hitter, there is a lot of spin and action on his (30% effort) shots
- the sound of his shots - heavy - propagating pop, no matter what wing he hit from - FH or 1HBH
- the net clearance was very consistent and low.
- it felt like there is almost no chance to hit a winner against him at 30% his effort. Yes, he is a 6ft 5in guy, but it felt like my shots (4.5) traveled so slowly from my racket to his and so fast the other direction.
- this is when I realized how bad my movement/footwork really is. It felt like I was getting jammed or I was mistiming a lot of my shots while he was in constant, floating-like, motion and easy reach to all of my shots.
I will add more observations as it settles in and after the next session(s).
We have had some discussions before on these forums if it would be possible (for a 4.0-4.5) to GET (not necessarily win) a single point against the Pro, and I can definitely say yes. It is a human nature to hit at 30-40% against lower level players and to be less involved (move different). I was able to hit a few winners, he shanked a few times and I mishit a few times that created a weird winner. If somehow he would have engaged at a 100%, there is absolutely no way to hit a winner against him. Maybe a super lucky first serve (I doubt even at 110 mph (my standard 1st serve) as our serves have very little action on top of that speed)...
Funny enough, after he left, Joe and I hit for another 20 minutes and both of us had a similar reaction - it felt like we moved to the red clay court...
I am looking forward to the next hitting session.
Joe - please feel free to add more observations.