We beat a 4.5 woman!!!

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
I played my second 8.0 mixed match tonight (having been *crushed* in my first 8.0 mixed match). I was playing with my usual 4.0 partner.

The opponents introduced themselves, and I thought I recognized the woman as a 4.5. Boy, she sure seemed steady in warm-up, steadier than her partner. Then when the match started, she stepped up to serve first. Yep, that was her -- a very good 4.5 player.

We won!!! My partner played well, obviously. But I kind of learned something: I could hang with a 4.5. I was able to rally with her, and sometimes she missed first. My serve gave her trouble, as did my moonballs and topspin lobs. She could really hit her spots with her serve, but it wasn't especially fast. But boy howdy, she and her partner could really volley!

An 8.0 win, and I didn't even have a 4.5 guy to carry me. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this mixed doubles thing. :) :)

Cindy -- who played two back on her partner's serve because the 3.5 male opponent kept *blasting* the ball at her and by her
 

cknobman

Legend
Well that is a bad match to put a 3.5 man with a 4.5 woman. More times than not in mixed the win or lose relies on who has the stronger male player on the team. In my experiences in mixed the team that can exploit the male the most usually wins. If the 3.5 guy wasn't a very strong player he could easily be exploited by the other team.
 

pyrokid

Hall of Fame
Well that is a bad match to put a 3.5 man with a 4.5 woman. More times than not in mixed the win or lose relies on who has the stronger male player on the team. In my experiences in mixed the team that can exploit the male the most usually wins. If the 3.5 guy wasn't a very strong player he could easily be exploited by the other team.

But this way the team could be about equal.
 

RoddickAce

Hall of Fame
Congratz! I actually had a similar experience recently.

My friend and I (we're both around B level, high 4.0 - low 4.5) faced a pro who just started playing again recently after a few years off the tour (probably 6.0 as he probably doesn't play top atp events) + his partner (seemed to be about 3.5-4.0) in a friendly set. The pro hit with SO MUCH SPIN (sometimes I think I got to the ball quick enough, but it explodes off the court), his serves had pinpoint accuracy and he was overall amazingly solid. His partner was inconsistent off the ground, but he had a big first serve and solid volleys.

AND......


we lost...6-3...but we had our chances! The pro guy probably wasn't trying hard, but I found out that if I stand way far back, I can still return some of the pro's first serves, my first serve can do some damage to a rusty pro's return game, ripping shots at the pro doesn't really work while heavily spun, above head-height balls to the backhand can draw errors at times. Most importantly, we learned to mostly hit to the weaker partner :D.
 

pyrokid

Hall of Fame
Um no... A 3.5 man and a 4.5 woman are not equal.


Congrats Cindy!!!

...More equal than a 3.5 woman and a 4.5 man.

And still one of the closest to equal pairings you could have in 8.0.
 
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Annika

Semi-Pro
So to sum it up, Cindy, do you think that their exceptionally placed volleys is what makes them 4.5's? You said their serves weren't hard/fast but that they also placed them well.

Tell me about the pace and speed of rallies? Or weren't there any?
Good for you that your team won!!!!
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
^It was a lot of things that made them good.

They were good at reflex volleys. For instance, there were two instances where I had a floater in front of my own service line in the deuce court. I lined it up and tried to hit it hard diagonally. Not only had the guy positioned himself in that diagonal alley, not only did he not retreat, but he blocked my overhead back -- both times to my partner who had remained deep. One of these overheads would have hit him in the stomach, the other would have hit him in the shins.

They knew when to come in and they were good at finding the open court -- something you don't see from middling net players.

And the guy was All FH All The Time. His FH was so big that he could hit my partner's (big) first and second serve so hard at me at net that I never touched one. Whoosh, right by me into the alley. Whoosh, right by my ear but too far from my partner for him to reach. I finally told my partner that I was moving back to the baseline when he served to the guy. That was the first time I have ever moved back on my partner's serve in mixed, IIRC.

Regarding whether a 4.5 woman and 3.5 guy make a weak pair . . . I didn't think so. As my partner said after the match, we *easily* could have lost that match. There was no one to pick on, 'cause if you think you're gonna pick on a 3.5 guy with a big FH and great volleys, you have another think coming.

[Edit: Annika, you asked about the speed and pace of rallies. The 4.5 woman was often able to hang with my partner, especially on the BH side (he played ad). He hits a flat-ish ball and never comes in. She sometimes beat him by throwing in a short slice at just the right moment, and he hates that.

As for me, I had a lot of success rallying with her. She didn't have much spin on her FH, but I do (if I'm having a good night). The sideline area was very tight, so I hit FH Xcourt angles several times that hit the curtain before she could reach them. I was lucky that, for some bizarre reason, her partner never ever poached with his FH against me. Instead, he moved and poached a lot with his BH against my partner in the ad court. Go figure.]
 
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OrangePower

Legend
We won!!! My partner played well, obviously. But I kind of learned something: I could hang with a 4.5. I was able to rally with her, and sometimes she missed first. My serve gave her trouble, as did my moonballs and topspin lobs. She could really hit her spots with her serve, but it wasn't especially fast. But boy howdy, she and her partner could really volley!

Congratulations on the win.

Not surprising that you can hang with a 4.5 woman. If you've been playing mixed for a while then you have experience playing against 4.0 men, and a 4.0 man is going to be just as strong (in absolute terms) as a 4.5 woman.
 

coloskier

Legend
There are a lot of lower end 4.5 players out there who HATE playing moonballs and topspin lobs. But it is still a good win. :)
 

JoelDali

Talk Tennis Guru
You could print the result and Frame it and hang it on the wall as your trophy.

I have all the newspaper clippings from my diabolic Junior career in a photo album.

One of my teammates was at my place a few months ago and I brought it out in a drunken haze.

I actually read the 1981 letter I saved from the SCTA to him as we sat there drunk reminiscing about Southern Cal junior tennis as he was in the scene 4 years before me.

I'm sure in the morning he was probably hungover and thought what an idiot I am.

IMG_2326.JPG
 

spaceman_spiff

Hall of Fame
Just a quick question:

If your opponent could smash forehands off even the hardest of serves, why didn't your partner serve to the backhand?
 

Nor'easter

New User
WOW...these posts are great for feeding one's sense of self-importance and stroking one's ego! Sorry....you didn't just beat the 4.5 woman...remember it takes two to tango.
 

atatu

Legend
Last year I played 8.0 mixed and I lost a match playing with a 3.5 partner to two 4.0 players. I didn't feel too bad about it, but now I imagine there is a post somewhere trumpeting "We beat a 4.5 man !!"....
 

Stroke

Rookie
This thread is simply absurd. Anyone who really knows anything about USTA mixed tennis and had been to districts at 8.0 level knows whats up. The best mixed team always involves a 4.5 man(truly advanced player) and a 3.5 woman(who generally plays hardly any different from a 4.0 woman). The next strongest team is a 4.0 man(who is on the verge of becoming a 4.5) and a a 4.0 woman. The weakest by far is a 4.5 woman and a 3.5 man(unless the 3.5 man is a self rated 3.5, who is really a 4.0.

Additionally, you have not really "beat" anyone unless you go out there and do it in singles. Mixed is the absolute worst gauge. Give me a break.
 

cknobman

Legend
WOW...these posts are great for feeding one's sense of self-importance and stroking one's ego! Sorry....you didn't just beat the 4.5 woman...remember it takes two to tango.


Exactly.

There is a reason the USTA dosnt use your mixed results when determining your rating (unless you play mixed exclusively and then at that it is not a normal rating).

Congrats on the win are in order but lets not get out of hand here.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
I played my second 8.0 mixed match tonight (having been *crushed* in my first 8.0 mixed match). I was playing with my usual 4.0 partner.

The opponents introduced themselves, and I thought I recognized the woman as a 4.5. Boy, she sure seemed steady in warm-up, steadier than her partner. Then when the match started, she stepped up to serve first. Yep, that was her -- a very good 4.5 player.

We won!!! My partner played well, obviously. But I kind of learned something: I could hang with a 4.5. I was able to rally with her, and sometimes she missed first. My serve gave her trouble, as did my moonballs and topspin lobs. She could really hit her spots with her serve, but it wasn't especially fast. But boy howdy, she and her partner could really volley!

An 8.0 win, and I didn't even have a 4.5 guy to carry me. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this mixed doubles thing. :) :)

Cindy -- who played two back on her partner's serve because the 3.5 male opponent kept *blasting* the ball at her and by her

Sandbagger!
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
You could print the result and Frame it and hang it on the wall as your trophy.

I would prefer chopping the opponent's heads off and then having them stuffed and then mounting them on the wall over the fireplace. That is what we used to do in the old days.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Just a quick question:

If your opponent could smash forehands off even the hardest of serves, why didn't your partner serve to the backhand?

Heh, heh.

I think my partner, bless his heart, does not have the best directional control. Most of his serves go wide on the deuce court or land in the middle of the box.

As for the haters out there, you will never bring me down!! :) I said in the title of the thread that "We" beat a 4.5 woman. "We,", not me. The reason I am stoked is that I struggle so much in mixed. Plus, I was getting crushed in 7.0 mixed just last year. This result shows that I have improved enough to hang in 8.0 mixed!

The match score was -4 and -2. I served out the match. That is also huge, because I usually choke when trying to serve out a set or match in mixed.

Anyway, I gotta saddle up for another 8.0 mixed match this week with a different partner. Hope it goes well . . . .
 

andfor

Legend
The only thing better than posting this here is to put in on your FB page Cindy. BTW I beat a.........oh nevermind.
 

Fedace

Banned
Cindy i can just hear her now...."I am a Career maker, when a 3.5-4.0 woman beats me,,,i make their Career".
Serena said something similar about lower ranked WTA women....LOL
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
If we're playing this game, then: "I beat a 7.0 woman!!!"

Wimbledon doubles champ Kathy Jordan was playing with her boss, a 3.5 guy. I mostly hit the ball at him whenever I wanted to actually win the point. It was in the early 90's and KJ was still a darn good doubles player.
Anyway, a win is a win - congrats on your win!
 
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spaceman_spiff

Hall of Fame
Heh, heh.

I think my partner, bless his heart, does not have the best directional control. Most of his serves go wide on the deuce court or land in the middle of the box.

This kind of goes back to the discussion we all had about the advantages of serving from closer to the center in order to go down-the-middle. Sometimes, it's useful to attack a weakness, but sometimes it helps avoid a strength, and that can be equally beneficial.

If the match had been much closer, and that guy was really hurting you two with the forehand returns, I'm sure you would have been tempted to have a strategy discussion with your partner about his serves.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
^Yes, maybe.

As I play more doubles, I have learned the virtues of Keeping My Mouth Shut About Obvious Things. My partner could see that the guy was killing us with his FH, so the obvious fix was try the BH. Rather than tell my partner what to do, I decided to do what I could do to avoid losing more points this way: Move Back.

That's what I do now. If my partner should obviously be doing something different, I just adjust what I do. My partner is not stupid. He or she is likely just limited in some way. So if she's lining up in the alley, that means she can't play the net. If she's serving to the FH a lot, she probably can't place her serve. If she's bouncing lobs she should take in the air, she probably doesn't have an overhead.

It seems to be working better for me to handle things this way.
 

spaceman_spiff

Hall of Fame
^Yes, maybe.

As I play more doubles, I have learned the virtues of Keeping My Mouth Shut About Obvious Things. My partner could see that the guy was killing us with his FH, so the obvious fix was try the BH. Rather than tell my partner what to do, I decided to do what I could do to avoid losing more points this way: Move Back.

That's what I do now. If my partner should obviously be doing something different, I just adjust what I do. My partner is not stupid. He or she is likely just limited in some way. So if she's lining up in the alley, that means she can't play the net. If she's serving to the FH a lot, she probably can't place her serve. If she's bouncing lobs she should take in the air, she probably doesn't have an overhead.

It seems to be working better for me to handle things this way.

One way I figured out how to state the obvious without appearing to be stating the obvious is to say something like "this guy's got no backhand, so I'm just going to keep serving at it."

My hope is that, by saying that to my partner, he/she will notice that, when I serve to the BH, we win loads of easy points. Then that might prompt my partner to do try doing the same.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out a similar way to tell someone that, when the ball is floating above your head, you're supposed to smash it.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
^Yeah, I hear ya.

I remember saying things to my partner like, "Yikes, that's some FH!" And "Dang, I am not even seeing the ball come off of his FH."

Like I said, I think he just doesn't have good directional control. It's OK. He has a good serve that works great against every other opponent we've played. On the whole, he's a good partner for me and we do well together.
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
One way I figured out how to state the obvious without appearing to be stating the obvious is to say something like "this guy's got no backhand, so I'm just going to keep serving at it."

My hope is that, by saying that to my partner, he/she will notice that, when I serve to the BH, we win loads of easy points. Then that might prompt my partner to do try doing the same.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out a similar way to tell someone that, when the ball is floating above your head, you're supposed to smash it.

If her guy was serving like Elena Dementieva's slice sidearm serve, good luck finding a righty's BH.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Is this all a code for one of those "toilet seat up or down" issues?

Yeah my wife has chastised me in the past for directional control issues, especially when I have gotten up and still groggy.

Who cares where you go? That is why bathroom is a room, not a geometric point.

It is not like we have taken drills with cones for accurate placement.
 

Fedace

Banned
Yeah my wife has chastised me in the past for directional control issues, especially when I have gotten up and still groggy.

Who cares where you go? That is why bathroom is a room, not a geometric point.

It is not like we have taken drills with cones for accurate placement.

she doesn't like sitting on your pee. to help her, you can pee sitting down like she does.
 
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