tlm
G.O.A.T.
By the way PP would you post those again I could not find your hitting video.
Updated Hitting Video
- Thread starter tlm
- Start date
By the way PP would you post those again I could not find your hitting video.
I usually have no trouble beating anyone who loops high and slow, because I can take the initiative BEFORE he get's to hit hard and flat, forcing him to run and fetch for me, while I move to net position and volley to the open court.
I usually have lots of trouble playing against hard low hitters, because they are making ME run, and I'm fetching for them, while they are hitting the winners.
But, I'm 4.0. A player like Bagdatis or Rochus or Barasetchi can loop me all day, and beat me bagels. But they aren't beating me with the high topspin looper, they are beating me with their passing shots after I try my approach.
I usually have lots of trouble playing against hard low hitters, because they are making ME run, and I'm fetching for them, while they are hitting the winners.
But, I'm 4.0. A player like Bagdatis or Rochus or Barasetchi can loop me all day, and beat me bagels. But they aren't beating me with the high topspin looper, they are beating me with their passing shots after I try my approach.
Try to push it as much into the late afternoon as you can. If I know earlier (before Wed 8 pm), I can book for late afternoon or evening and courts are lighted.
Maximagq
Banned
Is it a UC school? I think UCLA is next week
Maximagq
Banned
Yes.
I am taking him to UCI tomorrow and UCSD on Saturday. He has to make a decision.
He got different ones. Chem Engg at UCI, Elec Engg at UCSD. He is having a tough time deciding
Blacks is one steep hill to descend. Have you been to the nude beach there?
Have you been to the nude beach at Blacks?
NOPE!
The 3 times we drove down to LaJollaShores, Black's was big and not too crowded, maybe 35 guys in the water, so I always went surfing, along with the two other 4A's from the EastCoast staying at CalWestern.
Blacks is the wave that is closest to my home break, OceanBeachSF, in power, speed, and the ability to move my board.
Anyways, we have a plenty of nude beachs in NorCal, from Devil's Slide thru 4 mile, at least 6, 2 of which has surf.
The 3 times we drove down to LaJollaShores, Black's was big and not too crowded, maybe 35 guys in the water, so I always went surfing, along with the two other 4A's from the EastCoast staying at CalWestern.
Blacks is the wave that is closest to my home break, OceanBeachSF, in power, speed, and the ability to move my board.
Anyways, we have a plenty of nude beachs in NorCal, from Devil's Slide thru 4 mile, at least 6, 2 of which has surf.
Topspin Shot
Legend
Tlm, I would really like to see you improve your forehand stroke. I know what you can do with your current stroke and loopy balls, but the key is you don't have to change your playing style. Just learn how to drive the ball properly, and you can hit with the same net clearance and topspin and get a lot more power. My playing style is a lot like yours, but I can hit a harder and heavier ball because I don't get my topspin by swinging my arm radically low to high.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Just got home from a good hour of rallying and all i focused on was hitting through the ball more. It went pretty well was hitting a lot of shots much flatter and faster.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
I would love to hit you my looping shots, I can guarantee you will not think they are slow moonballs. Those shots would give you fits, I only wished I lived closer to you.
I've been playing tennis for over 33 years.
One of my current buds hit's topspin forehands, when they land deep, bounce up the backwall by over 6', and if you don't cut it off, it goes over your head in deep baseline play.
I've played tons of players who try to use high loopy balls. After all, I've played in A/Open tourneys, down to C level tourneys. Your shots only bother someone who doesn't take the initiative and allows you spin to bother them.
I"m a first strike player, not a grinder, so just would come in at a corner and knock off short angled volleys.
Unless you really play at real 4.5, you have little chance.
One of my current buds hit's topspin forehands, when they land deep, bounce up the backwall by over 6', and if you don't cut it off, it goes over your head in deep baseline play.
I've played tons of players who try to use high loopy balls. After all, I've played in A/Open tourneys, down to C level tourneys. Your shots only bother someone who doesn't take the initiative and allows you spin to bother them.
I"m a first strike player, not a grinder, so just would come in at a corner and knock off short angled volleys.
Unless you really play at real 4.5, you have little chance.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
You are to funny lee I would eat you alive you would be lucky to get a couple of games a set. Outside my shots will bounce up higher than 6' at the back fence. I play in a 4.5 summer league and play against 4.5 players all the time. Come on get real I saw you have no movement, you would be dead meat against me I would bet big money on that.
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mightyrick
Legend
You've got a high opinion of that "looper", man. You have topspin, but watching this particular video, those shots don't look heavy... even though it looks like you put your all into the shot. Those shots just look spinny. Spin without pace is fairly ineffective.
I'd need to see match video to see how effective the shot is. That shot may play at 3.5, but at 4.0, I think you give the opponent way too much time. I honestly bet you spend a lot of time backpeddling, running around your backhand, trying to hit inside-out forehand loops.
That will get you killed in matches. You'll be exhausted by the middle of the second set.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
You can put me at whatever level you want, as a matter of fact you said earlier that you would classify me as 4.5. But it does not matter call me a 4.0 pusher thats fine but i would blow your butt right off the court so I guess you are a 3.0 player then.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Think whatever you want but until you face those shots you have no clue. Did you see in the last video were my buddy miss timed some of his backhands. The jump of my top spin shots had a lot to do with those miss hits, and he is very good at handling those shots.
Plus indoor does not help my game my shots jump up with way more force outdoors with some sun on the court, its a whole new ball game then. I will repeat for you again the last 2 years I have played in 4.5 league and had a winning record. The guy that runs the league took the better players from the 4.5 league and made a 4.75 league last summer and I had was just above 500 in that league also.
The only league higher than that is the 5.0 in which i played in the spring season and got beat pretty good. So you can think that I am only a 3.5 or whatever but I know better.
Cheetah
Hall of Fame
idk.. i think opponents would have too much time. a 4.5 should easily be able to put those where they wanted. I mean.. literally they have all the time in the world to set up. How hard could it be for a 4.5 to setup, put the ball over there to make you run... wait... setup... then put the ball in the other direction and make you run to the other side. After 3 of those it should be easy to put it away because you don't seem to hit as heavy when you have to run.
and not bandwagoning here but it doesn't look like the hop/kick is enough to cause a lot of problems just judging by the opponents. They don't seem to be fighting anything off. They usually just stand there, wait and swing. Sure they will miss some but everybody misses on all kinds of shots.
If the ball had a heavy bounce you would know it by how the opponents deal with it. You would see them try to really setup well and knees bent and the concentration on their faces etc and ... fighting the balls off. You would be able to see it. I'm sure everyone here who has faced a heavy ball knows what I'm talking about. You don't see any of your partners doing that. They are as casual as can be.
and not bandwagoning here but it doesn't look like the hop/kick is enough to cause a lot of problems just judging by the opponents. They don't seem to be fighting anything off. They usually just stand there, wait and swing. Sure they will miss some but everybody misses on all kinds of shots.
If the ball had a heavy bounce you would know it by how the opponents deal with it. You would see them try to really setup well and knees bent and the concentration on their faces etc and ... fighting the balls off. You would be able to see it. I'm sure everyone here who has faced a heavy ball knows what I'm talking about. You don't see any of your partners doing that. They are as casual as can be.
mightyrick
Legend
I'll take you at your word that you're a 4.5. I'm with Cheetah, though. I'd like to see what else you to do win matches at 4.5. Because if all you do is hit the spinny 10 foot ball... there's no way you're winning matches with that alone.
Can you show some point play video of some sort against a 4.5? Or even against a 4.0? You clearly have more skill than you are showing if you're over .500 at NTRP 4.5. I'd just like to see what else is going on there.
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
Sorry but I have a hard time believing you are a legit 4.5 player. Could you post a screenshot of your league's webpage and show your standings for this 4.5 league you say you had a winning record for the last 2 year's in?
Or perhaps you could post a video where you are playing a match against another 4.5? Also you are not in the camera's view for 90% of this video, so it's not easy to make heads or tails of what's going on. Why is the camera so close to you? Could you back it up some so we can actually see what you are doing? Some things I do see: Your footwork is almost non existent. I am not sure how a 4.5 could get away with that? Also, you are hitting the ball all arm....not using your the rest of your body at all. Your shots don't look as though they would pose any problem for any better 4.0's or any 4.5 players.
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tlm
G.O.A.T.
Whatever you say Cheetah I guess you are saying I am lying about the league I play in, but it is the truth. I don't tell lies and overate my level, there are already plenty here who take care of that.
The majority of those shots are just rally balls which should be obvious to anyone that knows tennis. Do you think I would keep hitting those shots right down the middle to him also if we were playing a set?
Just started to be able to hit outside again and noticed a big difference in how much higher my shots jump outdoors. Can't wait to get steady nice warm weather.
Here is a video of my partner playing a point against me, it shows him hitting of his backfoot on a backhand and fighting off a high shot with his forehand. And believe me these shots jump much faster and higher outdoors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7MZxuOZwKI
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mightyrick
Legend
Actually... I think it is possible now. This is not a USTA league. I just re-read tlm's post. He said, "the guy that runs the league took the better players from 4.5 and made a 4.75 league". That is absolutely not USTA.
This sounds like one of those leagues where they use player self-ratings to derive relative ratings over the course of a season. So for what it is worth, this is not USTA NTRP 4.5. This is non-sanctioned self-rated 4.5 players.
In my experience, these players are overrated by at least .5 NTRP if not a full 1.0 NTRP rating point. When compared against real USTA players.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
This is true this league is rated .5 higher than what it would be in most usta leagues. So compared to usta I am playing a strong 4.0 level. The USTA leagues vary a lot but sandbagging is a real art there, so most USTA leagues have a lot of better players that are playing down.
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Ballinbob
Hall of Fame
I'm a strong 4.0, maybe you guys can use this as a reference point. I personally can't see tlm as a 4.5 but I can believe 4.0. I think we'd have a good match
http://youtu.be/a5MYxlcfj2o
http://youtu.be/a5MYxlcfj2o
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Have you posted some video on this site for me to see? Believe whatever you want to believe because obviously you are the man.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Nice hitting bob it is funny how similar we play, almost a carbon copy. I would love to hit with you, that would be a long drawn out match with a lot of running.
Cheetah
Hall of Fame
No I'm not saying you're lying at all. I'm saying I can't see it.. as in I don't understand how you are beating 4.5's. I haven't seen a match video but based on what we have seen I don't think that those shots would present problems to anyone over 4.0. It's just too much time. Tennis is more about taking time away and buying time.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Okay fair enough like I said the league I play in is called a 4.75 but in USTA terms it would be a solid 4.0. My main strong point is consistency and endurance anyone I have played can vouch for that.
Why do you think you are a strong 4.0?
Is it based on league results or similar. I'm not saying you're not as much as I am curious as many of the 4.0s that I know believe they are strong 4.0s.
Ballinbob
Hall of Fame
I know I'm a strong 4.0 because of my results in tournaments. I'm in the top 20 for 4.0 in the state and have beaten a lot of the top 10 guys
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Yeah tlm we would probably have a marathon match haha
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Okay how about a solid 4.0 is that better? I have played in a solid 4.0 league that is called 4.5 and then was upped to 4.75 and I have had a winning record each season.
Cheetah
Hall of Fame
Just watched that vid.
The shots are good but they are not heavy. They are on the slow side and don't have much spin. Most of them were descending when they crossed the baseline. They are not kicking and shooting forward. There was one ball that bounced high but that was because it was a moonball.
You (and I mean you, not everyone) should be able to hit a ball (moonball or flatter trajectory) that lands on or near the service line and is still rising when it crosses the baseline. That would be a heavy ball.
Your hitting partner there didn't look bothered at all. He was casual and had a lot of time. The one ball he missed was on a flatter shot.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Ya it would be fun a definite workout. You may beat me but it would be close, which verifies what my rating is well at least maybe to some. But whatever I know what it is so thats good enough for me.
Cheetah
Hall of Fame
ok. I thought you were saying usta 4.5. but anyway I don't care about ratings.
What I'm saying is that YOU should be hitting better with your talent/ability.
I'm saying your technique is holding you back.
You ever see a good player feed the ball with the underhand swing and it's a very solid contact, like a flat ball? Can you feed like that? If so that's how you should be making contact on fh. Not brushy and steeply angled. It should be just like a flat ball pretty much except the angle the racquet head is travelling at impact is different, but still contact is solid.
When you hit a good heavy ball you should feel the impact/concussion in your whole body at contact. Your legs and back and stomach and shoulders should feel the impact, not just your arm.
Everybody here freakin' arms the ball. It's driving me crazy.
tlm
G.O.A.T.
Ya its easy to get in the habit of arming the ball to much. By the way are you and sureshs going to do some filming this weekend?
JackB1
G.O.A.T.
Hey you are the one who claimed to win over 50% of your matches in a 4.5 league.
Then you posted video that contradicts your claims.
I have never claimed to be anything I am not. I play in several leagues at both 3.5 and 4.0.
Me and my doubles partner just went to semi finals in a -4.0 league. Last season I made playoffs in a 4.0 singles league. I can win over 50% at 3.5 and about 25% at 4.0. I can prove any of this.
fruitytennis1
Professional
You make tennis look really really hard.
First step-humble yourself. Realize you aren't an amazing player, but you aren't a bad player either.
Relax and close your stance.
You definitely take "low to high" way too much to heart
I would advise a slightly less extreme grip and think more through the ball.
I should also add relax
oh, and relax
relax
First step-humble yourself. Realize you aren't an amazing player, but you aren't a bad player either.
Relax and close your stance.
You definitely take "low to high" way too much to heart
I would advise a slightly less extreme grip and think more through the ball.
I should also add relax
oh, and relax
relax
