2007 Amateur Tennis in Review: Your Personal Best and Worst Moments

[Jack the Hack]

With only a couple more weeks left in 2007, this thread is for highlighting your personal best and worst moments in tennis for the year. This is your opportunity to brag about your accomplishments and whine about the goals you missed.

I know some of you won USTA League championships this year, and some got rankings either in their section or nationally. For others, they may have played their first tournament, or finally got bumped up in the ratings. Others may have gotten injured or went into a slump. Some people may have not played much tennis, but got to meet a pro tennis star or attend a pro event for the first time. Now's the time to go ahead and tell us what happened in 2007 with your personal tennis journey.

I'll start...

My Personal 2007 Hightlights

• I played in 18 individual tournaments and on two different USTA League teams.
  
• I played tournaments in 5 different US states (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Texas) and in Canada (British Columbia).
  
• I played tournaments on 4 different surfaces: grass, clay, (slow) outdoor hardcourts, and (really fast) indoor hardcourts.
  
• I won 3 tournaments: one 4.5 NTRP, one 35-and-over singles, and one 35-and-over doubles event.
  
• I won $115 in prize money, a nice crystal trophy, and collected a half dozen t-shirts, water bottles, or other assorted tournament swag.
  
• I finally won my club’s 4.5 Grand Prix championship ladder. (I’ve been the runner up several times.)
  
• Both of my USTA League teams made it to the playoffs, and one of them advanced to Sectionals.
  
• The final sectional rankings are not out yet, but I should be in the top 15 in my age group, and top 3 in my NTRP category.
  
• My overall record in official matches this year was 34-24.
  
• My most important win was where I saved two match points in a third set super-tiebreaker and clinched the 3-2 win for one of my USTA League teams in the local area playoffs so that we could get to Sectionals.
  
• My highest quality win was in practice over the 2007 high school state singles champion from my area. I won 6-3, 7-5… which shocked his dad, who I think was expecting his kid to thrash me.
  
• I also got to attend the SAP Open (the pro event in San Jose) for three sessions. My company uses SAP and we got some free tickets, so I made an excuse to be down in that area for work. But the seats we got weren't just any... Section Floor 101, Row 1, Seat 3 was mine. These are right on the court, directly behind the baseline judge. I was so close, I could hear all the curse words that Andy Murray was muttering under his breath, and I actually got hit by a Ivo Karlovic serve that bounced my way in the final. Very cool experience!

My Personal 2007 Lowlights

• I lost in the first round of a tournament 8 times this year.
  
• I had numerous irritating injuries this year (sprained ankle, pulled hamstring, knee tendonitis, sprained wrist, sore lower back, and strained neck).
  
• I lost a little bit of weight (about 10 lbs), but I never got in really good shape like I had hoped to.
  
• My worst loss of the year was at the 35-and-over individual sectional tournament in the 1st round. I won the first set 6-2, but lost the second 4-6 and was down 1-4 in the third. I made a big comeback and got the third set into a tiebreaker, where I had match point at 6-5. At that point, my opponent missed his first serve and hit me a floater second. Unfortunately, I hit the top of the tape with my return, and then ended up losing the match 7-9. I couldn’t sleep well for several days after that loss. I kept replaying that return over and over in my head. If it had been 1 inch higher, it would have been a clean winner and I would have won the match. It still makes me sick! (And that loss probably cost me a spot in the top 10 in my age category.)

 

[Cindysphinx]

Personal highlights

Won "attendance incentive" (must attend 5:45 a.m. fitness class five days a week for entire month) in March-July, September-December.

Lost about 10 pounds and improved footspeed and strength.

Bumped to 3.5.

Fixed volleys, learned to slice serve, improved footwork all around, eliminated push second serve.

Played some 3.5 singles and lived to tell about it.

3.0 team finished fourth in flight, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Had the team over to my house for brunch; managed to get the place looking clean just that one day.

Aced my pro. Just once, but still . . .

Ran into very first pro who taught the very first tennis class I ever took in Oct. 2004, who lurked in the viewing area to watch today. He said nice things about how I'm playing. :fist pump:

Personal Lowlights

Boobs got smaller because of weight loss.

Poor results in 7.0 mixed, going 2-3 and being carried by the Superhero for the wins.

Putting away about 30% of overheads, which is downright embarrassing.

Missing entirely too many service returns in matches; still can't gain confidence in groundstrokes.

Failed to re-string racket for over a year, which is inexcusable neglect.

Nagging injuries: shoulder and plantar faschitis.

Had jelly beans for dinner last night; felt like crap this morning.

 

[Topaz]

Highlights!

*Co-captained my outdoor team again, and went to districts again.
*Won all my matches at districts, including my first ever USTA singles match win.
*Won a few club tournaments: one mixed, one women's doubles, one charity event women's doubles
*Won a USTA tournament, NTRP women's doubles
*Won a few 3.5 doubles matches
*Got bumped to 3.5
*Played on clay for the first time ever, at my first ever National tournament
*Met people from this board

Lowlights
*Spent almost the entire year with plantar fasciitis in my left foot (but shhhh...I think it is finally gone...I'm afraid to say it too loudly).
*Lost a match love and love, and got hit in the face in the same match
*Lost a pro that I really enjoyed working with

I'm sure there is more, but that is all I can come up with right now. And I shouldn't even *be* up right now! :shock:

 

[WBF]

Highlights:

• Making it to the Quarter Finals in the National Father Son Grass tourney.
• Improved backhand

Lowlights:

• Pulling or tearing a muscle badly enough to make it look like a hernia, and losing against a team we could have potentially beaten (in the QF) during the tournament. Still managed to hack my serve in to take out the fourth seed in the consolation rounds
• Long Story, but essentially: As someone who is always 30-45 minutes early to a tournament, events lead to me getting a call asking why I wasn't on the court... while at the mall. And then losing to an old guy once I managed to break speed records on the way home and to the club. Sigh.
• Volleys stayed pretty stagnant

 

[JohnP]

Highlights:
-I started playing tennis again for the first time in 6 years
-I've lost several pounds and have gotten in much better shape
-I've enjoyed playing alot, and wish I hadn't quit for so long

Lowlights
-My body, overall, feels like crap
-I'm playing like crap

 

[CrocodileRock]

Highlights:

1. Advanced to sectionals for the seventh time, fifth as captain.
2. Broke back into the top 15 in singles.
3. Watched USA win Davis Cup in person.
4. Started teaching son-in-law how to play.

Lowlights:

1. Missed the final four at sectionals by one match, with one of our teams
serving double match point and still losing.
2. Retired in the finals of one tournament due to fatigue.
3. Lost in the quarters of two other tournaments for the same reason.

 

[thehustler]

Highlights

Played my first year of USTA league. Only lost 2 matches, both to guys who got bumped up to 4.5.

Got bumped to 4.5.

Improved my serve and backhand. No longer worrying about holding in matches and knowing I can still break at will to win sets a lot easier.

Made a bunch of new tennis friends who are all around the same skill level as me. Makes for more fun competitive tennis during the summer months.

Lowlights

Lost in the 2nd round of a tourney to someone I should've crushed. That made me go straight to league season and take it out on those guys not going up to 4.5.

Lost a couple matches in league play. One I got crushed because I was in a slump. The other one I felt I could've won if my serve was more reliable. I don't think my opponent expected me to do what I did, but it made me more confident in my abilities.

Didn't make playoffs in first year of league play. Rather disappointed, but looking forward to next year with league and tournament play.

 

[volleyman]

Highlights:

Guided my USTA 4.0 team, as co-captain, to their first berth in the state finals. We came in 3rd. But damn, we had fun.

Made the state tournament in all 3 official leagues: USTA, Mixed and Combo.

Captained my singles team to a local league championship.

Won 3 out of 4 doubles tournaments I entered.

Ended the year (tentative) as the 3rd ranked 4.0 Mens doubles player in NC.

Found two excellent mixed doubles partners.

Made some new friends.

Lowlights

Spend the entire year babying a sore shoulder, which kept me from playing singles in tournaments and slowly ate away my serve.

A horrible performance in match 1, for my team, of the USTA league state tournament round-robin finals. My partner and I played so badly that we pulled ourselves out of the second match.

Blowing a 7-3 in the match tiebreak of a quarterfinals mens doubles match at the State Clay Closed. If we had closed it out, I'm confident my partner and I would have made the finals, and maybe even won the tournament.

 

[TheShaun]

2007 highlights:
decided to pick up the game again after 10 yrs off. why did i ever stop playing?
taking part in simon brown's road trip matches. even though i lost 0-0.

lowlights:
shoulder impingement!!!!!
realizing that i'm not as athletic as i was 10 yrs ago.

 

[raiden031]

Best Moments
-------------
Learning to volley with the continental grip
Learning to hit kick serves
Transforming from a terrible doubles player to a solid one
Beating a playing partner in singles for the first time after like 10 matches against him
Beating a 4.0 player in singles
My 6.5 combo team winning Districts after just barely making it into the playoffs

Worst Moments
---------------
Not getting bumped up to 3.5
Not being available to compete when my 6.5 combo team won Districts
Losing a match when I was up 6-1, 5-0
Losing a doubles match after we hit a winner on our own match point and the opponent called it out

 

[Doc Hollidae]

Best Moments:
-Deciding to play tennis again after 6years.
-Finishing the tournament season 15th in Norcal for 4.5's.
-Beating the #1 4.5 player for tourneys 3 and 3.
-Switching from the LM Radical to the Radical LE and then finding 2 Radical TT Tours

Low Points:
-Not winning a tournament. (Did make a few finals and semi's though)
-Got most of my game back, but not all of it.
-1st tournament back, losing to a 63 year guy 0 and 1 and then him retiring at match point. (I was 23 at the time and have the highest respect for that player now)
-Buying 2 LM Radicals
-Seeded #1, in the finals, and end up throwing up non-stop for a set and a half and refusing to retire.
-Up 6-3, 5-4 serving for the match and again getting sick and throwing up.
-Finding out Gatorade (which I have drank since I was a kid) was the cause of my stomach issue

 

[Tennis Sucks]

Highlights

My biggest highlight of the year.

<a href="http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/untappedpotential/?action=view&current=ROLIDOBOYSCHAMPIONSHIPBANNER.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/untappedpotential/ROLIDOBOYSCHAMPIONSHIPBANNER.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[czech09]

Best:
Winning a Team Tennis tourney at my University with some really good friends. (Go Deucebags!)
Getting to the finals of intramurals in doubles.



Worst:
Losing early on in intramural singles.
Still not improving much...
Buying racquets all the time, just to find out that changing them doesn't change much.
Getting owned by the two people in the finals of intramural doubles that we beat in the Team Tennis tourney.

 

[Photoshop]

Best:
Winning a Team Tennis tourney at my University with some really good friends. (Go Deucebags!)

Go Deucebags! link to where we got the name from Thank you, sliceBH!

 

[jayserinos99]

Highlights:
- went undefeated in 3.5 league (4-0, 3 doubles, 1 singles)
- went undefeated in 7.5 combo league (3-0)
Lowlights:
- didn't play any singles or doubles tournaments
- didn't lose any weight
Meh:
- got double bumped to 4.0 ESR

 

[goober]

Best Moments:

-Won NTRP grand Prix
-Won 3 tourneys and got to the finals of 5
-Beat several ex college players, beat a regionally ranked junior who thought he was going to cream me when he found out that he had been playing tennis twice as long as I have.
-Prizes: $50 gift certificate at a tennis store, $30 dinner certificate at a nice restaurant were the two best.
- Started playing doubles and enjoying it.

Worst Moments

-Retired from a final from heat exhaustion.
-Not staying in good physical shape.
-Pretty much still have the same weaknesses in my game as last year.

 

[equinox]

Highlights:

- Won 4.0 Mixed League from 5th position in last rd (4th by .5pt, 32-9, 8-1 finals sets, great result considering our player dropouts at start of the season..)

- Won 4.0 Friday Night Comp (renamed Beer Cup, literally playing dangerous drunks..)

- Won Graded Doubles Event ( Sandbagged, 3.5 competitors..2 games dropped, Saw one decent kick serve and enormous pot belly..)

- Semi-Finalist Graded Singles Event (Out Sandbagged! opposition won and went on to win three more graded events during the year.....)

- Played very well against 4.5+ in Tues Night Doubles, lost like 4/5 sets total

Lowlights:

- Got ass handed to me by Top50 65's ITF veteran. :|

- Got smashed by 5.0+ players twice in singles..

- Lost to AR1500 jr in 3 sets. :\

- Knees hurting again from singles hardcourt matches.