4.5jumping to open in pursuit of 1glorious atp point

ahuimanu

Rookie
Check out Lendl's backhand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFjgkbN4xnc&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Took a quick look at your vid You're actually a fairly good athlete with nice footwork. Need to straighten out your backhand side. Maybe wrong but it seems you're using your forehand grip to hit a backhand? To reach your goal I'd probably take sometime off to work on conditioning and fix the backhand. You actually decelerate on the stroke and it will not hold up under higher level competition. Lendl had a similar situation as yours and worked to develop a great flat-topspin ripper (he was my model). You're big and strong so just need to work on the grip change and develop the stroke pattern. Have your gf feed you a few thousand balls and spend some qt. Signed: 6 cents. :)
 
^^^
ya, i was trying to make sure my 1st serve % was high. my serve felt like it was way off and i didnt want to have him keep attacking my second serve. also, i had the match in controll and i didnt want to make my elbow really sore by trying to serve too big the whole match. i like to mix up my serves and usually dont hit my big flat serve more than 50% of the time.
 

norcal

Legend
Man, I really respect what you are trying to do but I have to be blunt: You should take 6 months off of tournies/league/matches and focus on coaching and conditioning. You need to lose a lot of weight and fix that backhand if you want to achieve your goal.

You don't get better playing matches, you improve by practicing, fine tuning your strokes and getting correct muscle memory that you can use during matches.

You are 26, in the prime of your life, there is no excuse to be carrying so much extra weight. Do you expect to be playing at 36? 46 (my age)? Trust me, it doesn't get easier to lose weight once you get older, and it will allow you to improve a ton (pun not intended).

Not trying to be harsh, just trying to help you achieve your goal.
 
That's not harsh. Norcal's right.

You have GOT to lose the extra poundage. You have no clue how well you'll move around the court when you lose all that.

Your stuff looks real nice, but I'm someone that wants you to succeed, and believes in what you do. For you to have any chance, the weight has to go.
 

jdubbs

Hall of Fame
I lost 15 pounds in the last year.

For me, it was a commitment to fitness like never before combined with losing the "dumb" calories from things like fries and soda.
I realized that my mind doesn't tell me I'm full for about 20 minutes, and not to pig out during that time. It's hard because I don't have much self control. . Went from 190 to 175, double chin gone, waistline slim, less knee pain than before, faster and can last longer out there on the court. My goal is to get to 170 a la Mardy Fish, I'm the same height (6"2) as he is.

It's funny, this week I went out with some friends and ignored all of my own advice, ate burger, fries, cupcakes, soda's. PIGGED the heck out. Weighed myself the next day and had gained SEVEN pounds. How is that even possible ??? lol.
So it was back to the more reasonable diet and fitness routine to get myself back to where I was.

Point being, it will be an ongoing battle, but you can do it!
 
i know what you mean jdubbs. for me its the hardest thing to control what i eat. i once was 240 and made a bet with my friend to see who could lose more weight and i went to 175. i dont know why this time is different, but just cant seem to put off the cravings. the problem is not only the food i eat, but i eat a lot of food. ive been trying your 20 min thing because when im eating im never full untill my stomach hurts and literally will not allow any more.

i weighed myself this morning and was 203. my ideal weight would be 180 so im not too far off. i understand what your saying norcal. at 26 theres no reason for me to be this heavy. especially since im a big advocate for organic family farms, farmers markets, vitamins and i understand how big corporations controll our food and want us to be fat and unhealthy so we can waste the rest of our money on health problems. for some reason i still revert to eating unhealthy and dont think of the consequenses. one idea ive been thinking about putting into action is taking a good amount of money and having my gf hold it. if i dont lose X amount of weight by time Y then i will want her to donate it for me. kind of like a bet with myself.

after watching my match vid i realize i move pretty well and my feet are generally quick. i can only imagine how much better i would be if i lost the weight. i am running an uphill battle against my genes. my family is quite large. i plan on posting more match vids as i go, hopefully we will see some weight loss and bh improvent in the near future.
 

goober

Legend
Man, I really respect what you are trying to do but I have to be blunt: You should take 6 months off of tournies/league/matches and focus on coaching and conditioning. You need to lose a lot of weight and fix that backhand if you want to achieve your goal.
.

Yah it looked like he chipped every backhand back. You can get away with that at the club level, but he should probably take 6-12 months off and learn a driving topspin 1hbh (that he can hit any time consistently) or switch to 2hands. I am not sure how his matches went but I am going to guess the open players were feasting on his backhand.
 
... i understand how big corporations controll our food and want us to be fat and unhealthy so we can waste the rest of our money on health problems.

That's pretty funny, you're being sarcastic right? Being fat is all a BIG FAT conspiracy by the big fat corporations. We have no individual control over it--actually it's all George Bush's fault. Pass the mayo please.
 

JoelDali

Talk Tennis Guru
That's pretty funny, you're being sarcastic right? Being fat is all a BIG FAT conspiracy by the big fat corporations. We have no individual control over it--actually it's all George Bush's fault. Pass the mayo please.

He's 100% right.

Look at the latest heartburn commercial telling us we can eat big greasy pizza again if we just pop some Rolaids.

Its kinda like Viagra as well. Men who need Viagra are just masking the true problems with their bodies. Viagra was developed and discovered by accident in trying treat more serious health issues.

I grew up eating (and still do unfortunately) junk food and have massive issues with GERD. I actually almost died about 4 times from choking due to the scarring in my esophogus. I had the surgery to correct it but it didn't teach me a lesson because I have the discipline and fortitude of a 9 year old due to other issues. See my Eagle thread for clues on that.

When I die my body should be donated to science. I just cannot imagine how effed up it is. When you see me dissappear from TT you'll know that Ronald Mcdonald came for me and led me away from the land of the living.

Between killing us with legalized heroin in tablet form and other atrocities the pharma companies are the most evil entities on the planet aside from defense contractors and the SEC.
 
He's 100% right.
Between killing us with legalized heroin in tablet form and other atrocities the pharma companies are the most evil entities on the planet aside from defense contractors and the SEC.

Joel, it may be time for you to get out of NYC, get 40 acres, a mule and remove yourself from all those evil influences--maybe make a tennis court out of ant-hill or cow dung and go commando naturelle.
 

sabala

Semi-Pro
Lol, no show win for OP! Looking at past records looks like he has beaten the guy 2 out of their last 3 matches.
 
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Iron57

New User
He's 100% right.

Between killing us with legalized heroin in tablet form and other atrocities the pharma companies are the most evil entities on the planet aside from defense contractors and the SEC.

You sir, have no idea what you are talking about.
 
i won my local tournament, the HB open, in the 4.5 division today. the final match i won by default because the guy didnt show up. i have played the guy 3 times before, winning the last two. i dont remember exactly when i lost to the guy, but i know i wasnt playing as good as i am today. i feel that i am playing the best tennis of my life. this is actually the first tournament that i have ever won above 4.0. i only dropped one set and it was in the semi's and the guy was really good. he took me 1-6 in the first and i thought i was going to lose for sure. i could not dial in my game. on the set change over i changed my game and started playing more consistent and waited for my chances to hit winners much more patiently. after the match we exchanged numbers so we could meet up and practice and i learned he is a teaching pro at one of the local clubs around here.

after the match was defaulted i hung around and watched the mens open finals. it was fun getting to hang out with my dad at his club. i remember playing tennis when i was really young at these courts, and people i didnt recognize would talk to my dad and say they remember me when i was really small. i was pretty bummed that i didnt get to play because i was excited to win the tournament with my dad and his friends watching. i watched about an hour of the mens open. one of the players' mom was sitting next to me and she told me he was playing at univ of oregon which i think is d1. i know these players arent the highest ranked guys in socal, but they were pretty good. i know if i were to play these guys they would probably beat me, but i know i could hang and get some games. i know with more work i will be competing with these guys soon.

later today i had my usta league doubles match and i was playing really good. usually im not too good at doubles because i need to get into a rythym, but today i was firing on all cylinders. me and my teamate ended up winning 6-4 6-4 i think.

ive been playing a lot and have met some cool people through my craigslist post. one guy i met with was down to meet up twice a week and do drills. friday we worked on my crosscourt bh and service return. this was really helping me get that muscle memory that you need to hit consistent shots. this was exellent practice and realy what i need to get better. theres a few tournament coming up in september. i havent decided if ima play 4.5 or open. if theres a large draw for 5.0 ill probably play that. i plan on playing a lot for practice before my next tournaments. ive been playing around 5 days a week, but plan on training even harder. ill get some video of my bh once i get my tripod thing in the mail. i got some video of the semi final match but only a few points because the court was not and ideal court for filming.
 
Congrats man! Now you are moving up!

Who cares how you win. Guy didn't want to show, so you deserve it. Think of it as respect.

I wish I could play as many tourneys as you. Right now I'm relegated to one a month because Georgia does mostly Jr. tourneys. Next year, I'll travel more. Small time at first for money reasons, but it's a start.

Far as you go though, just keep up your winning streak. You never know how far you can take things.

I applaud you.
 

coachbrian

New User
i won my local tournament, the HB open, in the 4.5 division today. the final match i won by default because the guy didnt show up. i have played the guy 3 times before, winning the last two. i dont remember exactly when i lost to the guy, but i know i wasnt playing as good as i am today. i feel that i am playing the best tennis of my life. this is actually the first tournament that i have ever won above 4.0. i only dropped one set and it was in the semi's and the guy was really good. he took me 1-6 in the first and i thought i was going to lose for sure. i could not dial in my game. on the set change over i changed my game and started playing more consistent and waited for my chances to hit winners much more patiently. after the match we exchanged numbers so we could meet up and practice and i learned he is a teaching pro at one of the local clubs around here.

after the match was defaulted i hung around and watched the mens open finals. it was fun getting to hang out with my dad at his club. i remember playing tennis when i was really young at these courts, and people i didnt recognize would talk to my dad and say they remember me when i was really small. i was pretty bummed that i didnt get to play because i was excited to win the tournament with my dad and his friends watching. i watched about an hour of the mens open. one of the players' mom was sitting next to me and she told me he was playing at univ of oregon which i think is d1. i know these players arent the highest ranked guys in socal, but they were pretty good. i know if i were to play these guys they would probably beat me, but i know i could hang and get some games. i know with more work i will be competing with these guys soon.

later today i had my usta league doubles match and i was playing really good. usually im not too good at doubles because i need to get into a rythym, but today i was firing on all cylinders. me and my teamate ended up winning 6-4 6-4 i think.

ive been playing a lot and have met some cool people through my craigslist post. one guy i met with was down to meet up twice a week and do drills. friday we worked on my crosscourt bh and service return. this was really helping me get that muscle memory that you need to hit consistent shots. this was exellent practice and realy what i need to get better. theres a few tournament coming up in september. i havent decided if ima play 4.5 or open. if theres a large draw for 5.0 ill probably play that. i plan on playing a lot for practice before my next tournaments. ive been playing around 5 days a week, but plan on training even harder. ill get some video of my bh once i get my tripod thing in the mail. i got some video of the semi final match but only a few points because the court was not and ideal court for filming.

Good win, or win by default. I think you need to start working up towards "hanging" with the Open Division. Your playing a 4.5 division for goodness sake, in which the winner of the 5.0 division of your tournament beat you last year 6-1, 6-1 if I am correct? It sounds that you have all the confidence in playing at the high level, but maybe your game isnt developed enough for you to post wins. Playing on paper, is totally different then putting it on the court.

I think the best solution, as many have posted, is to train, shed some pounds, and really practice hard. Start working your way up a division at a time. Not bouncing all over the division board.
 
Good win, or win by default. I think you need to start working up towards "hanging" with the Open Division. Your playing a 4.5 division for goodness sake, in which the winner of the 5.0 division of your tournament beat you last year 6-1, 6-1 if I am correct? It sounds that you have all the confidence in playing at the high level, but maybe your game isnt developed enough for you to post wins. Playing on paper, is totally different then putting it on the court.

I think the best solution, as many have posted, is to train, shed some pounds, and really practice hard. Start working your way up a division at a time. Not bouncing all over the division board.

i actually remember that loss quite well. that was the loss that determined me to get better. that was a year ago when i was demoing racquets and thought my game was the best thing since sliced bread. i thought i could handle any racquet and was using the blx 6.1 90. i remember the crippling tennis elbow that thing gave me. i broke a string the match before and i took it into a big box store and told the stringer i broke strings alot. so they gave me kevlar at 60lbs( i dont reccomend this to anyone). needless to say i sold that racquet and went through many other racquets untill i found the pstgt. i have my own stringer now and know much much more about tennis and i dont get tennis elbow any more. about 6 months ago i did get a chance for a rematch against keith in my ultimate tennis league. the score was 6-7 0-6 and i have improved a great deal since even then. i think then i was using the yonex rdis 100 mid. im fairly certain if i played him now i would win or at least go 3 sets.

but i know what your saying about the level jumping. the problem is that the 5.0 and 5.5 levels never bring a good size draw. its usually like 4.5 has 20-30 ppl open has 25-35 ppl and if there is a 5.0 or 5.5 draw its like a maximum of 8ppl. so its either get my moneys worth at 4.5 or get a lesson at open.
 

coachbrian

New User
i actually remember that loss quite well. that was the loss that determined me to get better. that was a year ago when i was demoing racquets and thought my game was the best thing since sliced bread. i thought i could handle any racquet and was using the blx 6.1 90. i remember the crippling tennis elbow that thing gave me. i broke a string the match before and i took it into a big box store and told the stringer i broke strings alot. so they gave me kevlar at 60lbs( i dont reccomend this to anyone). needless to say i sold that racquet and went through many other racquets untill i found the pstgt. i have my own stringer now and know much much more about tennis and i dont get tennis elbow any more. about 6 months ago i did get a chance for a rematch against keith in my ultimate tennis league. the score was 6-7 0-6 and i have improved a great deal since even then. i think then i was using the yonex rdis 100 mid. im fairly certain if i played him now i would win or at least go 3 sets.

but i know what your saying about the level jumping. the problem is that the 5.0 and 5.5 levels never bring a good size draw. its usually like 4.5 has 20-30 ppl open has 25-35 ppl and if there is a 5.0 or 5.5 draw its like a maximum of 8ppl. so its either get my moneys worth at 4.5 or get a lesson at open.

I understand what your saying. But are you trying to get better? So playing a smaller draw with better players wont get you better? It looks like Keith just walked his 5.0 draw if im not correct? It sounds like you are looking for quantity and not quality.

Wether you win vs Keith or not, it looks like he is moving up, and your still at your level. Right?
 

ahuimanu

Rookie
Agree with coachbrian...just played a few sets of competitive doubles against a couple of former ATPers and wow, what a treat! I usually play against 4 to 5 + players all the time but this level is so much different (quality of shot, placement, consistency etc.).

Got killed early on until we started playing smash mouth to keep up.
It's all about levels and it happens at the top too. Recall hearing Fed saying how he plays better at the later stages as the guys hit a "cleaner" ball.

To be your best, play the best.

Move up young man!

fo
I understand what your saying. But are you trying to get better? So playing a smaller draw with better players wont get you better? It looks like Keith just walked his 5.0 draw if im not correct? It sounds like you are looking for quantity and not quality.

Wether you win vs Keith or not, it looks like he is moving up, and your still at your level. Right?
 

Govnor

Professional
I think the key for you is that backhand. I played an older guy yesterday who was a good all around player, not as good as you for sure, but just solid. However, he basically only had a slice backhand and I took total advantage of that. He plays in the circles I play in, and wins almost all the time, but I smashed him once I figured out he was so weak on the bh. I would expect those 5.0 players to do the same to you.
 

Fugazi

Professional
I think the key for you is that backhand. I played an older guy yesterday who was a good all around player, not as good as you for sure, but just solid. However, he basically only had a slice backhand and I took total advantage of that. He plays in the circles I play in, and wins almost all the time, but I smashed him once I figured out he was so weak on the bh. I would expect those 5.0 players to do the same to you.
+1. The backhand. You have a 5.0 FH with a 3.5-4.0 BH...
 

Govnor

Professional
i actually remember that loss quite well. that was the loss that determined me to get better. that was a year ago when i was demoing racquets and thought my game was the best thing since sliced bread. i thought i could handle any racquet and was using the blx 6.1 90. i remember the crippling tennis elbow that thing gave me. i broke a string the match before and i took it into a big box store and told the stringer i broke strings alot. so they gave me kevlar at 60lbs( i dont reccomend this to anyone). needless to say i sold that racquet and went through many other racquets untill i found the pstgt. i have my own stringer now and know much much more about tennis and i dont get tennis elbow any more. about 6 months ago i did get a chance for a rematch against keith in my ultimate tennis league. the score was 6-7 0-6 and i have improved a great deal since even then. i think then i was using the yonex rdis 100 mid. im fairly certain if i played him now i would win or at least go 3 sets.

but i know what your saying about the level jumping. the problem is that the 5.0 and 5.5 levels never bring a good size draw. its usually like 4.5 has 20-30 ppl open has 25-35 ppl and if there is a 5.0 or 5.5 draw its like a maximum of 8ppl. so its either get my moneys worth at 4.5 or get a lesson at open.

My 2 cents.

If I were you, I would play a couple more 4.5 Tournaments. My reasons are two fold. Most importantly, you have to work on your back hand. Make a conscious effort to get your footwork correct and hit the two hander every time. Don't even think about slicing, unless you're seriously reaching. Don't worry about the scoreboard at all.

Second point would be to solidify in your mind that you are now too good to play at 4.5, and you have earned those spots in the open or 5.0 tourneys (assuming you win...).
 
Sorry, but I thought starting at 3.5, everyone picks on everyone else's backhands.

SHHHH! This is the secret to my success! One day, someone is going to notice that my BH is actually waaaay better under pressure than my FH is.

Then where will I be? Until then, I smash big FH winners off short balls and scare 'em onto my BH, hopin all the while that I won't get pushed deep and wide on my FH side, thus revealing my terrible secret!

(ok, it's relative, I have a decent FH and I am good at punishing the short ball, but it isn't as 'safe' under pressure as it could be. Fact)
 
so ive been working on the bh a lot. i just got done with a two hour session of only hitting bh's. ive been hitting with a guy and we do this drill where he only hit bh to me and i hit it and then touch the center hash mark and go back to hit another bh. we did this for about 1 and a half hrs. then for about 30 mins we had him serve to my bh a bunch of times. my game is feeln really good lately. ive played every day for the last 9 to 10 days. i still feel like im strugling with getting my feet set properly when i try and hit a bh cross court with good pace. with the amount im playing lately ill improve much quicker. ive also finally settled on a string setup that i really feel works with my gm.

theres two tournaments coming up in a week and a half. ill probably sign up for the queen of hearts tournament.
http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=104661
im gone all this weekend, but i have practice sessions already scheduled for tues through thurs. ill probably take friday off to rest and then have the tournament this weekend. i just hope the draw gets at least 16 ppl. so far it looks like theres not too many ppl signed up.
 

ryu1revline

New User
Hey man, I saw you playing in the semis of the HB Open, grats on the win.

TBH I was there watching Mayeda playing on the court next to yours for the men's open semis, but caught most of the 1st set from your match. It looked brutal and I thought you were finished, so I went to check out thomsen play the other open semi match.

After another hour I kept hearing cheers coming WAY back from those awful courts they put you guys, and my friend said it must be a war back there lol. We both agreed that you have a "technically" better game than the philippino guy you played, but man, the consistency of your shots was tough to watch. I would have thrown my racquet a few times on some of those backhand returns on his serve.:grin:

Lucky for you, your opponent started missing his pushy shots, and you finally started making your forehand winners. It wasn't pretty, but sometimes those are the best wins haha.

I saw that Morales guy play against the old guy in the other 4.5 match, and he was quite the super pusher, with only a forehand and backhand slice.. I'm not kidding lol. You would've easily beaten him if he showed.

To be blunt, there is a massive gap between you and the open players I saw there, and they were on the low end of what I normally see. I doubt you could even break thomsen in 5 sets. But it's no big deal, you'll get there in time if you want it bad enough. Good luck!
 
^^^thats cool that you got to see me play for a bit. that first set i was really playing bad. i know what you mean about the consistency. i would have a short ball and him at the net and i would burry it in the net. i picked it up though, and really started hitting the corners with my fh. that morales guy's gm is ugly to watch. he really uses all the junk gm to win. im sure i woudve won.

i was watching the match next to mine a lot. i just noticed how much quicker their game is. i feel like im getting better everyday though. my main objectives to get to that level are lose weight and get to 180, work on bh to be able to rally and return with it and not be on defense, get my flat first serve to a higher percentage, and work on my net game. ive been eating healthy lately and smaller portions. i was 200 this morning, which isnt anything to be proud of, but its down a few lb's though.

i feel like im on a good run lately. theres a guy i play a lot and he always takes me in straight sets, and i pushed him to a third for the first time this week. i feel like ive been getting good practice and have more drive than ever before. once i win two more tournies i think ill jump up again.
 

ryu1revline

New User
^^^thats cool that you got to see me play for a bit. that first set i was really playing bad. i know what you mean about the consistency. i would have a short ball and him at the net and i would burry it in the net. i picked it up though, and really started hitting the corners with my fh. that morales guy's gm is ugly to watch. he really uses all the junk gm to win. im sure i woudve won.

i was watching the match next to mine a lot. i just noticed how much quicker their game is. i feel like im getting better everyday though. my main objectives to get to that level are lose weight and get to 180, work on bh to be able to rally and return with it and not be on defense, get my flat first serve to a higher percentage, and work on my net game. ive been eating healthy lately and smaller portions. i was 200 this morning, which isnt anything to be proud of, but its down a few lb's though.

i feel like im on a good run lately. theres a guy i play a lot and he always takes me in straight sets, and i pushed him to a third for the first time this week. i feel like ive been getting good practice and have more drive than ever before. once i win two more tournies i think ill jump up again.

A lot of posts on here about losing weight, and it definitely wouldn't hurt you, but your footwork was pretty good I thought. I mean, I never once thought your weight was a factor in that match, and you even wore the other guy out. Movement from less weight would get you into position for a better BH though, and I think most people slice their BH as a crutch for bad movement. A leaner body would also let you run around the ball and hit an inside-out forehand instead, at least until your new BH is ready to go.

Personally, I would say just build that backhand up; rebuild it if you have to. It doesn't have to be a weapon, just solid and consistent. I also agree about working the serve, except I think you should focus more on your 2nd not your 1st. It looked like you were holding back on your 1st serve, most likely because of your confidence in your 2nd serve; as your arms were extremely tense. With a confident 2nd serve you can really let the 1st serves go without worrying about a DF. The open players ALL have a beastly 2nd serve, so get to it.:)
 

jdubbs

Hall of Fame
I also agree about working the serve, except I think you should focus more on your 2nd not your 1st. It looked like you were holding back on your 1st serve, most likely because of your confidence in your 2nd serve; as your arms were extremely tense. With a confident 2nd serve you can really let the 1st serves go without worrying about a DF. The open players ALL have a beastly 2nd serve, so get to it.:)

This.
I struggle with my 2nd serve, and people say just get it in. But you cant get to the next level hitting weak second serves. Even though i struggle with double faults, im going to work until i have a consistent 2nd serve thats also hard to return.
 
A tennis adage is, "Your first serve is only as good as your second." Top-spin second serve: Ball toss at 12 o'clock, practice slicing hitting the ball with the edge of the racket over the fence into the street, racket-head and arm speed is the same as for a first.
 

ahuimanu

Rookie
have you been to this meetup group. it looks interesting, but i noticed the highest level is 4.0. i think ill check it out and see if the guy has any good tips he can give me. either way im sure ill get a good workout.

Don't have any personal experience with this group as I don't live in the area (my former tennis buddy played with this instructor in high school)

The instructor is experienced, appears to have played at a high level and expressed a desire to help others improve their respective games. Although its says 4.0 instruction I think you can always learn something new, especially with respect to your backhand and conditioning challenges.

I came across this informative nutritional talk with Jeff Salzenstein that maybe of benefit...

http://www.eatingforenergy.ca/athletes/***********inar.html
 
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