5.0 vs Former Futures Player (Former 12.6 UTR)

FiddlerDog said:
Tell me you've never filmed yourself without telling me you've never filmed yourself.
Former top 300 is a 4.0? That guy is Osaka's hitting partner. LOL, at least you're consistent.

Rafaboy, film yourself, and you'll get a clue.

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anybody can be a hitting partner. doesnt mean much these days, like a sparring partner. just a beat on guy.
 
WildVolley said:
Are you doing some sort of trolling performance? Because all of your analysis is completely wrong. Have you looked at the "fake pro's" channel?
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u asked my opinion and i gave u it. he is slow, unexplosive and lumbering. ive seen d2 ladies that would put him under the table.
 
MyFearHand said:
I derive all my motivation to improve from the talk tennis forum telling me I'm a 3.5 :-D
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07B89120-B48D-45FB-AF1D-49AF6CD16790.jpg


J
 
Fxanimator1 said:
Can YOU be a hitting partner for a pro, you know "a beat on guy"?
Would love to see video of that session, so I can compare what real movement should look like for myself.
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@Rafaboy
You can post your video link here.

THE complete list of TW Posters' videos

The complete list of links to TW Posters' videos. Please reply with a link to your video and I will add it to the complete list. A @adamc637 NTRP 4.0 singles __ 3.5 vs 5.0 ___ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upcy-9OVIR0 @AgassiGrafFan groundstrokes __...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
 
Fxanimator1 said:
Hold on now! Someone is claiming Karue Sell is a 4.0? FFS!
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As someone else pointed out, not too many have taken the bait.
@onehandbh had the right idea imo - let him post video and we can go from there. No need for match play (yet), that's asking way too much! Just a few practice serves will probably reveal more than enough. If he can break 100mph then ok, we need more. And let's not forget, the guy has an iPhone, so recording this won't be an issue.

Fxanimator1 said:
Can YOU be a hitting partner for a pro, you know "a beat on guy"?
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He comes here to get beat on, and is probably loving it!
 
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WildVolley said:
OK. You've proven that you have absolutely no ability to rate other tennis players based on video. Duly noted. Thanks.
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that is your opinion. you have every right to express it. im not asking for proof of your ability, so they should stop picking fights on here.
 
Fxanimator1 said:
Can YOU be a hitting partner for a pro, you know "a beat on guy"?
Would love to see video of that session, so I can compare what real movement should look like for myself.
Click to expand...
u dont know what real movement looks like?
go watch the fed-krygios Laver cup. real stuff.
 
Rafaboy said:
on a good nite im 6.0. shots are not as precise this year for some reason.
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Why oh why? In 2017, there were 12 (count 'em 12) players ranked 6.0 in the USTA rankings out of over 250,000 players. Odds are good, you aren't a 6.0 unless you played at least high level D1 and are still in very very good form. If you can win roughly 50% of your matches in open level tournaments, then you might be a legit 6.0 but if you can't do that, you are just embarrassing yourself to make this claim.
 
MyFearHand said:
Hi all, I got to play a 5.0 league match yesterday against a former futures player. Sadly my camera died part way through the second set. I ended up losing 1-6 3-6, but there were some great points. I've trained with him a few times prior to this so that helped me know what to expect. Being on court with him is awesome because I always find things to learn about my game. My main takeaway is that I was very successful at net and even against a player of his caliber I will be successful there. The issue is finding ways to get to the net when he hits such a consistent and deep ball. Any advice and comments are appreciated!

I'm in the gray shirt, red hat, maroon shorts and I start on the far side.
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If you are looking to get to the net more, why not serve and volley. Your serve is good enough and your opponent is returning from far behind the baseline and hitting high looping returns. S&V and make him prove he can hit low dipping returns. You are going to lose some points but if you win 2 out 3 playing S&V, so what if he passes you sometimes.

Do you hit a backhand slice approach? You could try stepping in and hit the slice DTL when he hits a shorter ball but it will require work as it isn't an easy shot. Goal is to hit it deep to a corner with some bite or hit is short and low with some bite. If you hit it in-between, you're in trouble.

Sometimes you let a weaker ball go by and simply hit a neutral ball back. If you want to play attacking tennis, when you have 1 foot or more inside the court, have a good contact (below the shoulders and above the knees) and your balance set, give it a bit of a rip going for depth and a corner to see if you can force a weak reply.

If you hit a forcing ball deep in the corner, go to the net. A few times you hit deep balls to opponents backhand side and you could see he was going to the slice. You can anticipate the slice if you hurt him with your shot and go to the net. Nadal uses this play a lot. If he anticipates a defensive reply, he will sprint in and take the high floater out of the air.

That's all I've got for you. You have a good game. Enjoy and improve.
 
TennisCJC said:
Why oh why? In 2017, there were 12 (count 'em 12) players ranked 6.0 in the USTA rankings out of over 250,000 players. Odds are good, you aren't a 6.0 unless you played at least high level D1 and are still in very very good form. If you can win roughly 50% of your matches in open level tournaments, then you might be a legit 6.0 but if you can't do that, you are just embarrassing yourself to make this claim.
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He didn't say 6.0 USTA. Maybe he meant 6.0 UTR. That would make more sense.
 
TennisCJC said:
If you are looking to get to the net more, why not serve and volley. Your serve is good enough and your opponent is returning from far behind the baseline and hitting high looping returns. S&V and make him prove he can hit low dipping returns. You are going to lose some points but if you win 2 out 3 playing S&V, so what if he passes you sometimes.

Do you hit a backhand slice approach? You could try stepping in and hit the slice DTL when he hits a shorter ball but it will require work as it isn't an easy shot. Goal is to hit it deep to a corner with some bite or hit is short and low with some bite. If you hit it in-between, you're in trouble.

Sometimes you let a weaker ball go by and simply hit a neutral ball back. If you want to play attacking tennis, when you have 1 foot or more inside the court, have a good contact (below the shoulders and above the knees) and your balance set, give it a bit of a rip going for depth and a corner to see if you can force a weak reply.

If you hit a forcing ball deep in the corner, go to the net. A few times you hit deep balls to opponents backhand side and you could see he was going to the slice. You can anticipate the slice if you hurt him with your shot and go to the net. Nadal uses this play a lot. If he anticipates a defensive reply, he will sprint in and take the high floater out of the air.

That's all I've got for you. You have a good game. Enjoy and improve.
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This is a good point, I find serving and volleying needs to be mixed in and unexpected to be effective at this level. I did it a few times early on, I did end up doing it more frequently towards the end of the match (after the camera died) with a decent amount of success. I probably should have mixed it in more earlier on.

I do hit a slice backhand approach, but I don't think it's strong enough to use against him with any frequency. I think I should have sliced more on the backhand in general though to mix the spin and reset the pattern to my forehand.

Totally agree that there were some balls where I could have stepped into the court more and I definitely should have. This is a work in progress, it's hard to reprogram years of just getting the ball back. I focus on moving in every time I can in practice and practice matches but my mindset became too defensive in this match.

Thanks for the comments!
 
PKorda said:
and how about a bad day? 3.5?
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considering extended poor weather conditions , faulty equipment(balls, long overdue stringing, stress, improper diet periods busy schedules, and the level of 3.5 considered, yes it is possible.
 
TennisCJC said:
Why oh why? In 2017, there were 12 (count 'em 12) players ranked 6.0 in the USTA rankings out of over 250,000 players. Odds are good, you aren't a 6.0 unless you played at least high level D1 and are still in very very good form. If you can win roughly 50% of your matches in open level tournaments, then you might be a legit 6.0 but if you can't do that, you are just embarrassing yourself to make this claim.
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you count them.
 
TennisCJC said:
Why oh why? In 2017, there were 12 (count 'em 12) players ranked 6.0 in the USTA rankings out of over 250,000 players. Odds are good, you aren't a 6.0 unless you played at least high level D1 and are still in very very good form. If you can win roughly 50% of your matches in open level tournaments, then you might be a legit 6.0 but if you can't do that, you are just embarrassing yourself to make this claim.
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i am 6.0 at my best days.
real men realize that embarassment is never a part of the pass/fail equation.

embarassment is for women, and also in the eyes of the beholder.

i am NEVER perfect, and anyone who believes that they are, are embarassing themselves, and their team.

why oh why?
 
Rafaboy said:
considering extended poor weather conditions , faulty equipment(balls, long overdue stringing, stress, improper diet periods busy schedules, and the level of 3.5 considered, yes it is possible.
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You really have no clue what you're talking about, do you? I'm beginning to wonder if you even play tennis at all.
 
PKorda said:
You really have no clue what you're talking about, do you? I'm beginning to wonder if you even play tennis at all.
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If there’s no video, don’t even worry. Everyone has a smart phone. Uploading a video of yourself playing is incredibly easy. So, no stress over claims that don’t come with video. Just ignore them. They are inherently disqualifying.
 
Stratotanker said:
If there’s no video, don’t even worry. Everyone has a smart phone. Uploading a video of yourself playing is incredibly easy. So, no stress over claims that don’t come with video. Just ignore them. They are inherently disqualifying.
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lets see your vid. where is it? otherwise you are inherently disqualified.
 
Rafaboy said:
lets see your vid. where is it? otherwise you are inherently disqualified.
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I only meant disqualified to talk about your level. But sure, here’s my whole thread.

Practice Video: Feedback Requested (1HBH/FH)

I filmed some hitting with my buddy this morning, and thought I'd post and ask for some input from the group. Points from the drop feed at first and then on to some serving. We're hitting on an OmniCourt here, which is sand over astroturf, and very popular in Japan. I've been messing around...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
 
It is like Tyson said…everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth. I am way below both of your levels and enjoyed watching you both play.

As for advice, even if I was at your level it is difficult to give in a match like this where you are not sure if your opponent really even brought his A game. I can say one thing. I used to play regularly with a guy at a much higher level than I was. He used to humor me because I am a family friend and I am athletic and fit enough to at least try and chase down anything. I tried following nyta’s strategy of going for broke and it only made my game more inconsistent and it didn’t help me later when playing players closer to my level. So now my strategy is regardless of who I play, consistency and minimizing errors is my number one goal. If I lose due to that, so be it. Only exception is with serves I always go for a fast first serve and try to win some easy points than go for two 2nd serves which might be more consistent.
 
Stratotanker said:
I only meant disqualified to talk about your level. But sure, here’s my whole thread.

Practice Video: Feedback Requested (1HBH/FH)

I filmed some hitting with my buddy this morning, and thought I'd post and ask for some input from the group. Points from the drop feed at first and then on to some serving. We're hitting on an OmniCourt here, which is sand over astroturf, and very popular in Japan. I've been messing around...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
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hey youre pretty good, solid 4.0-4.5?
i believe you can easily get to a higher level with a slightly lighter racket, to improve timing
and swing speed.

but at times its ok, when your takeback is not rushed and timing is correct. still, a lighter racket will make you more explosive, with a delayed hit.
 
mcs1970 said:
It is like Tyson said…everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth. I am way below both of your levels and enjoyed watching you both play.

As for advice, even if I was at your level it is difficult to give in a match like this where you are not sure if your opponent really even brought his A game. I can say one thing. I used to play regularly with a guy at a much higher level than I was. He used to humor me because I am a family friend and I am athletic and fit enough to at least try and chase down anything. I tried following nyta’s strategy of going for broke and it only made my game more inconsistent and it didn’t help me later when playing players closer to my level. So now my strategy is regardless of who I play, consistency and minimizing errors is my number one goal. If I lose due to that, so be it. Only exception is with serves I always go for a fast first serve and try to win some easy points than go for two 2nd serves which might be more consistent.
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are u referring to the chris rock oscar incident? that happened to me before. i regret to this day, that i did not answer with a counter hit immediately!
 
Rafaboy said:
are u referring to the chris rock oscar incident? that happened to me before. i regret to this day, that i did not answer with a counter hit immediately!
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That’s my point. Most of us are good at thinking what we could have done much later. By the time we go back the opponent might already have a counter to our counter and again we are unprepared.

It’s easy to say how a lower level player should take more risks. Ultimately you don’t win consistently at tennis by taking more risks. You just become more inconsistent. If you see the top players they win because their non risky shots are a bit more powerful. Plus they might have some or a combination of more speed, better fitness, better footwork, better mental toughness, better anticipation,..etc. all of which contribute to why they are so good.
 
mcs1970 said:
It is like Tyson said…everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth. I am way below both of your levels and enjoyed watching you both play.

As for advice, even if I was at your level it is difficult to give in a match like this where you are not sure if your opponent really even brought his A game. I can say one thing. I used to play regularly with a guy at a much higher level than I was. He used to humor me because I am a family friend and I am athletic and fit enough to at least try and chase down anything. I tried following nyta’s strategy of going for broke and it only made my game more inconsistent and it didn’t help me later when playing players closer to my level. So now my strategy is regardless of who I play, consistency and minimizing errors is my number one goal. If I lose due to that, so be it. Only exception is with serves I always go for a fast first serve and try to win some easy points than go for two 2nd serves which might be more consistent.
Click to expand...

I don't think "going for broke" is ever a good strategy. I definitely could have been a little more aggressive in a safe way. There were a few balls he hit that landed between the baseline and service line that I waited for. If I had stepped in and taken them earlier I could have stolen a little bit of his time. I'm never going to be a player who hits a lot of winners from the baseline. I agree overall I should be trying to minimize errors, but I do need to be a bit more aggressive when the opportunity presents itself to do so safely. Against a player who is this much better than me this won't lead to me winning, but might lead to me winning a few more games. I'm just looking to make tiny incremental improvements. If you keep the scoreline close towards the later end of the set, people do get tight and mess up.
 
mcs1970 said:
That’s my point. Most of us are good at thinking what we could have done much later. By the time we go back the opponent might already have a counter to our counter and again we are unprepared.

It’s easy to say how a lower level player should take more risks. Ultimately you don’t win consistently at tennis by taking more risks. You just become more inconsistent. If you see the top players they win because their non risky shots are a bit more powerful. Plus they might have some or a combination of more speed, better fitness, better footwork, better mental toughness, better anticipation,..etc. all of which contribute to why they are so good.
Click to expand...

I agree that if I adjusted stuff he also would've changed how he played. But I count making someone change the way they're playing points as a win. For me it's never about winning any one match, I just want to be changing things that could help me for future matches.
 
Both of you are good players. Honestly he beat you on the rally balls from what I see. His base rally ball was heavier and more accurate/powerful than your rally ball was so it seemed like every point you would start on the back foot. If you added more depth or heaviness to your ball I think you will find much more success against him
 
Rafaboy said:
totally agree and confirms my observation
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So the sarcasm radar is obviously also broken.
Rafaboy said:
lets see your vid. where is it? otherwise you are inherently disqualified.
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He never self rated at 6.0 (on a good day) while also rating a previous ATP top 400 player as 4.5, and I believe that was generous iirc since 4.0 might have been mentioned. So yeah, there's that. More to the point, where's yours?
 
Digital Atheist said:
So the sarcasm radar is obviously also broken.

He never self rated at 6.0 (on a good day) while also rating a previous ATP top 400 player as 4.5, and I believe that was generous iirc since 4.0 might have been mentioned. So yeah, there's that. More to the point, where's yours?
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Would like to see too, most likely this will never happen because *excuses*
 
MyFearHand said:
I don't think "going for broke" is ever a good strategy. I definitely could have been a little more aggressive in a safe way. There were a few balls he hit that landed between the baseline and service line that I waited for. If I had stepped in and taken them earlier I could have stolen a little bit of his time. I'm never going to be a player who hits a lot of winners from the baseline. I agree overall I should be trying to minimize errors, but I do need to be a bit more aggressive when the opportunity presents itself to do so safely. Against a player who is this much better than me this won't lead to me winning, but might lead to me winning a few more games. I'm just looking to make tiny incremental improvements. If you keep the scoreline close towards the later end of the set, people do get tight and mess up.
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It's the case of adapting your strategy. This guy loved rallying from the baseline and was better at it than you. Pure and simple.

However, he gave you quite a few short balls and opportunities to step in be aggressive and get to the net. You won't beat him from the back.
 
Jono123 said:
It's the case of adapting your strategy. This guy loved rallying from the baseline and was better at it than you. Pure and simple.

However, he gave you quite a few short balls and opportunities to step in be aggressive and get to the net. You won't beat him from the back.
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I disagree. Those opponent will pass him as many times as they want. I don't think getting to the net (which is exactly what the OP was trying to do in the match) is the right solution. OP even mentioned it in his post.
 
pencilcheck said:
I disagree. Those opponent will pass him as many times as they want. I don't think getting to the net (which is exactly what the OP was trying to do in the match) is the right solution. OP even mentioned it in his post.
Click to expand...

Going to the net was effective, it's just that getting to the net was difficult.

I think we can all agree that no change in tactics was going to win the match for me on that day. Maybe in a few years when I have a stronger forehand and better aggressive instincts. (But still probably not.)
 
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