$5000 Tournament In Victoria, Canada

[CallOfBooty]

Did not play well today, lost 6-3 6-4. Bummer and a bit angry at myself to come that far to do that. He is a good player though. It was filmed, but not looking forward to watching it, made alot of errors Still, was a fun tournament and very tough field.

It's okay, I'm sure you would have won on a better day. Still a good effort to keep it close even if you weren't playing well. I would still like to see the video though so please post a link to it when you get the chance, thanks.

 

[forthegame]

Did not play well today, lost 6-3 6-4. Bummer and a bit angry at myself to come that far to do that. He is a good player though. It was filmed, but not looking forward to watching it, made alot of errors Still, was a fun tournament and very tough field.

Still an achievement getting to play IMHO. All adds to your experience and I'm sure when your foot's better, you'll win more.

Please put up videos, would love to see the match.

 

[HunterST]

Still an achievement getting to play IMHO. All adds to your experience and I'm sure when your foot's better, you'll win more.

Please put up videos, would love to see the match.

agreed. This was definitely on par with a future's event, if not better. Most people on the planet would be thrilled to have a competitive score with a guy like Brad, even if they were playing the best tennis of their lives. To do it when you are NOT playing your best tennis is pretty impressive.

 

[mutantducky]

yeah I know guys who lost to Brad fairly easily and they are solid 5.5 players. He could beat a lot of div 1 players as well. He's one of the best open California players along with guys like Robert Yim. Tough loss if you didn't play your best but if you think you can beat him then you can compete at a high level.

 

[SLow]

I thought Tony's match looked very close regardless. Very entertaining. It was a great match to watch when I wasn't busy treating the injured players.

 

[nethawkwenatchee]

Can someone link the match video(s)?

 

[Beacon Hill]

Tony competed well against Brad - most points were hard fought. Even in this strong field, Tony set himself apart with amazing foot speed. Brad went on to beat Philip Bester in a 3rd set tie break, and is here warming up now for the finals against Nima Roshan. I'll get video of Tony's match online as soon as I have time.

 

[nethawkwenatchee]

Tony competed well against Brad - most points were hard fought. Even in this strong field, Tony set himself apart with amazing foot speed. Brad went on to beat Philip Bester in a 3rd set tie break, and is here warming up now for the finals against Nima Roshan. I'll get video of Tony's match online as soon as I have time.

Thanks Beacon Hill and nicely done Tony. Brad beat Philip Bester who took Bagdatis to three sets in a fairly recent tournament so...WOW!

Looking foreward to the video(s)!

 

[Beacon Hill]

Congratulations to 2010 champion Nina Roshan. He defeated Brad Weston 7-6 6-3. I'll post some match videos soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quVq7ydZr0k

 

[mutantducky]

I wonder if Weston was worn out. his semi 3 set win must've been really tough.

 

[HunterST]

Congratulations to 2010 champion Nina Roshan. He defeated Brad Weston 7-6 6-3. I'll post some match videos soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quVq7ydZr0k

From what I have seen, you guys have really been on top of your game with this tournament. Paying for a place to stay for the players, putting up match footage, posting interviews on youtube, and keeping us updated on TW with news has all been great. Hope you guys can do the tournament again next year!

 

[EP1998]

Yeah I agree, this sounds like a great tournament. Love the quali concept because then you have great matches in the main draw, not a lot of blowouts. More tournaments should do this. This would be a great tournament for spectators. Tough luck to Tony but Weston can play and obviously had a lot more $$$ to play the circuit than Tony. I think Tony did very well to put up a competitive scoreline coming off injury and probably not playing that many tough opponents during the Minnesota indoor season.

 

[EP1998]

Brad Weston is a real good player... I remember seeing him playing most of the the Australian Sattellites and futures a few years ago. Not sure if he is as active anymore though... I think his highest ranking was like 400 or something.

Should be a good match. Good luck Tony!

I looked him up and yes, he can play. Saw that he won a few doubles titles with Hwalty, can't believe he was still playing that recently. He is such a good player though.

 

[nfor304]

I looked him up and yes, he can play. Saw that he won a few doubles titles with Hwalty, can't believe he was still playing that recently. He is such a good player though.

Yeah from what I remember he's a real scrappy sort of player. Very good competitor, tough to beat. I looked him up too at itftennis.com. he recently played the San Jose qualifiers

 

[mutantducky]

vidoes? ......

 

[Beacon Hill]

I wonder if Weston was worn out. his semi 3 set win must've been really tough.

He had to have been tired - that 3 set semi final was his second match of the day (after his match with Tony that morning). Two points were crucial for Brad:
1) The match point he did not convert in the second set against Philip Bester. He ended up losing that second set and needed well over an hour to finally win the match.
2) The break point he did not convert in the first game of the final against Roshan. His passing shot looked to be a clean winner, but clipped the very top of the net. He ended up losing that game and then getting broken in the next, and had to play the entire match from behind.

Change those two points and I think you have a different winner of the tournament. Brad is a veteran player and does not get rattled. Because Roshan, on the other hand, is under so much pressure to win and continue his quest to grind it out on the tour, it may have been difficult for him to overcome an early setback. Brad would also have had confidence being up and knowing that he beat Nima in a recent tournament.

And these are the things that make tennis such a great game.

 

[Beacon Hill]

From what I have seen, you guys have really been on top of your game with this tournament. Paying for a place to stay for the players, putting up match footage, posting interviews on youtube, and keeping us updated on TW with news has all been great. Hope you guys can do the tournament again next year!

I really appreciate that. We worked hard, and we're very pleased with our inaugural event. We'll do it next year for sure, and we'll always be trying to improve.

 

[Beacon Hill]

Yeah I agree, this sounds like a great tournament. Love the quali concept because then you have great matches in the main draw, not a lot of blowouts. More tournaments should do this. This would be a great tournament for spectators. Tough luck to Tony but Weston can play and obviously had a lot more $$$ to play the circuit than Tony. I think Tony did very well to put up a competitive scoreline coming off injury and probably not playing that many tough opponents during the Minnesota indoor season.

As I told Tony before he left the tourament, he was being a bit hard on himself - he really did put in a great effort against a really good player. Tony is really solid and I hope to see him play again.

 

[Beacon Hill]

Yeah from what I remember he's a real scrappy sort of player. Very good competitor, tough to beat. I looked him up too at itftennis.com. he recently played the San Jose qualifiers

Brad is very impressive, and he can implement a variety of tactics depending on his opponent. He's also a really great guy - definitely a crowd favourite.

 

[Beacon Hill]

vidoes? ......

I'm working on it. Yesterday I needed a day off to sleep. Maybe today I'll at least put up a teaser video of some of Tony's match.

 

[TonLars]

Thanks for getting the beginning of the match up Beacon Hill! The quality of the first 3 games is better than I remember, looking forward to seeing the rest (although it might get worse just going off of how I feel about my performance). Also thanks again for getting me into the tournament and being a great host! It was not only one of the toughest fields Ive played in but one of the funnest. Here it is if you guys want to see me lose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hGIrB1R91c

 

[Beacon Hill]

Thanks for getting the beginning of the match up Beacon Hill! The quality of the first 3 games is better than I remember, looking forward to seeing the rest (although it might get worse just going off of how I feel about my performance). Also thanks again for getting me into the tournament and being a great host! It was not only one of the toughest fields Ive played in but one of the funnest. Here it is if you guys want to see me lose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hGIrB1R91c

Absolute pleasure to have you, Tony. No, people won't check out the video to see you lose, they'll check it out to see a great match and how well you played.

 

[raging]

Thanks for getting the beginning of the match up Beacon Hill! The quality of the first 3 games is better than I remember, looking forward to seeing the rest (although it might get worse just going off of how I feel about my performance). Also thanks again for getting me into the tournament and being a great host! It was not only one of the toughest fields Ive played in but one of the funnest. Here it is if you guys want to see me lose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hGIrB1R91c

Actually mate, you did alright!(High praise from an aussie).
You may get burned here because videos always make it look slower than it really is. Your groundies and speed will always make you competitive.
Keep working on that serve! Congrats to all that put the tourney together!

 

[Beacon Hill]

Part 2 of Tony's match:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heqUT9oKWAw

 

[TonLars]

I almost cant watch how bad I play at part 3 (end of first set). Basically I was right in a way, as I lost the match making a very large amount of forehand unforced errors. Otherwise it is true that we had some good rallies and overall the play quality was ok. Was fun to see the match video, thanks again!

 

[Beacon Hill]

Here's the rest of the match:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UhMDRgKQAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlYEZdjyQW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87zToRRbPHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXPdevj-Zfs
Tell us the specifics about what you are planning to work on.

 

[VicTennis]

Thanks Beacon Hill!

You guys really did an awesome job of this tournament! Thanks so much for everything and posting videos online. Any chance you could upload the Weston VS Bester match?

 

[Beacon Hill]

You guys really did an awesome job of this tournament! Thanks so much for everything and posting videos online. Any chance you could upload the Weston VS Bester match?

Thanks very much. I'll get that match done as soon as I can, but I'm very busy right now, so it won't be for a few days. Also, the camera angle is not as good. You will, though, be able to get a sense of the outstanding quality of the match.

 

[Beacon Hill]

Brad Weston overhead against Philip Bester
Image by Johanne Hemond

 

[HunterST]

Brad Weston overhead against Philip Bester
Image by Johanne Hemond

hahaha WOW! Just goes to show you the caliber of athletes that played in this tournament!

 

[TonLars]

Tell us the specifics about what you are planning to work on.

-Forehand consistency and patience
-1st serve technique (to hit flat, and gain confidence to hit my hardest and make good %. May try platform stance to fix leg hitch)
-Overhead technique (similar to 1st serve, use pronation better)

Other little things of course like everyone, but other than that the rest of my game is at least pretty good or better IMO.

 

[mutantducky]

I watched about 10 minutes of the different parts.
one thing that stands out is that Brad is working the points better, keeping Tony on the defensive and really he hardly ever seems out of place or hitting a bad shot. Deeper balls and slices. Brad's serve return doesn't seem to good at first but then you realize he is neutralizing his opponents serve advantage. I would have liked to see Tony hit some serves out wide. He moves well laterally and controlling the points while you are often further back. You get some great winners. To beat Brad you need to be more patient but also at the same time be more aggressive if that makes sense. Getting to the net more. With your size and speed I would think you would be able to. His game is just more consistent so a groundstoke duel just won't do it. One good shot will win the point against most players but with him you might need 2 or 3+ to win the point. You got some good finesse moves like drop shots so those and slices can be improved on.

Part 5 6 minute mark is an example. Brad is such a great defensive player even when you do hit a great shot.

 

[bertrevert]

Two thoughts:

1. Perhaps not running around your BH as much. Your BH is solid. Not as aggressive as FH, but reliable. Anyway I thought in the second set you didn't run around as many BH. Maybe you were noticing and changing tactic? You had more UE of the FH side.

2. I would have served more to his BH, you got some errors off of him on that side on serve. Still, his BH is strong. He sliced the hell out of you! Yikes, he didn't really miss too many of those either.

Great match to watch all the same and great tournament! (great indoor conditions eh?)

 

[JimBob24]

Tony, I watched your video and my suggestion is to rotate your shoulders back before the serve, that way you get your body into the serve and not use just your arm. That will make your serve motion smoother and give more power and control. I love the rest of your game. Good luck man.

 

[HunterST]

Hey guys, I know we all mean well, but maybe we should cool it on giving Tony advice on what his game needs. Afterall, he's an elite player and teaching pro while most of us are just amateur players.

 

[arche3]

Brad Weston overhead against Philip Bester
Image by Johanne Hemond

thats awesome!

 

[EP1998]

-Forehand consistency and patience
-1st serve technique (to hit flat, and gain confidence to hit my hardest and make good %. May try platform stance to fix leg hitch)
-Overhead technique (similar to 1st serve, use pronation better)

Other little things of course like everyone, but other than that the rest of my game is at least pretty good or better IMO.

One way you can isolate the feet to address what's going on there is to put something on your feet when you practice serves.

For example, on clay I will draw a circle outlining my front foot before serving. After I serve, I can see how much my foot moved around. If I've gone outside the lines too much something inefficient is up. On hardcourts, I have put a twig or small stick on my shoe to see if it stayed put while I served.

For the back foot, you can use an extra racquet. Just put it across your back foot and serve - then you can really tell how much your back foot is moving before contact. It is just something to experiment with because you can figure out on your own what's going to work.

Great match. I think you have great balance on your shots - very good athletic foundation with a good wide base - that is only going to get better over time.

 

[BigSkyChamp]

Tony, I enjoyed watching your match and your interview; you have great footwork and hit a substantially penetrating ball, it would be captivating to see you abuse the angles of the court more. I couldn't help but notice it might have not been your first interview- you didn't happen to be distracted by anybody in the background did you? - was this the only cut of film? haha, Do you plan on returning next year? Hopefully it will surpass this years event, if possible.

 

[Charles Norris]

Congrats on the great tourney BeaconHill. I truly regret not making it up. Please post this again next year and I'll definitely make it up. Good work again and good job to TonyLars for a good show. I know it wasn't your best but you earned a lot of respect by staying close with such a great player.

 

[Charles Norris]

Hey guys, I know we all mean well, but maybe we should cool it on giving Tony advice on what his game needs. Afterall, he's an elite player and teaching pro while most of us are just amateur players.

Absolutely agree. How about if you want to give advice (extremely critical advice that is), post a video of yourself playing, then you can give advice.

 

[onehandbh]

Absolutely agree. How about if you want to give advice (extremely critical advice that is), post a video of yourself playing, then you can give advice.

btw, is this you in this video? Pretty intense strength training routine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2XUgE6g7XU

 

[skandy]

btw, is this you in this video? Pretty intense strength training routine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2XUgE6g7XU

Indeed, good footwork.

 

[thejackal]

-Forehand consistency and patience
-1st serve technique (to hit flat, and gain confidence to hit my hardest and make good %. May try platform stance to fix leg hitch)
-Overhead technique (similar to 1st serve, use pronation better)

Other little things of course like everyone, but other than that the rest of my game is at least pretty good or better IMO.

watching the match video I really noticed how both you and Brad did a great job managing your weaker strokes. you were moving the ball around really well in the box and Brad wasn't really able to run around and pummel returns, whereas I don't recall seeing him miss many backhands even though his one-hander looked a bit shaky. what was your perspective trying to play to that side in that match?

 

[Beacon Hill]

Congrats on the great tourney BeaconHill. I truly regret not making it up. Please post this again next year and I'll definitely make it up. Good work again and good job to TonyLars for a good show. I know it wasn't your best but you earned a lot of respect by staying close with such a great player.

Thanks a lot. It would be great to have you next year, and I will certainly keep you posted.

 

[Charles Norris]

btw, is this you in this video? Pretty intense strength training routine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2XUgE6g7XU

Well, when you just recently had your gallbladder taken out (just wanted to see how it felt) and am currently having a bout with liver cirrhosis from all the broken glass bottles I eat, you have to train hard to get back to where you were. Another week and that bear will be eating my sh*t for breakfast.

 

[david3]

Hey Beacon Hill, any chance you could still upload the Bester v Weston match from the 2010 tournament?