A good match ruined?

[musto9030]

I played a 7.5 combo match last night that was a very close and fun match. That is, until the 3rd set tie-breaker.

Some background: Everyone on the court has played with or against each other many times in the past. Both sides were 3.5/4.0 pairs, with all 4 being strong for their level. Most every time I have played on the court with any of these guys, the matches have been very close and come down to just a few points here and there (often 3rd set tie-breakers). So, going out I was expecting a very competitive and fun match.

My partner was broke the second game of the match, and we went on to drop the first set 6-3 with that being the only break. My partner was broke once in the second set, and we broke each of them once to take the set 7-5. The match had been very fun and competitive at this point, as I had expected.

We got down early in the tie-break, and my partner was serving at 2-5. One of the opponents returned his serve with a loopy top-spin shot that fell (as I saw it) just a little long. I immediately made the out call. The opponent at the net asked my partner if he saw it long as well. My partner quickly replied that he did. This was the first time in the match where anyone had questioned a call.

So, now my partner is serving 3-5. He misses his first serve. On his second serve, he hits a serve that (as I saw it) was on the line. The opponent (not the one who questioned my call) calls the serve long. I felt like there was a little hesitation in his call. It was just enough to make me feel like it may have been a call to 'take the point back'. I chose not to say anything and move on. On the change of ends, my partner (the server) asks the opponent (the one who questioned my call) if he saw the serve long. I didn't hear exactly what he said, but it didn't sound like he was positive one way or another.

After this, my partner and I completely fell apart. Me more so than him.

I'm not one to question someone about a call; however, it really bothers me if I feel like someone intentionally makes a bad call. I generally still won't say anything, but I can't seem to get it out of my head. And it can have a negative affect on my playing. Mostly because I really enjoy playing competitive matches (win or lose) when everyone is playing well. But, one malicious call can ruin that for me.

I do acknowledge that I could have been wrong on my call, or my perception of my opponent's call. I feel more confident in my call than my perception of my opponent's call, but that is not really the point of this post.

I was mostly disappointed that such a good match had to end so negatively. Everyone was cordial after the match, and I am sure when we all see each other again, the previous match won't even be in anyone's mind, but it really ruined the night for me.

My question is, how do you guys handle these situations? How do you get it out of your head? Or do you use it to motivate you?

 

[GlennK]

You don't say which line the second serve was close to. If it was the back service line, and if it was the receiver's partner makeing the call, then you should simply accept the call and move on. They have a much better view.

If it was the center line and the receiver's partner called it, then ask the receiver if they saw it.

In any case, the call is theirs. Even if a little hesitant, that doesn't mean he had the time to think about the previous call.

 

[GBplayer]

Do some umpiring in a tall chair. You will see how bad a lot of people are on close calls. It will make you realize that all players make calls wrong for or against themselves. Get hawkeye installed!

 

[mmk]

Do some umpiring in a tall chair. You will see how bad a lot of people are on close calls. It will make you realize that all players make calls wrong for or against themselves. Get hawkeye installed!

Or watch a match next to your court and see how many long serves are played as in.

 

[Maui19]

To me, the key is just to leave it in the past. This is a skill I learned from playing tournament golf. You can't change anything that happened in the past. You need to leave it behind and focus on your next shot.

When I was developing this skill in golf, after a regrettable shot or hole, I would imagine a brick wall being built behind me. Everything that had happened was behind that wall--I couldn't see it, hear it or feel it. This image has served me well for over 20 years.

That image works well in golf partly because you are physically moving from hole to hole and it is easy to "brick off" where you have been. In tennis, you stay on the same court physically, so the imagery is different.

Another thing that helps me is I try to stay calm on the court--particularly when bad things happen. I don't berate myself, swing my racquet in anger or complain. Those things just create negative energy that makes it harder to focus.

Like any skill, this takes some time and effort to develop, but IMO it is a very worthwhile skill to have.

 

[goran_ace]

^^^ This.

You cannot let negativity from one point infect subsequent points. You can immediately question the bad call, but unless your opponent changes his mind there's nothing else you can do about it. That point is done, and it is what it is. Let it go and get ready to play the next one.

It's not just a tennis thing, it's all sports. In football if you're a DB and the wideout gets away with offensive PI and takes it to the house. In hockey if you're a goalie and the refs allow a controversial goal that later on replay shouldn't have been allowed. You sometimes hear announcers talking about players having a 'short memory'. You can't let it affect your future performance. Whether it's a bad line call or a bad error/double fault, you have to learn to move on.

 

[Bdarb]

My dad always told me, "the only time there is or ever will be is now". kind of zen hippie stuff, but a good word play to remind you to stay in the moment. Another good one that my teamate in doubles uses if she senses me getting frustrated is, "every point is 0-0" which is another good way to remember that it's never over and to play each individual point out.

Tennis is a somewhat unique game in that you are never out of it, no matter what the score shows because there's no time limit and coming back is never out of the question. One of my favorite parts of tennis is how the momentum can shift back and fourth. It's really very interesting psychologically. Better players aren't always more athletic, I like that in this game a mentally tough person can do very well. It adds a neat dynamic to the game.

 

[JLyon]

Do some umpiring in a tall chair. You will see how bad a lot of people are on close calls. It will make you realize that all players make calls wrong for or against themselves. Get hawkeye installed!

+1

ten chars

 

[blakesq]

"I'm not one to question someone about a call"....but the whole match was ruined in my mind because I question a call.

Maybe you should learn from this. Close calls happen in Tennis. Your opponents believed you guys made a close call that should have gone to them, yet they persevered, and won. When you didn't like a call they made, you fell apart and felt the match was ruined. I think your opponent's handled the situation better, and you should strive to do the same.

 

[Turbo-87]

^^^ This.

You cannot let negativity from one point infect subsequent points. You can immediately question the bad call, but unless your opponent changes his mind there's nothing else you can do about it. That point is done, and it is what it is. Let it go and get ready to play the next one.

It's not just a tennis thing, it's all sports. In football if you're a DB and the wideout gets away with offensive PI and takes it to the house. In hockey if you're a goalie and the refs allow a controversial goal that later on replay shouldn't have been allowed. You sometimes hear announcers talking about players having a 'short memory'. You can't let it affect your future performance. Whether it's a bad line call or a bad error/double fault, you have to learn to move on.

No doubt. I follow the 5 second rule as taught by Brad Gilbert. If you make an unforced error, shank a ball, dump an easy overhead into the net or whatever, you only get 5 seconds to think about it and move on. This includes being on the receiving end of a bad call. If a bad call can derail your match, you've got more serious problems going on upstairs. It's one point.

 

[tennis_ocd]

When I coached Little League I'd immediately stop the little ball/strike whiners by telling them the umpire's call is, by definition, *THE CALL* It simply doesn't matter what anyone else's opinion is.

Focus on something you can try and control.

 

[atatu]

I'm not saying this applies to you, but a lot of players, in a tight match want to bail out mentally. They look for an excuse to bail, that way they can always blame "a bad call" and take the easy way out. Don't look for an excuse to lose, look for a reason to win.

 

[musto9030]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. This is definitely a part of the game I need to work on. It isn't so much that I mentally collapsed after the situation and went on to lose the match that bothers me. If the call questioning had never occurred and we still would have lost, I would have been fine with it. Most days, I would rather lose a close hard fought match, than win in a blow out.

What bothers me is that such a fun match can be ruined so quickly with just a line call or two being questioned near the end. The atmosphere changes, and things get a little awkward. And, as others have pointed out, every match is going to have missed calls. I, generally, choose not to point out my disagreement over a line call with an opponent because I know it happens and I don't want to chance turning the match awkward.

Most of the time, this atmosphere resolves itself pretty quickly, but sometimes it lingers with me for a day or two. I'm mostly over it now, and am taking everyone's advice so that next time this happens I can get it out of my head before the match is over.

 

[RetroSpin]

Go to some junior tournaments and listen to all the arguing and then you'll realize how good you have it.

 

[gameboy]

Getting upset about line calls is like getting upset about unforced errors, dwelling on it only makes you play worse. Nobody calls the perfect game, not even you. Move on and enjoy the game.

 

[Baxter]

I use bad calls against me to my advantage. If someone hooks me I tell myself, "OK, no more casual play, I'm going for every damn point from now on and show this joker who's the better player." It helps me focus.

 

[spot]

You need to ask how to deal with situations where you have one questionable call go against you? Seriously? Its one call. Move on and play the next point.

 

[tennis tom]

There's a difference between an occasional missed call and a deliberate bad or take-back call on a crucial match point--sports don't create character, they reveal it. Don't play with people like that, hit against the wall or practice serves, you'll get more out of it, the wall and the ball-hopper don't lie.

 

[beernutz]

If the bad call wasn't on a crucial point just move on. On crucial points this is tougher but ultimately the right thing to do as well.

Last year in a USTA singles match I was leading the 10 point tiebreak 8 to 6 when I hit a hard serve right at the body of my opponent which he shanked off out of bounds. The serve was clearly several inches inside the line--not even close to the line. I almost never say a thing about calls but this was so obviously a bad call that I did ask are you sure and opponent said he was, so that was the end of that or it should have been.

A correct call would have put me up 9 to 6, which while not a sure thing puts my opponent in a deep hole which he clearly did not want to be in. I then had to hit a second serve and ultimately lost that point making it 8 to 7. After losing that point which I believed I had already won, I let the bad call get into my head I was so ****ed about it and I ended up losing the tiebreak 15 to 17. In hindsight I wish I could have just moved on and focused on winning the match. Live and learn. At least I was cool enough to still shake the dirtbag's hand after the match.