Finally defeated a guy who was owning me.

[Chenx15]

It's raining here so i played with my usual raining partner. we always play a set because our one sets are usually good for 45 minutes to an hour or more because they are always competitive and close since we only paid for an hour in our covered court we were able to squeeze in a set. since last year this guy was owning me. when we started playing he was always beating me 6-0 so come to think of it, it was just recently that our games got closer. then i worked on my backhand and serve and our matches became competitive there were times when i was ahead 4-1 and he is serving and i still end up losing, we had matches where we had 7-6 11-9 in the tiebreaker. we were really tight because we had a couple of 7-6 in our matches and i always end up losing.

anyway it's raining here so we got to our usual hour of play. i started hot i got ahead with 2-0. then at 4-2 i was up 0-40 he was serving and i still managed to lose that game and guess what, i got broken back. so it was 4-4 for some reason the pressure started creeping and the damn mental game started to mess me up. but guess what i broke him back. then i ended up serving for the match on won my first set against this guy 6-4.

I have to say it was absolutely fantastic. my greatest edge in the match and the reason why i won tonight is a developed S&V in my play the guy is nervous in the return because half the time i am in the net and finishing the point.


I just want to share this good news to all of you because i have to admit half of my skills i got from this forum.

 

[LeeD]

Congrats on your win and your rising level of play.
OTOH, even a blind squirrel can sometimes find an acorn.

 

[Chenx15]

we've had a lot of close matches, i think i finally broke the barrier. thanks LeeD

 

[LeeD]

I used to have a tennis practice partner and bud (at the time, he was No2 at CCSF, then No1 and SFState College) whom I've NEVER defeated in a set or a match! He'd usually beat me 2's and 3's, sometimes bagels.
In almost every Open tourney we entered (we were also doubles partners in Open events), I went 1 to 3 rounds farther than he did, including both my Q's.
Some people just have another's number, and not much can be done to alleviate the situation.

 

[zapvor]

lol thats good to hear OP but you got your skills from this forum? say it aint so!

 

[Larrysümmers]

i remember the first time that happened to me...he then destroyed me the next day lol

 

[dman72]

I've had a similar breakthrough with one of my longtime hitting partners.

When I first tried to get "serious" with tennis, ie made it my primary recreational sport as opposed to hoops, I met this guy through Craigslist who used to teach tennis and plays in a 4.0 league in a local club. (I've found that most local leagues here 4.0's are probably 3.5's to all you guys in Florida TX and CA, so this guy was a strong 3.5 and I was probably a 3.0)

I must have played the guy 20 times and beat him once during that time period just by having a lucky day on my serve. This was over the span of about 3 years.

Well, that trend has finally reversed and I've beaten him the last 3 times we've played beginning with a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing where I was cranking winners unconsciously. I was waiting for the big rebound the second time around but it didn't happen, and again last week I beat him a third straight time 6-3 6-4 or something. He appears to be waiting around for my errors to come, but they come much less often than they did 3 years ago..then when he starts pressing his errors skyrocket. Also, I've added a heavier topspin element to my game, and his flat old school strokes aren't fairing well (the guys backhand looks exactly like Connors), especially on the high bouncing deca-turf courts where I live.

Of course he could just be in decline, but he's only a few years older than me. :neutral:

 

[lethalfang]

i remember the first time that happened to me...he then destroyed me the next day lol

That's why you decline rematches, d'oh! :twisted:

 

[LeeD]

Decline rematches? Nah, better to KNOW where you really stand.
Decline in tennis ability? Yup, and it's not always chronological. Case in point, back when I was about to turn 40, like 22 years ago, I was a physical wreck, couldn't surf at all (compared to before AND now), couldn't hold concentration on the tennis court, was losing most of my windsurfing races due to dumb mistakes, and I felt my body was getting old and falling apart.
Thank good for 42, when things started to fall back into place.

 

[sinnetklat]

i started hot i got ahead with 2-0. then at 4-2 i was up 0-40 he was serving and i still managed to lose that game and guess what, i got broken back. so it was 4-4 for some reason the pressure started creeping and the damn mental game started to mess me up. but guess what i broke him back. then i ended up serving for the match on won my first set against this guy 6-4.

I have to say it was absolutely fantastic. my greatest edge in the match and the reason why i won tonight is a developed S&V in my play the guy is nervous in the return because half the time i am in the net and finishing the point.

Thanks, very interesting thread for me. I have a similar situation that a guy beats me everytime. I haven't beaten him till now.

Yesterday, I got ahead 3-0. I thought it would be my day. Then, he got it 6-3. Second set was worse: 6-1. I played my best game against him where we had rally in most instances. (except for the last games of second set that I became very tired.)

To me, I was beaten because:
-After a few games, he started to hit to my backhand and come to net, so I had trouble in returns and he got a lot of points.
-I became more and more exhausted as he places the ball well enough to make me run.

I was better than the previous matches because:
-My shots were more consistent as I am trying to find a way to relax myself.
-I hit a lot to his backhand which is weaker, but still able to produce some good passing shots.

I'd like to hear some advice for my situation. As Chenx15 found a way to break the barrier, I will be happy if you help me do the same.

 

[halalula1234]

Great to hear! Keep it up!!