Signed up for my first 4.5 tournament!

[jdubbs]

Played very well last night against a 4.5 who plays at 5.0 sometimes. We split sets and I ran out of time. I played very well and had my chances in the first set to really put him away and win outright.

One thing I struggle with is the putaway shot. I've got a very strong serve, so often will get a weak reply, but I can't put away the next shot and it's hurting me. Guys stay in points I should be outright winning.

Going to work on my 1-2 punch in prep for the next few tourneys. Good news is that I've developed a reliable 2nd serve which enables me to really hit a hard first serve and have more chances to hit the putaway.

Amazing journey in the last year from not touching a racket for 10+ years to really competing at the 4.5 level (at least in social matches if not tourneys yet). Shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks sometimes.

 

[maggmaster]

What level did you play at before? Just curious.

 

[jdubbs]

What level did you play at before? Just curious.

Well, I was playing at 4.0. But when I started a year ago after a 10 year layoff I was probably a 3.5 as I shook off the rust. It took about 6 months to really compete at 4.0 and in the last couple of months I won probably 95% of my matches at that level.

I'm not intimidated anymore at this level, and have as good a chance as anyone else if I'm fit and mentally strong. I've got the game, just a matter of consistently putting it together and staying healthy.

 

[maggmaster]

So you were at 4.0 ten years ago came back and got to 4.5 in a year? That is awesome.

 

[jdubbs]

So you were at 4.0 ten years ago came back and got to 4.5 in a year? That is awesome.

Thanks. I have to admit I've put a ton of effort into my game, with lessons every 2 weeks or so, training on off days, and tennis 3-4 times a week. Watch a lot of tennis channel too for match strategies.

I've spent a lot of dollars, but I'm at the age where that's ok, I don't mind spending my money on something that I enjoy as much as tennis.

I'm really happy with the way my game has progressed, but I'm worried that I've plateaued. I don't see myself dominating the 4.5 circuit, that's for sure. I'm always happiest when i'm progressing, but the improvements are going to come in increments now, little tweaks rather than big leaps.