Video of NTRP 3.5 versus 5.0 player - tiebreak

[Deleted member 25923]

If you guys are looking for the "big difference" between these two players, try the fact that the 5.0 is soft balling his first serves and the 3.5 still misses the returns badly.

Look how high off the court that ball gets though

 

[J_R_B]

If you guys are looking for the "big difference" between these two players, try the fact that the 5.0 is soft balling his first serves and the 3.5 still misses the returns badly.

Exactly. It's easy to get a read on the 3.5 guy, and he is a decent 3.5. The other guy, it's impossible to tell how good he is because he is giving 50% effort tops.

 

[winstoncho]

Thanks for all the great comments! We're filming some 3.5 players playing against each other as well as some warm-ups between players showing off their strokes. We're also going to have one of them play another 5.0 player in a couple of tiebreaks. Just for kicks, we're going to have the 5.0+ player switch to a wood racquet in one tiebreak and see if that will make a difference.

 

[Slazenger07]

They could just be playing a tiebreak on its own?...

That's most likely the case. I dont think a 3.5 could get to a tiebreak with a true 5.0.

 

[LeeD]

Problem with the wood racket idea....
Some players did not play in the wood era, and as such, cannot.
Other players hit thru the ball, so can hit just fine with wood rackets.
No indication of anything giving the 5.0 a wood racket. Why not give both of them a wood racket?
Why not blindfold the 5.0?
Or make him hit with his other hand?

 

[Kostas]

Hi guys,

Suk is computer rated 3.5 but he could be 3.5/4.0
Wilson plays #2 singles at one of strongest community college programs in the country (they regularly beat D2 & D3 programs) and he doesn't have a NTRP rating beyond what his coaches advise him to be. He's had ITF points and won matches at the international junior level. We have footage of him playing computer rated 4.5 and 5.0 players and he wins very easily against the former and wins most of his 5.0 match-ups. We're waiting for the other players to sign release forms before we post those videos.

These videos are part of the player profile we're going to load where we show NTRP levels playing against each other. These tiebreaks are not tiebreaks which took place after a 6-6 set. We have our players just play two tiebreaks against each other to show the "mismatches".

The footage of Wilson and Suk is not that good because Wilson was not playing very seriously and was goofing around. We have footage of him playing at his true level and I'll post those in the next couple of days.

Thanks for the awesome feedback everyone, this is exactly the kind of discussion and debate I was hoping for. I appreciate everyone's comments!

Thanks,

Winston

It sounds like you're doing this for a website you're about to launch and you want to showcase the variances between the various NTRP levels?

If so then you should get your 'contracted' players to play full out and not half-ass it because of their opponent.

I'm a 3.5 and I wouldn't expect to have more than a 2-shot rally with a 5.0 going full out on me and I definately wouldn't expect to win a point in a tie-break unless he double faulted.

 

[mtommer]

I actually enjoy playing in really hot weather. It's a great way to improve conditioning and as long as you stay hydrated and replace salt along with fluids and electrolytes, I think you can play safely in any weather up to 90° or so.

It's not too uncommon to hit high 90's here in MI (the on court temp is often well over 100) in July/August. Just ask many of the Nats juniors. At any rate, I also love the hot weather. To me, I guess it's just normal so I don't really feel the heat so to speak.

 

[smoothtennis]

If you guys are looking for the "big difference" between these two players, try the fact that the 5.0 is soft balling his first serves and the 3.5 still misses the returns badly.

Consider this:

3.5 points lost =

3 missed returns
1 very short ball (Wilson put it away)
1 double fault
1 error (net ball) from a heavy deep ball with pace
1 lazy recovery and balance footwork problem off the backhand side.

Almost every error is from the 3.5 playing normal, and not even really being attacked. Wilson was definitely spinning in his serves.

Sounds just like a 3.5 with good strokes...but still a 3.5

5.0 was never engaged to do more than he did.

 

[winstoncho]

Yup, we're going to be launching a site next month and these rating demonstrations are just a small section of the instructional area. Wilson was definitely taking it easy and does not reflect well on his level. These were just test shots we did and we're in the middle of filming better points. The matchups with different levels are more of a novelty and the tiebreaks between similar level players are definitely more engaging. We might do a longer set but people's attention span when it comes to web content is usually pretty low so that's why we decided on tiebreaks.