The Official Tennis Thread

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

Yeah man, completely obliterated in my thirds. SMH. It's a mix of lack of stamina, less focus but also declining form in my shots. The more I play and the more I tend to lose my form it seems which I wasn't victim of when I was training regularly (I'm not a high ranked player at all, just a 3.0).

I've always been a base-liner and I come to the net and make drop-shots when I'm sure to end the point with it (slowly pushing the opp deeper than when I'm well inside the court, dropshot or huge flat forehand on the bh then volley). I'm not really good at it but I'm not bad either. My hand's not good enough for me to do it more otherwise it wouldn't be efficient enough and I'll end up losing points more than winning em with that strategy. So drop-shots and volleys are only when my odds are high because I also like to dictate the tempo and sit inside the court to distribute.

My main racket is a Prince Rebel 95. I'm accurate with it though I tend to make more and more mistakes when I'm not focused. Sometimes I switch with my Prince Ozone MPs because their head size is bigger so they are more tolerant but I'm less good at flat strokes with em so I keep my main Rebel because I can spin and flatten with the same efficiency.

But all in all, it's really my lack of training that does that. If I were hitting regularly, I would be able to keep up during 3 sets. But I don't really care like that honestly, I only play for fun

Haha true.

I sometimes pull a drop shot even when its low percentage. sometimes it just messes with their head, and oftentimes i follow it in to the net figuring that most of the time they are just going to counter with another drop.

Im heated though cuz just now Fromuth called and said they didnt have the racquet i ordered in the grip size i ordered it anymore, apparently someone beat me to it last night (said 1 in stock). I switched it to the Prince Classic Response 97. Basically an update on Sampras' old racquet. I can really bomb my serve (clocked max at 125 with a random demo at a pro tournament in sandles and after drinking beer ) and am going to put a spin string in it for the clay court and test my luck. I was playing at 4.5 this past spring but Im about 20 lbs overweight and havent played in years. Normally Id be scrubbing these guys, been having some trouble here and there instead. I can only play for fun if its doubles with friends or im filling in with some older people if they are down a person. Reason why I quit for so long...if I lost id wig and if i won i was either annoyed it took so long or merely satisfied. Bolletieri offered me a credit card to go to the academy when i was like 12 said fukk em.

Its frustrating as fukk going for the same shots I used to nail and not hitting them where they used to go. I was using the old school iRadical basically from 8th grade thru high school and into recently (10 year span), but had to switch to a heavier racquet. The Youtek IG prestige pro is almost 2 oz heavier than the old radical.

 

[Liu Kang]

Haha true.

I sometimes pull a drop shot even when its low percentage. sometimes it just messes with their head, and oftentimes i follow it in to the net figuring that most of the time they are just going to counter with another drop.

Im heated though cuz just now Fromuth called and said they didnt have the racquet i ordered in the grip size i ordered it anymore, apparently someone beat me to it last night (said 1 in stock). I switched it to the Prince Classic Response 97. Basically an update on Sampras' old racquet.

Wasn't Sampras a Pro Staff stan. Dude played with Prince somehow ?

I can really bomb my serve (clocked max at 125 with a random demo at a pro tournament in sandles and after drinking beer ) and am going to put a spin string in it for the clay court and test my luck. I was playing at 4.5 this past spring but Im about 20 lbs overweight and havent played in years. Normally Id be scrubbing these guys, been having some trouble here and there instead.

I can only play for fun if its doubles with friends or im filling in with some older people if they are down a person. Reason why I quit for so long...if I lost id wig and if i won i was either annoyed it took so long or merely satisfied. Bolletieri offered me a credit card to go to the academy when i was like 12 said fukk em.

So you don't like tennis or it's just competition that fazes you ? Because Bolletieri was just THE guy in the 90s, why would you refuse ?
Imagine you had the talent to make it to the pros, could have been great. But I can understand that POV because I've never liked competition myself when I was a kid. I just wanted to play but because you can't improve without competition, I had to

Its frustrating as fukk going for the same shots I used to nail and not hitting them where they used to go. I was using the old school iRadical basically from 8th grade thru high school and into recently (10 year span), but had to switch to a heavier racquet. The Youtek IG prestige pro is almost 2 oz heavier than the old radical.

I've never been ranked as high as you so my feelings ain't as sharp as yours but I can understand the frustration of not being able to hit like before.
Mine is more than not being able to keep my form and my focus the whole match. For example, my serve was never my best shot (my forehand is) but it was always solid and I could rely on it. Nowadays, I can't and make too much doubles so I mostly do 2nds on my first (kick or top spin) so my opp can't really attack me but because of that I can't really dominate the point either and most of the time I end up losing it because my ground-strokes aren't as solid as they are "supposed to be". Last match was like that : I was able to break the breh numerous times but got broken back each time because I couldn't hold mine. A shame because I had a good slice and a nice flat serve but nowadays when I try em, they are always out.

My Rebel is 10.2 oz and my Ozones are 10.9 oz. Maybe it's because of the string (Rebel on multi, Ozones on mono's) but my shoulder doesn't hurt when I play with the Rebel. Don't think I would be able to handle heavier racquets like you do. I've always been a top-spinner (started more than 15 years ago and never changed) and I've always had troubles flattening my shots. It never felt safe to me so I needed to spin that, above all because my grip was like Berasategui's when I was a kid Growing up, I managed to flatten my shots a little more (by changing my grip mostly, now it's western) and I can now appreciate a laser flat forehand when I manage to keep it in-bounds (like 1 out of 4 ).

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

Wasn't Sampras a Pro Staff stan. Dude played with Prince somehow ?


So you don't like tennis or it's just competition that fazes you ? Because Bolletieri was just THE guy in the 90s, why would you refuse ?
Imagine you had the talent to make it to the pros, could have been great. But I can understand that POV because I've never liked competition myself when I was a kid. I just wanted to play but because you can't improve without competition, I had to


I've never been ranked as high as you so my feelings ain't as sharp as yours but I can understand the frustration of not being able to hit like before.
Mine is more than not being able to keep my form and my focus the whole match. For example, my serve was never my best shot (my forehand is) but it was always solid and I could rely on it. Nowadays, I can't and make too much doubles so I mostly do 2nds on my first (kick or top spin) so my opp can't really attack me but because of that I can't really dominate the point either and most of the time I end up losing it because my ground-strokes aren't as solid as they are "supposed to be". Last match was like that : I was able to break the breh numerous times but got broken back each time because I couldn't hold mine. A shame because I had a good slice and a nice flat serve but nowadays when I try em, they are always out.

My Rebel is 10.2 oz and my Ozones are 10.9 oz. Maybe it's because of the string (Rebel on multi, Ozones on mono's) but my shoulder doesn't hurt when I play with the Rebel. Don't think I would be able to handle heavier racquets like you do. I've always been a top-spinner (started more than 15 years ago and never changed) and I've always had troubles flattening my shots. It never felt safe to me so I needed to spin that, above all because my grip was like Berasategui's when I was a kid Growing up, I managed to flatten my shots a little more (by changing my grip mostly, now it's western) and I can now appreciate a laser flat forehand when I manage to keep it in-bounds (like 1 out of 4 ).

Youre right. I forget who used the racquet. Cant find it on the nets either. I know the racquets are fairly comparable though http://www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com/descpageRCPRINCEH-PCRE97.html

Nah, I love competition and thrive under pressure. Just was slowly burnt out on tennis already at that age, didnt want to play it all day every day when I was already gully...and honestly..I had a lot of disdain for most of the other tennis players. I didnt like many of them nor was I trying to make friends. I played like I hated the opponent and wanted to break his will. Didnt want to be around them all the time, figured I got good enough up here with my coaches to be #1 in New England as it was, didnt want to leave my house, and I wanted to keep playing basketball and little league lol. They kept harping on modeling my game after Tommy Haas and I wasnt about changing my game at all. If they pitched strategy and shyt like that then yea. I remember them bringing me into a conference room with a projector screen going over a bunch of shyt but I wasnt that impressed. I probably should have gone in retrospect, but whatever. Venus was actually in the lobby when I went but I didnt know who she was at the time lol. Maybe it was supposed to impress me

I actually barely played during most of middle school and quit my JR year after being DQ'd in a match for tossing my racquet , by my own coach, on the road he was a bytch just trying to elevate his own career. They begged me to come back, came back without practicing for weeks and immediately won conferences and states in doubles (beating the 1, 2 and 3 seeds en route). I was on that Iverson. As fate had it, the bytch ass coach (who didnt do shyt anyway) left right after the success and got a job at a university. I coasted most of senior year cuz I didnt care and told the AD to not bother trying to get me a scholarship. Had one for academics and thought college tennis was just a waste of time and would wear me down, so if i wanted to continue id train privately and play tourneys. ended up not playing for 5 years instead. Ive been giving lessons for a while though.

You gotta just go out and hit a shyt ton of serves. Best thing to do with that is just reps and more reps. Once my youtek gets re-strung im going to hit hundreds before the tournament. Ive been having trouble hitting the hard flat consistently as well. My top spin is heavy and has bite but doesnt kick too high..my slice is just dangerous. Sometimes, if Im hitting, Ill pull a Michael Chang underhand serve to piss the other guy off when he backs up to try and catch up to my serve. Im kind of an a$$hole out there.

The key to hitting it hard and flat is instincts honestly. If you overthink it youre going to botch it. Just swing from the hip and let it fly. Its also harder to hit it flat and hard with such a light racquet. Im usually semi-western with a 2 hander. Ive been playing since I was 4 so the hardest part of me giving lessons is honestly teaching the grip switching. I just kinda do that shyt without thinking much. Plus the semi western to slice backhand switch is incredibly easy for how i hold my slice

No way I could use those racquets youre using, as you with me. Wouldnt have enough stability and plow through on my serve and Id have a hard time swinging them. My iRadical (i think) was 10.8 and Ive improved immensely with second serve consistently with the heavier racquet. Maybe you should try putting some lead tape on the frame. Wouldnt add much weight and could stabilize the serve.

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

Funniest comment I ever received: This kid was valedictorian and going to Ivy League school on my team...He said "Its impossible how hard and flat you hit your serve in terms of physics". I was only 5'11 and am 6'0 now.

EDIT: Michael Chang (ironically) and Pat Rafter used the Prince predecessor

 

[Liu Kang]

Youre right. I forget who used the racquet. Cant find it on the nets either. I know the racquets are fairly comparable though http://www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com/descpageRCPRINCEH-PCRE97.html

Nah, I love competition and thrive under pressure. Just was slowly burnt out on tennis already at that age, didnt want to play it all day every day when I was already gully...and honestly..I had a lot of disdain for most of the other tennis players. I didnt like many of them nor was I trying to make friends. I played like I hated the opponent and wanted to break his will. Didnt want to be around them all the time, figured I got good enough up here with my coaches to be #1 in New England as it was, didnt want to leave my house, and I wanted to keep playing basketball and little league lol. They kept harping on modeling my game after Tommy Haas and I wasnt about changing my game at all. If they pitched strategy and shyt like that then yea. I remember them bringing me into a conference room with a projector screen going over a bunch of shyt but I wasnt that impressed. I probably should have gone in retrospect, but whatever. Venus was actually in the lobby when I went but I didnt know who she was at the time lol. Maybe it was supposed to impress me

I actually barely played during most of middle school and quit my JR year after being DQ'd in a match for tossing my racquet , by my own coach, on the road e was a bytch just trying to elevate his own career. They begged me to come back, came back without practicing for weeks and immediately won conferences and states in doubles (beating the 1, 2 and 3 seeds en route). I was on that Iverson. As fate had it, the bytch ass coach (who didnt do shyt anyway) left right after the success and got a job at a university. I coasted most of senior year cuz I didnt care and told the AD to not bother trying to get me a scholarship. Had one for academics and thought college tennis was just a waste of time and would wear me down, so if i wanted to continue id train privately and play tourneys. ended up not playing for 5 years instead. Ive been giving lessons for a while though.

You gotta just go out and hit a shyt ton of serves. Best thing to do with that is just reps and more reps. Once my youtek gets re-strung im going to hit hundreds before the tournament. Ive been having trouble hitting the hard flat consistently as well. My top spin is heavy and has bite but doesnt kick too high..my slice is just dangerous. Sometimes, if Im hitting, Ill pull a Michael Chang underhand serve to piss the other guy off when he backs up to try and catch up to my serve. Im kind of an a$$hole out there.

The key to hitting it hard and flat is instincts honestly. If you overthink it youre going to botch it. Just swing from the hip and let it fly. Its also harder to hit it flat and hard with such a light racquet. Im usually semi-western with a 2 hander. Ive been playing since I was 4 so the hardest part of me giving lessons is honestly teaching the grip switching. I just kinda do that shyt without thinking much. Plus the semi western to slice backhand switch is incredibly easy for how i hold my slice

No way I could use those racquets youre using, as you with me. Wouldnt have enough stability and plow through on my serve and Id have a hard time swinging them. My iRadical (i think) was 10.8 and Ive improved immensely with second serve consistently with the heavier racquet. Maybe you should try putting some lead tape on the frame. Wouldnt add much weight and could stabilize the serve.

Yeah I know reps are the key. That's why I know that I'm shytty currently because of my lack of training. It's just not fun to go out there with a crate of 50 balls and serve for an hour or two and do this every week. I'm currently injured so it wouldn't matter anyway but I know how to improve, it just take the will to do it, which I don't have at the moment. Maybe in a few years when I'll be injury-free and when I'll have to will to be better than I was but these days, I just play for fun (though the way I was playing currently frustrated the hell out the me)

Last year I had the cardio to back up my inconsistency and could drag shyt out. Last matches, the third set was hard on my body (cramps, lack of energy) and if you add that that I only want to win in 2, a 3 setter is an automatic loss for me nowadays. I got mixed feelings about 3 setters though because in the last match, I lost the first in a TB but I knew I was better than my opponent, it was so obvious (at the end he even said to me). So I managed to -hardly- win the 2nd 6/4 after hulking up and double-breaking the breh (up 4-0, 40-15 on my serve while playing godly) but suddenly my form became shaky and everything went out-bounds or in the net without any real explanation. I won that set mostly because of my 4/0 lead but couldn't stop making unforced errors trying to distribute and the breh just waited for me to make mistakes. Nothing came back in the third and I obviously lost. Dude was a pusher too which are my kryptonite but I wasn't mad at him, I was mad at me

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

@Liu Kang The tourney draw came out. Im fukked breh. Gotta play a dude who won states around the time James Blake won here in CT...and could play up to 3 matches (starting at 9 am), all out doors and before 5 or 6. 2/3 sets. Would face the #1 seed too I think in my 3rd match if i make it that far.

 

[Liu Kang]

@Liu Kang The tourney draw came out. Im fukked breh. Gotta play a dude who won states around the time James Blake won here in CT...and could play up to 3 matches (starting at 9 am), all out doors and before 5 or 6. 2/3 sets. Would face the #1 seed too I think in my 3rd match if i make it that far.

At least, you will be able to see where you at atm and how much you need to do to come back.

 

[malbaker86]

@Liu Kang The tourney draw came out. Im fukked breh. Gotta play a dude who won states around the time James Blake won here in CT...and could play up to 3 matches (starting at 9 am), all out doors and before 5 or 6. 2/3 sets. Would face the #1 seed too I think in my 3rd match if i make it that far.

end the points quick or else

 

[NkrumahWasRight Is Wrong]

At least, you will be able to see where you at atm and how much you need to do to come back.

Lol im just gonna be havin fun out there at this point Crank the serves and troll shot the whole time. If I want to come back, I gotta play every day in some sort of fashion, lose 20 lbs and then add 5 in muscle. The only thing I got is a serve, volleys and a beast slice backhand. Everything else is a crap shoot.

On the plus side, my slice on both sides are going to just be deadly since its on clay. Imma be playing that 75 year old man game with a booming serve ha

end the points quick or else

Exactly my plan. Swing for the fences, dropshots and serve and volleys. Ill prob be out 2-2 in the first round anyway...if I somehow make it to the third match and have to play the one seed after 2 marathons...

I gotta sleep at like 10 pm tomorrow then roll out of bed and be there by 830 AM. Chances are I lose by around 11, go nap, then hit the club.

 

[what it do]

Lol im just gonna be havin fun out there at this point Crank the serves and troll shot the whole time. If I want to come back, I gotta play every day in some sort of fashion, lose 20 lbs and then add 5 in muscle. The only thing I got is a serve, volleys and a beast slice backhand. Everything else is a crap shoot.

On the plus side, my slice on both sides are going to just be deadly since its on clay. Imma be playing that 75 year old man game with a booming serve ha



Exactly my plan. Swing for the fences, dropshots and serve and volleys. Ill prob be out 2-2 in the first round anyway...if I somehow make it to the third match and have to play the one seed after 2 marathons...

I gotta sleep at like 10 pm tomorrow then roll out of bed and be there by 830 AM. Chances are I lose by around 11, go nap, then hit the club.

how did you do

 

[nomoreneveragain]

MaKiri dumped the loser Ovechkin

 

[yoyoyo1]

the finest of american tennis right now on espn2, isner vs sock averaging 2 shots a rally

they're gonna play a 7-6 6-7 7-6 in an hour

 

[muzikfrk75]

They have World Team Tennis on ESPN2 before....never heard of this before

Venus was the finals MVP a couple years ago

 

[malbaker86]

Francoise and Elizabeth Abanda

 

[yoyoyo1]

D. Young into Washington QF

Steve Johnson upsetting Isner and Karlovic servebots in a 3rd set TB on consecutive days