Any tennis players out there

[static_ice]

Can I hijack your account too and change your avatar to Federer?

NO!


IMO nadal is better, he is on my avvy today in honor of that fact

[debra79]

NO!


IMO nadal is better, he is on my avvy today in honor of that fact

Better, my arse. While I don't begrudge the fact that Nadal is a fantastic player, and a force to be reckoned with, especially on clay, Federer is one of the all-time greats of the game, and you will be hard pressed to find another dominating player for a while to come.
I knew Federer was going to be great the first time I saw him play - which was the Hopman Cup back in 2001 - and he's just gone from strength to strength since that day.

[static_ice]

NO!


IMO nadal is better, he is on my avvy today in honor of that fact

Better, my arse. While I don't begrudge the fact that Nadal is a fantastic player, and a force to be reckoned with, especially on clay, Federer is one of the all-time greats of the game, and you will be hard pressed to find another dominating player for a while to come.
I knew Federer was going to be great the first time I saw him play - which was the Hopman Cup back in 2001 - and he's just gone from strength to strength since that day.

yeah well Nadal has never gone to 5 sets on clay, not even by federer, but federer was just taken to 5 sets on grass by nadal

[debra79]

Doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there Refresh my memory on who won? Like I said, Nadal is a great player on clay, but he's not quite the all-rounder that someone like Federer or Sampras are/were.

[willis]

Doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there Refresh my memory on who won? Like I said, Nadal is a great player on clay, but he's not quite the all-rounder that someone like Federer or Sampras are/were.

True but Nadal did play a match everyday leading up to the final, and a few of them also went to 5 sets if I remember correctly

[debra79]

True but Nadal did play a match everyday leading up to the final, and a few of them also went to 5 sets if I remember correctly

And your point is?

[willis]

True but Nadal did play a match everyday leading up to the final, and a few of them also went to 5 sets if I remember correctly

And your point is?

He had played more leading up to the final that federer

[debra79]

Just proves that Federer was better at beating down the competition with less court time.

[willis]

Just proves that Federer was better at beating down the competition with less court time.

But IMO nadal had harder opponents

[debra79]

I wouldn't exactly consider Ferrero, Gasquet and Safin to be push overs. Yes he did get a walkover with Haas and Nadal did compete in two more 5 setters than Federer, but to beat players like the aforementioned without dropping more than one set is pretty spectacular.

[war_bloodline]

eh, I heard USA beat brazil at soccer, is that true? USA sucks at soccer... at least I thought

In the U-20 WC in Canada they did.

Brazil 1:2 USA


Sorry for talking about football again.

[boberz]

Maybe it's the fact that you were overly confident?
How is anyone here supposed to be able to help you with your strat, though, when you haven't been overly specific about what happened?
As for grips: Fk'ed if I know As I said, I've never had coaching, I taught myself at the age of 4, so I probably have some unique way of holding it that would make any self-respecting coach run for the hills Someone tried to show me the correct way of holding the racquet years ago, but it just didn't feel right. I figured why change what was working for me, anyway? Who cares how you hold the racquet as long as it feels right for you and it's winning your shots

There is no correct grip, it is just how you adjust to use the grip you have chosen or developed, that is where a coach should come in. I would never teach a kid (or adult for that matter) a new grip unless the old one would give them an injury or hamper their other shots.

As for my problem, perhaps you are right but wouldnt i have started smashing everything out rather than doing the oposite. To detail my problem. I had a semi-final against a consistent player that had no weapons, rather than use my shots to wipe him off court and accept the unforced errors that occur (think rusedski/roddick(not that i have the serve but in terms of mentality)) i started playing grandma tennis.

[debra79]

My only guess is that you got too complacent and cocky that your strategy was going to overpower his, and that's when tennis shots start to get sloppy.
Maybe you started to adjust your game play to his, rather than forcing him onto the back foot right from the start and making him uncomfortable.
Being a "little" woman, I don't have massive power like the Williams sisters *cough* men *cough*, but I'm consistent and I aim at forcing my opponent to make one more shot, and hopefully an erroneous one at that I don't try for winners every shot I take, I pick my winners very carefully. Good things come to those who wait

[boberz]

so i should have played a counterpunch game???

or should i have played more aggresively and forced him back sorry i didnt understand your point. I have a final soon in the mixed and my partner doesnt play much so i need to be a dominant force whereas atm the oponent man has beaten me the last couple of occasions we have met (he is actually my best mate and hitting partner as well) however i am a much better doubles player.

As for the nadal fgederer i dont think there is competition. Federer has beaten Nadal on every surface this year whereas nadal has only won on clay (and possibly 1 on hard i have forgotten0

[debra79]

I can't tell you how to play your game; I've never seen you play! I was merely offering up suggestions as to why you lost...only you can work out where you went wrong, or someone who actually knows how you play and watched you play that day.
It just seems like you let him get comfortable on the court, and that's where things start to go wrong.

[static_ice]

boberz, it sounds like you problem was either a bad day (I get those all the time) or, as debra suggested I think, your style might be better than his, but when you play eachother they don't mix well and you play worse than you should

if the latter is the case then explain in more detail how the opponent in the semifinals played...

[debra79]

It's not so much that they don't mix well, it's just that I've found that sometimes when you're against an opponent who is weaker than you, subconsciously you start to play weaker too.

[static_ice]

It's not so much that they don't mix well, it's just that I've found that sometimes when you're against an opponent who is weaker than you, subconsciously you start to play weaker too.

that is 100% true, luckily for me, before the 1st set ends I have time to realize that I should be winning and I come back...

but that's not what I'm talking about... for example I once played a match with this kid that was big, slow, very accurate, but he always hit extremely weak. even if I gave him an easy-as-fuck lob at the net he would just hit it back...the entire match he just hit it back and it annoyed the f*ck out of me, I actually dropped the first set because no matter how hard I hit he would just hit it back to me. it was hard to hit past him cuz, even tho he was slow, he had a wide range and that specific day when I tried to hit on the line I was hitting it out... he wasn't beating me, he was just letting me beat myself...

anyway boberz did you opponent sound anything like that?

[debra79]

but that's not what I'm talking about... for example I once played a match with this kid that was big, slow, very accurate, but he always hit extremely weak. even if I gave him an easy-as-f*ck lob at the net he would just hit it back...the entire match he just hit it back and it annoyed the f*ck out of me, I actually dropped the first set because no matter how hard I hit he would just hit it back to me. it was hard to hit past him cuz, even tho he was slow, he had a wide range and that specific day when I tried to hit on the line I was hitting it out... he wasn't beating me, he was just letting me beat myself...

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. You tried to rush your game to hit winners, and because you were pushing so hard, shots you were normally quite accurate with were all going out. It can be a vicious cycle where the more errors you make, the harder you try to make it up and you keep making errors, and around and around you go.
Tennis is as much about mental agility as it is about physical. That's why someone like Roddick, who is a huge power hitter (or god forbid I mention this fkwits name - Phillipoussis *shudders*), can't beat a player like Federer who is extremely mentally tough.

[boberz]

i actually did the opposite though, my payer was as you describe him static, however to nowhere near to the extreme he hits deep to the baseline with average technique is not quick powerful and does not have any weapon as such, but he is dreadfully consistent.

Rather than as you say i start to over hit and extend my shots out, i started softballing him and that is what i cant work out, i effectively started playing like him

[debra79]

i actually did the opposite though, my payer was as you describe him static, however to nowhere near to the extreme he hits deep to the baseline with average technique is not quick powerful and does not have any weapon as such, but he is dreadfully consistent.

Rather than as you say i start to over hit and extend my shots out, i started softballing him and that is what i cant work out, i effectively started playing like him

I'm assuming he's a baseline player? And just because in this instance it was static's subconscious to try and out hit the guy, yours was to hit like a pansy and try to tip it over the net and force him in or to just miss the shot altogether. What game plan did you have on the other occasions that you have beaten him?

[boberz]

kind of like move him about the baseline attack the short ball that he reguarly gives out and throw in some decent serve volleys to keep him on his toes. he couldnt beat me but i could easily beat myself

[static_ice]

yeah I have done that too, kinda like stooping down to their level out of a lack of competition I guess, one thing I tried that works is get them to hit a short lob to the net, letting you beat the shit out of it, that gets me pumped up enough to stop hitting like a pansy

[boberz]

he wasnt that bad it is just he hasw no weapon as such but he is consistent and hits deep but even so