• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Tennis - General Discussion

MIMIC

Banned
Had a match today. Beat my opponent 6-2, 6-0 ^_^

Who needs a backhand? :) I just sliced everything. Also, is it considered unsportsmanlike to dropshot a serve? Because every time he hit a second serve to my backhand (and sometimes first serves), and I had the option....I went for it. Technically, I wasn't GOING for a drop shot, but it just happens (because my slices have so much spin).

Also, I finished the match against the other guy (when we were tied 3-3). I won the 3rd set 7-6(2)

But back to the tennis people care about :) I didn't see the Djokovic-Tsonga match but I did see Nadal's. Neither result was surprising, TBH.
 

szaromir

Banned
Also, is it considered unsportsmanlike to dropshot a serve? Because every time he hit a second serve to my backhand (and sometimes first serves), and I had the option....I went for it.
It's not bad sportsmanship, if he knew it was coming, he should either run immediately to the net or go for his second serves more.
Technically, I wasn't GOING for a drop shot, but it just happens (because my slices have so much spin).
But heavy backspin makes the ball float further. You must give your slices some elevation for them to land short.
 

MIMIC

Banned
It's not bad sportsmanship, if he knew it was coming, he should either run immediately to the net or go for his second serves more.

He tried and double faulted a few times. lol

It was funny: he hit his first serves harder to my backhand, and all that pace made it so much easier to slice. It's harder slicing a no-pace shot
 

Reyne

Member
Who needs a backhand? :) I just sliced everything. Also, is it considered unsportsmanlike to dropshot a serve? Because every time he hit a second serve to my backhand (and sometimes first serves), and I had the option....I went for it. Technically, I wasn't GOING for a drop shot, but it just happens (because my slices have so much spin).

Not at all. Like szaromir said he should serve and volley more often, or at least be prepared for it. It would be unsportsmanlike to whine about an opponents play though, unless it involves distractions.

Also, some nice droppers on serve:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Di81tgLrU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iQ0LFOS8so
 

szaromir

Banned
He tried and double faulted a few times. lol
It was funny: he hit his first serves harder to my backhand, and all that pace made it so much easier to slice. It's harder slicing a no-pace shot
Not if it has good pace and top spin. Than again a good kick-serve is not too common at club level.
 

John Dunbar

correct about everything
closer than i expected, but djokovic does look a lot more comfortable on serve. 4-2 in breaker now, so he probably has this.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Too bad, was hoping Delpo would take it. Besides that USO loss, he didn't have a bad year. Shame he choked against Isner in Cincinnati otherwise he could've made three (I think?) Masters finals, and of course was very close to making the Wimbledon final. I'd like to see him do well at the WTF.
 

Globox_82

Banned
Too bad, was hoping Delpo would take it. Besides that USO loss, he didn't have a bad year. Shame he choked against Isner in Cincinnati otherwise he could've made three (I think?) Masters finals, and of course was very close to making the Wimbledon final. I'd like to see him do well at the WTF.

In this form he will be even more dangerous indoors. Only Novak can stop him imo. Nadal is mediocre indoors. Fed is master at it, but his form is crap. So two hottest players going into next 3 tournaments are Nole and Delp (both had tournament wins in Asia, plus this final).

Great match. Nole and Delpo always play great matches and will be great rivals imo in the next 3-4 years.
 

MIMIC

Banned
Novak's "drunk tennis" against del Potro is making the rounds xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj8dZj0rT1E

45ps9.gif
 

Reyne

Member
And that is what a textbook brain fart looks like. That whole game was just one court antic after another... though that gif is pretty funny.
 

MIMIC

Banned
Had my match today and beat the guy 6-0, 6-0. LOL

It was a VERY hollow victory because he double faulted like it was his job. He hit 90% of his second serves as if they were first serves. Not even Tsonga is that consistently clownish. lol All of them were hard and fast. And out.

Maybe he thought I was going to punish all of his second serves....but still. FUCKING DERP. At least get the ball in play and hope I miss! I mean, when he DID get them in, I punished a lot of them but I didn't get ALL of them. Only time we ever rallied was on my serve.

But he had serving problems anyway. One point, he re-did his ball toss at least 6 times. He reminded me of Dementieva.

I'm pretty sure that if he hadn't double faulted so often, the score would have been like 6-3, 6-2 or something
 

Reyne

Member
David Ferrer vs Grigor Dimitrov tomorrow in Stockholm Open Final. God, I hope Grigor finally takes his first title. It is way overdue... Surface should suit him against Ferrer, who survived against Gulbis only cause he had a brain fart when he was about to win the match in the second set.
 

MIMIC

Banned
David Ferrer vs Grigor Dimitrov tomorrow in Stockholm Open Final. God, I hope Grigor finally takes his first title. It is way overdue... Surface should suit him against Ferrer, who survived against Gulbis only cause he had a brain fart when he was about to win the match in the second set.

Ferrer is gonna pick him apart

get it? lol
 

Reyne

Member
Dimitrov defeats Ferrer in three to win his first title. That was was definitively a tough match and a well earned win. Even in the end it sort of looked like Ferrer would break right back and snatch the title. Dimitrov finally gets that 'no-title' monkey off his back. Hopefully he'll only move forward from here. He is set to face Federer in the quarter of Basel which could be an interesting match, if Federer gets his shit together.
 

szaromir

Banned
Federer even in his washed-up dinosaur is going to murder Dimitrov, if Dimitrov even gets there. I watched the final set today and Dimitrov was just pushing, luckily for him Ferrer has declined massively in recent months.
 

MIMIC

Banned
Good for Dimitrov. Just saw the match on Tennis Channel. Well-deserved victory.

One monkey off his back....and now seven others have climbed on :)
 

zero_suit

Member
Federer even in his washed-up dinosaur is going to murder Dimitrov, if Dimitrov even gets there. I watched the final set today and Dimitrov was just pushing, luckily for him Ferrer has declined massively in recent months.

Nah, Fed is losing to everybody these days.
 
Had my match today and beat the guy 6-0, 6-0. LOL

It was a VERY hollow victory because he double faulted like it was his job. He hit 90% of his second serves as if they were first serves. Not even Tsonga is that consistently clownish. lol All of them were hard and fast. And out.

Maybe he thought I was going to punish all of his second serves....but still. FUCKING DERP. At least get the ball in play and hope I miss! I mean, when he DID get them in, I punished a lot of them but I didn't get ALL of them. Only time we ever rallied was on my serve.

But he had serving problems anyway. One point, he re-did his ball toss at least 6 times. He reminded me of Dementieva.

I'm pretty sure that if he hadn't double faulted so often, the score would have been like 6-3, 6-2 or something

What is your USTA NTRP level? 4.0? 4.5?
 

MIMIC

Banned
What is your USTA NTRP level? 4.0? 4.5?

That's a good question...because I have no idea. lol

A few months ago, I was just hitting the ball with this one guy and he said that I was probably a 3.0. And told me about this league he is in. I'm reading the USTA's website and I think I'm a little better than that.

Upon reading those various levels, I have some of the things mentioned in 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 (like in 5.0: "This player can regularly hit winners or force errors off of short balls") but my volleying sucks mainly because I have no practice with it...although 2 matches ago, I made every single one. And in that same match, I tried to see if I could hit drop shots (because I never do that) because my opponent was camping behind the baseline (because of my depth). And it worked. Variety! lol

So I guess just to be on the safe side, I'd say I'm a solid 4.0 on the verge of 4.5.

The guy I mentioned earlier said that you play according to your USTA rank (which I wasn't familiar with until then) so maybe I should join whatever league he is in. I'm definitely not getting any better with the people I'm playing.

Also, in the league I'm in, the coach has a website for the players (active and inactive). I'm Gerald Henley. Technically, I'm supposed to be 4-1 (but officially, one of those matches ended in a tie, although we finished it and I won).

I really should be 5 and 0. That loss was a total fluke (was experimenting with my FH). The guy who I beat 6-0, 6-0 took a set off of the guy who beat me (the No. 1 ranked guy). Then again, when he beat me, that was the first actual match I had played in months. But my power index is higher than everyone so....I guess that's cool :)
 
That's a good question...because I have no idea. lol

A few months ago, I was just hitting the ball with this one guy and he said that I was probably a 3.0. And told me about this league he is in. I'm reading the USTA's website and I think I'm a little better than that.

Upon reading those various levels, I have some of the things mentioned in 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 (like in 5.0: "This player can regularly hit winners or force errors off of short balls") but my volleying sucks mainly because I have no practice with it...although 2 matches ago, I made every single one. And in that same match, I tried to see if I could hit drop shots (because I never do that) because my opponent was camping behind the baseline (because of my depth). And it worked. Variety! lol

So I guess just to be on the safe side, I'd say I'm a solid 4.0 on the verge of 4.5.

The guy I mentioned earlier said that you play according to your USTA rank (which I wasn't familiar with until then) so maybe I should join whatever league he is in. I'm definitely not getting any better with the people I'm playing.

Also, in the league I'm in, the coach has a website for the players (active and inactive). I'm Gerald Henley. Technically, I'm supposed to be 4-1 (but officially, one of those matches ended in a tie, although we finished it and I won).

I really should be 5 and 0. That loss was a total fluke (was experimenting with my FH). The guy who I beat 6-0, 6-0 took a set off of the guy who beat me (the No. 1 ranked guy). Then again, when he beat me, that was the first actual match I had played in months. But my power index is higher than everyone so....I guess that's cool :)

You can watch videos on youtube of players with a 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 etc. rating to see how you think your game compares. A better way to assess your level would be to ask what level your opponent is after the match. Surely some of the guys at your club play USTA, which forces the player to know their rating for tournaments. But I would recommend signing up for a USTA membership ( its $45 a year I think ) and register for a tournament. At the beginning, you get to self rate yourself, so definitely undersell yourself. If you win a few tournaments in a row, the USTA's computer system will automatically bump you up. I don't recommend bumping yourself up as tempting as that may be. I started out as a 4.0 player, and made it to the finals of my first tournament, then the next tournament I bumped myself up to 4.5 and struggled to win a first round match for quite some time. I wasn't able to drop myself back down to 4.0's either so I was kinda stuck there for a while. I feel like I have improved over the past few years and now I'm a "middle of the road" 4.5 player. I can win a round or two on a consistent basis, but I'm generally not a threat to win a tournament. My goal is to one day become a strong 4.5 player, but becoming a 5.0 player is well out of my reach.
 

MIMIC

Banned
lol what's the story behind this?

When Djokovic gets nervous he completely loses his balance.

You can watch videos on youtube of players with a 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 etc. rating to see how you think your game compares. A better way to assess your level would be to ask what level your opponent is after the match. Surely some of the guys at your club play USTA, which forces the player to know their rating for tournaments. But I would recommend signing up for a USTA membership ( its $45 a year I think ) and register for a tournament. At the beginning, you get to self rate yourself, so definitely undersell yourself. If you win a few tournaments in a row, the USTA's computer system will automatically bump you up. I don't recommend bumping yourself up as tempting as that may be. I started out as a 4.0 player, and made it to the finals of my first tournament, then the next tournament I bumped myself up to 4.5 and struggled to win a first round match for quite some time. I wasn't able to drop myself back down to 4.0's either so I was kinda stuck there for a while. I feel like I have improved over the past few years and now I'm a "middle of the road" 4.5 player. I can win a round or two on a consistent basis, but I'm generally not a threat to win a tournament. My goal is to one day become a strong 4.5 player, but becoming a 5.0 player is well out of my reach.

That's what the guy I mentioned earlier was telling me about.

Also, I watched a video of some 4.0s and 4.5s. I definitely think I can hang with the 4.5s :) I'm watching a video of a 5.0 match and I think I can hang with them, too. But if I ever signed up for that thing, I would definitely undersell myself in the beginning.

Thanks for the advice.
 

Saty

Member
Not even the WTA Year-end's championship is shown on International Eurosport? ffs.
Yet another tough draw for Aga.
 
Serena must be thanking her lucky stars that Azerenka came along to provide her with enough competition to make her wins seem more impressive. While she has a dominant record against Victoria, the matches still tend to be very close over the last couple years.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
So I heard Kerber tanked the last couple games? Can't really blame her since she probably figures she has a better chance against the other two, but that's still pretty shitty for the fans.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Did she throw in some underhanded serves ala Martina Hingis?

I didn't see the match so I don't know for sure, but a friend was telling me she was just slapping shots wherever without remotely intending for them to be winners, didn't run for any balls (guess she didn't even try to run after a ball on match point?), and was laughing with her coach during a changeover before the last couple games.
 

szaromir

Banned
Not even the WTA Year-end's championship is shown on International Eurosport? ffs.
Yet another tough draw for Aga.
It wouldn't matter if she played well.

Berdych lost. Perfect opportunity for Roger to reach the final.
I still want to believe...
 
Top Bottom