• 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
I was magnificent today ^_^

I played 6 sets of doubles and in the first 5, my backhand was on fire. 5 winners (forcing several errors) and ZERO errors (just 1 forced error). Two were clean return winners. My FH wasn't as sharp, though. lol Couple of winners, BUNCH of errors. But I won one of the sets with an UTL FH winner, so that was nice.

Also, 4 aces and just 2 DFs. And 2 aces in one game.
7QNEJ5N.gif
But my partner in the first 3 sets was awful....we lost all 3 in really lopsided scorelines. I can only do so damn much, lol Played with a better partner and won the next two.

Also, I tracked down every single drop shot and either hit a winner or forced an error with most of them. I even got to a ball that hit the net and dribbled over while I was behind the baseline. My friends always forget how fast I am; you can NOT drop shot me :)

So, seventeen year old Alexander Zverev is making a rather impressive run to the Hamburg semi, literally flying through the rankings from 285 to 159 now. Not bad at all from someone so young and green.

Yeah, it was a nice run. Got killed by Ferrer though.
 

Faith

Member
I had two matches today at a tournament. I got the second one because I lost in the first round against another player that lost in the first round.

My first match was just complete bullshit. This dude was 63 years old, couldn't barely move and every shot was a slice. Slice service, slice forehand, slice backhand, slice smash...he was just slicing. I was leading 5:3 in the first set and lost 7 games in a row (5:7 0:3) and lost the match 5:7 1:6. I had no answer for his playstyle. I was devastated...how could I lose against someone that was so bad? At least I got the second match against someone that played waaaay better tennis. Much faster with so much topspin and a strong serve, it was just the perfect opponent for me. I had 2 setpoints in the first set at 5:4 40:15 and lost that set in the tiebreak 7:5. It happened again, like in the first match. But I came back und won the second set 6:1. The 3rd set was a super-tiebreak which I won 10:3. I asked someone to play a set against me afterwards. But just for fun. He was even better than the previous player and I won 6:3.

I don't know why, but I need 1-2 hours to get warm. Maybe I should try to play an hour with a friend before the tournament?
 

MIMIC

Banned
I had two matches today at a tournament. I got the second one because I lost in the first round against another player that lost in the first round.

My first match was just complete bullshit. This dude was 63 years old, couldn't barely move and every shot was a slice. Slice service, slice forehand, slice backhand, slice smash...he was just slicing. I was leading 5:3 in the first set and lost 7 games in a row (5:7 0:3) and lost the match 5:7 1:6. I had no answer for his playstyle. I was devastated...how could I lose against someone that was so bad? At least I got the second match against someone that played waaaay better tennis. Much faster with so much topspin and a strong serve, it was just the perfect opponent for me. I had 2 setpoints in the first set at 5:4 40:15 and lost that set in the tiebreak 7:5. It happened again, like in the first match. But I came back und won the second set 6:1. The 3rd set was a super-tiebreak which I won 10:3. I asked someone to play a set against me afterwards. But just for fun. He was even better than the previous player and I won 6:3.

I don't know why, but I need 1-2 hours to get warm. Maybe I should try to play an hour with a friend before the tournament?

An opponent who slices well is always going to be difficult to deal with. I should know because my slices sometimes infuriate my opponents ^_^ Here's the secret: you HAVE to come to the net, because if they're always slicing, the only thing they're gonna do is lob you. Unless the slice is really, really, REALLY good (meaning that the ball gets below the height of the net as soon as it crosses onto your side), rushing the net should be enough to make them think twice about a slice.

If they're a really good slicer, then they're going to force a lot of errors because you'll be forced to hit UP on the ball. Not much you can do about that. For some with a really good slice, I usually just slice back....and if mine was better, it'll force THEIR error.

In my experience, I can only hit a good FH slice off of a high ball but I can hit a good BH slice off of ANY ball. Try slicing to their FH. More likely than not, the slice won't be as difficult to deal with. Or experiment to see which wing has the better slice.

(edit: and if you don't want to come to the net, I'd just recommend that you slice back)

But for people who have trouble moving north-south, you should drop shot the hell out of them.
 

Faith

Member
Troicki is back on @625 (+222) after Gstaad xD

I expect from him to return in the top50 at the end of the year and top20 in 1 year.
 

Diamond

Member
An opponent who slices well is always going to be difficult to deal with. I should know because my slices sometimes infuriate my opponents ^_^ Here's the secret: you HAVE to come to the net, because if they're always slicing, the only thing they're gonna do is lob you. Unless the slice is really, really, REALLY good (meaning that the ball gets below the height of the net as soon as it crosses onto your side), rushing the net should be enough to make them think twice about a slice.

If they're a really good slicer, then they're going to force a lot of errors because you'll be forced to hit UP on the ball. Not much you can do about that. For some with a really good slice, I usually just slice back....and if mine was better, it'll force THEIR error.

In my experience, I can only hit a good FH slice off of a high ball but I can hit a good BH slice off of ANY ball. Try slicing to their FH. More likely than not, the slice won't be as difficult to deal with. Or experiment to see which wing has the better slice.

(edit: and if you don't want to come to the net, I'd just recommend that you slice back)

But for people who have trouble moving north-south, you should drop shot the hell out of them.

I agree, playing short rallies and getting to the net (with good attacks, or else they'll probably lob or slice-pass you :) ) is probably the best option. The problem with these guys is that you easily build a preconception about them (their playstyle sucks, so I should win !), but at the end of the day, they're better because they are more consistent than you, and that's often the key at club level. You should respect them, even if you don't like the way they play. Thinking that they play bad won't put you in the right set of mind to beat them. Take them as a puzzle to solve.
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Anyone else going to the Cincinnati Masters in a couple weeks? I'll be there for the quarterfinals.
 

LuuKyK

Member
Sloane Stephens loses in the 1st round for the 2nd tournament in a row. Has she fired her coach yet? She's on the same arc as Melanie Oudin now.

I mean, what did you expect? This girl is hopeless. Not surprising she is getting more attention over bizarre interviews about erratic periods and condoms in her relationship with Jack Sock.

Also, I heard she is now working with former Sharapova's coach Thomas Hogsteadt. Good luck to him.
 
I mean, what did you expect? This girl is hopeless. Not surprising she is getting more attention over bizarre interviews about erratic periods and condoms in her relationship with Jack Sock.

Also, I heard she is now working with former Sharapova's coach Thomas Hogsteadt. Good luck to him.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. I'm off to youtube

edit: couldn't find much on the condom or period comments, but it does look like Sock/Stephens have been silently dating for over a year. I never knew that, but I don't really follow tennis relationships unless they are in my face like Redfoo/Azarenka even though they recently split
 

Diamond

Member
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. I'm off to youtube

edit: couldn't find much on the condom or period comments, but it does look like Sock/Stephens have been silently dating for over a year. I never knew that, but I don't really follow tennis relationships unless they are in my face like Redfoo/Azarenka even though they recently split

Redfoo and Vika split ?!?1! Ohno I'M SO SAD RIGHT NOW !!11! :'(


Edit : Also, I think this is the article about Stephens : http://www.elle.com/life-love/society-career/sloane-stephens-profile

Though the part about her period is hardly the most interesting (it's from casual talking with Sock, the journalist just happened to be with them), the rest actually explains a bit why she has this attitude people dislike.
 

Dispatch

Member
I agree, playing short rallies and getting to the net (with good attacks, or else they'll probably lob or slice-pass you :) ) is probably the best option. The problem with these guys is that you easily build a preconception about them (their playstyle sucks, so I should win !), but at the end of the day, they're better because they are more consistent than you, and that's often the key at club level. You should respect them, even if you don't like the way they play. Thinking that they play bad won't put you in the right set of mind to beat them. Take them as a puzzle to solve.

Also, remember when you hit a volley of a sliced shot, you really want to punch the volley just a bit more. The under spin will make the ball just dive into the net unless you punch it. When I volley a shot that's been sliced I don't try and get cute. I just hit it.
 
I'm probably extremely wrong, but I always believed they crank up the radar guns just a lil bit for the women ( like some MLB stadiums do for some of their 100mph pitchers). Especially when I watch a GS and I happen to catch a men's and woman's match back to back, sometimes they'll have the same speed on the gun, but the men's serve looks way quicker than the women's. It could also have to do with the height, idk. But I'm glad it's Lisicki who got that record, can't dislike someone like her.
 

Diamond

Member
Also, remember when you hit a volley of a sliced shot, you really want to punch the volley just a bit more. The under spin will make the ball just dive into the net unless you punch it. When I volley a shot that's been sliced I don't try and get cute. I just hit it.

Good point !
 
I'm probably extremely wrong, but I always believed they crank up the radar guns just a lil bit for the women ( like some MLB stadiums do for some of their 100mph pitchers). Especially when I watch a GS and I happen to catch a men's and woman's match back to back, sometimes they'll have the same speed on the gun, but the men's serve looks way quicker than the women's. It could also have to do with the height, idk. But I'm glad it's Lisicki who got that record, can't dislike someone like her.

I doubt it but you never know. I still don't believe Adam Sandler served 93 mph. Looked more like 75 but who knows.

Edit : Also, I think this is the article about Stephens : http://www.elle.com/life-love/society-career/sloane-stephens-profile

Though the part about her period is hardly the most interesting (it's from casual talking with Sock, the journalist just happened to be with them), the rest actually explains a bit why she has this attitude people dislike.

Yep you're right. Jack Sock's "Awesome" could be taken in different ways depending on how enthusiastic/sarcastic he sounded but we can't tell through text. Funny dialogue either way

“I saw my gyno today, and she’s like, ‘I can’t wait for Indian Wells,’ ” Stephens says. Indian Wells, for the uninitiated, is a major tennis tournament in Southern California in March, and Stephens’ doctor, it seems, is also one of her ardent fans. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! She’s looking in my vajay!’ ”

Suddenly I remember that Sloane Stephens is not some WTA-boardroom prototype. She’s an unformed, hyperactive, outspoken kid, one who suffered a series of formative losses before she turned 16. Returning to the topic of gynecology, she asks me if I, too, got the Gardasil shots to prevent HPV infection. “My arm is so sore!” she cries, before adding that she’s hoping her NuvaRing prescription will control the erratic periods that troubled her on tour last year. Stephens turns to Sock. “I didn’t tell you I got the ring, did I?” She flashes her glittering smile and punches him affectionately.

“Awesome,” he croaks.
 

zroid

Banned
How cool would it be if Vasek and Milos meet in the Citi finals. Tall order for Vasek to maintain the same level as against Berdych but here's hoping.
 
How cool would it be if Vasek and Milos meet in the Citi finals. Tall order for Vasek to maintain the same level as against Berdych but here's hoping.

Vasek would need to win 3 matches in 2 days if he wants to win the tournament. I wonder why his match against Giraldo couldn't finish.
 

Peru

Member
What's with the intense ivanovic serena rivalry this year. Big match for the crowds anyway. And Petko beats Venus in three for Serena Andrea final.
 

Diamond

Member
#betterer

Videos about Fed's new Wilson RF97 coming out in Oct

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nobj5QJtLP0

On that note...what do you guys thing of the Wilson S line of racquets? Recently lost my old Prince Michael Chang racquets due to car flooding and need something new. Thinking of getting a modern racquet versus trying to scour the net for something old.

By "S" you mean with their recent spin effect tech ? Unfortunately cannot tell, never tried recent Wilson rackets. I've been Babolat-only for years. I've heard good things though. Speaking of Federer, the classic Pro Staff 90 is a fantastic looking racket for instance, but it's apparently not for everyone.
You should ask your store to try different sticks and see which suits your game better(er).
 

LuuKyK

Member
What's with the intense ivanovic serena rivalry this year. Big match for the crowds anyway. And Petko beats Venus in three for Serena Andrea final.

I think you mean semifinal. :p

But yeah Ana is peaking against serena this year. To be fair though she is back to playing really well overall (just not that well in the slams). The way she returned Serenas serves was amazing.
 

Faith

Member
Djokovic has Monfils, Tsonga, Murray, Wawrinka/Dimitrov & Federer/Berdych/Ferrer.

Never saw such a tough draw for Djokovic.
 

Diamond

Member
Not only in a 500 series, it's the first all Canadian final on the tour.
It's nice to see Pospisil playing well again, I remember loving watching him play in Montreal last summer, but he couldn't sustain this level throughout the following months.

Goffin also playing well with 20 straight matches won (3 challengers + Kitzbühel).
 

Faith

Member
I think that Serena Williams will end her career by the end of the year.

Edit: Well, that was just ridiculous xD
 
Top Bottom