Match with Jeremy Watson

1/21/09 Wed. 1:30pm.

Chico Racquet Club, Court 8

Lost 1-6, 3-6

 

I didn’t expect to play Jeremy today, a club member who is young, buff, fast and in his early 30’s.  I was out on court 8 hitting on the ball machine when Jeremy showed up all of a sudden.  We immediately agreed to hit some for a while so I picked up the balls lying on the court and put the machine away within a few minutes.  Jeremy and I always start close up at the net in our warm-ups and gradually work our way back to the baseline.  It didn’t take long before we were slamming some baseliners pretty good.  Jeremy hits a forehand ball that jumps considerably after landing.  It’s fun to return those because the pace is just automatically there.  I was trying to remind myself not to take too big a backswing and to meet the ball out front.  After a 20 or so minute warm-up we stopped and Jeremy asked, “Do you want to play some 10 pointers?” and I said no, not really, that I would prefer a couple of sets since I wanted to work on my return of serve.  I knew it was just the kind of practice I was looking for because Jeremy has serves that kick with a lot of movement on them.  So after taking a number of practice serves we began our 1^st set. 

 

Initially, I began this match with a certain amount of trepidation owing to the fact that I have an image in my head that Jeremy is a considerably better player (high 4.0 possibly low 4.5) than me with a big forehand and some fast moving kick serves. Having this image in my head I started the match not really thinking much about the strategy that I had been learning about with Eldon.  I wasn’t really thinking about trying to move forward into the court after hitting a deep ball.  I was just thinking about being able to return ground strokes with solid pace in hopes of keeping up with this young dude.  

 

As we proceeded into the match I found I was really pleasantly surprised by my playing.  Sure enough in the first set I was having trouble with Jeremy’s serves.  I was popping some of them up and he was coming to net behind them and winning some easy points.  But I was rallying and doing anything I could to stay in every point.  Some of the strategy I had studied with Eldon was sticking.  I tried hitting some short balls to bring Jeremy closer to the net.  I hit some half volleys in my defense on the baseline.  I was playing as much as I could immediately behind the baseline.  Jeremy ended up winning the 1^st set 6-1, but I didn’t give up.

 

As we got into the 2^nd set I started adjusting to Jeremy’s serve.  I found that by stepping back from the baseline 3 or 4 feet and then timing my movement forward that I could make a topspin swing on his serves and actually place the ball relatively deep almost every time.  Jeremy stopped coming to the net behind his serve!  I was so amazed that his serves actually seemed to slow down. I felt that I was waiting for them.  I had to wait to time my swing.  So much for Jeremy’s big kicker.  It wasn’t really moving that big on me!  I even remember one of his kick serves he got to bounce high to my backhand and I was so pleased that I timed it well and easily sent it back deep with my two-hander.  I have been working on hitting shoulder high balls on my backhand side and it felt like it had just paid off.

 

That 2^nd set turned out to be a different story from the 1^st.  The score actually got to be 3-4 before I went on to lose 6-3.  I was serving fairly decently.  Although Jeremy tended to stand right on the baseline returning my serve, I didn’t let that worry me because he seldom did anything with my serves.  I was getting some pretty good action on my serves and I mixed it up quite well with flat, spin and kick.  He didn’t always know which one was coming.  Sometimes I served my spin first instead of my flat.  I had some good body serves that gave him trouble.  I think I only remember him putting one of my second serves away for a winner. 

 

In that 2^nd set I also started to hit my groundies more confidently. I had several nice passing shots down the line.  I remembered to stay down on my backhand shots. I didn’t come up once!  I did blow it once on my forehand side, though.  I had hit a great fast-paced low approach shot into Jeremy’s backhand corner, but hesitated to immediately come up to the net where I would have had an easy put away.  Instead, arriving up into the middle of the court somewhat late, I had a slow bouncing ball that I hit standing up, returning a relatively weak ball that Jeremy proceeded to put by me as I stood exposed at the net.  If I had remembered to stay down on that ball I could have put it away.  I have practiced those types of shots on the ball machine and can hit it really well when I stay down!

 

I left this match feeling rather happy. My image of Jeremy’s game had suddenly changed for the lesser.  I was realizing that given another chance I could beat the younger Jeremy.  I’m not afraid of his serve any more.  Far from it.  I’m not afraid of his forehand groundstroke, either.  By employing more of the strategy that Eldon is teaching me i.e., watching my opponent’s reaction, approaching more short balls diagonally and using more all-court playing consciousness, I can beat this guy or at the least make him struggle a lot to beat me.  The score does not have to remain at 1-6, 3-6.  I can feel it!  That is going to change!