Match with Roger Perry
11/6/08 Thursday 7:00 P.M.
Men’s League
Chico Racquet Club
I played Roger Perry tonight, the #1 player of the league on Court 1. I never had so much fun losing!
Roger really doesn’t hit with much pace; he is just very consistent and has a great slice backhand. It took me a set and a half to realize that I shouldn’t be playing his backhand side. He won a lot of points with his slice – good angles and short, low bouncing balls off the ground. I was having fun playing him, though, because I was hitting on both sides well, with some adequate pace — more than Roger. We had some great rallies that often covered a lot of the court. I actually won the first two games, but was thinking I needed to end points early since I was feeling I might not have enough stamina to finish. This was a mistake; I ended up having plenty of stamina. (Could have played a third set.) Unfortunately also, I wasn’t getting my first serve in. When I got it in, he had some trouble with it. I was around 25% with my first serve.
In another match I believe I can compete much better with Roger by doing the following:
1. He hit a lot of short balls. I should take advantage and play close up to the baseline possibly inside so I can take these balls on the rise and pressure him, sometimes coming up to the net to win some points there.
2. Play his forehand. It is definitely his weaker stroke. He doesn’t hit his forehand with anything on it. Don’t allow him to hit his slice backhand.
3. Rally with him longer to get into a rhythm and be more selective on going for a winner or pressuring him with corner shots, or possibly coming to the net with a solid approach shot.
4. Return his serve to a corner or possibly short. I was returning his serve very well, but right back to him. In fact, I was impressed with myself in how much I was getting on his serve. He mainly has a spin serve which is not that hard to return. One just has to track it closely for its constant movement.
5. Since I was not getting my first serve in, I believe I would be better off going with my spin serve instead of kick on my 2nd serve due to the fact that my spin serve has the same toss as my 1st serve. This would allow me to get a better feeling with my toss and timing to start bringing my 1st serve in the service court as the match goes on. The kick serve toss is so different that it really doesn’t help me get my first serve in. I think it hurts me. I still can’t hit the kick very effectively in a match. It doesn’t bounce high and doesn’t move sideways consistently.
Anyways, I was very proud of myself in this match, even though I lost 2-6, 0-6 because I was hitting through my shots well, getting some good pace on my balls. I still believe I can put a little more body weight into my shots by moving forward more into the court when striking the ball. I’m starting to relax more in a match and gaining some confidence. With each set and match I gain valuable experience which helps me to relax and have more fun. It makes my practice on the ball machine pay off!
By the way, Eldon, I bought myself an Alpha Revo 4000 stringing machine. I really like it. It should pay off eventually since when I play a lot I break a string at least once a week.
Okay, I hope you find this interesting and maybe sometime you can tell me what you think of how I am analyzing my matches.
Pura vida——————————–Jim