Match with Curtis Pope

5/24/09  Sunday 11:00A.M.

Chico Racquet Club

Score:  3-6, 4-6

 

This was a tournament match at the 4.0 level.

 What I did well:

 1.)        I moved forward, got to the net and won some points

 2.)        I served relatively well.  Only double faulted twice

 3.)        I approached well on short balls going down the line to my opponent’s backhand. I stayed down     through my approach shot. I kept these balls low and they had good pace.  They may have been too deep.  This was after I had stood up on a couple of approach shots that I hit into the net.

 4.)        I put my opponent on the defensive with my return of serve off of his weak 2^nd serve.

 5.)        I remembered to rally with some balls back to the middle.

 6.)        I did remember to take some deep breaths and this seemed to help me relax in the first set.

 7.         I did relax relatively soon in both of my matches in this tournament.  I feel that playing in tournaments is getting easier.  Playing at the 4.0 level in this tournament was no big deal.  I feel comfortable at this level.

 What I did not do well:

 1.)        I did not finish well at the net on numerous occasions .

 2.)        I missed several overhead smash’s (3 or 4) and volleys.

 3.)        I did not see the ball well.  I wasn’t tracking it well even though I told myself to track it.  I had trouble focusing on this.

 4.)        I did not have good footwork at times.  I wasn’t stepping into the ball very well.  I didn’t feel like I had adjusted to my neutral stance.  I wasn’t focusing on taking the ball on the rise.

 5.)        I hit some balls wide when I tried going down-the-line

 6.         I put my opponent on the defensive with my return of serve, but I don’t think I got into the net to put away his return they way I should have.  (I’m not sure what happened here because I should have broken his serve easily.  He was dinking his 2^nd serve in almost every time.  Somehow I feel like I should have been more aggressive in attacking these serves, but it   was easy to over hit and send the ball long.  My return was a happy medium where I hit the ball with some pace and sent it wide or into a corner.)

 7.         I discombobulated and lost my form on several shots.  My head moved all over the place as I miss hit the ball.

 8.)        I over hit a volley that could have been a game winner in a game that went 12 deuces and this was probably after the 10^th deuce.

 9.)        I did not lob well.  I need to hit a topspin lob.  My lobs were too flat and floated long or short.

 I felt I should have beat this opponent.  He made many unforced errors.  But evidently I made more than he did.  I’m disappointed that I lost.  He should not have won any of the games he served.  He rarely put his 1^st serve in and his 2^nd serve was just a dink.

 My foot began to bother me in the 2^nd set.  I don’t know how much of a factor this was.  Also, I don’t think I have adjusted to my new footwork yet with the neutral stance, stepping in and taking the ball on the rise.  This is a big factor.

 Those things are obviously very important, but I also really want to focus more on tracking the ball more closely and keeping my head down through every shot.  I really need to work on this in practice.

 

These things will be my goals for stroke mechanics for the next few weeks:

 1.)        Footwork: taking a neutral stance, stepping in, taking the ball on the rise

 2.)        Extending my forearm through the contact point in my forehand stroke and keeping my non-hitting arm out in front of me through the shot

 3.)        Holding the racquet handle at the end and swinging loosely

 4.)        Staying down through my shot.

 5.)        Tracking the ball into my racquet strings

 6.)        Keeping my head as still as possible through the shot not looking to see where my shot is       going.