US Open - final thoughts

First up, the ladies!

I am somewhat peeved, or maybe just disappointed, that I've read disparaging remarks in response to Kerber's ascent to WTA #1.  She is the Oz champ, Wimby finalist, and now also the USOpen champ.  Yes, she plays more than Serena, but is Kerber to blame for that?  Maybe the #1 should be the one willing to go out and test fitness and put up consistent results over the entire season, and not just some handpicked big ones.  On the other hand, when you've been playing as long as Serena and as dominant as her, I could see why she would not want to play all the tournaments.  But it comes at a price, and now we have a new, and IMO well deserved, #1 player.  Congrats Angie!

And she did it against a very tough, upcoming, and *impressive* player!  This tournament has been the first time I've really paid attention to Pliskova.  It is very easy to label her a baseline basher who will make a lot of great shots but also a lot of errors, but she proved herself to be much, much more.  Of special note are her hands around net...she was very willing to come forward and when she did, displayed very good feel.  Sure she's never going to have the defensive skills and movement of a Kerber or Halep, but she's got the goods and weapons to be at the top of the game.  Mentally she more than proved herself in her matches against Venus and Serena (when the crowd was so against her) as well as the final.  I'm excited!  Let's hope she continues this and we don't see a 'sophomore slump' next year.  (not that this year is over, but y'all know what I mean)

The men's final just wrapped up, but before that was a very fun, competitive women's dubs final, with Safarova/Mattek-Sands coming back from the literal edge of defeat to snatch the title away from French duo Mladenovic/Garcia.  The French duo did themselves in, IMO, with the lack of response and fight after the Mattek-Sands woke up and got her team back in the match with aggressive net play.  The absolute delight on the faces of Lucie and Bethanie after their win was almost as awesome as Bethanie's socks.  Almost.

And the men!  Whew!  One almost had to think, what with Nole's string of retirements along the way to the final, that he would be the fresher.  But the lack of matches costs a player too, because a player needs those matches to test themselves and build up confidence.  Much was made over commentary about how negative Nole's body language was, and how Stan had the crowd, and that was most definitely the case at the beginning of the match.  But the crowd also cheers for whoever they need to in order to see more tennis!  And at the end they were pretty even behind the two battling for the title.
Stan's win was well deserved, and his aggressive play and fight just wore Nole down, possibly literally wearing away the very skin from his toes!  It was an exciting match, but always hard to see the disappointment on the 'loser's' face at the end, especially after such a battle.  Evidently it was 143 to 144 points in the end.  So Stan won the big points at the right time.  Ahhh tennis, such a fickle game!

Hopefully all this tennis watching will bleed itself into my game somehow...personally I have 40+ Mid-Atlantic sectionals, 7.5 VA combo, and then the big one...18+ Nationals on the calendar.  Combo might get nixed though, even though its a favorite tournament in one of my favorite locations, due to not being able to take that FRI off of work and also having to work until 11:30...won't be driving down to VA Beach after work like I had originally hoped!  We shall see!

US Open Thoughts, part 1

As I sat here, finally watching some US Open tennis (after a grueling week, not to mention a couple of years), I had some thoughts.  I shall share them now.

• I had Nadal as a dark horse.  Not so much now.  He had been kind of under the radar (for him), especially after recent absences at Roland Garros and Wimby.  Its obvious his dominance is nearing its conclusion, and has been for awhile.  But why?  Is it the change of racquets?  Is there something else for the reason of the absences (which is always being whispered about in tennis circles)?  Has his style of play finally caught up with his body?  Or is he simply being passed by younger, stronger players who are not afraid to challenge him?
• Krygios.  I agree with McEnroe.  Lots of other things to do, please top wasting court time.  Either get a coach and get serious, or get off the court.  I was never a fan, became less of one after his antics and comments on court to Wawrinka, less after his 'partnership' with Bouchard (and more on court shenanigans), less after he said he didn't even have a coach, and less more now.  Yup, I think I'm out.  
• Oh Venus.  So nice to see her in the second week.  And so close against Pliskova!  
• I had also given up on Monfils, much like I feel about Krygios.  Has he seen the light?  Is it too little too late?  Time will tell.  
• Madison Keys.  It is time to buckle down and learn how to construct points and be patient.  Don't go for winners when you're stretched way out of the court.  Wozniacki was able to withstand the power and out think the young American, who remains such a promising star.  But she needs to learn strategy and how to use her wonderful weapons, or I do not think she will get any further than she is now.
• Taylor Townsend.  Ok.  We get it.  You don't think you need to actually be in shape to play pro tennis and need to USTA.  Take a good luck around.  Do you see anyone else on the women's tour who looks like Townsend?  No.  And while she is unquestionable talented, talent will go only so far.  There are lots of talented players out there.  Talent combined with hard work and dedication is what gets players to the top.  Tick tock tick tock...time is running out. Body shaming?  I'm not sure it is.  She's supposedly a professional athlete.  And it IS an issue, as anyone who has seen her stand flat footed while her opponents hit past her will tell you.  Yeah she has weapons, but on this level, just about everyone does and that big forehand will come back to her.  Then what?
• Wozniacki.  I like what I am seeing, even if she took out one of my favorites!  All around player, but able to step it up when she needs to (case in point, her match against Kutzy).  
• Ana Konjuh!!!  Wow!  Just 19 years old, but plays an all around game, great serve, very willing to come to net, and while nobody would have blamed her for getting rattled serving out the match against Aga, especially after some bizarre feedback incident...she did not blink.  Loved watching her play and she, in my opinion, shows the most promise of all the young players.  Nice seeing Majoli in her camp too.  

Of course, on the women's side, it remains Serena's show.  Can anyone who is left threaten her?  Her next opponent, Halep (my favorite player right now, though she is also so frustrating sometimes!) has a chance, but Serena will look to attack the Romanian's serve.  Halep will not be able to have her usual ups and down against Serena.  Semi opponents would be either Konjuh or Pliskova, and Serena would be heavily favored against either. If the seeds hold, we will see another Kerber/Serena final, and as we know, Kerber can do it.  Though, will we see the same Kerber as we did in Australia?  Much has been reported about how she is mentally and physically tired at this point of the season, compared to Australia where just about everyone is fresher.  If she continues her form, I do not doubt that Wozniacki can and will take out Kerber if they meet in the semis.  Sevastova's run, I believe, will end against the Dane.  

As I write this, Monfils is up against Pouille, and is up a break in the third set.  Nole takes on Tsonga tonight, and Tsonga has been quietly winning.  If Nole has any arm issues and Tsonga is on his game, the Frenchman can certainly oust the #1 seed.  Down in the other half, I think it unlikely that Murray will not come through, though I think the delPo/Stan match will be the most entertaining of the men's quarters (with Nole/Tsonga second).  Most likely we will see Nole/Murray in the final, and I don't necessarily think it is a given for either player.  Delpo, if he keeps booming that FH, could certainly play a spoiler in there though.  So nice to see him playing at a hight level again, especially after so many surgeries and a lot of doubt if he'd be able to come back and compete at a high level at all again. 

Perhaps...

I shall blog again?

Ironic, reading that last post in July. The worst was yet to come, but yes, still standing.



Always was one of my favorite songs!

Playing B...

B is a fellow teacher, which means, like me, she has some time to play during the day for two months. A few summers ago, we started meeting up regularly to play, and she never lost to me...until last summer. B is super fast...almost deceivingly so...so while you're sitting there admiring your winner, she runs it down, gets it back, and you're so flustered that you make a mistake! She is also capable of putting the ball away herself, but most of the time, because she is so consistent, she doesn't need to.

We've already played once this summer, when I was in some severe back pain, and somehow I squeaked out a 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 win. B is really good at hitting a high, deep looper, and when I loop it back, she'll take my looper off of the bounce and hit a short, flat, low shot that I can barely get to. The first time we played, because of my back, I didn't even *try* to get to them.

We played again today, and even though I was moving better and playing better, I lost! GRRR! I lost 1-6, 6-7. Predictably, it took me an entire set to warm up. I also switched racquets (and thus, strings) for the second set. I think I may be due for restringing. Using cheap PSGD is great on the pocketbook, but I'm starting to wonder if it loses tension too quickly. I launched a lot of stuff way out of the court today. Yikes! Still trying to 'fix' the serve. When I get it right, it is great. The problem is...I only get it right maybe 30 percent of the time!!!

I also play a higher risk game than B, and I'm wondering if I should be doing that at this point...instead, maybe I should be working on becoming more consistent myself. Yeah, I have great put-aways, but if I can't keep the ball in play long enough to get that put away shot, then I don't get to win many points with it. As usual, I'm pretty sure the problem lies with my feet as well as my head. Must get the feet in position, and musts keep head down through the shot. Even B could see me pop out of my shots sometimes.

We're playing again Tuesday morning! I'm trying to not worry too much about winning/losing, and instead work on the things that I need work on...my weaknesses. So, before we play, I will try to come up with 3 weaknesses that will be my focus for that match, and stick to working on them during the match no matter what the score!

***************

Tomorrow is full of tennis! First clinic, then meeting up with some TWMAC folks to hit, and then heading to the Asian festival all nice and sweaty and gross! :)

Also...

Funniest moment of hitting tonight...JRK and his new best friend say hello to the camera!

Friends don't let friends...play each other in singles!

Today, in preparation for playing singles at districts this weekend, one of the other singles players on my team (S) and I met up to play a practice match.

On paper, she should win. She has a far better record than me, and has taken some scalps along the way (KZ being one of them). She, I suppose, could be classified as a 'pusher', though I don't like the negative connotations that go with that label. To me, consistency is gold, and something that I still consistently...lack. Like me, she is a teacher, only her medium is PE, and she can run everything down, return it into the court, and do it for hours. Her only weaknesses is that she doesn't hit with much pace (this could also be a strength at 3.5 since generating our own pace while keeping the ball in the court always proves to be a singular challenge), she has a weak serve (see 'no pace'), and she will not hit winners...on purpose. Her short dinks sometimes end up being winners, but I'm not sure if she means for them to end up that way or not. And lastly, she is quite uncomfortable at net, so bringing her up on purpose is a good strategy (if you can execute it!).

So, again, since I was denied my chance to play 'the diamond' and practice coming in, I was excited to try it out today.

It was a tight first set, with S edging me out 6-4. I was having trouble, like I usually do, returning her soft serve...I kept launching it out. I also wasn't coming up enough...when I did, I usually won the part. I still don't always pick the right time to do it, but that's why we're practicing, right?

Second set, I noticed some patterns in her baseline play (notably that she always tries to pass me cross court from her backhand), she really didn't like if I got some slice on my serve, and I was able to come in A LOT more, which put pressure on her. She tried coming in herself, but made errors and then gave up on it. I was also more patient, I think, and waited for my moments to hit a winner, and my most successful shot was my FH down the line. On returns, since they were so soft and slow, I set up like a regular groundstroke to hit them, and focused on placement and setting up the point rather than trying to hit a winner. Ironically enough, lots of times this resulted in a winner!

We still played long games, but this time I seemed to have the edge, and I took the second set 6-2. Like during regular league play, we don't play a full 3rd set at districts...instead we do the 'champion's 10 point tiebreak', so that is what we did today. After a few long rallies, I raced out to an 8-1 lead. Again, I showed that I get too lazy and/or sloppy when I'm ahead, and it wasn't until it was 8-6 that I finally won the next two points and won the match.

I'm not too 'gloaty', though, since I know I play better (and more relaxed) when it doesn't 'count' for anything. She was peeved, though, I could tell. She is a very friendly, though competitive person, and I think she expected me to hit enough errors that she would win easily. I can't blame her...that is my M.O. But maybe, just maybe...I'm starting to change that.

Tomorrow is packing and clinic at night. Maybe some light workout in the morning. Thursday we head down (possibly without our own captain, as S told me that the rumor is she decided to play with another team of her's that is also headed down to districts. Not. Cool. IMO. I don't care how shorthanded *they* are...she's *our* captain!!!).

I hope to remember to take the camera so I will have some pictures to go along with match write ups from districts!

I'm excited, because I played well and I executed a game plan! When I lost the first set, I adjusted instead of just doing the same thing over and over again.

Decided...

I'll keep it here, and talk about what I want, whether or not it has to do with tennis or not. Not that anyone is reading, so I suppose almost no chance of complaints! Excellent!

Resurrection?

So, summer break is here, and I'm giving thought to posting and writing again. However, I am not sure if I want to just stick to tennis or also branch out into the training articles and methods I've been researching as well as life in general. Basically, I'm going to write about whatever I want and feel like...but I can not decide whether or not to do it here or create a new blog. I know you are on the edge of your seats, waiting to find out...

No Reston Open

Oh, also came to a decision not to play the Reston Open and play for my DC team again. I already paid for that ass whooping.

I'll concentrate more on the NTRP tournaments that happen later on.

WTL, match #1

Things I learned today while captaining my first DC match:
*leaving early is good
*always check with the opposing team for defaults before handing your line-up in at the desk
*don't play like a 2.5!!!

So, today started off really great. Needless to say, after 3 13 and 1/2 hour workdays, I was pretty exhausted last night and went to bed at 10:30pm. I woke up feeling pretty good nice and early. I puttered around a bit, then got ready for the match. My plan was to go out and hit against a wall before heading to the site.

However, when I got to the car, I noticed that the tennis balls my co-captain had given me were all hard court balls, and none of the were clay court balls (we were scheduled on the clay today). I wasn't sure if this was going to be a problem or not, but since it was so early, I decided to run to Sports Authority, pick up some clay court balls, then head to the site and warm up on the wall there.

And that ended up being a good plan for several reason. First, I also got to pick up a new tank to be embroidered with my indoor team's name. I got a bra, too, but I'm not going to have that embroidered. And, it gave me a large head start on match time so that the 45 minutes I spent in traffic on the f*cking bridge didn't actually make me late, just not insanely early.

And, what a surprise to walk into the bubble to go to the ladies room, and as I walk out I thought I heard someone say 'Hey Topaz'. I looked back for a moment, but I wasn't sure I heard correctly. I went back in later to put on my ankle brace and sure enough, fellow TTWMACer Zapvor was manning the desk!!! Sorry about blowing you off the first time Zappy!

Ok, this is where things get tricky. We were about 10 minutes to match time, and 2 women were stuck on the bridge. They were supposed to be on #2 and #3 dubs. So, just in case they didn't make it in time, I did a last minute switch so I would have a full court at #2, and if we had to default, it would be on #3. Then I handed in the line-up. Then I checked with the opposing captain to give her the court assignments (as we were home team), and found out that they were defaulting #2 singles.

I begged, I pleaded, but there was no way to get that line-up back and put my #2 singles in for #3 dubs. Damm*t!!!

It ended up being ok, though, as everyone made it just in the nick of time, and the running they did to get there from their cars made for a nice warmup.

Now, my partner and I, who I LOVE playing with, were on court #1 doubles. We had a tight, tight first set, came back from 1-4 down to win it 7-5. We were both playing very tight, but I was doing okay. I had a rough time serving, as my toss was right in the sun, but no doubles. And eventually, the sun moved, and I was ok.

However.

The second set was quite possibly the worst set of tennis that I have EVER played in my life. I am NOT exaggerating here. I think I should have at least tried playing lefthanded. We were down 0-5, with me serving, when somehow I managed to hit a few winners. We were locked in a tight game at 1-5 when we ran out of time. We lost on games.

I almost want to laugh, because seriously...I was playing *that bad*. Horrible. Part of me is thinking 'well, at least you got that out of your system', but there is a tiny part that is really, really worried.

It is all in my head, too. I'm well aware that I'm a basketcase. I'm working on it. But it was so scary to suddenly just not have *anything* working. I'm so embarrassed, and I feel I need to buy my partner a car in order to make up for my horrible playing. She was tight, too, but she didn't go away for a whole set like I did. UGH!

I have to give a big shout out to Alice, though...for calling and helping me put my head on straight! Alice, it means more than you! You rock!

So, the good news is that #1 dubs was the only court we lost, and all my other players had a really easy time of it. Ok, next time, I'm on court #3!!!!!!!!

Fed Cup: USA vs. Czech Republic

The US is in action today, led by Betthanie Mattek-Sands. The rest of the squad includes doubles specialist Liezel Huber, with youngsters Melanie Oudin (the heroine of the first round tie earlier this year) and Alexa Glatch.

They are facing the Czech Republic: Iveta Benesova, Petr Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, and their own doubles specialist in Kveta Peschke.

They are playing on indoor hard courts, which is good for the US gals, but was more likely chosed to highlight the hard hitting of the Czech squad. The Czech squad also features three lefties in Benesova, Kvitova and Safarova.

I think this has the potential to have some really great matches. The Czechs have more experienced players by far, but I wouldn't count out the US gals. Should be fun to watch.

First singles tie is underway with Mattek-Sands vs. Kvitova (kTour vs. kTour!). Then Glatch will be making her debut against Benesova.

Tomorrows singles are scheduled as Kvitova vs. Glatch and Mattek-Sands vs. Benesova with the doubles featuring Benesova/Peschke vs. Huber/Mattek-Sands. Depending on today's results, though, I think this has the potential to change a lot.

Mattek-Sands looks like she's in great shape...best I've ever seen her.

*******************

The other tie is Russia vs. Italy, and Italy is already up 1-0 when Pennetta pretty easily beat Anna Chakvetadze 4 and 0. Wonder if Tarpischev will regret not putting current women's #1 Dinara Safina on the squad?

*******************

More details at FedCup

NTRP Summary

Things that worked.
*My serve, though I need to remember to be more aggressive on that first serve!
*Fitness. Five matches in three days, and I'm okay! In fact, in that last match, I think I got better as I went.

Things that need to be improved.
*Footwork. I think this is the #1 thing that causes me to be so inconsistent. I'm not where I need to be to hit the shot I want (namely, deep and with spin). I hit way too many short balls, which are rarely punished by my opponents, but it will not get me to the next level.
*Consistency/Patience. This is more of a mental thing. I think I'm finally starting to understand...especially when I noticed that the winners I did hit were not the hardest shots I hit, but the ones with the best placement (and usually, spin).
*Strategy. I was able to find and exploit the weaknesses of some of my opponents, but it is taking me way to long (usually an entire set) to do so! If I come in, I also need to have a strong overhead for those lobs.

Questions for the peanut gallery.
1. Would you have played the consolation round, even if it meant possibly losing to a lower rated player? Because that happened to me today. Honestly, I'm a 3.5 in doubles for sure, but not necessarily in singles, where I would put myself as a 3.25! As always, there sure were a lot of 'no shows' in the consolation draw. Do some just figure 'screw it' if they don't get a shot at the 'real' final?
2. Anybody like to share any ideas/strategies for dealing with opponents that are in love with their drop shots? Honestly, I'd never seen so many until this weekend, and two of my opponents used them A LOT. If you get to it, what do you do with it?
3. How do you deal with bad line calls? In that last match, there were a few, though I never questioned. I didn't want to get distracted by that, and in the end that is exactly what happened. I'm not necessarily someone who plays better when they are angry and upset, but in retrospect I'm wondering if I should have said something or not?

VA/MAS NTRP, Part 3B

Sunday, part 2.

One of the women giving me a 'scouting report' was actually another one of the players in the 3.5 draw who knew my opponent. I had met her the day before, as she was the losing half of the four hour singles match that I mentioned previously. The 3.5 main draw final was going on the same time as us, so she asked if I was okay with here staying and watching my match as well as that one. I was actually delighted. In my first match, my opponent had about 8 people rooting and clapping for her, and I had zero. Made me jealous! Xisbum did come and watch a bit of my match with the Texan, though...and it sounds silly, but I think I play better when I have a 'friend's box'!

Anyway, the scouting report was that she had some really funky and junky strokes, especially on the backhand side. R told me to try to hit high balls to that BH and to hit with some power so she couldn't junk me to death.

That scouting report was dead-on, and then some. My opponent, J, also had some bizarre slice spinny serve that literally landed about two inches past the net. *shaking head* It was all I could do to get it back, and then she'd lob me. And the drop shots! Aiy, aiy, aiy!!! She'd drop shot my serves! MY SERVES. At one point, I said out loud 'You've got to be kidding me.' If I got to the drop shot and returned it without hitting an error then she'd lob me...I was so far in I never had a shot at running down the lob (though I tried!).

Absolutely disgusted, I lost the first set 1-6.

So, once again, I played around with my serve. She only would drop shot me on her BH, so I either went into her FH or hard into her BH. Finally, it started to work. I also starting getting to those drop shots and placing them for either a winner, or something she couldn't hit a lob off of. And then, she stopped hitting them. In a rally, if I stayed patient, more often than not I could draw her into an error. I was down 2-4 at one point, but got it back to 4 all. Broke her for 5-4. Served it out to win the second set 6-4.

*sigh*

My game plan had actually *worked*!!! My fellow player on the side, along with some other players, were watching, and I got applause after winning the second set! Kinda cool!

Because this was consolation, we played a 10 point match tiebreak in lieu of a 3rd set. I got a quick mini-break, and held onto it until 6-5. Then I went on a bit of a roll, and got it to 9-6! And then she went on a roll, and we got to 9-all. I win the next point, 10-9. Rally. Short ball, I attack, come in, she hits a short lob...I put it away. She calls out. I was pretty sure that it was in, but I didn't question and didn't argue. It was her baseline, and I wasn't sure enough to question.

Well, not sure enough until I saw one of the spectators get immediately up and run over to the official to get her to come and watch. Oh man! So, that told me right there...she hooked me, and hooked me bad. Okay, okay...settle down, right? Nope. She took the next two point, and won 12-10.

So. I could rant and complain about the hooked call. The woman who got the ref told me afterward that not only was my ball in, it was evidently way in. Instead of getting hung up on that, I'm trying to focus more on the fact that I failed to put away the match several points ago...it should have never gotten to 10-9 to being with.

So, all in all...a good experience. I got a lot of tennis in, and played four vastly different opponents. And I'm left with some very clear things to work on...(continued...)

VA/MAS NTRP, Part 3A

Sunday, part 1.

The plan for Sunday was consolation semi at 9am, doubles at 10:30am (with adequate rest), and if I made it through, consolation final at noon. Whew!

When I arrived at the site the organizers told me that my partner had indeed called, and we had to default the doubles match. Sucks, but what are you going to do? Her baby was sick, and she was needed elsewhere! Plus, we are playing a club round robin tournament Wednesday, so we'll get a second chance there.

My singles opponent was tiny...but a firecracker! I had my usual slow start, during which I noticed that my opponent liked pace, hit with some nice pace herself, did not 'dink' or dropshot, and had great topspin off of her FH. She had a weak one handed backhand, though, so the plan was to play and serve into that as much as possible. If I gave her anything even resembling a short ball on her FH side, she put it away. I got down 1-3, but hung in there and starting finding my own strokes. I finally evened it at 4-all, then 5-all, and then I finally got up 6-5. I had to start going for more on my serve as well...hitting it a bit flatter and shorter in the box seemed to produce more weak returns or a return error. In the end, that made the difference as I served it out 7-5.

Second set...would she melt down, keep fighting, or would I have the second set melt-down? Well, this time it would be her. I finally started grooving on my ground strokes, making less errors, actually being patient, kept going for that first serve, and won the second set 6-1. She also hit a lot more errors, and after the match she admitted to not feeling very well. It was quite hot, and I do think it bothered her, especially toward the end. Chalk one up for me in the fitness column...at least compared to her!

I had a bit of break before the consolation final, during which I was approached by my previous opponent and two of her friends, who informed me that they were pulling for me and gave me a bit of a scouting report on my opponent. *laughing* They were dead on, too. I also almost got the win in the final because my opponent, J, didn't know she got to play again. I mentioned it to her, and she said 'I'm glad you said something, I was getting ready to leave!' Oh well, I wanted the match...I wanted to get a win the proper way!

VA/MAS NTRP, Part 2

Saturday

I spent 10 hours at the tournament site Saturday. Hey man, at least I got my money's worth, right?

The plan for Saturday was a doubles match at 10:45 and then a consolation singles match in the afternoon. My doubles partner and I had planned to meet at 10am to warm up for our match. This is the same person I partnered with the previous year at 3.0 doubles and we won!

At 10:30 she rolled in, having overslept. Turned out to not be a problem, as we were going to have to wait...all the courts were taken, and because of the four hour singles match, things got a bit backed up. They had an indoor bubble though, and we were able to go in there to warm-up and hit a few balls.

Only three teams signed up for 3.5 doubles, so we were put into a round robin. I knew three out of our four opponents, and both of the women we were to play for this match. One of them had been my teammate this previous season on one of my teams.

We ended up playing this match in the bubble since that singles match just wasn't ending. My partner was very happy with this, but I would have preferred to play outdoors, as I think that would have given us an advantage against our opponents.

The match got underway, and it was a frustrating one, no doubt. My partner, who hits very hard all the time, was missing just a bit on her groundstrokes, neither of us could seem to hit a decent return, and our opponents completely took our net game away from us. We lost 3 and 3. It was one of those matches where afterward, we looked at each other and kind of scratched our heads! One of our opponents had one of the most hideous service motions that I've ever seen...and still we couldn't seem to capitalize. I suppose, once our net game was taken away, we didn't have a plan B. Neither one of us has the patience and consistency to lob for days on end.

Ah well, disappointing for sure, but we had one more match the next day. My partner left, and I found out that my opponent for consolation singles had scratched. Instead of just doing one match, that actually advanced me in the singles bracket!

There was another woman, a singles player who had just lost her second round, that was willing to stick around and take the place of my scratched opponent. She was visiting from Texas, where she is a 3.5 who also plays 4.0. She was a great player, and blew me out the first set 1-6. I dug in, and managed to make a match of the second set, but still lost 4-6. She seemed to get to everything, and possessed a very effective drop shot. So my plan in that second set was to take away that drop shot by moving her around...and it almost worked. It was a fun match though, and I was very grateful for her for sticking around and playing.

As we suspected, the organizers couldn't get Tennislink to substitute her as my opponent, so we chalked the match up to a 'fun' match, and I still advanced in the consolation draw.

At this point, I had planned to watch fellow TTW'er Xisbum's doubles match, but one of the clerks at the desk asked me to hit with him! Lol! I was tired, but they are so nice there that it is hard to say no. So I said okay, but only one set and in the bubble (which also allowed me to watch Xisbum's match which was on the neighboring court).

I won this set 6-2 (or 6-3, can't remember!). Of course, when it doesn't count, I hit so much better! This tells us, gentle readers, that Topaz is also a headcase. It was a positive way to end the day though, and I felt like I got some good practice in.

I got to watch the final set of Xisbum's match, which was a close one, but unfortunately, this was just not the tournament for TTWers!

After this, I had to negotiate with the organizers a bit...as I was scheduled to play both singles and doubles at 9am the next day! Funny computer!!! They decided to do the singles first and move the doubles to 10:30. I would have preferred it the other way around, but I didn't want to be too pushy. These were seriously nice people and I didn't want to be a pest...it was just the consolation round after all...if it were main draw, I wouldn't have worried.

I called my partner on the way home to inform her of the change, and she said her youngest was sick with a fever...if he didn't get better, it didn't look like she'd be able to come out for the doubles match.

VA/MAS NTRP tournament, part 1

Last year, I participated in a very well-organized tournament about an hour from where I live.

This past weekend, I just got done playing this tournament for the second year, this time as a 3.5 playing in both the singles and doubles divisions. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the draw had more than 3 people in it (unlike my last NTRP tournament!).

A bit of background...I'm trying to transition to singles after three seasons of mostly doubles. I just spent my first season at 3.5, and it is an understatement to say that it did not go how I had planned. *eyebrow*

Friday night.
I started my singles matches Friday evening against a woman that I could find nothing about...she was not in Tennislink in leagues or tournaments. So I had no idea what to expect. There were a few first round singles matches going on that evening for both men and women, and as we were gathered while the ref told us some basic rules, you could totally tell that people were 'sizing' each other up. My opponent was taller and stockier than me...but I was expecting someone with no tournament and league experience, so I was hoping to have the advantage in that respect.

I was so wrong.

I lost 1-6, 2-6. My game plan these days is pretty simple...keep it in the court, go corner to corner, stay patient, and attack the short ball. Well, let me tell you, that is hard to do when you're getting blasted off of the court. She overpowered me and just never seemed to miss. I had a bit of success bringing her in...the only thing she seemed a bit uncomfortable with was volleying, but more often than not I didn't get that far in the point to exploit it. She had a great serve, which didn't give me trouble (I blocked it back), but it also put me in the defensive right off the get go.

An easy way to sum up this match would be to say...she controlled everything. I made her work for it...I managed to keep her out there for an hour and a half, and it was hot...but I couldn't find a way into the match at all.

Later I found out that she had been a pretty successful high school player and this was her first competition back. Her coach is a player that I met at a tournament about a month ago, and he told me that he expected her to win the whole thing and end up with a 4.0 rating. He also took no credit for her game...said she pretty much came to him with strong strokes on both sides, good movement, and a great serve.

After me, she took apart the #1 seed 1 and 0. She then took out a player that beat me earlier this summer in three sets, which put her in the final. Incredibly enough, she lost the final in three sets to a woman who had a four hour first round match! As you may have guessed, that woman was a backboard. She just never missed.

And I have to wonder...how to get to be a backboard?

The draw was big enough that the organizers decided to have a consolation draw, so I did have that to look forward to the next day.

(continued...)

For Jonas...

My dear, so nice of you to comment on such an old post...but Gulbis is indeed from Latvia.

Gulbis

Whoops!

Ok, so the whole 'resurrect the blog' idea hasn't exactly taken flight. Not that anyone is reading right? *eyebrow* Anyhoo...I'm thinking that this may be a summer break blog only. Unless, of course, I get a new job, one that doesn't give me summers off, but does give me adequate time to go to the bathroom and eat lunch every day. That would be nice.

Dinara Safina needs at least a quick mention though, for her fabulous play of the week, upsetting Justine Henin AND Serena Williams ON CLAY, and then taking the title in Berlin. She showed some great mental strength in some tough matches...maybe she should give big bro a lesson?

This was also a bad week in the ATP, as a clay court title was won by someone NOT Federer or Nadal. Nadal fell victim to the nastiest blister ever in existence on someone's foot, and Fed was fallen by the 'worm' Radek Stepanek in two tiebreak sets. Nicole Vaidisova was in his player's box, giving more life to the rumor of their relationship, but she didn't look all that enthralled to be there. I don't know, if I'm rooting on my sweetie, or even just a friend, I usually show a bit of emotion. Though, seeing Mirka do a pretty good ice queen imitation this week as well...maybe that is what they do?

The title was taken by Djokovic, who battled the *other* Swiss (Stan the Man!) in the final. He was pushed to three sets, but again, he capitalizes where others have fallen. He's also gaining on Nadal and, given Nadal's usual let-down in the latter part of the season, looks a good bet to overtake him by year's end.

Unless, of course, Nadal has moved to #1 by then.

Either way, the next two slams should be very interesting. There is no denying that Fed is in slump, whether caused by mono or not makes no difference. And Nadal is vulnerable on hardcourts, though he also doesn't have much to defend either. If he's in good shape, he could move up.

Ok, so, just a few quick thoughts.

*************

As for my own game, we are just getting into the swing of the USTA season. I'm on 3 teams, and also eyeing more tournaments this summer. It is 'go' time! :)

Coming out of hibernation.

At least, I hope to. Life gets in the way sometimes. However, with the USTA season just about upon me, I'm thinking my musings about my own game will go here, with the occasional blog from a tournament.

Speaking of which, I have many tasty pictures and videos from three days spent at the Sony Ericsson tournament a few weeks ago. If I get my act together, I will post them.

If.

That may be a big 'if'!

A weekend to remember!

And it isn't even over! Or, is it? Wait, add four hours, change pm/am...ok, yes, at least in Australia, the weekend is over.

And for once, we are thankful for the rain and smart Aussie planning. The first grand slam to have not just one, but two covered stadium courts, a rainy day in Oz means we still get tennis. And this time, we got LOTS of tennis. Enough that you were afraid to go to sleep, because you may miss something. You will be able to tell a die hard tennis fan by the circles under their eyes but the smile on their face.

Now that I'm caught up on my sleep, I thought I'd catch up on my thoughts here.

The upset bug started with Australia's own Casey Dellacqua. Once highly criticized for her lack of fitness, she broke through upsetting 2006 champ Amelie Mauresmo. It isn't so much a surprise that Mauresmo went down, but who it was that took her out. The shots of Dellacqua's family in the stands, crying, is heartbreaking. Momo's certain decline, at least to me, is also heartbreaking. Her best tennis is behind her.

ESPN took no prisoners in their coverage of some of the American brats...uh, uh, I mean men. Highlights of Mardy Fish acting like a crybaby, and Andy Roddick arguing with the chair ump (saying something along the lines of 'stay in school kids, you don't want to end up a chair ump') and making himself look like a total heel. Way to go boys. They both lost, Roddick going down to German Philip Kohlschreiber. Really, Andy has two things, his serve and his forehand, and the thing is...everyone else that and *more* these days. It isn't enough. He will continue to decline. Plus, his personality loses him fans every time he opens his mouth. I was disgusted by the on court antics of both Fish, but especially Roddick.

So, some minor ripplings started things off. I say minor, because really, I wasn't too surprised to see Roddick go out. Anybody with a good ground game is going to trouble him, and Kohly has more than just a 'good' ground game. Fish's tournament, even with a first week loss, was not bad for him.

The ripples soon became waves.

Another American, a less bratty and more honorable version, James Blake, found himself in a lot of trouble real fast. Down two sets to Grosjean and down breaks in the third, it seemed as if we were witnessing another Blake meltdown where he goes quietly into the night. But suddenly, as if someone literally put a sparkler in his arse, Blake came alive, and once again defeated the five set monkey on his back. Good going James! He remains as the last American man in the draw, though props to Spadea for lasting as long as he did, going out in the third round to Ferrer.

The waves continued to rise.

It is safe to say that it is becoming just as hard to be a Gonzo fan as it is a Safin fan. After his utterly spectacular display in Oz last year, it is has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The hungry up and comers don't care who you are or where you've been. They just want to win, and Gonzo became victim to the young Marin Cilic. Last year's finalist, gone before the second week!

But what of the other finalist from last year? Well, before we check in on him, the women were having a rocky time of their own.

ARad caused a storm of her own in last year's USOpen when she dispatched defending champion Maria Sharapova. I guess she was eager to prove it wasn't a fluke, as she took out #2 seed Sveta Kuznetsova!!!! Holy crap! Not to be outdone, perennial 'pretty girl but not a big game' Maria Kirilenko decided to cause some waves that didn't revolve around her face, clothes, or body when she took out Anna Chakvetadze, the #5 seed.

And then started what everyone thought was going to be a mundane match for #1 seed Roger Federer against the forgotten Serb Janko Tipsarevic, who is sometimes better known for his tattoos, piercings, and being one of the few players to wear glasses as they play. He quietly goes about his matches, and cuts a dark, serious, and intelligent figure on court.

He was ready for the storm. He had a plan. He was not afraid. The waves reach their peak!

Tipsy stretched Fed to 10-8 in the fifth, the longest Fed has ever been taking in five sets, and the earliest he has been in trouble in a major EVER. He did by never backing down and not being intimidated. He had the belief. He troubled Fed with hard, flat serves, and a blazing inside out FH. Fed allowed him in by not being quite on with his timing, especially in the beginning of the match, and also by not taking advantage of BP. It seemed as if Fed got a little lazy, thinking that every match, unless it is against Nadal, would be a walk in the park. Tipsy took him by surprise, and nearly took him out IN THE FIRST WEEK. Oh what a match! One of those that you were happy to be watching, when you hear the amazement even in the voice of the announcers...if only there wasn't that darn time difference.

I watched up until the third, but have the whole thing on DVR, and I've watched the replay. And, as much as I love Fed, oh how I wish Tipsy had come through. I hope he takes a lot from this and starts becoming a threat on the tour.

And if you thought it was over, you were sorely mistaken.

Meanwhile, a few people were actually making their way quietly through the draw. AnaIvo, Djoko, Serena, Venus, Masha, Petrova, and Henin all were through, and Caroline Wozniaki and Marta Domachowska took advantage of their opportunities to advance as well. Nice to see some new names in the second week.

The night session in Oz was supposed to start at 7:30 (their time). But, because of the Fed/Tipsy match, it started late. Venus took out Sania Mirza pretty routinely, and then, just before midnight, Marcos Baghdatis and Aussie Lleyton Hewitt took to the court. And you knew that sleep was not going to be yours quite just yet.

I had a few hours, between 3am and 7am, before I got up to go to my tennis lesson. Baggy/Hewitt were just getting started!! I went to my lesson, caught some of the match at the club, then came home, caught a bit more, fell asleep for a few games at in the beginning of the fifth, and then woke up for the end. And I'm *so* glad I saw it. The emotions and fight these guys displayed was just unbelievable. When Hewitt finally came through in the end, and he dropped to the court...oh my. These two players shared a warm embrace afterward, so nice to see, especially after the bratty antics of the Americans, and both left the court in tears. It was heart wrenching to see, and still gets me on the numerous replays.

A few hours later, play was to start again! Yes! A tennis fans' best day, by far!

A few more men went down, with Kohlschrieber's run being ended by the Fin, Jarkko Neiminen, but the bigger news was JWTsonga, who after taking out another brat, Brit/Scot Andy Murray, in the first round continued to take out seeds by defeating his doubles partner, good friend, and French hopeful Reeeechard Gasquet. Tsonga may have taken time to develop his game, but it seems to be in fine form now!

Nalbandian seems to have spent his off season...sleeping? He went down without a whimper to JCFerrero, who is always a threat on hard courts. And so, Fed breathed another sign of relief.

Hey, remember that Nadal guy? Yeah, he is still in the tourny, and got handed an easy last match when PHMathieu retired with an injury.

Also, in the time I started writing this and the tennis has come full circle, local gal (if you can call New South Wales local) Casey Dellacqua has been ousted by Jelena Jankovic, but takes a success slam experience with her.

Some women's quarters are lining up nicely...Henin/Sharapova (rematch time!) and Jankovic/S. Williams are making me salivate. I hope we see good tennis prevail!

And, in the match that makes tongue twisters giddy with glee, Ferrero will meet Ferrer.

Whew! All for now!