I played this match after my Week 8 match. I fully expected this to be a close match as my opponent had gotten similar scores than me on previous opponents he played. I played Gustavo who was playing in his first season. He seemed younger than me, he had a very inconsistent serve but when getting the 1st serve it was hard with plenty of top spin. His 2nd serve was a basic lob. His ground strokes were good and he seemed to hit most balls on a low trajectory with lots of spin. It was this shot I think that effected the match for me the most. I seemed to recall hitting the ball into the net LOTS of times which is something that I normally do not do a lot.

I lost this match because of those errors. I also was hitting weak backhands on his hard shots to my backhand. Mostly I was resorting to hitting a slice which sort of popped up in the air like a overhead gone wrong. This inevitably put me in a bad position time and time again.

Most the points I did win were on 1st serves and from hitting nice deep forehands.

Also what would a season be without some injury ? During this match I somehow managed to hit my ring finger with my racquet while serving or something. I remember the pain of hitting but do not recall exactly how I managed it. I think I was mucking around with my routine [Coach's fault] when the problem occurred. Anyway I cracked or broke the ring finger on my left hand. I got my wedding ring off before it swelled too much. Included a nice photo here for you.

 Lost 3-6, 3-6

 Because of this loss I am unsure if I will make to the playoffs this season or not. Anyway I moved up to get better so if I am not winning every match I must be in the right level.

I played my week 8 match before my week 7. I played Jerry whom I played in week 1 of this same season. Jerry is a nice guy but he is in the wrong division. He needs to move down to 2.5. As long as you keep it in on him and hit lots of shots to his backhand you will win. He makes lots of errors. He hits is forehand with the roll of the wrist which puts most of his shots he trys to hit hard in the the net. Every so often he will hit a nice one but that is the exception.

 I really thought I was going to get my first sweep during this match. At one point in the 2nd set I was up 3-0 and I could taste it. But he started hitting some decent shots and I let it slip away. I ended up winning 6-0, 6-2.

Well based on this post you can tell I have not posted about tennis for quite a while. The reason is due to being real busy and also being a bit disgruntled with the league in general. I will explain....

Week 3

This week I actually played after Week 4 because of scheduling conflicts. I played Jay who was new to the league. I remember coming to the match with a lot of concern as he had beaten everyone he played so far. I knew he was a good player and likely under ranked. Well he was good but not as good as I expected. I do not think I would have won but I really believe I could have done better and maybe won a set. I figured early on that he was a more consistent ball striker than me. Therefore I tried to attack the net more. Problem was is I kept making lots of errors at the net. This hurt me bad in the first set. 2nd set I abandoned this some and won a few more games. Bottom line is the guy was very consistent player and made few errors. Hopefully I will get another shot at him. I lost 1-6, 3-6.

Week 4

I played this week early because of a request from the player. This is the match where the drama starts. I played Jay (Micheal Thompson) again. We played in 2.5 together last season during Week 3 (see post). Last season was a 3 set battle which I came out the victor. There also was a incident with his wife being on the court and whispering to him during that match. After I said something to her she left and watched from outside the court.

Well this time he shows up alone. We start practicing and getting warmed up. We begin the match and then I see her. She comes on to the court next to us with a bag and her racquet's like she is there to play. She sits on the bench 1 court away watching. I don't say anything. I win the first set 6-3. It was tough and I lost the first 3 games and then came back.

She starts talking about the match during the 2nd set with other people on the court. I complain to Jay. He wins the 2nd set 6-2. Then I goto the bathroom and when I return she starts asking me "What my problem is..." and starts an argument with me. I tell her to leave. After her husband asks her too she does leave. I told Jay I was going to protest. I did and I lost. They said it was a case of he - said - she said. They apparently had a different story in which I started talking to her. Bottom line is I ended up losing the 3rd match 6-1 . I let her get in my head which I am certain is what she wanted. I made it clear to the lead next time I play this person if she comes on the court or causes any distraction I am protesting. It is ridiculous for her to talk to me during the match. The rules say she cannot be on the court, cannot coach, and cannot cause a distraction. Final 6-3,2-6,1-6.

Week 5 Buy Week

Week 6

This week I played Herbert Gersh. I do not know how old Herb is but he is old enough to be my Grandfather for sure. He is the nicest guy, a retired surgeon. He is one of the older players who can hurt you if they get to the ball. As the match wore on he got more and more tired. We played in the middle of the afternoon and it was very humid and hot. He nearly won during the 1st set and the final was 7-5. The 2nd set I felt bad because it was obvious he was out of steam. I won 7-5, 6-0. I little side note, he saw my wife at Palms Hospital where he still is involved and gave her a tennis lesson video. I got to call him and give that back and maybe play a match with him.

Thats it I finally caught up on this season. I have 2 matches left and I play them both this week. Season ends 7/27.

Well I moved up to 3.0 for more of a challenge and that is what I got on this match. This was a 3 set battle with the winner being the person who physically out lasted their opponent. Unfortunately that was not me

I played Tony and we were very evenly matched. He was pretty fast on his feet, especially for his size. He was taller than me. He got a lot of balls in and every now and then would hit a real nice forehand which I could just not get too. His serve was not too good as he missed a lot of 1st serves and his 2nd was always something to win on. This kept me in the running more than anything.

I seemed to get easier returns with my spin serve so I kept using that throughout the match. I tried the harder serve a few times after he broke my serve but found that he returned those even better. I think he plays people with hard serves as he mentioned he plays a lot of doubles. The high bounce - deep serve worked best.

Most of my loss in this match was attributed to my backhand. He would hit a nice deep ball to my backhand and I would either miss it short or just get it over the net. When I just got it over he was fast enough to capitalize on this.

The thing that did work for me was hitting deep balls right down the pipe to him. He was normally only good for a 3-4 hit rally and then he would normally try some hard return and hit it into the net. I recognized this but failed to execute the method consistently because of my weak backhand and getting tired toward the end of the 2nd and 3rd set.

I got his number and look forward to playing this guy again in the future. I do not have to play him again this season but I definitely want to get some playing time in with him as we are very closely matched.

Final Score was: 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.

 My next match is against a guy who beat Tony 6-1, 6-0. It is his first season in the league, Tony says he better than a 3.0 player (clearly).  I also have a match coming up on Wednesday 6/18 against a guy I played last season and had a 3 set battle with, that one I came out a winner lets hope I do as well this time.

Well this was my first match playing in 3.0 in the league. What a bunch of hype I put myself through in moving up to 3.0 ? The guy I ended up playing tonight had not played in 3 years. Now he used to play real regular in the league and played 2.5 for about 5 years! His win percentage in 2.5 overall was only .22! What is he doing in 3.0 ? I asked and his response was that he is really about a 3.5 player (cough)

 I don't know but I guess it was a nice warm up match to get my season started. The biggest problem with the match is that after the first set I gave up a few games due to a shear lack of concentration on my part. I started taking him for granted playing flat footed. I kept hitting balls off my back foot which ended up in the net. The errors just made me more upset and it seemed to snowball a bit. Finally I shook it off but not before giving up 3 games. I am resisting the urge to blame several outside factors here because I know my coach will read this.

One real bad habit this guy had was he would stand 2-3 feet inside the baseline at all times. Then between each game during the break he kept saying to me: "You really hit a lot of balls near the baseline, they almost go out but seem to fall just short of the line." LOL - He never caught on I swear. I did not say anything because:

#1 I only give advice to people I don't know if they ask for it
 - and -
#2 I play him again this season.

Anyway I won 6-0, 6-3. All the way home I was kicking myself for those 3 games! I know that most of the players this season are not going to be like him and I need to capitalize on these opportunities to get lots of points.  Next week I play another unknown, he lost his first week 6-0,6-1 so I know he is not a ringer. 

Like last season I lost again in the first round of the playoffs. There is no day worse then the day you lose the last game of the season.

The person I played was a young guy, 22. He was like playing a brick wall honestly. Though he hit a few balls out at times I do not recall him missing any balls. He just seemed to get to everything. Even the overheads when he came to the net and I hit some good ones. He also had a strong serve.

The games I did win where the ones I just grind out with him and eventually he missed and I did get some solid points changing my serve on him. More often than not (obviously) I would hit something short in the rally and he would move in on it and get me off guard. Ether I could not get to it or the shot I did return was a easy winner for him. I normally do not like overheads in that situation as I miss them more often than I make them. I prefer to just get it in and this seemed to work against me.

Although the score was the same both sets I did do better in the 2nd and the score did not completely match up with the games, there were many Deuce situations.

I know I have no one to blame but myself for this loss. That being said here is the but... If someone makes it to the League Finals or Championship in a league they should have to move up. This kid played last season and beat several of the top seeded players. He made it to the League Finals and nearly beat the Champion in a 3 set battle.

I have decided to play 2.5 this Summer simply because it is Summer and I don't want to move up in the heat. I need to work on consistency and my fitness for the next season.

Ok my last week was supposed to be a laid back match with a nice easy win. Ever heard the saying "Make plans, God enjoys a good laugh.", well that applied here.

 My match was against a player I have beaten before and he has not won a match this season. I wanted to rush in and get 6-0 6-0 honestly. I knew he had a weapon in his forehand if you gave him a strike. He also moves well on the court. Other than this he was pretty straight forward 2.5 player, weak serve - bad back hand - and give him enough rope and he will hang himself.

My coach tells me, stick with the kick serve. I do this. Only thing that was a problem was

1. The guy practicing against the board during the entire first set (thump thump thump)
2. The 2 players next to us ranked -3.0 and at any moment a ball would come flying at you during the match
3. there was no flat area on the court, and
4. The dog park within 20 yards of the court.

Oh yeah dogs next to the tennis court. Now I love dogs (see pic of Cody), just not on or near my tennis match. Dogs are playing and barking and playing and barking and barking and more barking. OMG! At one point the noise was so bad I double faulted 4 times in a row and gave up a game. 1st Double is irritating, 2nd is down right maddenning, and then by the 3rd you think I will never hit another winner in my life UGGGGH!

I wanted to leave it was getting so bad. But I played on. Finally the  guy stopped hitting on the board so some calm came to the game. This seemed to stop driving the dogs so mad also.

As far as my play, well the double faults I mentioned were really an isolated thing (all 4 of them). For the most part my kick serve was working well. I won the first few games on that alone actually which is rare for me to come out winning. This player in particular has a real issue with the kick serve.

Most of the points I gave up were due to playing flat footed during the round and just not being ready for his forehand when he hit it. He really knows how to put pace on the ball when returning it. He hits it real low over the net and you have to be on your toes to get it.

Another thing I kept doing was coming in too close to the net. This happened a lot on his 2nd serve. His 2nd serve was real weak and I would try to take advantage of hit and hit something deep and down the line. But several times during the first set I would rush in and then stay there 12 inches from the net. Well he was real good at hitting overheads with me that close to the net and who wouldn't be right ?

First set went to a tie break which I won 7-6. (First tie-break of the season)

The 2nd set I actually got down right away 0-2. This was right before the players next to us left. Several times we had to stop and wait for them to get their ball or we had to replay a point because a ball came flying in during our point.

After they left I started turning it on. Got my head in the game. I stopped coming in so far into to the net and got rewarded almost immediately. He did not try so many overheads and the ones he did I easily got too. Now I still screwed a few up trying to smash them but at least I was getting to them in the air. Slice seemed to work well from mid court also, my opponent is back at the baseline and I would just put a severe slice on the ball in the air. This seemed to get a winner almost every time.

Another thing I did against my coach's advise was change my serve. After he broke my serve in the 2nd set I just had to try something new. Keeping in mind I had only hit Kick Serves to him the entire first set. Up to this point I had not hit 1 power serve (throwing the ball forward and "pronating" the arm to generate speed) to him. So I throw it up and just go for it. Hit him right in the chest off the bounce. He didn't know what hit him. 40-0 in no time flat. This essentially sealed the deal from there on out. Having 2 serves is a big weapon. He won the next game on his serve and that was it.

Final was 7-6 6-3.

Regular season is over, preparing for the playoffs now.

Here are some screen shots of the division standings and then the details for the season. Green star means your in the playoffs. Some games are not complete yet so I will likely end up 3rd or 4th overall.

With only 2 games left in the season I go my first lose. URRRRRRRRGGGGGRRRGGGGGGGG! Man I hate losing.

I really wanted to have an undefeated season.

My opponent Rick was good player. He played smart and cam to the net often. My server was really off for some reason and this seemed to hurt my more than anything. I started double faulting a lot so I switched to my kick server. Well with his height this seems to put the ball right in his strike zone so he was able to capitalize on this. He moved into the net after these strong returns and it obviously worked well for him.

 Ironically he was doing what I NEED to do more of! Last lesson I had my coach pointed out my service returns as a week part of my game. I tried to improve this during the match and at times it seemed to work. I need to work on service returns more. I also did not come to the net enough. When I am going to learn to do this successfully. I always seem to recognize the opportunity too late. I stand at the baseline and admiring my nice shot that is making my opponent backpedal to get his racquet on it when I should be moving in to the center of the court.

 Be practice partner is finally recovered from his bike accident so I am going to work on these things with him. No lesson this week as my coach is out of town. I have 1 match left against a player who I have beaten before. He has a strong forehand but that is about it. I will need to take advantage of his serve and everything will be alright.

What happened to 6 ? Well I actually have not played it yet because of 2 reasons. #1 the Toe delayed all my play for a few days. #2 the opponent had a death in the family and had to postpone.

Anyway Week 5 was against a older player. Braces on the knee, elbow, and taking pills before, during, and after the match. Sounds easy but some of these older players are trouble. Experience counts for a lot in tennis and it is certainly something I lack with only a few years of playing time. I started out pretty bad with this guy. Losing my first 2 games to him. I do not know why I do poorly in the beginning of a match but it seems like the norm for me. I tightened up after those games and went on to win 6-2, 6-4. During the first set the guy actually got a tape measure out and checked the net. Weird. He also had to take a "nitro" pill during the beginning of the match. A little unnerving as I did not want to be giving CPR to this guy.

Week 7 was with a friend Mike. I have played him in the league before and in practice. He has not beaten me yet but he certainly cam prepared to win. He nearly won the first set but I pulled it off at 7-5. 2nd set had a bumpy start also but I got into the flow and won 6-3. We played during the day 2PM and it was warm. Like an idiot I forgot to put sunscreen on my arms and wore a sleeveless shirt. I got some nice pink arms now.

Mike is a nice guy and he plays a lot of tennis. He is physically fit also. I do not know why he is not a 3 or 4.0 player. We played a 3rd set for fun and he beat me in that one. I was totally exhausted during that set. I tried to give him some tips on his play and the things I took advantage of. His biggest thing is he likes to stand and watch his shot. He does not move to the proper position after his shot.

For me I am trying to lose some weight which is my biggest obstacle to improving right now. I could stand to lose 20-30 pounds and I think it will help a lot. I am back on the cookie diet now. You can google if you want to know more, I don't put commercial links in my blog generally.

Well I wanted to NOT play for a week or more after that toe injury. I had a match scheduled for just 2 days later. On the day of the match I called to cancel and I could not get ahold of the person. Finally I went down to the court to meet with him and tell him I could not play.

Well when I got there I changed my mind. My opponent was 78 y/o. God Bless him. Hope I am playing when I am even close to his age. Really amazing person with lots of stories to tell. Vetern of 3 wars (WWII, Korea, Vietnam) and a retired Engineer with NASA. Something like 17 Grandchildren.

Anyway I won the match 6-2, 6-1. The guy could hit good but he could not move. Anything hit more than 5-6 ft away from him was a winner.

Now I am definitely taking a break for a little while. I tried to practice 2 days ago and played pretty bad. Seems that even though my toe does not hurt bad it is enough to make me off balance. I kept hitting off my back foot and my movement was just not very good.

Next match is this coming Wed which gives me almost and entire week off.