Game 11: 29th January

3-6

1-6

2-2

Rating: Bad Day at the Office

Venue: The Local - 60mins on the Premier Court


Report:

A game I'd been looking forward to a while as it was a definate step up in class in opposition for me and usual partner but it went much worse than expected.

first kudos to the opposition, they played really well. one guy is a tennis player and so can return most things. the other pushes the net a lot but has really improved his defensive overhead game. 

We just couldn't dislodge them from the net is the short story.

My shots weren't harming them and even if I defend 3 or 4 shots, without getting them off the net it's one way traffic. As frustration set in, my partner was trying to hit winners from risky positions but he was feeling a bit under the weather so maybe looking to save energy. We didn't have much luck on our side, lobs an ich too long. Net cord gods not being kind. not winning a single deuce of many throughout the match. Out opposition though seemed to get everything. one netcord for them hit the top and literally rolled down our side of the net. The ball got booted away by me in frustration at that one which shows the heid had gone.

We also got into baseline rallies with the tennis player which is meat and drink to him.

To be fair we won 3/4 of my service games in the first two sets but it was just a bad day at the office.

the only time we had them rattled was at the start of the 3rd stump of a set after the match was lost. We played a more Padel tempo. patient, slower with more variation. otherwise we tried to outhit and out power the tennins player and let the aggressive guy camp on the net.

Oh and I am grasping here but I play best with new balls, these were partners adidas RX that had been played with 6 or 7 times, they were ok but, given the cold (3c) they were just dying off the back wall. This was ideal for the opposition as they like to bludgeon hard and flat at a low angle. Usually I can return them no problem but today they were not bouncing as high or as fast from the wall. Dead balls also help tennis playes IMO as the ball can be ripped more with a backswing whereas with new balls there's more chace of overhitting.

so yeah, lesson is, new balls for an important match. I have some Head Team ones I got for Christmas and I am not impressed with their performance in this cold weather. Fresh Adidas RX or Head Pro s+ are the way to go. Genuinely to me, good balls are the difference between using your racquet as an Foil or a Saber.

Onwards and upwards, it was a good reality check.



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