four hundred and fifty eight
Friday, April 17, 2009 @ 1:32:00 AM
tennis today was demoralizing shitttttt
i could tell coachie was uber disappointed
he was saying in tennis there has to be first consistency
before directions and power
so we ended serving two full trolley of balls
there was no joy in tennis today
i didnt enjoy it at all
cos i guess all of us were underperforming
coachie sent us home with homework
and while downloading photoscape to help clara with her polo stuff
i decided to do the research he gave
4 major types of tennis players
ONE. The Dinker, a.k.a. Pusher, a.k.a. Human Backboard- almost never hits hard, but gets everything back
- best among this breed can keep most shots deep, lob effectively, and aim fairly well
drive a lot of opponents crazy, because they win by getting you to make all of the mistakes
HOW TO WIN A DINKER- Attack at the net. Even the quickest players, who can run down almost anything you hit from your baseline, won't be able to run down an aggressive volley or overhead.
- Get him to cough up a short ball. One tactic very likely to work is making the ball bounce above his shoulders on the backhand side. Most players can't hit deep off these shots effectively.
- Be patient and wait for the right ball before going for a winner or attempting an approach shot.
- Pull him to net with a drop shot or good, low short ball. If he's not much good at hitting an aggressive response, you'll have an easy opportunity to pass him.
TWO. The Moon-Baller- a major contingent on the pro tours, especially on the women's side
- more skilled and specialized human backboard
- won't hit hard, but she will hit high, deep, and with strong topspin
HOW TO WIN A MOON-BALLER- Attack at net, but be ready to hit a lot of overheads and to chase a lot of balls back toward your baseline.
- Try sneak volleys. Start trading moonballs back and forth, then, when you've hit a nice deep, high one, sneak in toward the net and take the next ball in the air. It's hard for your opponent to see what you're doing while watching a deep, high ball, so she might not see you until you're about to pound the smash or swinging topspin volley.
- Learn to hit on the rise. Moonballs are toughest if you let them bounce way above your comfort zone. By hitting them on the rise, you'll take them at a more comfortable height, your ball will come back at your opponent earlier, and the ball will bounce off your strings harder, giving your shot more power with less effort.
- Pull her to net. She won't be able to hit a moon ball off your drop shot or low, short ball, so she'll probably feed you an approach shot you can handle with ease
THREE. The Power Baseliner- most common type on the pro tour today
- power baseliner would go for winners from near his baseline than at the net
HOW TO WIN A POWER BASELINER- Keep your shots deep. If you give a power hitter a short ball, you'll have less time to react to his shot, and he'll be able to create sharper angles.
- Try to keep the ball out of his "wheelhouse," the height at which he can most comfortably hit the ball. Either slice the ball so that it skids quite low or use a fairly high topspin that kicks up above his shoulders.
- Make him hit a lot of balls. Keep running his shots down, because a hard hitter doesn't have much margin for error, and he'll eventually miss one.
- Pull him up to net with good drop shots or low, skidding slices. This is a risky play, because if your short ball sits up at all, he'll put it away. If you hit a good short ball though, you'll force him to try to play the net, and a lot of power baseliners don't volley well.
- Mix up the speeds and spins on your shots. A power hitter needs good timing, and the more variety you throw at him, the more difficult his timing will be.
FOUR. The Serve-and-Volleyer- good serve-and-volleyer has a big advantage: rarity. Even among the pros, this is a diminishing breed.
- A true serve-and-volley player will come in behind virtually every first serve and most second serves, and when you're serving, she'll often try to come in behind either her return of serve or another approach shot early in the point.
HOW TO WIN THE SERVE-AND-VOLLEYER- Concentrate on aim. Don't look at the incoming opponent or at where you want the ball to go. Keep looking at the ball while you aim either down the line, at the corner of the service box crosscourt, into her body, at her feet, or lobbed over her head.
- Use topspin to make your returns drop in. Topspin allows you to hit harder at a given height without hitting long. It will also make your sharply angled crosscourt passes drop before they go wide or make the ball dive down at the feet of the incoming opponent.
- Try some low chip returns at the server's feet.
- Step in on the return to take the ball early. This will get the ball back sooner, giving the server less time to set up for a volley.
FIVE. The Spin Meister- an unpredictable mix of topspin, backspin, and sidespin to keep opponents off balance
- Spin has all kinds of uses. The three that most directly disrupt the opponent are these:
- (i)Varied spins have a powerful effect on how much the ball slows down when it hits the court, making it much harder for you to time your strokes.
- (ii)Heavy topspin can make the ball jump well above the height at which you like to strike the ball. Slice can make the ball skid uncomfortably low. By forcing you to meet the ball at awkward heights, the spin meister can keep you from dictating play with the shots you want to hit.
- (iii)Topspin makes the ball drop faster as it flies. Backspin makes the ball float. Sidespin makes it curve right or left. A skillful spin meister can use these effects to complicate your perception of where the ball will land on the court.
HOW TO WIN A SPIN MEISTER- One way to handle the spin meister is to beat her at her own game. It takes precise timing to execute a heavy spin, and sending her an unpredictable mixture of spins can throw her timing off enough to draw errors.
- She'll also have trouble executing her favorite spins if you send her balls too high or two low. Topspin is especially hard to execute at a very low point of contact, and players who try often dump the ball into the net, so send her low, skidding slices. Kicking the ball high to her backhand should also work: few players can generate much topspin on high backhands.
- Disrupt a spin meister by hitting hard and thus depriving her of the time it takes to execute those relatively long, brushing strokes.
- To regain a comfortable height of contact against a spin meister's heavy topspin, try taking her ball on the rise.
- Force your opponent to the net. You'll find that a lot of spin meisters are poor volleyers, so you'll want to send them low, short balls that bring them in far enough that you can pass them with relative ease.
SIX. All Court Player- most complete and versatile type of tennis player you'll face
- Comfortable on every part of the court: baseline, transition, and net; offense and defense.
- A generalist, good at everything.
HOW TO WIN A ALL COURT PLAYER- Against an all-court player, you start your search for a weakness without any conspicuous hints
- Challenge his comprehensiveness with your specialty.
- Great all-courters rarely lose to other all-court players: they lose to players who can't do nearly as many things well, but can do one thing significantly better.
- One thing most all-court players don't have is a single huge weapon.
- All-court talent doesn't always come with matching stamina. Very often the most talented players don't have to work as hard, so they're vulnerable to being worn out. Make your all-court opponent run as much as possible (Agassi style). A tired opponent will start to make more errors.
- As against any opponent, you should test your all-court opponent on every type of shot you can send him. He may be comfortable on every part of the court, but that doesn't mean he's comfortable with every kind of ball. See how he handles a low, wide slice to his forehand at the baseline or a lob over his backhand shoulder when he's at the net.
j'ai fini les devoirs ! haha
je veux dormir
donc bonne nuit :)
