We hit off the ground and played some games. I won exactly 0 games but I did have quite a few take-aways. I really like that he doesn’t let off on his game and makes me work. Lots of fun to play guys at this level.
Here are my biggest takeaways:
- Stay down on the shot, through the shot. I found myself pulling off the shot and trying to recover too soon. I need to focus on finishing the shot and then recovering.
- Split step, better footwork, more power on the first step. Time to hit up the weights and do some conditioning. My speed has always been sort of a weak point and I need to stay more active with my feet. This is common throughout the spectrum of players. When I watch 3.5 and 4.0 guys their footwork looks like crap. When a 5.0+ guy watches me, I’m sure they think I have sloppy/lazy feet.
- Hit higher on my serve. I need to extend more and aim higher over the net. I made this adjustment toward the last half of the practice and my serve percentage went up dramatically.
- Don’t go for too much. Another common mistake throughout the spectrum of tennis… especially if you play up a level. You feel a false sense of urgency and that you need to go for more than you should. Just having good placement, depth is going to do a lot of good. I found myself ripping shots at the line and of course, missing a lot.
With no further delay, enjoy this beat down of an aspiring 5.0 player: