Topaz's Tennis Blog

All systems go!

2009-07-08T22:02:00.002-04:00

The hard work and practicing is done. Racquets are re-strung. Packing has *started* (not finished quite yet), but this will more than likely be the last post before I return from districts.

Still haven't heard anything from our captain, so hopefully the rumor mill is false and she will be playing for us! Tomorrow is a drive down/relax day, and S (from my last post) will be riding along with me. I want to have a nice, relaxing evening and a good night's sleep!

Then, Friday we have two of our three round robin matches. We play at 10:30am and 6:30pm, which is really nice. We have time in between the matches to take a trip back to the hotel for a quick swim/shower/change of clothes/nap. I found, after I played S yesterday, that when I got home I zonked out a bit (from the heat), but then got back up and felt pretty good. We'll see if I need it Friday or not.

Saturday morning we have our third match, again at 10:30am. Then, it will depend on how well we did. If we win our round robin, it is on to the final round, which is two more matches (I think both on Sunday, not sure!). If not, we head back home Saturday.

Then...then...leagues will be over (unless we actually win the whole thing, which is unlikely...not because we're not good, but there are *lots* of good teams down there and a ton of matches to get through...odds are against you)...and I'm not sure what I'll do.

One idea so far...I'm thinking of backing off of the tennis for a bit and concentrating on some really strict and clean eating to try to drop some more weight. My idea is two eat hardcore clean for at least a week, then maintenance calories for a week, then hard core again for two weeks, a week at maintenance, etc etc etc. Or, maybe a whole month of hardcore (though I doubt I would make it), and then two weeks off. Something cyclical like that...because while I'm not gaining with how I'm eating right now (which is GREAT), I'm also not losing. So, clean it up even more, and not go nutso with the workouts...focus on diet. We'll see if I have the willpower for it!

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

2009-07-07T22:28:00.002-04:00

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.

WTL...thy name is drama!

2009-07-05T18:27:00.003-04:00

Oh, yesterday was a fun one!

First of all, WTL (Washington Tennis League) was a bit crazy, IMO, to schedule matches on the 4th of July. At Hains Point. During the parade! Though, we were lucky in that our team was scheduled to play at 9:30am. Well, I had thought that was lucky...it proved to be unlucky for others.

Fortunately, we had enough players in town for me to put together a decent line-up, with me at #2 singles and all excited about my new singles game plan (diamond drill! New serve! Coming in to net!). I left *really* early, not because I was worried about traffic (I395 was one route that didn't suffer from road closures due to the parade) but because I was worried about parking. I was thinking Hains Point would be a great place to park if you're coming in for the parade at 11:30!

But again, I was wayyy early, and even got a prime spot in the lot, right in front of the courts! Lucky!

Not so lucky was KO, who was coming in from Ashburn, and didn't stop to think or check the road closures. She got stuck twice, but finally got there with plenty of time to spare (mostly because she left at 7am for a 9:30am match!).

Eventually we all gathered except for RMcE, who ended up a bit stuck herself since she was coming from the city. I had her at #1 singles, so I switched her to #2 just in case she didn't make it in time (in accordance with the default rules).

While all of this was happening, CB comes up and tells me her team just got handed an entire *match* default by their opponents. Now, they are one of the teams in contention to win the league, and to get five courts without having to play is huge! And, well, kinda sucky for the other teams, but whatever...I went along my way.

The bell rings, we walk onto the courts, and our opponents were nowhere to be found! Lol! I sent everyone to their courts, and RMcE ran on just in time (we have 15 minutes before a default is declared), and finally the opponents trickle in. The captain finds me and tells me that they are defaulting #3 doubles (oh, poor KO was on #3 doubles...all that driving, and her opponents don't show!) and that #1 singles (my opponent) is on her way.

Only, she never showed up. I was generous, too...I stayed on the court for 20 minutes. So, right off the bat, we got two courts in a default. I grabbed Katy and Dawn and headed over to practice with CB's team, who is just hitting with themselves and practicing since their opponents threw in the towel for the day. The captain, who I know in passing from both DC and NOVA leagues, was very friendly and inviting. She is also the captain that I'm scheduling our make-up courts with, and she has been quite fair and accommodating. We ended up playing some doubles with another gal who was there early for her 11am match. It was fun!

When the whistle blew, I noticed all three of our active courts were still playing. Hmmm...I was thinking we would have won by now! Well, it turns out that all three courts were very, very close. Two of them went to sudden death points. Of those two, we won one and lost one (poor RMcE double faulted on her's...I hate the sudden death point!)...and we won on games on the other court. So we won 4-1. We're trucking right along, having fun, playing tennis, and doing well.

Another top team was there, ready to start their match, and having a shit storm about the match default, as it put the team that received it pretty much out of reach (at least for us, but there are two teams already out of our reach). I get it, I really do...but what are you going to do? I seriously doubt, for one moment, that if one of these other teams had gotten that default, that they wouldn't have gladly accepted it and skipped away into the sunset!

Well, later in the day (before I hit the pool), I got a call from one of these captains. They wanted to (and have since) filed a grievance against the team that defaulted. *sigh* Thing is, again, I get it. The league winner should not be decided by defaults. However, I don't know the defaulting captain or her team. I don't know the circumstances under which she decided to throw the entire match. Not cool, I know, but having a match on July 4 is tricky (and she has a small roster to being with). I got lucky with my team.

Word on the street, though, is that the defaulting captain actually had four players on site, and she didn't play them. Four players can give you three courts (singles, singles, and doubles), which is enough to win a team match. This is the thing that I really am more concerned about...if they were there, why didn't they play?

So, two other teams are really up in arms about this. They want me to sign onto the grievance and keep saying it hurts us, but it really doesn't. We already played the defaulting team, and swept all the courts. We lost to both of the 'complaining' teams, and have already lost two courts to the 'lucky' team. It is statistically impossible, even if we win every single court we have left to play, to win. However, if we win some more courts off of the 'lucky' team, it will benefit the 'complaining' teams. And that right there, I think, is the only reason they want my support.

And, to a point, they do have my support. It shouldn't be decided this way. But there is only so far I'm going to go with grievances and such...I just want to play tennis. I honestly don't think the 'lucky' team's captain arranged anything with the 'defaulting' team...and if they did, well, I think it is sad that they feel they have to do that. And as far as the 'complaining' teams...I find it ironic that they are shouting so loud, when both of them have some suspiciously rated singles players on their teams.

*sigh*

I just want to play tennis.

Rest

2009-07-03T23:26:00.002-04:00

Today was a day of rest...at least from tennis and working out. From here until Thursday, I have tennis every day in the hope that I'll figure something out in time for districts. Ha! Though, truth be told, I have a DC match tomorrow (I'm playing #2 singles), and I'm looking forward to working on the things that CB and CR worked on with me.

Spent the day gallivanting around with RevJ, who is here on leave. Yay for leave! Hope to see him again before he goes back to the ME and I head down to districts. Also need to keep in touch with him better while he is over there...I realized today how much I miss talking to him.

Preparations

2009-07-02T21:34:00.002-04:00

Preparations are being made for districts, including what I hope is a bit of a (positive) change in philosophy in my singles games. Never thought tennis was that deep, did you?

Yesterday, when all the plans for a team practice fell apart, I was still itching to play. So, I grabbed my stuff and drove on over to 'Bertha'. Bertha is the name given to a little, out of the way hitting wall that I've found. It is usually completely deserted, but evidently not forgotten, as I was pleased to find that the area has been fenced in since my last visit (yay...no more chasing balls into the storm drain!).

It is real easy to hit against a wall and actually do more harm than good. I tried very hard to make sure I was focusing on two things -> my contact with the ball and my feet. I soon realized that I was just hitting as hard as I could, and stopped myself. I forced myself to just hit 'solid' and not necessarily with a lot of pace. I got into a good rhythm, especially on my BH side. My FH loop is still too big most of the time, causing my contact to be late.

But all in all, a good practice session. I was supposed to play in the make-up match for Tennacity, but it got called due to 'oh jeez, this match doesn't matter anyway and will just get rained out again'-itis.

This morning I met up with CB to hit. We were supposed to have a foursome and play doubles, but she and I were the only two there, so after a bit of a chat, we hit singles for about an hour and a half. And...I think I had a bit of a breakthrough. CB plays both singles and doubles, and is a *smart* player (something I still lack). After a bit, she pulled me aside and said 'Look, when you have me stretched out, why in the world aren't you coming in?'. She even very graciously demonstrated by running *me* corner to corner, coming in, and gently placing a volley where I had no hope of ever getting it.

So then I did it...by stretching her out to her weaker side (BH)...and OMG! Easy, easy points! She is good enough to also give me alots of different kinds of balls, and it was a great practice. Again, I found that I can control the ball and place it when I'm not trying to hit the tar out of it.

After this, I moseyed down the road for a pick-up lesson with CR (who is trying to whoo me into being a regular student). We worked on returns, which was great. She had me change my positioning slighty, and we worked on taking a weak serve down the line to set up the point aggressively. Again, we have found that I'm not turning my shoulders and taking my racquet waaaay back too far, especially on that FH side. She wants me to take the loop out completely, but I'd rather just work on shortening up the loop. I like the loop!

Then we did the diamond drill, which was a great singles drill. She marked out a diamond on the court with some cones. I was to hit the ball outside of the diamond. Doing that made my opponent (one of CR's camp helpers...good college player) run like mad, get out of position, and usually hit an error. If not an error, than a weak reply. Again...hello...it wasn't about pace. I really got the hang of it after seeing the visual reminder of the cones.

CR teaches one of my opponents from the season (MS), and suggested that we share a lesson. Now, *this* was more like it. Since I lost my Monday shared lesson, I've really missed the more individual attention and the opportunity to hit regularly with another 3.5 (or better) woman. So, she called up MS and she thought it was a good idea, too, and it looks like I have my Monday night tennis back, just with a different partner and instructor. I still have my Skyline clinics, too, and hopefully pick-up lessons with Sup. Sup and CR complement each other perfectly...I can almost finish CR's sentences because I've heard the same thing come out of Sup's mouth! So, I feel like working with both won't mess me up.

Except, I'm keeping my loop! Just need to compact it!

Then I was off to clean up and drive into FFX to a charity that I found that took all my books I was getting rid of! Yay!

Then, back into Arlington for some tennis with some TTW boys. We hit at TJ Middle School, and I liked it much better than Wakefield. A nicer setting, and more 'structure' on the court...meaning the other people were nice and had much better etiquette on the other courts. We played some doubles and were just hitting around when the skies opened up. It actually felt good, as the rain was a bit cold.

And now, as I look over my schedule, I realize we leave on Thursday for districts, and I have tennis scheduled Sat (DC match), Sun (clinic), Mon (shared lesson), Tues (Susie), and Wed (clinic). So, no tennis for me tomorrow! It might just be time to hit the pool and see what I can do about my hideous tan lines!

Hobbling toward the finish line...

2009-06-28T15:23:00.003-04:00

This morning, Tennacity beat All that Racquet. Barely. Thus, qualifying the team to go to VA districts. And when I say barely, I mean *barely*. We split courts, and actually split sets. So it came down to a total game count, and we edged them out 45 to 43 (I think...something like that). I say 'we', but I didn't play today...I headed over after clinic as I was supposed to practice. Only one other person showed up to practice, and after hitting for an hour, we watched the match wrap up.

I'm happy we're going, of course, but I only played twice for this team, both times at doubles, and lost both times (albeit in close matches). We have one more match to go, and I'm scheduled for singles, but I feel like I haven't contributed to the team going at all. OH well, I should just shut up, go, and have a blast. Which really, is the plan anyway.

Just have to keep my ankle from falling apart before then. I have switched to taping as I feel it is more effective than my ASO brace (it gets the support right where I need it to be), but it causes me to go through tape unbelievable fast.

I also have a conflict on one day of districts with our final DC match. Depending on how NOVA indoor playoffs shake down, we might be short, and though my original plan was to drive back to play the DC match, now that I've seen when we would play (10am and 6:30pm on Friday), that is no longer looking like an appealing idea.

Marching on...

2009-06-27T19:04:00.002-04:00

I played much, MUCH better in my singles match last night. Still lost though, but against a strong opponent (a 3.5 who plays up at 4.0 and has taken out a 4.0 in a singles match)...she won 7-5, 3-2 (timed). I was serving 5-6 in the first set to get to a tiebreak, and I blinked. That's where my lack of confidence and experience come back to bite me in the arse!

Today, I hadn't planned on playing for the DC team, but a sudden injury meant that I was going into the line-up. I shuffled that sucker around about 10 times, consulted with team members, and ended up playing doubles with D at #2. And...we lost, 2 and 3 against two of my indoor teammates. *sigh* D wins all her indoor matches, and maybe it is just a matter of her needing to play more outside (and on clay) but when she is paired with me, she doesn't play her best. Not even close. And, I'm saying this as someone who self-admittedly is weak in doubles. But I was poaching and being aggressive at net. She stands and *stays* all the way back at the service line and tries to dig things out at her feet. Not an offensive position at all. And she was hitting a lot of groundies way long, too. Honestly, I don't see her play like this with others, and it may be time to end the tennis partnership as we just aren't 'gelling' the way we used to. If I'm the steady one on the doubles team, then we're in trouble!

The serve held up great again, and I actually can't wait to get back out onto court and practice it some more. The BH...oh, low and behold...I have a BH again. I know I'm still swinging late on the FH, but I'm confident I will get that back on track, too. You know, just in time for the end of the season!

So, another USTA update:

Lucky Stars
We had the bad luck of facing some really strong teams at the end of the season, and ended up getting pushed out of a playoff position. Still, we ended 12-10, and we are looking forward to doing even better next year. Such a great team...I'm very lucky (no pun intended!) to be there!

Select Auto
We had a bad loss today. It isn't going to help us, but we aren't out of the running quite yet. We have our make-up match starting to get played (court by court) this week, and then two more matches. Our singles players went down today, and those are two courts we usually claim. K got beaten by a sandbagger, no doubt in my mind. Not sure how this gal has avoided a DQ, but you don't beat KZ 0 and 2 and then try to pass yourself off as anything but a sandbagger. I hope she enjoys 4.0 next year (where she belongs!).

So, it might cost us, but we are not a team put together like that...we don't play those games. We follow the rules and go out and play our best.

Tennacity
With two more matches left, a win at one of them will mean a trip to districts. *crossing fingers*

Wrapped up the day with some strength training. I'm slowly starting to feel better, and have kept food in/down for over a whole day now! Not sure what was up...maybe just had something that realllly didn't agree with me. Onward and upward.

Zzzzzzz

2009-06-25T23:28:00.002-04:00

The first week off after school is always tricky. Suddenly your routine, which pretty much rules your life for 10 months...is gone. Out the window. *kapowy*

Most of the time, I welcome this with open arms, and many mornings sleeping in. However, this year (or this week), I haven't had that same transition. I knew, by the end of the school year, that between teaching 500+ kids every week plus my tennis and workout schedule that I had built up a fair amount of fatigue. I expected to sleep like a rock for 3 days straight.

That just hasn't happened, even though I'm still *tired* and wanting it to happen. Hitting with Sup today, he said he's noticed, between lessons and clinics, that I'm tired. And not tired in 'oh, I overslept this morning', more as in fatigue. I need about a week off, I think, from lifting, from training, and from tennis. Only now, it looks very likely that my outdoor team is headed to districts, and there will be no tennis break until after that, at the very least.

Anyway, Sup rightly predicted that I would once again conk out this afternoon, and sure enough, I feel asleep in the middle of the day and just woke back up at 9pm. So, totally farked up now. But I'm a bit concerned, too, though luckily with being on break, I think I will be able to rectify this, and ignore the little voice telling me I need to go do a billion weighted step ups *rightnow*!!! Um, yeah, we'll see how that goes.

I usually put on weight on the summer, too, just because I'm moving around less. This week, I've dropped about 3 lbs! Mostly because, I can't keep anything in or down. So far so good with that today, but that combined with the fatigue does have me a bit concerned. Hopefully, once I get adjusted a bit more, this will all fall into place on its own? *crossing fingers*

Worked on some good stuff in my lesson today (which happened after a pretty pathetic plea for help after my last pathetic loss...3rd in a row now). Turns out my contact point on both sides has gotten later and later, and taken the weight and depth out of my shots. Sup also fed me some junk balls, as that seems to be one of my achilles. And we wrapped up by taking another look at my serve, which we both know is deficient, but we tried something new today with tucking in my right elbow (think the trophy position) and that seemed to help with the pronation. So, definitely something good to work on and get that serve beefed up.

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

Sharapova got ousted from Wimby yesterday, and honestly, 'good riddance' is all I have to say. In all the recent press about shrieking, I find her's to be one of the most offensive...mostly because she does NOT do it in practice. It is ridiculous to watch one of her matches anymore. Sad to say, too, as I was looking forward to her comeback after her surgery to spice up and mix up the women's tour, but she is clearly not what she was...and louder than ever.

Little Melanie Oudin is trucking quietly along, keeping some hope alive (with Jesse Levine) for a future in American tennis.

Insanity.

2009-06-24T22:59:00.002-04:00

It is often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again, and expecting a different result.

I am pretty sure I'm insane.

I lost ugly tonight. 1 and 1. Took an hour and fifteen minutes, and I could only manage 2 games. My opponent had some junk, but not so much that I don't think I should have been able to handle it. I'm just...so confused. And a bit lost. I have these beautiful, technically sound strokes, yet I can't seem to win a match with them. I keep losing to people with ugly strokes, bad footwork, and lotsa junk...but you know what...they win and I lose. And, I know I'm supposed to focus on getting better and not 'resort' to junk to win, but there is only so much losing I can take!

I get to do it all over on Friday for the last match of the season.

I have this wonderful physical game, and no mental game to match it at all.

*banging head on desk*

So, do I go out there and do the same thing *again* (INSANE), or do I bring the junk?

At least my team keeps winning. Yay for L and some strong doubles players!

To add insult to injury, I tweaked the ankle yet again when I came down awkwardly while jumping up trying to get a lob. Missed the shot, and farked up the ankle again.

*primal scream*

Hill sprints

2009-06-23T22:11:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm on summer vacation, I have no excuse for not training properly and often. Yesterday was circuit training courtesy of Cathe Friedrich's High Step Training. Think you can't get a kick-ass workout at home from a DVD? Well, think again. The workout is five 'cycles' that start off with a high intensity and impact cardio 'blast', followed with legs and then a different other body part for each of the five sections. I love that it has a ton of variety, the cardio blasts kick butt, and it has a ton of step ups, which are my favorite leg exercise.

So today, taking in consideration that I have a match tomorrow, I didn't want to do any weight work. So, I took off to the nearby running trails, and did four hill sprint repeats (not sure exactly what to call it). I actually did a .75 mile warm-up jog, then spring up the hill (a pretty moderate hill, but still...uphill!), then jog down around to the bottom of the hill. Rinse, repeat for four total times, then I jogged the .75 again and jogged home (which involved a very large hill).

I tried to keep the concept of 'striding' when I did the sprints, to really get the impact and push-off into it. I love running, but I'm trying to make my running more effective for my tennis, as well. I think, though, that there is actually too much recovery in between the sprints, so next time I will modify the distance in between to allow less 'recovery'. I might also do five instead of four.

Tomorrow is a singles match, but not until the evening, so I'm going to try to get out and hit during the day against the wall and maybe take some serves. After pondering with Sup a bit, it is pretty much agreed upon that my serve...sucks. Major overall will be coming soon!

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

Of course, I've also been enjoying watching Wimbledon. I was sad to see Jelena Dokic out in the first round. I do think a Williams sister will be holding the Venus Rosewater dish at the end of the fortnight, but I think Stosur, Wozniacki, and Azarenka could make some noise.

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

Also went to the eye doctor today. Predictably both eyes have worsened, though my left more than my right. They are both equally bad now, instead of one being worse than the other. The doc is a bit mystified, as usually (by my age) the nearsightedness slows down and stabilizes. Mine just keeps getting worse. I'm an excellent candidate for Lasik, but totally can not afford it.

Oh well, at least I have a valid excuse for my mishits!!!

The good out of all of this is that I finally picked out new glasses. They are purple!!!! :) And half-off, which, of course, is a tune I like to sing.

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

Ex-TTWer Julieta brought the USTA Public Parks tournament to my attention. Not only does it fit into my schedule, but I happen to have an old friend living in nearby Columbia, SC (the tourny is in Lexington SC). Hmmmm....

If I only had a brain.

2009-06-21T20:48:00.002-04:00

Or, maybe a lobotomy would be the way to go.

No other explanation for the crap tennis I played today. Lost 3 and 1. My opponent was very good, but not so good that I shouldn't have been able to do better. Predictably, after losing a tight first set (in which I blew many chances but also had an interesting line call go against me on my game point) I went into insane mode in second set...thinking 'I must be more aggressive!'.

Which is fine and all, only more aggressive for me right now translates into...I can't keep the damn ball in the courts. And I got frustrated, and she could tell, and totally moved in for the kill. Kudos to my opponent, she played a smart, smart game...and again, my mind is my biggest enemy.

Along with my serve.

And my backhand.

FML.

The USTA update

2009-06-21T14:49:00.002-04:00

Lucky Stars
I have played almost every match for my indoor NOVA team, and all of them at singles save one doubles match. I felt a bit like a fish out of water for that doubles match, though it was competitive (a loss at 3 and 4), and I had a great partner (shoutout to Esther!). Two of the singles matches I won were against 3.0s playing up, and I beat them handily. I had a few close losses that I feel I should have won, but my nerves and lack of smart choices during tiebreaks did me in! All in all, I have played quite a few different types and styles of players, and I've learned a lot! I will refrain from mentioning the style that gives me the most trouble for right now...never know who lurks!

Select Auto Imports
I know, not the most glamorous name for a tennis team, but hey, we're sponsored! We're hoping that one day we'll all get free BMW's out of this deal! Good thing we aren't holding our collective breath on that, though.

Though I'm not listed as the official captain, I actually captain this team, with some help from our former captain, L (who just needed a break from captaining for personal reasons) and F, another teammate. We're doing really well, great in fact. If we keep it up, there just might be a trip to sectionals in August. Too early to tell for sure, as we have four more matches to go, and two of those matches are against tough teams.

This team is a blast though. We're doing great, and we are not put together to be 'one of those teams'...we did not specifically select and woo people in order to get to post season. We just go out, play, have fun, and are a very nice group of ladies.

I have played both singles and doubles for this team. Since we lost one of our singles players, I have filled in at singles, and I'm starting to feel more 'at home' with singles than doubles. And I'm totally okay with that.

Tennacity
Oh, the outdoor league where it all began. I actually didn't think I was going to be playing when the season got started. I hadn't heard a peep from the captain, but I had told her 'no hard feelings' if there was no room for me. Well, turned out there was room, as she is trying to get as big a roster as possible so, in case of a trip to Districts, we aren't left short of people.

Districts is a good possibility here, though not a lock yet. There are only two other teams in this league, but they are both populated by some really good, strong players. In fact, the only two matches I've played for Tennacity (both doubles) I've lost. I don't think there is room for me at singles, though I wish there were!

**********

All in all, I'm learning a lot this season. Definitely won't get bumped up, but definitely won't get bumped down either. The season has left me with some very clear things to work on.
1. Footwork. My god, will I never be fast? I lost almost 30 lbs during the 'off season', and I'm STILL SLOW.
2. Still would like to lose 15-20 more lbs...will do nothing but help those joints! And, my apparent sloth-like speed.
3. That certain type of ball I have trouble with...more here later!

Indoor has three more matches, in fact, I'll be leaving for one in about 45 minutes. DC has four more, outdoor has two, though I don't think I'll be scheduled for them (as I already played my two matches).

Decided...

2009-06-21T14:48:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-06-20T14:35:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-25T17:12:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-25T17:10:00.000-04:00

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

2009-04-25T08:06:00.002-04:00

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

Remember me?

2009-04-25T08:03:00.002-04:00

Yup, still here, and on the verge on the new USTA season. Up this season is:
*captaining and playing a 3.5 women's DC team
*playing a designated singles spot on a 3.5 NOVA indoor team
*playing on a 3.5 NOVA outdoor team - I think, haven't heard from the captain in ages!

I'm hoping to not have a repeat of last year's miserable season. Though, I did receive the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Yearbook yesterday, and it turns out that last year's tournaments landed me tied at #5 for 3.5 women's singles. I guess that is what happens when not very many people show up to play tournaments!

Speaking of tournaments, the Reston Open is next weekend. I'm leaning toward signing up (need to decide by tomorrow night) just the hell of it. There aren't many other Opens close by that would be easy to play. Never mind the fact that I don't belong in an Open anyway!

NTRP update

2008-12-01T20:49:00.000-05:00

Somehow, I manage to stay 3.5, avoiding the bump-down to 3.0. I imagine it is by the barest skin of my teeth.

Interestingly enough, quite a few people who beat me (especially in mixed) got bumped up.

I lost my Benchmark designation, but I'm totally fine with that.

May blog through next season...might not. Haven't decided yet.

Skyline Dubs

2008-07-19T22:45:00.003-04:00

Played in the final at my club tournament tonight. I was subbing for another player who didn't want to drive down for what was more than likely a beat down by some juniors, but hey, I'm always up for a beat down, so I volunteered to take her place.

And you know what, we didn't win, but we did *much* better. In particular, I hit some *insane* forehands when rallying with these girls. The strategy for this match was to actually play more 'singables'...with crosscourt rallies dominating the play. Eventually these girls would overhit, and their ability to hit winners also kept us back from the net.

It was 8-3, but 6 of those games went to deuce. It was actually a very fun and well played match. I don't feel badly about how I played at all. Served well, too...I was actually serving at 2-7 and didn't crack!

My reward...a runner-up trophy.

NTRP Summary

2008-07-07T22:43:00.001-04:00

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

2008-07-07T22:41:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-07T22:40:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-07T22:39:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-07T22:37:00.002-04:00

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...)