20141106

Today was a great day of tennis. I was able to get my first serve in after two entire weeks. Also the coach corrected my forehand. The trouble I wax having with my forehand was that I wasn't getting any topspin or power in it. If I was putting power into it, the forehand was ending at the net. So I was just toggling it back - not like the weapon I envision my forehand to be. The two main things that the coal mentioned were
1. I wasn't getting the setting right. I was starting my sing right but was ending it in a motion that was taking the racket down instead of up. This was having the impact that the shots were going in the net
2. Second thing that he mentioned was to catch the racket after the s wing on the other side. This will make me understand how I was swinging the racket
3. Another imp thing that he mentioned Sri I've the left hand as pivot. I wasn't able to put it in practice since  both my hands go back together. I still need to work on it.
Because of these minor changes my forehand is like never before. I can actually see and feel the ball going with a lot of topspin when I connect on this manner. This is awesome - I will focus on backhand after I master the forehand and the serve.

20141128: On Song

Was an awesome day of tennis today. I got a lot of aces with my first serve and my second serve was also pretty consistent. And Suri mentioned that I played well overall. I was able to extend points that I generally lose. Overall a brilliant start to the weekend

The only minor change that I've made is to toss the ball in slight left direction and hitting the ball at my max extended vertical position. This is even causing my second serve to work better.

Another minor adjustment is that I'm observing the ball much more. The volley drills got me in that habit and I'm consciously  applying  it from that point onwards.

20141127: Great day today

Had lots of fun at the tennis court today. Firstly my serve was working pretty well. I was able to land my first and second serves consistently. I even tried a variation of the first serve where I don't go full out. Great to have another weapon in the arsenal! 

On learning front, the coach observed that I was letting the ball drop a lot on attacking forehand shots. I need to make sure that I take the ball at optimal level. Also I was just running around when the opponent has lots of time. I stopped today until the opponent played his shot and was able to reach the ball every time. I need to do this consistently. The final learning was about volleys today. I'm taking a lot of volleys on the run and that's why I'm not able to land them properly. I've decided to stop when I reach the serve box and prepare for volleys. This will hopefully reduce the errors. 

Another important learning for today was how to develop the points. The coach played this point against Manoj - he was feeding high balls to his backhand - the most difficult shot. Manoj was able to return a couple of them back. However on the third one he faltered slightly and hit a weak return. The coach took full advantage of this and hit a winner. The lesson here is to patiently wait for the opportunity and closing it once you get it.

20141125: First serve working!

So I got my first serve to work again. And I'm super happy about the same. I thought about the changes I made and here's a smallish list
1. Changed grip. 
The previous one was torn and my hand was slipping during the serve motion
2. Practiced tossing the ball more to the left.  I was getting a feeling that I was more bend than straight at the point of impact
3. Tried to get to my full height at the point of impact. This is in conjunction with the toss.

These tips worked well for me and hopefully they'll work for you in case you're struggling with the first serve too.

20141123: Weekend log

Woke up late and it was already 8 AM when I reached the tennis court. One of the courts was already full. So I promptly took the other court to practice my serves.

I moved a bit back and started spinning the ball more as well as making sure that I was going through the entire motion and not leaving the swing in between. I realized yesterday that I was not letting the racket swing completely on my forehand and this half stop was making the balls go out. I tried to apply the same learning to my serves. These two changes helped and I was able to get top spin serves to work again.

I wanted to try my first serve too but Vikas came and we started with some practice drills. I realized that I'm maintaining a good control of I catch the racket with the other hand. I also realized that the racket goes down when I jump and take the ball on the rise. I need to work on that.

We played doubles when some kids from morning class came. I lost my serve but we won 6-1.

20141121: Strategy day

Started the day with the normal practice and drills. We did volleys after that and I realized that I was getting way off balance when hitting overhead volleys. I need to work at this. We did serve after that that and I tried to put Suri's tip about making sure that I land the racket on other side in practice even when I was hitting from serve box. It worked well. Then we started with group game and I focused on my forehand - specifically catching the racket after hitting forehand.  It seems a bit forced currently but the effect is just awesome. I was also making sure that I saw rotating the racket properly when going from forehand to backhand and vice versa.
I and Suri played singles after that and it was a great learning experience. I realized that the balls were dying around net  - so I started coming to the net and I was immediately able to break Suri twice. I haven't seen an idea work so fast. Also I was holding my head steady and waiting for the ball when hitting forehand and that have me the balance and the ability to direct ball with pace in any corner. That also helped a lot. Finally I realized that Suri tends to hit to the backhand dogs when at the net. That helped win some points too.

An excellent way to kick start the weekend

20141119: Lost Again...

So I and Hyder lost again in the extended time today but it is getting better. Firstly today we lost by just a single game. We were able to break Suri today and the match was much closer than yesterday. I lost a serve and won one. Hyder win 2 serve games and lost one. And we were able to get one break back. And we came  back after being 5-2 down. Lots of positives from the game. Also I was able to keep my temper in check and that certainly allowed me to enjoy the game much more. In fact I was thinking of this yesterday in the car. The idea is to be as effortlessly focused so driving the car. That allows you to react  better to the opportunities. Similar to how you can spot an opening when you're driving and that helps you to overtake. The key thing is to be calm inside.
The first part of the tennis class was also pretty good. I was able to hit some good forehand, backhand and learned an effective way to slice better today. The idea of a good slice is to let the racket go on the direction of where you want the ball to end. Also an effective slice should be flat so that the  ball doesn't jump up and give the opponent an opening.
Loved the way today's day turned up and hopefully I'll be able to proactively develop the calm demeanor.

20141115: Weekend log

Was a great day today. I was able to apply the ideas of past few days. Was able to serve without a lot of double faults and win big points.

I and Praveen from N block played against Manoj and Nithin. We won 6-4. The most important idea of the day is to watch the opponent's racket head to learn where exactly is he planning to hit the ball. I was able to predict the ball direction and speed and that helped my game.

I served mostly top spin serves today. The first serve was a bit aggressive while the second serve had more kick to it. In between I was sneaking in flat fast serve when we were ahead. I like this strategy though I need to have more consistent first serve too.

The weekend has set the context for another awesome week ahead.

20141105: Chin Up solves first serve issue

Solved the problem of failing first serve. The main problem was that I was not keeping my head/chin up for longer duration. This may have been because I was over anxious to try out the new stance and forgot to concentrate on this. In any case the coach observed and let me know this yesterday and I was able to put this in practice in the extended session today. And it worked pretty well. The moral of the story is to concentrate on basics and then keep making minor adjustments.

I played good tennis today. I was able to persuade Raj to stop before hitting forehands, hit some rallies with coach before the game start, was able to get some good second serves in and not lose my temper. So things were awesome today.

Score: 3-1 with Vikas Salota (Lost my serve here though)

20141114: Attacking kick serve

A great day of tennis after 2 mediocre days.. I was able to concentrate well in the practice sessions. Even though I wasn't able to land my first serve consistently - I was able to pick up good points with my topspin second serve. I did a single double fault in the entire session. Another good learning for the day was that I was able to consistently attack the best kick serves by taking the ball on the rise. I was initially just backhand-slicing the kick serve and it was giving my opponents an inordinate amount of time to play the ball. Taking the ball on the rise helped since I was able to cut the time that my opponent was getting.

After the play I practiced a bit with Manoj. And I learned a few things about him as well during this practice. First thing I learned was that Manoj is very balanced when taking the ball on the forehand and he is able to whip the ball to either side with relative ease. So far I wasn't able to figure out which direction the ball is going by just watching his stance and feet. He does like hitting the ball to opponent's backhand since he thinks that the backhand is generally a weaker side. Expecting the ball to land on backhand side allowed me to prepare better. The second thing I learned about my forehand was that I'm not able to engage my shoulder properly when the ball is very near to me or when I'm taking it on the rise. This is limited only to the forcing shots. The alternative is to just hit a normal top-spin forehand. This keeps the ball in play and I can happily wait for another ball that I can attack.

Catching the racket with the left hand is a good way of determining the flight of the racket.

When you've done the hard work about running around to get the ball, you must relax and try to place the ball. I'm noticing that I get a good running return in only to flop an easy volley later. This is especially useful when you're playing long rallies.

My backhand is working pretty well. I was able to handle both fast and deep forehands and backhands on my side properly.

Finally I started reading "The Inner Game Of Tennis" and learning new tricks about improving the mental game associated with Tennis.

20141112: Playing and losing to the pushers

Had a partial day today as I woke up late. I did OK in the practice rounds but I wasn't able to deliver in the extension round. I and the new guy lost 0-4 including a loss of serve on my part. I was able to get my second serve working so that was  good. However the thing that I learned was that I need to develop more match temperament when dealing with pushers like Suri. We lost the second game after leading 15-40. Similarly we let Tilla escape after we forced a deuce after trailing 0-40 in the final game. So we definitely need to work at the mental aspect of things. And of course losing our serve is a crime. Lots of things to work on then.

20141108: Serve Toss issues

Had an ok day of tennis. I was able to hold my serve in first 2 games and list of in the third game. And started losing it consistently in the next couple of games until Suri mentioned that the racket s just coming flat. That helped me do some correction and I able to have some decent games. I got tired towards end of session and Susan and Tilla were able to win both games out of the two played.
The good part was understanding that I was planting the foot but accommodating bad tosses. Once I made that change folks weren't able to even return serves that I thought were not that fast. I'll work on this.

20141108: Weekend Practice Log

Today was a great day of tennis. I woke up late since there was a late night phone call that I needed to take. I was at the court by 9. Was able to sneak in a couple of games with Salota. After he left I thought that it will be better to concentrate on drills.
And that is what I did for the next 2 boys or so. I did serve drills followed by forehand drills and finally the backhand drills. I was very surprised to learn that I have better backhand than forehand. So I did one additional forehand drill to wind up the practice session.
The main learning for the days were
1. The reason my serve was ending at the  net was because my head was doing early.
2. The other thing I need work at is to make sure that I get a consistent toss.
3. It is possible to toss even when the wind is blowing hard - the main thing to take care of is the direction of the wind and serve accordingly.
4. Sometimes my serve doesn't fall in our go out because I don't plant my foot or I move foot to accommodate an invalid toss. This is  by far the most imp problem that I have.
5. Need to dig deeper to play low balls. This is same for both forehand and backhand.
6. Have to catch the racket in the left hand after hitting the shot. This will also tell you how much topspin are you putting on the  ball
7. It is possible to take both the hands back, hit with the forehand and let the left hand catch the racket by throat.
8. Backhand is really easy since you don't have to catch the racket either. But you do have to take both the hands back, bend low and take the ball at correct height.
9. Forehand on the rise is very easy and very rewarding.  Similarly backhand on the rise seems very difficult but it is real easy on practice.
10. I have the kind of serve - regular fast, topspin winner and topspin stay in the game serve. Use them appropriately.

20141107: More problems with Serves and Net Play

Not such a good day at the tennis court. I wasn't able to get first serve in as consistently as I would like. Also my forehand wasn't working as I wanted it to be

I think that the problem I'm chasing is two-fold. I need more consistency but I also want to attack more. The solution will be to adopt a sort of middle path between them. On certain points I will go full out and will not lose sleep over whether or not I was able to land the serve consistently in or not. On other points, I will play a consistent game where I will place the ball and look for opportunities before unleashing fury.

Here is what I need to develop such a game. Have a super consistent second serve. I'm hoping to have a second serve that lands 90% of time. Also I'll make sure that my first serve falls in at least 60% of time. Along with this I will need the support of consistent backhand and forehand. Currently my forehand is just functional  but with the drills that I'm doing these days, it is looking like I'm getting really close to that top-spin forehand that I crave. I need to develop similar consistency for my backhand too. Having a couple of drills every morning before the 7 AM class will definitely help here. I want to turn both my forehand and backhand into weapons. I should be able to defend as well as attack on both sides using either my forehand and backhand.

The last thing that I need to work on is my net play. I do good volleys in practice but I need to be able to have good volleys in game too. The secret is to be more alive at the net. I want to be able to kill slow, bouncing balls at the net. Also need to be able to absorb fast returns on either backhand or forehand side. I should also work at running in after a good return.

20141106: Forehand and Serve fixes

Today was a great day of tennis. I was able to get my first serve in after two entire weeks. Also the coach corrected my forehand. The trouble I was having with my forehand was that I wasn't getting any topspin or power in it. If I was putting power into it, the forehand was ending at the net. So I was just toggling it back - not like the weapon I envision my forehand to be. The two main things that the coal mentioned were
1. I wasn't getting the setting right. I was starting my swing right but was ending it in a motion that was taking the racket down instead of up. This was having the impact that the shots were going in the net
2. Second thing that he mentioned was to catch the racket after the s wing on the other side. This will make me understand how I was swinging the racket
3. Another imp thing that he mentioned was that I should use the left hand as pivot. I wasn't able to put it in practice since both my hands go back together. I still need to work on it.

Because of these minor changes my forehand is like never before. I can actually see and feel the ball going with a lot of topspin when I connect on this manner. This is awesome - I will focus on backhand after I master the forehand and the serve.

20141104: Two new serve ideas

The coach finally figured out what was wrong with my first serve. It looks like that I'm rotating the tennis grip after I start serving - I start with a continental grip and end up with the forehand grip as part of my serve. No wonder all my serves are ending up in the net.

Another interesting thing that the coach mentioned  today was that I will be able to get much more depth in my second serve and much more power in my first serve if I just take the racket back to touch my back slightly. This is very awesome find and I can instantaneously feel the awesome effect that this will have. I tried it but wasn't able to get the timing correct - Something I will work at later tonight.