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.