Totally Tennis

Tips: Kicking your serve- Beginners

2009-08-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here is an important quote to understand " You are only as good as your second serve". And its true, more or less. The reason is because the second serve is not independent in and of itself, it affects your entire game. If your second serve is not good, or you don't have enough confidence in it, you tighten up your first serve, you begin to play more defensive, your scared to lose the point, rather than confident to win the point, because you know you cannot get easy points from your serve. Well the best way to gain a serve you can be confident in is start kicking the ball. Here are the fundemental ways to learn, and develop a kick serve. Keep in mind these are the basics, and you will have to practice them to make the kick serve strong and most importantly unique.

Fundemental steps to hitting a kick serve:

Feet; depending on the direction you want the ball to kick your feet should be lined up a certain way. If you want the ball to kick to the side, line your feet up almost parallel to the baseline. If you just want the ball to kick up, a conventional stance will work.
Toss the ball behind your head but in front of your body. The ball should be in front of the baseline, but at the same time you should have to reach behind yourself to hit it.
The reach will naturally cause your arm to pronate correctly. When you serve normally you are taught to swing your arm across into your opposite hip. In this case, your arm pronates into the your dominant hand's hip. For example if you right handed your arm should pronate into the right hip. Your still reaching out to hit the ball at the highest spot you can. This is what causes the ball to kick.
The contact should be a brush of the ball, like your creating topsin, in the direction your arm is pronating. More brush leads more kick and less power, while less brush is less kick and more power.
Use your legs to increase more spin and power to your kick serve, and use your back to create more of a kick. Be sure to develop your serve before using it in a match.

Fundemental Steps to Devolping a Kick Serve:

Go to your tennis court with a hopper full of balls. Take a few and stand next to the fence. Stand around 5 feet away from the fence. Practice serving the ball over the fence with spin. You dont have to bend your back or jump up, just do what you need to get the ball over the fence by spinning your serve. You should be brushing the ball upwards.
Go to the baseline. Think about the motion you used to hit the ball over the fence. That's your motion, we just need to refine it. Get on your knees at the baseline. Hit a hopper of serves on your knees. This will help you develop the proper way to create spin, and arc on the ball, without using your back.
Now hit a basket of serves standing up. But again, do not use your legs or your back. This will teach you how to brush the ball while hitting the ball forward. Remember to pronate all the way to your hip, many times people will stop half way. If you complete your pronation you should start to see a slight kick.
Now hit the whole thing. Slowly at first, accelerate your racket as you brush through the ball. Don't rely on your back for the kick, it should come from the motion and acceleration of your arm. Conversely, don't rely on power, pace, or depth from your arm, this should come from your legs, and maybe your back if your really advanced and ready for it. Set up cones on the side of the service box your ball kicks to and try to hit the cones, drawing your opponent out wide. This serve is very effective and can lead to quick easy points at the net.

Analysis: Cincinatti foreshadowing USO

2009-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati is a big tournament for a lot of players this year, as it is the last tournament before the US Open begins. Usually Cincinnati proves to be a little foreshadowing for how the US Open will play, and with all the changes in mens tennis, I think it is important to take a big hard look at how the tournament plays out.

First: I think it was a mistake for Juan Martin Del Potro to withdraw from Cincinatti, and I think it will show during the US Open. Del Potro has been playing exceptional tennis, short of the 3rd set he played against Murray in Montreal and it would of done him a world of good to pick up big wins in Cincinatti before USO, instead of entering the Grand Slam with a disspointing loss against Murray in the back of his head.

Second: Andy Murray. There is some serious talk about Andy Murray winning the US Open, and I think it all depends on how he does in this tournament. Murray got off easy in Montreal after Del Potro crashed and burned in the third set, and you can bet a Nadal, Federer (even though he did the same in Montreal), or even a Djokovic or Roddick won't give him the same treat in a Grand Slam. If Murray can pick up key wins in the tournament, or win the tournament itself, I belive he will win in USO.

Third: Nadal. Nadal is suffering from Tendon-itis and just dropped from 2 to 3 in the world. He said on record that he had little chance of winning Montreal, and he proved to be right. But for Nadal to compete in the Open with the same regaurd as he does in other Grand Slam, he needs to go into Cincinatti with a mission to win. If he doesnt feel confident in his ability by USO he will have a pretty rough time with the likes of Murray and Del Potro feelign at the top of their game. Not to mention the regular contenders, Roddick, Fed, and Djokovic. I think Nadal first real test will come in the first two rounds he plays. He will play the winner of Matheiu and Karlovic--both avid players. However, while they will push Nadal more than the average second round player, they will not beat him. The second part of the test is if his knees can last through the second round match and be in well enough condition for Tsonga. On hard courts the last time they played was in ABN AMRO, which went to three sets...and that was when Nadal was relativly healthy. How will he fair when his knees are wobbly? If Nadal beats Tsonga, I believe he is a contender for the USO, if not...I think his hopes are dashed.

Fourth: Roddick and Federer. Both have been having good runs this year, however both could be playing better on hard as well. Federer especially needs to kick it into high gear soon or his USO chances might be tough. Murray is dominating him 6-2 head to head, and if he doesn't take Murray this year, if he faces him, well I think Murray will be my top pick for USO. If not, Federer, I think your in good shape. As for Roddick, he can play incredible tennis and still lose to Federer, but beating Federer can be done. He need to utilize the body serve and use the slice effectivly. If he can do that, I think he has a legitamite chance against Fed, especially since he has been serving less than par.

All in all, it should be an interesting tournament. Stay tuned for results!

Gear: Grip - Unique TournaGrip 2 Tacky

2009-08-17T01:12:00.001-07:00

TournaGrip is great already, but TournaGrip 2...? Amazing. It doesn't get much better than this.

The problem I have with the regular TournaGrip is that it becomes to sweaty after a long match on a hot day. In the winter is phenomenal, but it definately can use some help in the summer. I probably changed my grip every other, or even every single time I played (with the regular TournaGrip). I tried switching to other grips...but they were really just too thick for me. TournaGrip Tacky is the perfect solution.

Durability: (4 of 5) First of all, it lasts forever. Even when the tacky has weared out the handle still holds grip due to the material. The tacky is the just the extra coating. TournaGrip, if your playing regularly for 2 hours a day, will last you about a week and a half. Keep in mind a pack of 3 is about 2-5 dollars depending on where you buy it.

Handling:(3 of 5) Here is my one complaint about the grip. At first, it is almost too tacky. The grip sticks to your hand. While it doesn't neccesairy impair your play, meaning your hand doesnt ge stuck to the racket, I can see how it might be distracting, and other players have complained about it.

Cost: (5 of 5)The cost is the same as a normal tournagrip, you can get 2 reels for about 30-35 dollars. My advice is to buy it in bulk, the price goes down substantially.

Really, to me it is the best grip out there. No question.

Results: Montreal - Rodgers Cup Finals

2009-08-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

Murray, who looked in quite a bit of trouble in middle of the second set, pulled through and defeated Del Potro 6-7 (6) 7-6(4) 6-1.

Murray is now the #2 player in the world, and will set his sights on Cincinnati to defend is title there.

Analysis: Del Potro v. Murray

2009-08-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Big things have happened this tournament. Federer blew a 5-1 lead in the 3rd to lose to Tsonga. Roddick took out Djokavic, and Nadal got handled pretty easily. But the biggest thing by far is Andy Murray's new ranking: #2 in the world. For a few years now tennis has been pretty handly dominated by Federer and Nadal, with Djokavic rearing his head a bit. But now it seems there is new contester, Andy Murray, who looks to be in top form to take the US open. But this is the first time someone has talked about a player infiltraiting the Federer/Nadal regime. There were high talks of Djokavic doing the same--yet he turned to be an utter, cocky, disapointment.Yet Murray is different, he is playing consistantly good, and is consistantly improving. I suspect, while he may not hold his number 2 spot, he will continue to turn the gruesome twosome into...terrible threes.

However, before we start talking grand slams he will have to get by Del Potro who also happens to be playing the best tennis he has ever played. He to has talks of him contesting the likes of Fed consistantly. However, in this match up, while they might be hitting at the same potentcy and excellence, Murray will pull out and win Montreal. Why? Because he has more expirence as a player in tough situations. He will beat Del Potro in two contested sets, 6-4, 7-5.

Results: Montreal Semi-Finals

2009-08-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

This tournament has been exciting to watch, we had to wait for some upsets, but we finally got some. Here is what the draws look like:

4th round:
Federer[1] def. Warwinka 6-3 7-6(5)
Tsonga[7] def Simon [9] 6-3 6-3
Murray [3] def. Ferrero 6-3 6-1
Davydenko[8] def Gonzales [11] 7-6(2) 7-5
Roddick [5] def Verdasco [10] 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(5)
Djokavic [4] def Youzhny 6-3 6-4
Del Potro [6] def Hanescu 3-6 6-3 6-4
Nadal [2] def Petzchner 6-3 6-2

Quarterfinals:
Tsonga [7] def. Federer 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(3)
Murrray[3] def. Davydenko[8] 6-2 6-4
Roddick [5] def Djokavic[4] 6-4 7-6(4)
Del Potro[6] def Nadal [2] 7-6(5) 6-1

Semifinal:
Murray [3] def. Tsonga [7] 6-4 7-6(8)
Del Potro[6] def. Roddick[5] 4-6 6-2 7-5

Tips: How to properly teach your kid how to play tennis

2009-08-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

Teaching your child tennis can be one of the most rewarding and valuable experiences in your life, and theirs. You are granted the joys of watching your kid play, run, learn, and succeed; while your child is granted knowledge that will last him a life time. Unfortunately, most parents simply do not have enough knowledge as a tennis player or an athlete, to really help their kid succeed nor enjoy the sport enough to continue playing tennis as a hobby. To put it bluntly, this article will help; it will teach you the fundamentals of teaching your kid tennis, so you can teach the fundamentals of tennis to your kid.

Here is the most important thing a parent can do before putting their kid on the court, or in any athletic setting for that matter. Stretch your kid out. You want to stretch your kid for at least 5-10 minutes. Not only well this help prepare proper athletic habbits for them in the future, but it will prevent them from injuring themselves on the court. Make them run as well. Get their heart rate up, get them energized to play tennis. If they don't want to run, make it a game--chase them, race them, gie them incentives to run. At the same time this can be used conversly and you can threaten them by taking away certain privledges they have on the court. Here is a disclaimer: make all threats and incentives tennis related--dont include your home life on the court. Also be weary about using threats on the court, use them as a last resort--you want your child to think tennis is fun.

Teach them about tennis rules, but just teach them the basics at first. Show them where the baseline is, the singles line, the service line, the net, the center line. Tell them the ball has to go over the net. Like I said, the basics. You can include more rules such as foot faulting, where to serve, and other things of that nature, but for now the basics are appropriate because its easier to remember. At first they may not remember these rules, but if you continue to go over them before you get on the court, they will eventually learn them. You can also quiz them for prizes or other incentives depending on how many they get right. Incentives should always be tennis related-- such playing games at the end of practice

Next on the agenda, is the grip. The grip is vital to their learning experience. If you teach them the proper grip they will make better contact with the ball more often and simply succeed more. Here is how: first hold their racket by the head, and turn it on the side so the strings are not facing the floor. You should not be touching the grip. Tell them to "shake hands with the racket". That is the grip they should use, it is called the continental grip. As you progress your child and teach them in more depth about topspin, you may want to change their grip to a semi-western--to do this you turn the racket face so it becomes "closed". However, that is another article.

To further help them succeed more in their first few practices, conduct hand-eye coordination workouts. This should be fun for your kid and it will help them make better contact with the ball sooner. To begin your hand-eye coordination workouts, have them bounce the ball on their rackets, or dribble the ball with their rackets on the ground. The ball in either drill should not be bouncing very high at all. Do this before every practice. Try to make it fun for them, make a game out of it. Bet them they can't make it up to a certain number, and have them try to reach it. Kids, in their playful nature, will gladly take you on. If your kid already has good hand-eye coordination, or has improved since your workouts started, have them move on to more advanced bounces. Have them turn the racket face 180 degrees per bounce (the ball should hit both sides), have them put a spin on the ball while bouncing, or my personal favorite, have them bounce the ball on the frame of the racket. If your kid is struggling with the basic exercises, start out by just bouncing the ball and catching it with their hands, or throwing the ball up and catching it with their hands. Give them lots of praise, as confidence is key.

Now you are ready to hit with your kid, but before you do, teach them the ready position. The ready position is where you are facing forward shoulders parallel to the net with your knees bent. The racket should be up and both hands should be on the racket. They should be in this position before they hit any ball.

Once they master the ready position, have them come up to the net for volleys. The reason we do volleys instead of groundstrokes first is simple: volleys are easier than ground strokes at this level. Have them stand close to net, and tell them to make a "stop sign" with their racket. What this should mean is "put your racket up". The racket head should be well above their wrist. Tell them to watch the ball when they hit, and to try to hit the logo on the center of the racket (the big P on prince rackets). Try to phrase it like "Hit the big P for a Perfect shot!". Emphasize clearance over the net. In other words tell them to "make a rainbow over the net with the ball" Yeah, these lines are cheesy but it will get through to them. Also instruct them to step forward with their opposition leg (if their forehand is their left side, they should be stepping with their right and visa versa). When they step their body should be turned so their side is facing the net. When they are about to hit tell them to yell a fun phrase like "Splat!" at contact. Stand on the other side of the net, and toss them balls on the forehand side. This drill helps them watch the ball, and works on their hand-eye coordination. If they have trouble have them hold the ball and hit it over the net themselves until their hand-eye is better. Once they master the forehand volley have them move on to the backhand volley. The grip on the backhand volley is tricky, it will be the same grip you use on the back hand. You want your kid to have two hands on the racket. Have them hold the racket in continental grip with their strong hand. The weak hand goes on top of the strong hand. Make sure the weak hand is turned correctly. The palm should be on the flat of the grip. To see if your kid is holding the racket right, look at their strong hand' s knuckles, it should be facing the opposite direction the weak hand knuckles are, more or less. Do the same drill you performed with the forehand volley. When your kid gets good, have them stand in ready position and throw them balls to either the backhand or forehand without warning. This forces them to get back into ready position after each hit. With both step 6 and 7, make this fun for your kid. Give them encouraging words like "Nice Shot" etc. Also, if you get hit, pretend it hurts, it lets them laugh and gives confidence they are hitting the ball hard like on t. v. Try making a game out of it, tell them to get 10 in a row. Or begin feeding with a racket, or volleying back their shots (if your volleys are good enough to give them a nice easy hit).

Now they are used to hitting the ball, have them hit some groundstrokes with you.All grips on both the backhand and forehand are the same as well as the stepping motion. When they hit a ground stroke, tell them they should either be "Making a C" or be "bringing their racket from low to high". Both encourages and forces your kid to hit with proper topspin. I like telling your kid to make a "C" with the racket because it helps them learn to bring the racket back and prepare for the shot. What making a C means is when they bring their racket back, the motion should resemble a C. Emphasize the contact point. The contact point should be around the abdomen just a little in front your kid. You still want to emphasize making a "rainbow over the net", stepping into the ball, and hitting the logo on the strings. Instead of saying "step/hit", now the kid should say "Bounce" as the ball bounces in front of them and "Hit" when contact is made at the contact point. Have them drop the ball in front of them and hit the ball. Once they get the hang of that, feed them balls from across the net. again make games with them to keep the lesson fun. Give incentives for doing well, and encouragement if they struggle. When your kid get good, start feeding with your racket, and start rallying with them (don't spin the ball however). When you start rallying with them play "Beat the pro (or parent in this case)" where you kid tries to take a point off you. Give them a prize every time they win, like you doing push-ups or something. However, that's up to you!

Now comes the hard part: serving. First have them practice their toss by tossing a ball up above their head in front of them. Keep practicing until their toss is good enough for them to not move and still be able to catch the ball. As for serving, tell them to put their racket behind their back like they are "scratching their back". This is how they should start serving every time. Have them extend their racket above their shoulder so they are reaching up as high as they can. This is their contact point for the serve. End the service motion there. Tell them they should be hitting the ball when they toss at the highest point they can with out jumping. They should still be hitting the logo, and be making a rainbow. Start at the service line with the goal of just getting it over the net. Work your way back to the baseline as your kid gets better. Serving is a hard thing to grasp for a kid. You want to be encouraging so they don't get discouraged, because they will at times. Make sure you focus on clearance over the net, nothing else, and your kid will get better--that's the time you talk about direction, placing, spin, etc.

All these tips, however, mean nothing if you don't shape their attitude towards success and failure. This is why I cautioned you earlier to be weary about incentives and threats. You want to shape their attitude towards tennis to be fun, but at the same time they need to realize its not free time. This way they will continue to strive to improve through practicing and drills, but enjoy it at the same time.

Analysis: Federer blows it in Montreal

2009-08-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Its simple really. The serve, Federer just didn't serve well, especially in the 3rd set. Lets start with the tie breaker.

In the first set tie breaker Federer only made 2 first serves. While he didnt double fault, and nobody is doubting he has a potent second serve, his low first serve percentage hurt him. If you look back at Wimbledon this year, Federer was serving out of his mind. What happened when Federer serves well is that he gets very easy points, and he gains the momentum from his serve to cause the necessary break. In the first set tiebreaker, he was letting Tsonga dictate the rally, not because he wasn't potent enough of a striker, or even because Tsonga was hitting the ball better than Federer, it was because he wasn't serving well. Because he wasn't winning the easy points on his serve, he wasn't able to make those Federer like plays we love on the break.

None-the-less, somehow he gets to 5-1 in the third...and blows it. Very un-Federer like. Again, however, because of his serve. He wasnt recieving the easy points on the serve, and he let Tsonga in the rally. We all know Tsonga is a striker, and the last thing you want to do is get into a rally with him where Tsonga is on the advantage, because he has the ability to strike the ball with exceptional power, and move the ball around the court with exceptional finesse. The way to beat him? Get him on the defensive quick...what better way to do that then off the serve. Unfortunately for Federer he just didn't connect with his serve. That was his downfall.

Tips: High Percentage Tennis

2009-08-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

I wrote this ehow article on hp tennis so I thought I would share with you, you can view the article here.

Consistency is the key to tennis. The way you win matches is getting the ball over the net one more time than the opponent. The concept is simple, but some people forget sometimes, especially when they are down in a match. When you are down in a match, the key isn't to gain momentum by going for bigger shots, its to hit high percentage to get your confidence and your momentum back up. Hp tennis will help you stay aggressive throughout the match while keeping your consitancy high as well. Here are the basics of HP tennis.

*The first thing you need to understand is that the tennis net is higher near the doubles alley. So if angles strategy wasn't part of the game hitting down the middle is the best shot to hit because its the highest percentage shot.

However, strategy is part of the game, and the ball is hit at different angles. The natural angle your body is designed to hit the ball is cross court. So when the ball is hit down the middle go across court. Not only is natural, but the ball is traveling over the lowest part of the net as well.

*When the ball is hit down the line, you change the direction of the ball. Normally people think the high percentage thing to do is hit it straight. That's wrong. The high percentage shot is to change the direction of the ball. Not only is it more consistent, but it makes your opponent move as well.

*A flatter ball may be faster, but its less constant. You want to hit with lots of spin. There is a famous quote in tennis, " It's better to hit the ball six feet over than one inch under." An example of this is Rafael Nadal, who clears the net by a body length sometimes and is the most consistent player on tour. He also number 2 in the world. Hit with lots of spin to for good clearance of the net.This goes along with the previous step. Hit with lots of clearance. Aim for no-mans land not the baseline. If you hit with spin, your shot will still be just as effective if not more so if you were to try to paint the lines. If you give yourself a larger margin of error you will make less errors, naturally.

I realize most of you reading this already know much, if not all of this. I will release a more advanced, in depth, hp blog soon.

Results: Montreal - Rodgers Cup

2009-08-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

So far this years Rodgers Cup has been pretty conventional. The top 11 seeds have advanced to the 3rd round, and no major upsets have been delivered. The only upset that has been dealt was to Tommy Robredo (15) in his 7-5 6-3 loss against unseeded Phillip Petzschener from Germany. However, the lack of upsets is not to say there hasn't been good tennis. In the second round, Federer fought off a tough Canadian wild card 7-6(3) 6-4, while Novak Djokavic fought off an unseeded Peter Polansky from Canada 7-6(6) 6-4. The only person who has truely had a cakewalk is Rafael Nadal (2). Nadal recieved a bye the first round and was set to play his fellow countryman David Ferrer when he retired due to injury at 4-3 in the first set, advancing Nadal to the 3rd round without completing a set.

Keep your eye on the following match ups for the 3rd round for some good tennis:

Nikolay Davydenko (8) vs. Fernando Gonzales (11)
Giles Simon (9) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (7)
Rodger Federer (1) vs. Stanislaus Warwinka

Tips: 5 Tips to Winning a Tie-Breaker

2009-08-11T02:28:00.001-07:00

Note: I originally wrote this post on ehow but I figured it would be appropriate to add it here too.

Are you choking up when your match gets to a tie breaker? Don't know what your doing wrong or how to fix your tiebreak record? A tiebreaker can be one of the most heart-wrenching moments in a tennis match. It can either be the deciding factor in who wins, or it can switch the momentum to your opponent--or you. So in honor of Juan Martin Del Potro beating Roddick in a third set tie breaker, here are 5 easy tips winning one.

Before the point

Take deep breaths. Do not get nervous. You are just as good as your opponent or you wouldn't be in this situation. Never fear your opponent, or be scared to make your shots. Think about your opponents weakness--does he/she have a week backhand? How are their vollys? Serves? You will need to exploit these weaknesses during the tiebreak.

Starting the point

Serve a high percentage serve with a lot of spin. A perfect serve would be to slice or kick the serve out wide. The serve should be just a bit more potent than your second serve (if you have a decent second serve). If you can, kick the ball to the weaker hand of the opponent. If your returning, you want to hit nice solid return, but do not blast the ball. The goal is just to get the point started. As the points go on, and your lead becomes bigger, you can hit out on your serve, or return, more.

During the point:

When the point starts, hit in high percentage patterns. Don't be afraid to hit out, however that doesn't mean go for lines. You want to hit nice deep balls with lots of spin. The balls should land somewhere in no-mans land. Use your spin to put yourself on the offense by moving your opponent around. Be patient, do be in a rush to attack. Keep working your opponent in high percentage patterns. Its not wise to go for the big shot during the rally off the baseline. Its low percentage and it will bring your confidence down if you miss--not to mention put you behind in the breaker. These are things you can't afford, because points are limited.

Attacking

Attack all short balls. The ideal situation is to hit the approach off the short ball. If not, be sure to step in to the ball and add a bit more pace when your opponent gives you a short ball. Not only will it put you on a greater offensive, but it will let your opponent know he is on the verge of losing the point, chances are he will feel like he is forced into a situation where he has to go for broke, or you get another, shorter, ball. Also, when you attack, attack the opponents weaker side more than usual. Usually its the backhand. Chances are, your opponent is nervous too, and will choke up on his weaker stroke. Either he will generate a lot of errors, or he will push the ball over the net. Either way its good for you.

Intangibles:

Even if you get down in the tiebreaker, think positive and act positively. It doesn't hurt to through a fist pump once in a while to pump your self up. Also, it creates pressure for your opponent, and will likely cause him to lose his composure if he senses your still confident.

Also play extra high percentage the first two points. Chances are your opponent feels the pressure and will be hitting out, creating errors. If you win the first two points, you have the momentum in your direction, and your opponent will seems he is more behind than he really is. If you win the first two points, go ahead and hit out a little more and go for more. It will add more pressure on your opponent, and take off some pressure on yourself.

Gear: Strings - Technifibre Poly Spin 1.275

2009-08-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of technifibre strings. I used technifibre spinfire for 2 years before experimenting again--they stopped selling reels of it on tennis-warehouse. Lucky for me, I came across this technifibre string. So here is my breakdown of this string:

Durability: 5/5 - I used the 16L guage, and it held up very well. I've put in around 15 hours of hitting with Wilson Sensation on the crosses. The crosses broke before the mains do. I checked the groves after cutting the string just to see how close the strings were to breaking. I can't say there were no grooves, but these strings could easily last another 15-20 hours without snapping. For anyone who is not at tournament caliber, these strings will last you a lifetime.

Feel(ability): 2.5/5 - I never cared to much about feel, but if you do you might not like these strings. Keep in mind I also am using this on a pretty soft synthetic cross--Wilson Sensation . This string is a little rough, but what polyester isn't? I know a lot of players i know like the feel of this string because in their words " they can feel themselves hitting the ball". I actually agree. But for my older crowd, be weary of this string, its no pillow. I suggest stringing it up on Wilson Reflection or Wilson Sensation.

Playability : 4.5/5 - Great playability. It plays similar to Endoro, except with quite a bit more spin. So if you brush the ball a lot, this string is good for you. It also has a lot of pop, but the good thing about this, is the spin it allows you to generate compensates for it. Maybe it suites the way I hit, but other reviews argue the same. It works really well for both a flat serve and kick serve. It is, however, a bit too much pop for volleys. If you are a a serve and volleyer and you like to play cute at times, be weary, this doesn't have the finesse to drop your volley. Thats the only downfall.

String(ability) : 3/5 - While stringing it is easy cheesy. I was a little worried about the string when i clamped it. Maybe its my clamps, but the string sort of indented. I have seen this happen to other poly strings, but I am not sure it reduces the quality of the string or not. It didn't feel like it.

Cost: $4.50 on Tennis-warehouse
Used with: Babolat Pure Team Drive
Strung at: 63 lbs

Results: Legg Mason Tennis Classic Finals

2009-08-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Juan Martin Del Potro upset Roddick, and my blog, and took out Roddick in three sets, 3-6 7-5 7-6(6). The craziest part is, he also won the third set in a tie-breaker. Maybe next time Roddick.

Tips: Getting back into tennis

2009-08-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

Tennis, like all sports, takes practice. Lots of it. Its no surprise that when competitive players take a break due to injury, personal life etc. they are frustrated at their level of play when they return. However, you actually don't lose as much as you think.

One common misconception is you lose your strokes. Often I find that hard to believe. Your ground strokes, if you have been playing long enough, are etched into your muscles through something call muscle memory. It put it bluntly, its something you don't forget easily. So why are you missing so many shots? Why is your ball lighter? Simple, your footwork and your stamina.

The Stamina part is simple. When you get fatigued you over compensate with your arms, or you begin to change your stroke to make up for the lack of power or pop. The result? Nothing good.

As for the footwork, well its just like in tennis 101. Footwork is the basis of your game, and its the first thing that goes. If your footwork is not there, your strokes aren't. If you have to constantly adjust your strokes to make up for your footwork, its no wonder you balls fly out, or get shanked, or into the net. So how do you avoid the returner's rut?

Staying in shape definitely wont hurt, but just because your in the shape you were doesn't mean your going to avoid the rut. What you really need to do is A) footwork drills for 10 minutes before you go out to hit and B) really concentrate on your footwork as your hitting. Trust me the strokes will be there, the footwork wont. You need to pay special attention to it for the first week or so you begin hitting, and I guarantee you will see you game where it was in no time.

Tips: Learn the technique-Where the pace comes from

2009-08-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Unless you were raised on a tennis camp, chances are somewhere in your tennis career you have run into this problem. Maybe you have the problem still. I see more and more young, or inexperienced players, trying to crank that big shot. While that's all and well, their constancy drops like a fly. Absolutely plummets. Even if they work at slapping the big shot, their consistency is still never good enough to compete at level beyond where their at (Usually a 3.5/4.0 or a Challanger level in the juniors). There reason is because when inexperienced players try to crack the ball they muscle it through with their arm...and only their arm. Thats a no no.

Here is what I suggest. Spend sometime working on technique, and the pace will come. Its not about how fast you swing, or how hard you swing. It's about what muscles you use. If you dont believe me, go out and play with one of the top 12 and under or 14 and under boys. I guarantee you will be surprised at how well they handle pace, create pace, and how they can engineer a point. The reason the top kids can generate that much pace for their size, or can reflect that much power, is because they know what muscles to use. So, here are a few tips to help you hit harder without swinigng faster.

1) Step in to the ball. Power is all about weight transfer. When you step into your shot, your tranfering your weight, and using all your core and leg power to fuel your shot.

2) Rotate your hips. This goes along with stepping into the shot, except in open stance. When you cant step in, swing your hips around into the shot. So for example if your right handed, swing your right hip into the court as your hitting.
Look at the video of Roger hitting his forehands and look at his hips. Every shot he either steps in or rotates his hips.

3) Watch the ball: This one is simple, a clean hit is generates more power than a shank

4) Break your wrist before you hit: Look back up at the Federer video. If you look closely his wrist breaks and his racket face drops below his wrist and under the ball before he hits. Every player no matter from what country does this. Never mind the extra wrist power you get, its the topspin you really want. Breaking your wrist forces your hand to naturally add topspin to your shot by accelerating through the ball during your follow through. It not only allows you to hit harder, more consistently but it forces you to hit a heavier ball.

Analysis: 3 reasons Andy Roddick will beat Juan Martin Del Potro in the Legg Mason Classic.

2009-08-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

Despite losing in straight sets last fall in LA to Del Potro, Roddick chances of winning in Washington are looking pretty good. Why? Well here are three reasons:

1) Momentum: Roddick may not of played exceptionally well in this tournament, but overall, he riding on a wave of momentum after his run at Wimbledon. If you know anything about tennis, you know how key momentum can be. He is serving better, not in terms of power or speed, or even consistency, but rather accuracy. His groundstrokes are more pentrating, but most all he is moving exceptionally well...that is by his standards.

2) Juan Martin Del Potro inconsitant: The last time these two met Del Potro returned very well, and was incredibly consistent. However, lately his groundstrokes, and especially his returns have been shakey. Despite pulling off a win against Gonzales he commited 29 unforced errors in two sets. Roddick will take advantage of that.

3) Roddicks racket: Okay, so this one might be fluff. But damn that thing looks cool!

Results: Legg Mason Tennis Classic Semi-Finals

2009-08-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

Number 1 seed Andy Roddick scraped away with a win against the unseeded John Isner in the semi-finals. Isner played much better than expected yet could not come away with win losing in three sets, 6-7(3) 6-2 7-5.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket after a close first set number 2 seed Juan Martin Del Potro handily took the match against number four seed Fernando Gonzales 7-6(6) 6-3. Gonzales later would admit he never recovered mentally in the second set after losing the first set tie-break at 6 points.