The Many Rewards of Tennis

When a team wins their ALTA or USTA division, a City or State Championship, they are awarded bag tags, plates, towels and/or various other paraphernalia. We’re not professional athletes and there’s no money involved (at least I don’t think there is;-) but that doesn’t mean that most players don’t try their best to win these inexpensive spoils of our recreational sport. In fact, some try a bit too hard for a few dollars worth of plastic, metal or glass etc.

Having been a part of some teams that have achieved various levels of success over the past 11 years, I can tell you that what I remember most is not the reward hardware, but the people I’ve played with and, to some extent, against. Because, when it’s all said and done, the friendships developed and the positive memories are what remain; these are what mean the most to me.

Sure, I can recall matches that I lost which were heartbreaking, either because of my own mistake (or limitations) on a key point, or a questionable line call by my opponent, but I’ve tried my best to forget these momentary lapses. Unfortunately, I can also remember times when my actions on the court did not do me proud, in which I embarrassed myself (and perhaps my partner or teammates) with bad behavior. But I’ve forgiven myself for these moments of “temporary insanity” and have tried and will continue to make amends by being a better player, opponent, and teammate in the future. For the most part, adopting a "play well" versus "play-to-win" philosophy has done the trick.

But as I think back and reflect on the 50 or so ‘seasons’ of Atlanta tennis I’ve played, the overwhelming majority of my thoughts are of my fellow teammates, not specific matches or accomplishments. I’ve learned so much in the company of others, and the camaraderie when working towards a common goal with purpose. I can also remember those opponents who were particularly at ease with themselves and their abilities (which may have been less or more than my own) and the home captains, whose focus was on hospitality, and treating our team as guests.

Because what we share as tennis players is a love and a passion for our game, the sound of a racquet hitting the ball cleanly, the vision of a winner hit perfectly into the open court (vs. at an opponent), to cheer (and be cheered) for each other, win or lose, the nervous energy before and the adrenaline rush during a match – both of which we hope to channel for our benefit vs. our detriment, the competitive nature of our sport particularly when our skills are most evenly matched with our opponent(s), and yes, the euphoria of winning, but also the social aspect of the entire experience.

It doesn’t really matter what the prize is for a team or an individual achievement on the court, because the other rewards of tennis are so much greater.

Our USTA/Southern Georgia League State Championships victory - the nitty-gritty details

How to begin? I’ve just sat down to tell the story of our championship weekend in Augusta, and I’m struggling to find the words to describe it. I guess because the reality – emotions and gratitude for it all – is still sinking in. We are Georgia State Champions!

The journey to our great adventure began last Thursday. Most of our team of fourteen (out of eighteen) arrived in Augusta, Georgia on Thursday night; it’s about a two and a half hour drive from Atlanta. Our hotel had a welcoming meal for us and, after a quick bite; we decided to hit the courts for a practice hit before bed. Nearby were some public courts in a park which left much to be desired: of the 3 courts, only one had a net strap, and it had to be adjusted so that the center of the net was at its correct 36” height. Unfortunately, there were no lights, so after warming up and playing a couple of 4 game “sets”, we went in search of another facility, but came up empty. Still, we decided to return the next morning to warm-up and play a few tiebreakers before heading to the Fleming Tennis Center for our first match, which was to start at 11:30 AM.

Our first opponents were from Bainbridge (SW Georgia, near Florida) and they couldn’t be nicer. The matches weren’t terribly competitive (their team ended up winning only 1 line all weekend) which was good since it was the first tournament experience for several on our team. My partner and I, who had played in Augusta last year though not together, raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set before some sloppiness – which led to a few tight shots – crept in, but we closed it out comfortably 7-5, 6-2. This was the only match my partner or I played (so Mom, you can stop reading now;-)

Our second match was scheduled for 4 PM at the Newman Tennis Center, where the quarterfinals, semifinals & finals would be played at the end of the tournament. We didn’t play at Newman last August, so this was my first time at the facility. It’s huge: at least eighteen hard-courts including a “center” stadium court. In fact, our line 1 played – but unfortunately lost – their match on the stadium court. It was a terrific battle, however, which culminated in a Coman tiebreak as the third set.

The Coman is different from the standard 12-point tiebreaker – first one to 7 points by 2, switching sides after every six points – in that it maintains the established server sides until it’s concluded. In other words, you maintain the same server order but switch sides after the first point is served, and then after every four points are played such that everyone serves their tiebreaker points from the same side that they served from during the match. It’s really quite ingenious even if it throws off everyone at first. The state tournament was setup with Coman tiebreaks for the first two sets, if necessary, first to 7 by 2, and a 10-point – first team to win ten points, by two – Coman tiebreak in lieu of a third set to keep the matches moving along given all the teams and levels in the tournament. For what it’s worth, there were 30 teams at our 7.0 level (the most teams at any single level), ten 6.0 teams, twenty-five 8.0 teams, nine 9.0 teams and 20 Senior mixed teams across the four levels for a total of 94 teams in Augusta … I’m sure their hotel and restaurant businesses were pleased.

Unfortunately we also lost line 2 via a third set Coman tiebreaker, but we won line 3 so we were still in the hunt after the first day. We “celebrated” at the Wild Wings Café not too far from where most of us were staying at the Homewood Suites, whose staff was very friendly and accommodating throughout the weekend.

Our first match on Saturday was to be at the Diamond Lakes Tennis Center in Hephzibah, GA, about eight miles south of Augusta’s Interstate 520 loop. We had to get up early to eat and have a chance to warm-up before making the trek south for our 9:30 AM match. When we got there, we saw our Atlanta city finalist rival playing their 8 AM match already, but we stayed focused and won all three lines. Line 2 was over fairly quickly and line 1 had to fight hard to take their first set before cruising somewhat in the second, but line 3 turned into a real battle. We won the first set 6-4 but fought from behind in the second and avoided a Coman tiebreak by winning it 7-5. Our line 3 man – having played in all three matches thus far – had looked exhausted in the blistering heat of the late morning, but he somehow found a fifth gear just in time to close it out with his ever steady partner. Diamond Lakes is a terrific facility, but unfortunately there is no place to hide from the sun and the 90+ degree heat took its toll.

Our next match was scheduled at Fleming for 2 PM, and it was now 11:30 AM, so there really wasn’t much time to cool down and refuel. This is where having a large and deep team would start to pay dividends. Our captain, who had the challenging job of putting together eight lineups over 4 days, put four fresh players on the court – including herself, though reluctantly – such that we were able to repeat our morning’s result and take all 3 lines. There was a lighting delay then a rain delay but, having a large team, we were able to rest our players, who didn’t have to participate in the squeegee patrol. The real battle was at line 1, where our captain was paired with the man that had played at line 1 in the oppressive heat of the morning. However, they were both up to the task, coming from 3 points behind in the third set’s Coman tiebreak to win it, and we no longer had to fear the funky third set format!

We were not only back in the hunt, we were in first place – though in a 3-way match win tie – meaning we controlled our destiny from here on out. We CELEBRATED in a couple of ways. Firstly it was the 40th birthday month of one of our players, and secondly we wanted to show our appreciation for our captain, who’d led us to a city championship, a division championship, a city final, and two trips to the Georgia state championships over the course of three seasons in 18 months. We convened in one of the suites, had our cake and ate it too, and played the game Taboo. A good time was had by all and it was a team building, team bonding experience that I’ll not soon forget. Life is good!

Sunday morning, we knew that we had our work cut out for us; we’d have to win to advance to the state quarterfinals that afternoon, and we were to play another Atlanta-based team that had the same record in the tournament as us. We were scheduled to play at Fleming (for the third time) at 9:30 AM, so we had to get up early again to eat and warm-up before heading south. Our line 1 team played a husband and wife pairing that was very good, but they were more than equal to the task. Their man kept drilling the ball at our line 1 lady, but she was able to take his pace, and volley it away. Our line 1 man covered the backcourt, where he was able to direct the ball, using angles and lobs to enable a straight set win. However, there were hard fought battles underway at lines 2 & 3. Though we’d taken the first line 2 set fairly easily, our opponents were just getting warmed up; they battled back from 1-4 down in the second to make it 6 all. We were in control of the second set Coman from the get go, but our pairing had some demons to exorcise from their lost third set Coman on Friday afternoon, which they did in spectacular fashion to clinch our spot in the state quarterfinals!

Again, there was a quick turnaround and, again, having fresh legs was our advantage. Although we had the same line 1 as that morning, our captain was able to play four different players at lines 2 & 3, and the line 2 match ended up being the match of the tournament. It pitted (my opinion) our two best 3.5 level players against perhaps their best pairing of 3.5 players. The first set, which was rain delayed for less time than the previous day’s matches, was so tight and long that our line 3 nearly finished winning their straight set match before it was over. Our line 2 team took it in a set-ending Coman tiebreak. The second set, during which our tired line 1 team lost their match, was also very tight and long. Halfway through it, everyone on both teams in addition to many from potential semifinal opponents – including our Atlanta rival’s entire team – were watching and cheering for one side or the another on virtually every point. Our opponent was a local Augusta team, so there were literally dozens of fans; unfortunately, some were less friendly than others (it’s the only USTA match I’ve ever been to that felt like a more typically nasty ALTA match). When our opponents prevailed 6-4, the inevitable third set Coman loomed, but so did another rainstorm: lightning flashed and thunder crackled in the distance. I’m not making this up, it looked for all intents and purposes that it was going to rain again during the players’ break after the second set. In fact, I heard later that the official was about to call for a delay. But the third set tiebreaker began and it didn’t start well for us. I’ll confess now that I then bowed my head, put my hands together and prayed, not for victory, but for energy ("Dear God our Father, please allow our players to play to the best of their ability" and also "Thy will be done"), that’s all. When we won, our team erupted, some of which was relief that we’d kept our hotel rooms;-)

We'd made it to the semifinals of the state tournament and, though every one of us should be happy with that result – two steps further than the year before – I got a sense that this was a team of destiny when I saw that we’d be playing a team that had finished second in their division while our Atlanta rival would be matched against the team that had yet to lose in the tournament.

Monday morning was just what the doctor ordered: a cooler day without a chance of rain, with two of our matches scheduled on courts that would be in shade through much of their first sets and the other on stadium court, and a tired opponent that had yet to play a team outside of their division, meaning they weren’t as battle tested as we were. For the most part, it was quick and easy for all three lines, but there was a mano-a-mano battle going on between our 4.0 man, paired with our 3.0 lady, and their (now) 4.5 level man (paired with their captain) at line 3. Throughout the first set, both men played each other, for the most part, instead of taking advantage of the other’s weaker partner, as if both decided to test the other, taking their best shots to see what kind of response they’d get; his incredible one-handed backhand against our player’s unparalleled court coverage. There was one exchange in which both men somehow returned the other’s hard hit shot time and again, each blasting away until our opponent got to the net and made a drop shot off an impossibly dipping forehand, which caused our guy to sprint to the net to shake his hand in congratulations. Appropriately, the match was played on the stadium center court. Those that watched were treated to a showcase of two very talented tennis-playing gentlemen (not to take anything away from their female partners, each of whom had some impressive winners of their own) doing their best by giving it their all, while respecting and appreciating the other’s ability. It was certainly a pleasure to watch!

So, we made it to the finals, which were to be played at noon, and it wasn’t even 9:30 yet (the semifinals started at 8 AM). Our would-be opponent was going to be tired, either way, because all three lines were going to a third set Coman. Our captain had the luxury of going with the hot hand, playing one line that was 3-1 for the weekend, another that was 4-1 and a third that was undefeated (4-0!), and all three pairings had won their semifinal match that morning. At this point I need to mention the fact that our line 1 man was about to play his sixth consecutive match (and his partner her fourth consecutive match)! That’s right, he’d played twice in Saturday’s oppressive heat, winning both times with different partners, and in both of Sunday’s matches, losing the latter because he had to have been gassed (taking nothing away from their opponents), and again that morning in the semifinals, which was fortunately a quick match. I have no idea how he was still standing on his feet, but once I saw him springing up for overheads during the first set of the finals, I knew he – and we – would be alright. By the way, our Atlanta rival lost, so we were to play the only undefeated team (also from the Atlanta area, but somehow in a different division) in the finals.

High noon was soon to arrive and, after returning to the hotel to checkout and rest however briefly, it was almost time for the finals. Of course, we had to have our pictures taken in front of the sponsor van, during which the photographer said that she’d never seen such a large team, but then it was time to “do the darn thing”. During warm-up, as I myself had said that morning, one of my teammates said to me that he was feeling good (about our chances). We jumped out rather quickly to 4-1 at lines 1 and 2, but line 3 trailed by the same. Our least rested pairing actually played the best match, winning first and notching the first of our two needed points. The first set of line 2 drew to 4-3 before our team got back on track to take it 6-3. Meanwhile, our line 3 pair had evened their set, which was eventually decided in our favor via yet another Coman. So we had one match in the bag, and the first two sets of lines 2 & 3 – which were being played side-by-side on 2 courts fenced – in our pocket. Yes indeed, we were feeling good. Again, our line 2 raced to a 4-1 lead, but by this time they were playing inspired tennis and would not be denied; they held to make it 5-1 and then the drama began. In what must have been a 10 deuce game, with the majority of those going to ad-in (so that we’d have to serve it out, e.g. to win 6-2), our man – playing in the ad-court – hit backhand after backhand, including some that were down-the-line winners, to save game points until he finally sliced a return-of-serve cross-court and short (video), which his serving opponent was unable to retrieve, to win it.

As you may have read here already, we advanced to the USTA/Southern League Tennis Mixed Doubles State Championships by winning our division, and winning three rounds of playoffs to make it to the city finals, which earned us an automatic invitation to the tournament. There were eighteen players on our team; everyone contributed to this accomplishment. This past weekend, fourteen of us traveled to Augusta, where we won 7 of 8 matches (19 out of 24 lines, almost 80%); each of the thirteen players that played at state won at least one match (the fourteenth was “Coach”), so it was a total team effort.

On to Sectionals: October 14-16 in Macon, Georgia.

We are the Champions, my friend

After playing eight 3 line matches over 4 days against tough competition in the extreme heat & humidity of Augusta, Georgia, our team - 14 strong - won the USTA League Tennis Mixed Doubles State Championships!

Unfortunately it's late, and I don't have time to blog about it tonight. However, I did want to post this news and hope to have a chance to fully update you soon - with pictures and commentary - on how we did it.

Thanks for all your best wishes!

The Georgia State Mixed Doubles Championships start Friday!

That’s right, the date is almost (finally) here! Most of our USTA League Tennis Mixed Doubles 7.0 Team is headed for the State Championships in Augusta today, for this weekend’s tournament.

In case you’ve just started reading this blog, I’ve detailed how we earned our chance to compete for the State of Georgia title, to earn a chance to compete in the USTA’s Sectional tournament, already here. If you’re interested, you can follow the events of this weekend’s event through a special website that our state’s USTA organization has established … or you can wait until Monday, when I’m sure to update this blog with our results.

Wish us luck!

How to plan a round-robin social tennis event

This is kind of a redo of my earlier post How (not) to plan a round-robin tennis tournament. We had some success the second (and third) time around with a “new system”, which was nothing like our first attempt.

The objective was to have an afternoon of mixed doubles tennis whereby every player would get to play for a couple of hours in a way that would minimize the duplication of partners and opponents while maximizing the fun! Ideally, everyone would get to play with a different partner every time, against a different opponent every time. My neighbor actually had an idea that worked great; there was virtually no duplication until the fifth and final rotation, and everyone got to play for a couple of hours. We even worked out a way to accommodate the fact that we had too many men, one late arriving lady, and some that got too hot or tired to continue. All in all, a great afternoon of tennis for all participants!

The key is having at least 3 courts and an equal number of men & women – for a set number of rotations – that add to a multiple of four: for example, 6 men & 6 women (adds to 12) on 3 courts, or 8 men & 8 women (16) for 4 courts. If you have more men than women (or vice versa), you could have a couple of people “double up” and play as a team, substituting one for the other after each rotation; this is a great way to find a place for late (or unexpected) arrivals, particularly if it’s a social vs. competitive event.

Start with mixed doubles pairings on each side of every court and play 4 games (everyone serves once), switching sides after 2 games, with no-ad scoring. If the teams end up tied 2 games to 2, spin a racquet to determine who gets to serve a tiebreaker point, which must be served either man-to-man or woman-to-woman. The winning team moves up one court (from court 1 to 2, 2 to 3, or 3 to 1 etc.); the losing team stays. Tally each player’s total on (e.g.) a dry erase board – if the winning team won 3-1, each player gets 3 points while each player on the losing team gets 1 (if they ended 2-2, every player gets 2 points; the racquet spin only determines who moves “up” a court). Wait until every court has finished and, after all the winning teams have moved to the next court, switch partners and start the next rotation. In 2 hours, you should be able to get in 4-6 rotations. If you choose (and you have some fun prizes), add up each player’s tally to determine a winner, or winners.

Even though it was another hot August day in Atlanta yesterday, we had a great time. We did have more men than women, a late arrival and some that wanted to stop early, but we were able to double up and/or substitute so that everyone got their fill and no one complained when it got time to award the (nominal) prizes. Again, as long as it’s a social event, this is a great system that allows everyone to play. Additionally, everyone was asked to contribute a small amount to pay for Gatorade, water and tennis balls, and to bring a snack/dish to share for after event cool down and socializing.

Nadal opens Twitter account

Is this big news? Well, I guess I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t think so given that this blog’s feed is posted to Twitter every time I write something here. For those who care, my handle is @atltennisblog (naturally;-)

According to Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation), Roger Federer is the only holdout among the ATP Top 5 to not be a part of Twitter. I do remember that the Fed posted pictures of his twins shortly after they were born, but I guess that was on his website vs. Twitter. In any case, Twitter is my way of keeping up with the latest insights from BG and Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill), in addition to each of the Grand Slam tournaments, the USTA, the ATP, Tennis Magazine (@tennis) and a few other interests I have. I don’t follow individual players, though I do seek out & read tweets from (e.g.) Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) at the end of a major tournament, out of curiosity. Andy Roddick (@andyroddick) used to tweet some funny stuff, but I think he’s lost his sense of humor. I also don’t solicit followers and am frequently amused by those who “follow” me for 24 hours, e.g. long enough to see if I’ll then “follow” them back. Kind of like my cellphone, I carry it so that I can reach you, not so you can reach me … and I can get quite annoyed when my Timeline gets cluttered up with posts by persons I haven’t explicitly chosen to follow. Perhaps those few that do follow me – for more than 24 hours – have found something in my biweekly posts that educates, amuses or enriches them in some way … and one of them is my U.S. Congressman!

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter is an important “channel”, but Google remains the primary way in which people have found this content, and it’s not even close (something like 30 to 1, traffic-wise).

Atlanta Tennis in August … and a few personal updates

August in Atlanta is HOT and HUMID, and playing tennis during this month is not for the faint of heart. The good news for ALTA & USTA members is that regular season tennis is suspended during the month; while playoffs, city finals and state championships are still underway or forthcoming, most players get a break during this hottest month of the summer unless they choose to play T2 or Ultimate Tennis, which is exactly what diehards like my partner and I have chosen to do.

My ALTA mixed team didn’t qualify for the playoffs, but our division’s winner will be playing in the city finals next Saturday. Our neighborhood ladies' USTA 3.5 team continues to play towards a city title and my USTA mixed team is looking forward to playing in the Georgia State Championships in Augusta in a couple of weeks. My men’s ALTA team has begun practicing for the fall season, starting September 10th, but I’ve yet to make it out per other commitments.

Since there was to be this lull in my tennis calendar between seasons, I decided to see if my men’s ALTA doubles partner – we won 5 matches and lost one 3-set match this spring – would like to strengthen our pairing for the fall. We thought about playing either T2 or Ultimate Tennis together from mid-July through the end of August, and decided that the latter was the better choice. In fact, it was a no-brainer given that T2 would have cost each of us $30 and Ultimate Tennis was “free” because of the PGA Superstore gift certificate offer. The downside is that T2 has a more mature league with (presumably) better level consistency and more matches/season, but Ultimate Tennis (IMO) has a better website and scheduling software.

Our first match was played against a couple of good individual players who didn’t appear to have much experience playing doubles together. Though we struggled at the beginning of the match as we learned of our opponents’ weaknesses, we won fairly quickly and easily – both of us made a lot of put-aways at the net. Our second match was played against a couple of veterans, on their courts, where they had significant crowd support (like an ALTA home match), but everyone was friendly and our opponents were very nice. One of them was stronger than the other who, despite being beat time and time again by my crosscourt forehand return at his feet, continued to rush the net after his first and second serves. The first set was tighter than the second, but the result was the same as our first match – a straight set victory which, in Ultimate Tennis, is worth more points than a mere (e.g. 3-set) win. Unfortunately our third opponent withdrew and we weren’t given the option of scheduling a sub, so we’ll get less points and – given a bye week – it’ll be a couple of weeks before our next match.

Since I’ve come to love my new racquet, I decided to order a backup from Tennis Warehouse, which had them on sale. I’m still slightly bothered by the hollow vibration in the handle and how quickly my strings have frayed relative to the racquet I used to play with, but I wanted to have a second racquet for “State” in case I need it. Lastly, I want to whine that my arthritis is no longer confined to my big toe, where it has “bothered” me for a decade – it inhibits me putting on and pulling off my left shoe – but has spread to my hands, neither of which I can fully close. It doesn’t affect my holding a racquet or my game as yet, but I don’t like what this ailment portends.

Hope all is well with you, your partner and your tennis this month!

Final thoughts on the 2011 ATC

I thoroughly enjoyed working at and attending this year’s Atlanta Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of the South. The experience of volunteering was fabulous: the volunteer coordinator for scorekeeping and court monitoring was exemplary, my fellow volunteers were friendly and professional and, as an attendee, the event was fantastic. You may have noticed that I’ve added a summary page of the tournament on the right-hand side of the page.

In other news, it was announced earlier this month that NBC lost its contract to broadcast Wimbledon – after 43 years! – to ESPN. While this is just another data point in the larger trend and transformation of television, particularly the coverage of sporting events, it’s possible that the dissatisfaction expressed by tennis fans (like me, in these pages) was heard by the “powers that be” at our sport’s most prestigious event. I will certainly miss being able to display the tournament’s middle and final weekend’s coverage on my basement wall with the over-the-air HD projector setup I have, but I also look forward to seeing more of the event’s matches and an end to the tape-delayed broadcasting I’ve ranted against more than once here.

August promises to be an exciting month of tennis, not just because it marks the culmination of the US Open Series with the start of the 2011 US Open on August 29th, but because it will feature my USTA 7.0 mixed doubles team’s second consecutive trip to the Georgia State Championships in Augusta.

Photos and video of the ATC 2011 final between Mardy Fish and John Isner

Sunday’s final at the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships was won by Mardy Fish over John Isner 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 which was a repeat of the 2010 ATC in more ways than one: Fish also lost the first set to Isner in last year’s final before prevailing in three, though the tiebreaker set was the last (instead of the middle) set of that match.

The match started unusually – a foot fault was called on Isner’s first serve, a let on the second (video) – before Fish won the match’s first point (video). But Isner broke Fish’s serve early in the first set, and held on to win it 6-3 by bouncing a serve over Fish’s head and extended racquet in ad court (video).

Isner squandered opportunities to win this year’s final in straight sets; he took a commanding 5-1 lead in the second set tiebreak, serving for it at 6-4 and receiving at 6-5. But Fish had a service winner to even it at 6-all (video), enabling Mardy to win the last 4 points, taking the tiebreaker 8-6, and the set 7-6, on Isner’s errant forehand (video), to even the match at one set all. Watching the second set transpire, it was obvious that the heat was beginning to affect the big man from the University of Georgia, who’d started conserving his energy during his opponent’s service games early in the set. Fish held a couple of consecutive service games at love before it was 4-all (and then 5-all) when a break for Isner would mean serving for the set and the match (and John stepped up his effort). It was readily apparent that, if Isner didn’t somehow manage to win the second set, he’d be done for the third (despite his marathon effort to win the longest match in history at Wimbledon 2010) … which is exactly how it played out. Fish won the third set easily, breaking Isner’s slowing serve twice, with a crosscourt forehand winner (video) 6-2.

Also played on Sunday at the Racquet Club of the South was the ATC doubles final, which was won by American Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Australian Matthew Ebden over Germany’s Matthias Bachinger and Frank “Franky” Moser 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 which featured a championship point that was also rather unique because Bachinger’s return of Bogomolov’s serve had to be verified by shot spot, resulting in a delayed celebration (video).

We had terrific seats for both matches, so terrific that the Atlanta newspaper’s cameraman setup right behind us and captured this photo of our backs. Ironically, Bill from Special Pops, who I'd seen earlier in the week, was sitting right in front of us, though he wasn't very happy about Isner's loss.

For those who've read my earlier account of the tournament, the tent in the upper right of the picture above is where the scorekeepers sit; the bottom level (down to the left) tent is where TV commentators Darren Cahill and Cliff Drysdale sat. Naturally, Brad Gilbert was "in the house", court-side in black and long sleeves despite 90 degree temperatures.

This year I stood at the back of the throng of fans that gathered behind ESPN2's commentator booth at 3 PM EDT on Sunday, but you'd have to look closely (and know what I look like) to find me on TV;-)

ATC photos - rain, rain, go away and don’t come back another day

Thursday’s tennis was marred by a nearly 2 1/2 hour rain delay, which interrupted the first matches at the ATC, causing a rescheduling scramble that could have been worse had a sore-shouldered John Isner not withdrawn from his doubles match with James Blake, which was scheduled to be the fourth and last match on the Stadium Court last night.

I received an exciting assignment yesterday afternoon: to be a scorekeeper on the Stadium Court with a lineup of second round matches that began with American teen Ryan Harrison (video) against the fourth seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse, “the X-Man”, at 4 PM which was to be followed by Australian Lleyton Hewitt’s match against American Rajeev Ram, an upset winner over the fifth seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. The 7 PM match was to be defending champ and top seeded Mardy Fish’s first match (after receiving a bye in the first round) against France’s Nicolas Mahut, who’d famously played in the longest men’s match in history against the ATC’s third seeded Isner at Wimbledon in 2010.

But the best laid plans often go awry and, after a thrilling battle that featured Malisse taking the first set in a tiebreaker and Harrison breaking Malisse in the tenth game of the second set to even the match, dark and ominous clouds moved in and lightning interrupted the American as he attempted to even the third set at 2 games apiece (serving at 1-2, 40-30). At about 6 PM the chair umpire suspended play and shortly thereafter, the downpour came. I had scored the second set, a task which was much easier the second go-round, and was looking forward to possibly scoring the first set of Hewitt’s match as well. But it was not to be. By the time the rain stopped and the Stadium Court could be thoroughly dried, it was near 8:30 PM before the players took the court to warm-up to resume their match. During the delay, my shift expired and I turned over the walkie-talkie to my replacement, had my dinner, and changed out of my volunteer shirt so that I could sit in an unoccupied seat to watch the rest of the match & hopefully some more tennis before I’d have to head for home.

Harrison lost his serve to go down 1-3 in the third (he spun, dropped & attempted to kick his racquet on its way to the ground) but broke back immediately to get back on serve 2-3. On the changeover, he and the X-Man had a heated exchange. Being all the way across the court, I couldn’t make out what it was all about, but believe it had something to do with Harrison making Malisse wait a moment between his first and second serves at “ad out”. After both men sat down, Malisse and the umpire had words. Impressively, the nineteen year-old American kept his cool, held his serve, broke to lead 4-3 before the next changeover, and then closed out the third set and the match by holding serve twice more, winning it 6-4.

Tournament officials had moved Hewitt’s match to Court 1, where India’s Somdev Devvarman was soon to close out his second round win over Japan’s Tatsuma Ito – he was up 6-1, 3-1 before the rain delay, and eventually won the second set 6-3 – so that Fish’s match could start on the Stadium Court next. I stayed as late as I could (10 PM) but only got to watch until the American broke the Frenchman’s serve in the first set, to lead 4-3. Mardy went on to break again and win the first set 6-3, and took the second by the same score. There was no sign of his lovely wife Stacey Gardner at the match.

It’s been a fun week and I had a feeling of melancholy in my heart as I left last night realizing that my volunteer time had come to an end. Of course, I look forward to watching the quarterfinals on TV, if not live then on my DVR, and attending the finals in person on Sunday, which I’ll write about as I resume my regular posting schedule – every Monday and Thursday – next week.

One final note: There was a Special Pops exhibition on the Demo Court (east of the Stadium Court) last night; it was great to see Bill – who was hosting it – again.

Third day notes from the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships

Day 3 @ the ATC, it looked like severe weather was going to alter Wednesday’s match schedule especially since heavy rain started to pelt Marietta – west of the Racquet Club of the South – at about 3 PM. However, in an unusual pattern, the storm clouds travelled west instead of east, leaving Norcross clear for another beautiful day of uninterrupted tennis at the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships.

At about 9:30 PM on Tuesday night, a decision was made to put all the singles and doubles matches on either the Stadium Court or Court 1, but because of how the matches played out Wednesday, that decision had to be reconsidered, and Court 2 was prepared for action. I was assigned to work as a court monitor on Court 1 and, after the young American team of Ryan Harrison-Donald Young lost their doubles match in a third set tiebreaker to Germany’s Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser, Australia’s Marinko Matosevic and Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu – who famously upset a fifth seeded Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2010 – were next up. I’d seen Matosevic – who looks and moves a bit like Max Mirnyi – win his third set against Kudla in Monday’s final qualifying round, so I knew what kind of game he had. The Australian’s bigger game threatened to blow his smaller Taiwanese opponent off the court in the first set, which he won 6-3 after having set points off Lu’s serve at 5-2.

During the match, I made sure that court umpire Steve Ulrich had all that he (and the players) needed but also had to inform several fans that they could not use their professional (e.g. long lens) cameras to record the action. Late in the first set, I noticed a man that kept putting a satchel on his lap every time the action started who had his knees pointed toward Lu’s end of the court, yet during changeovers, he’d put the satchel back on the bench beside him. Occasionally, he’d even bend over and look into the bag. I found this curious, and asked my partner to watch and see what she thought he was doing; we came to believe that he was hiding a video camera between his legs. Instead of calling security immediately, I first hustled across the court after the first game of the second set – technically I should have waited until the changeover after 3 games – and approached the man. Later, my partner told me that his body language and demeanor changed significantly when he saw me coming. I asked him if he had press credentials and what was in the bag, but he ‘pretended’ not to speak English, asking me to speak slowly. I gestured “point-and-click camera O.K.” but that he couldn’t use a professional camera to record the match. He seemed to understand this and since I couldn’t cross back over until two more games were completed, I sat a couple of rows behind him. Bottom line – the satchel never left the bench beside him for the rest of the match.

Lu raced to a 5-love lead and won the second set 6-1 and, although the third set was closer than its score, he wore down his big opponent by playing exceptional defense, taking the third set (and the match) 6-2.

Between sets, I met the next (and much friendly) chair umpire Antonio Zapatero (not a 100% sure of his last name), who was to officiate the doubles match between Great Britain’s Colin Fleming-Ross Hutchins and the pairing of young American Ryan Sweeting and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who’d been the fifth seed in the singles draw before his first round upset at the hands of American qualifier Rajeev Ram, who plays Lleyton Hewitt next. For the 5 or so closely contested games that I saw before my shift ended, it was clear that the two singles players, while impressively big off the ground, were playing a couple of doubles specialists who would likely prevail, and they did (though it took a third set tiebreak to win it). I’ve subsequently learned that Fleming-Hutchins were the first British pair to reach the quarterfinals – where they lost in 5 sets – at Wimbledon 2011 since 1993.

Unfortunately, as it was now 9 PM and my carriage would soon turn into a pumpkin, I was unable to see or stay for more than the first set tiebreaker of John Isner's first set (and eventual match win) over James Blake on Stadium Court which, as a volunteer and without a ticket, I had to watch standing behind an usher's rope.

More tomorrow ...

Second day insider notes from the Atlanta Tennis Championships

Tuesday was another beautiful yet hot day for tennis at the ATC, featuring several great matches by top (formerly marquee) players. To continue my behind-the-scenes look at this year’s tournament, I’ll detail how scorekeeping – compiling the match statistics for the TV commentators and analysts – is accomplished.

First up on Stadium Court – the only court where statistical data is recorded – was former World number 1 (& 2-time Grand Slam singles champion) Australian Lleyton Hewitt’s match against American qualifier Phillip Simmonds. Two of us were assigned the task of scorekeeping the match, although only one can operate the computer at a time. So, my partner scored the first set and I did the second. Match stats are entered via a keypad (pictured below) which also controls the radar gun that records the speed of each serve. In fact, the first step is to turn on the radar as the player approaches the line to serve. The second task is to record the placement of the serve – wide, body or center – and whether it was an ace, a service winner, a let, or a fault (if applicable). The third step is to record the rally count via “forehand” and “backhand” keys. Lastly, one has to enter the point winner and get ready to turn on the radar for the next serve. Mistakes can be corrected via the Windows application which receives input from the keypad. Although the radar display that the crowd sees comes directly from the scorekeeper’s actions, the actual game and match scores are controlled by the chair umpire. All the other match statistics that are recorded – aces, service winners, speed and direction, double faults (which are highlighted orange), rally count, who won the point and the game & match score audit trails – are available (but presumably provided in a more readable report format) via the computer to the analysts and commentators.

As you probably know by now, Hewitt won the first & second sets (and therefore the match) by the same score 6-4. Because the match finished around 5:30 PM and the next scheduled Stadium Court match wasn’t until 7 PM, the Ryan Harrison-Yuichi Sugita match originally scheduled on Court 1 – where the 4 PM match between Igor Kunitsyn and Marinko Matosevic (who prevailed) was headed for a third set – was moved to the Stadium Court. The decision appeared sound as the promising 19-year-old American Harrison thumped the Japanese 6-1 in just over 20 minutes, which was scored by my partner. Taking my seat for the second set, I had no idea it would go the distance, Harrison winning the tiebreak 7-5 at approximately 7:30 PM. Bonus – I got to score two sets of tennis – working and watching two full matches – instead of just one!

After calling in the match scores and rushing to the Volunteer Services tent for dinner, which ends at 8, I returned to the Stadium Court as a spectator for the Robby Ginepri-Tommy Haas match and got to see all but a few games of the Marietta resident American’s 6-4, 7-5 win over the German. The umpire on the Stadium Court for the night’s premier matchup was again Mohamed Lahyani. Just so you know, volunteers aren’t allowed to sit in numbered seating, so I stood for the majority of the match.

More tomorrow … I’m hoping to score (and control the radar) for some of third seeded John Isner’s match against James Blake, this evening’s 7 PM match on Stadium Court.

First day notes from the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships

It was a beautiful Monday at the ATC, which featured several compelling matches and cooler than usual temperatures because of some late afternoon cloud cover. The only downside was a late evening rain delay which interrupted James Blake’s comeback win over Ernests Gulbus by more than an hour.

I arrived for my shift as a scorekeeper-court monitor about 20 minutes early, which gave me time to get the scoop from some fellow volunteers that had worked over the weekend. My assignment for the day was to be a court monitor on Court 2. After a brief orientation and walk around the grounds, I arrived at the most remote court from the Racquet Club of the South clubhouse where 18 year old Denis Kudla from the Ukraine had just won the second set 6-1 after having lost the first set 1-6 to Australian Marinko Matosevic. The third set went the distance with the big serving Aussie winning over Kudla’s world class backhand. I met Kudla’s coach Frank Salazar, who had another of his tennis prodigies in tow, because he sat behind us (under our umbrella) during the match.

While waiting for the next match, I met and introduced myself to the umpire Jake Garner, because, as a court monitor, my responsibility is to make sure that he has everything he needs for the match, that the water and Gatorade tubs are adequately stocked and iced, and that there are enough clean towels and ice towels available for the players et al. Additionally, the court monitor looks to see if anyone in the crowd needs assistance, is being disruptive to the match or is using a professional camera (except, of course, if they’re among the press corps), and calls in match related updates. Plus, I also had a most informative conversation with a couple of the lines persons who told me about their jobs, how they learned their tasks, what they get paid, how their travel and expenses works etc. I’d share more, but it’s getting about time for me to leave for my second day on the job!

The next match on Court 2 was a first round match between Japan’s Tatsuma Ito and Germany’s Michael Berrer. It was a tight first set decided by a tiebreak (8-6) and won by Ito, who was able to beat the big serving but weak backhanded German with spectacular crosscourt passing shots every time his taller opponent approached the net. Ito went on to win the second set, and his first ATP tour level match, 6-4, just after 7 PM, when my shift ended. BTW, during the match, a ball bounced towards me and I noticed that it looked pretty beat up, even though they change balls every 8 games. I also noticed that it had red streaks on it which must have come from the big red “W” (for Wilson) stencils on the racquets that both players used.

After a brief yet satisfying meal – provided for volunteers – I decided to stay and watch as much of the Blake-Gulbis match – which was refereed by Mohamed Lahyani , who’d done the Isner-Mahut Wimbledon 2010 marathon – as I could before I’d have to leave. Because of Blake’s comeback, down 4-5 in the second, he broke the Latvian and later came back from 0-4 to win the tiebreaker, I left later than I’d intended, but still a lot earlier than everyone who stayed for the rain delayed 3rd set;-)

More tomorrow …

It's finally here, the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships

The draw is out for this year's ATC, for singles and doubles.

Since I’ve already written (however briefly) about the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships , I thought I’d share some pictures that I took at last year’s event to get you excited enough to attend this year’s tournament.

Last year, I attended two quarterfinal singles matches (and one doubles) on Friday afternoon (there were others that night) and then the finals of the doubles and the singles on Sunday. Here is the view I had for the quarterfinals:

I also snagged a picture of where our seats were going to be for Sunday's final:

John Isner was the most notable player that Friday afternoon, and I took a picture of a warm-up serve:

While walking the grounds of the Atlanta Athletic Club, I grabbed a couple of pictures of the announcers, Darren Cahill:

and Brad Gilbert (who I got a better picture of on Sunday, when he signed my copy of his book Winning Ugly):

On Sunday, the finals featured Mardy Fish and John Isner; I don't remember who won the coin toss:

One of the line umpires there had been part of the Serena incident - when she lost me as a fan - at the U.S. Open in 2009:

Get your tickets now; don't miss a chance to see men's professional tennis as the ATP Tour comes here to Atlanta, kicking off the 2011 Olympus US Open Series with the main draw starting today and running though Sunday, July 24th.

Coming to a city near you, men’s professional tennis!

With qualifying starting this weekend, and running through the finals on Sunday, July 24, the ATP Tour will visit Atlanta for the 2nd Atlanta Tennis Championships (ATC), thus begins this summer’s Olympus US Open Series, which culminates in the 2011 U.S. Open at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, August 29 - September 11.

The 2010 ATC was a terrific event with a thrilling final that featured Mardy Fish beating John Isner in a third set tiebreaker; I uploaded the last point of the match and the awards ceremony to YouTube. Last year, I had the pleasure of attending some quarterfinal matches and the finals of that event and decided to volunteer at this year’s event. I’ll be a scorekeeper and/or court monitor in the late afternoons to evening Monday through Thursday, and will also be attending the finals (again) as a spectator.

Hope to see you there!

Slumping - could it be my new racquet?

I haven’t been playing well for several weeks now and, yesterday for the first time, began to suspect that perhaps it’s my new racquet.

As detailed here in this blog, I did extensive research demoing and selecting my new stick, and won the first time I played with it in an ALTA match, but I haven’t really played well since, including practices. While my partner and I did win another match a couple of weeks later, our opponents weren’t very competitive and we probably could have won it playing with the old wooden racquets – one of which is a Jack Kramer Signature – that my team recently rewarded me with as a gag gift.

So I have a dilemma: I can either stick with it for a while longer to see if it’s my self confidence, lack of match play, or some other reason for the slump OR I can try switching back to my original racquet which I haven’t played with since early May. This is a tough choice, but an important one.

This coming Saturday, we’ll be playing the last place team in our division, so I don’t expect to learn very much from that match, the last of this season. However, I’ve been asked to play tomorrow night with some men I’ve never played with before, so it’ll be safe either way (I don’t really care if I impress them or not). I guess I could play the first set with my new racquet and see how it goes; if I’m still not playing well, I can get the old stick out of the bag for the second set and see what happens. Of course, if I don’t play any better, what have I learned re: my new racquet? That it’s O.K.? That the problem is something else? At least I’ll have that much information, right?

It’s critical that I get my game back on track soon. My men’s season practices start soon and, more importantly, the USTA mixed doubles state tournament is less than 5 weeks away!

Never underestimate the value of a familiar doubles pairing

I’ve been playing tennis for several years, and captaining ALTA teams for almost as many, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the value of good doubles pairings. Once you find a couple that plays well with each other, try to keep them together for as many matches as possible during the season. It will give your team the best chance for success.

When I captained my first ALTA team some 10 years ago, I tried everything I could to improve our chances of winning a bag tag. I didn’t have one, but several members of my team had earned at least one during their tennis playing years. I hired a coach to help us to improve our games but that didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. Most of the team reverted back to the way they usually played in our Saturday matches vs. how they’d been taught during our coached practices. In fact, our team’s performance actually deteriorated from the previous season.

The next season, I tried to come up with a consistent lineup week in and week out, putting the same players together at the same position every week whenever possible, and we won our division. Of course, it could be that we’d dropped down a level per our previous season’s failures, but I choose to think that it was due to the pairings. In fact, my subsequent experience has shown me that it was the pairings that made the difference. Unfortunately, the team that I continued to captain for many seasons was challenged by availability problems. Some players moved away, others got injured, one even died, and I was never able to keep the same players together every week, or even for a majority of the time, during a given season. Hence our team usually languished in the unenviable position of 3rd to 5th place in our division, never winning enough to make the playoffs, or losing enough to be moved down a level, and we remained ‘stuck’ for years.

When playing with the same doubles partner consistently, one learns the other’s tendencies, how fast they are, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they’re going to do in a given situation. This value of this information is incalculable. Knowing that your partner is comfortable (or uncomfortable) at the net, or whether he/she can get to a ball that’s lobbed over your head when you’re at the net will enable you know whether or not you need to get to the net or stay back, or take an overhead even if you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to hit it aggressively enough. Does your partner have a good serve or not, or is their second serve so weak that you need to either move back or be prepared to be drilled? Do they like to serve and volley? While some of these latter issues can be alleviated with hand signals, perhaps your partner doesn’t have the capability to put their serve where they want to without double faulting. What about your partner’s backhand (or forehand)? Is it weak? Are there strategies you can employ to lessen exposing their weaker wing to your opponent to keep them from exploiting it to their advantage? What if your partner’s forehand is a significant weapon? Which side is best – ad or deuce – to use it in a match? If they can’t hit a down-the-line forehand well, but their crosscourt forehand is a killer, the answer could be obvious. In fact, the issue of what side to play is the simplest yet most important issue to resolve, and playing with a new partner every week where you say “I’ll try the ad side first, and if it doesn’t go well we’ll switch after the first (lost) set” isn’t a very good strategy for your team’s long term success.

If you’ve played with the same person for a dozen or more times in a year, you’re bound to have learned and even compensated for your doubles partner’s game in ways that you may not realize. Knowing and adjusting to another’s ability should happen automatically unless you really just aren’t paying attention out there on the court. Having that information ingrained in your doubles pairings will enable your team's success like nothing else.

Wimbledon virgins

I was right, it was someone else’s turn;-)

Twenty-one year old Petra Kvitova won her first – of what appears will be many – Wimbledon and/or Grand Slam titles and Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title (to go with two Australian Open titles) this weekend, wresting trophies from three-time Slam champion Maria Sharapova (and winner of the 2004 title) and defending champ Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal, a 5-time finalist, 2-time winner, and holder of 10 Grand Slam titles, respectively.

It was an exciting weekend that including Bob & Mike Bryan winning their second Wimbledon doubles title, and eleventh Grand Slam title overall; the Americans tying Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the most ever. The Bryan Brothers have the most men’s doubles titles in the Open Era, adding their 73rd on Saturday (after the women's final).

Let the hard court season begin, starting with the Atlanta Tennis Championships July 18-24.

It's someone else's turn

I wasn’t particularly disappointed that the top four men’s seeds didn’t make it to the semi-finals for the second straight Major and the first time in more than 15 years at Wimbledon yesterday – because Roger Federer lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – nor was I upset that the Williams sisters were bounced out on Monday before the tournament’s quarterfinals. I’ve grown weary of greedy past champions that don’t share well.

I mean, when is enough enough? How many Grand Slam titles does Federer need anyway? He already has two more than Pete Sampras, his closest competitor. And Venus and Serena have made Wimbledon their near exclusive club for over a decade. But that was some fifth set by the Bryan Brothers, eh?

Finally, the women’s semi-finals will feature 3 new young guns & an old lady (24!), who’s only won the tournament once (when she was 17!), Maria Sharapova. We’re guaranteed to have a men’s final that features at least one player that’s never made it to a Wimbledon final before and if Andy Murray can defeat history’s demons, and 10-time Grand Slam champ Rafael Nadal, we’ll have two.

Should make for a great championship weekend!

Challenges of the Summer ALTA Season

I’ve written previously about playing winter tennis, something that presents its own unique challenges outdoors in Atlanta, but the summer tennis season can be just as difficult, and for reasons more than the weather.

Yes, they don’t call it “Hotlanta” for nothing: playing in 90+ degree heat with 90+ degree humidity can be brutal … just ask Mardy Fish, John Isner and any other pro that played in the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships. I’m thankful that our home facility has more than two courts so that we can start at least 3 lines at 9 in the morning on Saturdays, and have our line 5s finish their match shortly after 12 noon most of the time.

But the biggest challenge of the summer ALTA season is being captain of a team and trying to field a competitive lineup every week given vacations and the many other popular activities that lure teammates away from playing in the heat every Saturday from the beginning of June through the end of July. All one has to do is look at the results: in almost any division, one can find a team that’s cruising in first place that suddenly, inexplicably, loses 3 or 4 lines to one of the bottom dwellers in week 5 – which is typically July 4th weekend. Having (e.g.) one’s regular line 1 unavailable to play on a given weekend can have a big impact, with everyone else having to play up a line. For example, this is the first week (week 4!) that I’ve had my best pairing available all season, and we took all 5 lines, losing just one set. This is the kind of thing that only happens during the summer season, usually during the middle, Holiday weekend, but sometimes more.

Unfortunately spotty player availability during the summer ALTA season is unavoidable, but there is one possible positive outcome from this inevitability: it's possible that one or more of your tennis players will improve their game by having to play at a higher line than their comfort level as a result.

The Beautiful Grass Courts of Wimbledon

Every year I tune in to watch Wimbledon, not just because I’m a tennis fan but because it’s such a beautiful setting for tennis, especially during the first week. Seeing my favorite sport being played on green grass is something I look forward to every day for a fortnight, and then it’s over. Centre Court with its green surroundings, which include green painted brick, is a marvelous spectacle, a theater of drama that never fails to entertain, even thrill.

This part of the pro tennis year is such a contrast to the preceding clay court season, which is played slowly and deliberately on red – the color of STOP – dirt, leaving the combatants, their socks and clothes filthy. Green is the color of GO, and the game is played (though not as fast as it once was) more quickly. Taking risks can be more rewarding and the players stay clean in their white clothing. The crowds are more reserved – one never hears boorish yelling as a player prepares to serve – the blessed silence is broken only by the punctuated grunts, shrieks, screams and exaltations of the battle (annoying as they are).

I was already entranced by the tournament when I first witnessed matches being played on an HDTV, and then I was absolutely captivated, being able to see the blades of grass, the imperfect divots that litter Centre Court by the second weekend, and even goose bumps on the players themselves. Not a lot of work is going to get done around here during this last week of June through July 3rd, that’s for sure.

Sore winners

It never ceases to amaze me how, after I’ve lost or my team has lost a match, the opponent can make excuses that he or they didn’t play well. It’s just amazing that someone can be so self absorbed and totally lacking in humility that they’re insensitive to everyone else around them.

Now I’m not one of these overly sensitive guys who looks to be offended all the time, far from it. I’m just as likely to be a crushing bore when it comes to relating my successful exploits to others without being asked. But I also try to give my “all” every time I’m on the tennis court, every match, every set, every game, every point, regardless of the score. I’ve played matches that lasted nearly 3 hours after which my opponent will say “I didn’t play very well today” when they’d beaten me!

Saturday, our team lost four out of five points to a team that’s one of the best in our division. In fact, they were the best team we faced last season, when we managed to take 2 points from them, which was why they had their best possible lineup on the court, a fact that their captain more or less admitted to me earlier that day. Yet there he was as noon approached, when it looked like our team would finally win a point at line 5, lamenting the fact that the USTA 4.0 (e.g. over) rated man that he’d slotted into his last pairing to guarantee their sweep hadn’t recovered from his back issues and that, if he’d known that, he wouldn’t have played him today. In other words, “even though we’ve humbled your team today by taking the first four lines (dropping but a single set), we wanted more”. Of course, I’m sure that it never even occurred to him that I didn’t have my best lineup available to play that day, that I’d had to add a new player to our team that week just to have enough players to keep from having to forfeit that line 5 to them.

Don't be a sore winner.

We're going to the USTA League Tennis Mixed Doubles State Championships!

For the second year in a row! That’s right, while my 7.0 team failed to win its second straight (spring) Atlanta City Championship, we did qualify for the Georgia State Championships in Augusta this August.

After winning our division, we were the third seed in the postseason tournament and, after winning 3 rounds of playoff matches, ended up meeting the first seed in the City Finals last Friday night. We have a tremendously deep team with several experienced and successful pairings to choose from, so our captain had her work cut out for her to select the best lineup. She went with two of our woman 4.0/man 3.0 combinations and one 3.5/3.5 combo. Unfortunately the team we played was also very talented especially since their 8.0 team had lost the week before so all of their 4.0 men were available. Their 4.0 men/3.0 women combinations were better than ours that night, so we received ‘silver’ (not ‘gold’, like last year) City Finalist medallions. As such, we received an invitation to the State Championship tournament in August for the second year in a row.

Almost!

However, this is a very different team, and a much larger one than last year’s (only five from our 2010 team are pictured above). Last summer, three key team members were unable to make the trip, which is probably the reason why our captain added so many new players to this spring’s roster. How many of our 2011 players will be able to travel to Augusta this year remains to be seen, but I like our chances given our team’s depth. Of course, we’ll likely have to meet (and beat) our Atlanta nemesis in the tournament if we hope to advance to Sectionals.

Wish us luck!

Swing away "Babolay"!

Because it’s a French company, I’ve always pronounced its name Bab-o-lay not Bab-o-lot, and it works better as a title for this article in any case.

Saturday was my first match with my new racquet; in fact, it was literally the first time that I took it out of the bag. After choosing my new stick, I knew that I was taking a risk playing with it even though I’d gone through an exhaustive 3-week process of evaluating it. Firstly, I went with the 2009 version vs. the 2011 version that I’d demoed. Secondly, it had new strings strung at 60 lbs.; the demo I’d tested had strings that were near the breaking point, which had been strung at 58.5 lbs. I don’t know about you, but my racquet always needs a breaking-in period after a fresh stringing, to get the ‘slickness’ off the strings and/or to loosen any stiffness from the sticking together at their crossings.

I did leave early and got to our opponents’ courts by 8:30 AM for our 9 AM match, but that’s always risky because sometimes they’re locked behind gates. They weren’t, so I hit a bucket of balls serving. When our line 1 man showed, I only got to hit a half a dozen balls before their captain, who turned out to be my opponent at line 2 (and who played with the Ltd version of the racquet I’d just bought), got there and we had to exchange lineups. Obviously I then got to warm-up with the new racquet before we started the match.

Other than a slight ‘tinging’ sound when I hit the ball – caused by not having my usual, longer damper on the racquet yet – which took some getting used to, it played great! Early in the match I noticed what I had during the demo process, I was able to maneuver the stick quickly for volleys and for shots hit at me when I was near the net. Even though the specs claim that my new stick is just as heavy – fully strung and swinging weight – as my previous racquet, this one appears lighter yet still firm enough to “muscle” the ball over the net on off-center or weakly swung shots. I had several “pickups” at net and hit more than a few backhands which seemed to have more pop than they would have with my old racquet.

My service games were better not because I felt that I had any more velocity on my serve, but because I could place it wherever I needed to in the box. Time and time again I got cheap points by serving it wide into the ad-court service box, to my opponent’s backhand. My forehand, well, it’s my weapon anyway, and I while I did overpower the ball (long) on 1 or 2 occasions, the vast majority of the time I was able to swing freely through the ball and have it go where I wanted:  drill the middle, pass or at my opponent who had no time to react. Comfortably ahead in the second set after having won the first, I swung as hard as I could on many occasions and was rewarded with winners; even a framed shot found its way in the alley past my opponent.

In other words, I was able to “swing away” with my “Babolay”!

How I chose my new racquet

After demoing 5 racquets back in April, and at least 10 more since mid-May, I finally chose my new stick … and the winner is Babolat’s Pure Storm Tour GT.

The first time I demoed racquets was 10 years ago, when I first started playing tennis. Back then, after a couple of seasons of men’s ALTA, I was a USTA 3.0-level player. I tried a few different models: a Prince, a Head, and the one that I chose: a Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 which was 27.5 inches in length with an 18x20 string pattern. It seemed to have more heft than the others and, when I swung as hard as I could, I was an ace-serving machine. I bought two but, when one cracked a few years later, I found that it was no longer available for purchase. So I bought what was supposed to be its replacement – the Wilson nCode nSix-One 95 with an 18x20 string pattern – which played pretty much the same. Eventually, the original Pro Staff “wore out” and, though I kept it in my bag as a backup, I stopped playing with it; since I haven’t had it restrung it in 7 years, I’d probably be in trouble if I broke a string on my main racquet.

About a year ago I got concerned that my nCode frame was getting old and had probably lost its original integrity. I’d started having it strung at a higher tension as it aged and was worried about its continued usability. However, after posting my concerns to Tennis Warehouse’s message boards, and receiving responses, I decided that my stick could last a few more years. That is, until I received a captain’s gift – a plentiful gift certificate to a local tennis store chain – from my winter mixed doubles team.

So in April, even though the men’s season had begun, I began to demo racquets for the first time since I started playing tennis 10+ years ago. After all, my game has changed quite a bit. While I’m older, I’m also a better 3.5-level player now and have added drop shots to my repertoire. First I utilized Tennis Warehouse’s demo program: for $20, they’ll ship you up to 4 racquets to try for a week; return postage is included. I tried a variety of frames that were similar in specs to my existing racquet, but the one I liked most was one that was sent to me by accident. There are so many racquets with similar names – a “Team” or “Tour” designation can mean a big difference – it’s easy to get it mixed up. But it was a Prince vs. a Wilson racquet, so locally I tried the Wilson “equivalent” for $10, and hated it. After $30 spent and no new racquet decision, I decided to wait until the season was over to start again especially because my team was in contention and I didn’t want to mess up my game and hurt my team’s chances.

In May, I went to Your Service Tennis, the local chain where I had my gift card, and utilized their 30 day demo program: as many racquets as I wanted to try in the period, two at a time for a maximum of 5 days each. The manager at the store was both informative and patient with all of my questions and was generally interested in my experiences with each frame. I sampled racquets from every manufacturer they carried but only those in the range – specification-wise – of my original stick. Eventually I whittled it down to two: the one I chose and Wilson’s BLX Pro Tour. It was hard to tell the difference between them; the Wilson seemed to serve better but the Babolat seemed to volley better. As it turned out, the Babolat I demoed was the 2011 version of their 2009 model – the paint job being the only difference – which was on clearance for $30 less, so I bought it. It has an 1/8 of an inch smaller handle, but that makes it a quarter of an inch larger than the demos I’ve hit with without any arm or hand problems. In fact, I’d kind of gotten used to and liked the smaller grip.

I still don’t know whether I’ll play with my new racquet during this second weekend of ALTA or not yet; I decided not to play with either demo I had in my bag last Saturday. It was weird playing with my old racquet; the 4 5/8 handle felt huge compared to what I’d been playing with for 3 weeks. But that’s not why we lost our match in 3 sets; we played against a 4.5 guy on the other side of the net!

Wish me luck this weekend and with my new Babolat!