Yald Patrick Grote's Blog

Pelted at the net constantly

I watched way too much of the Australian Open this year. On Friday, February 10, 2012, I played in the mixed 3.5 league at Forest Lake. Unlike our normal start time of 6:00pm, we played at 8:00pm. Wow, that was a long day.

Our opponents were Dan, Don and Leah. Dan is pretty much a 4.0 player, but he is suffering from a disc bulge in his neck, while Don is a solid 3.5 player. Leah is a good player, but her serve is very hard.

Figuring how to win at tennis … finally

On January 30, 2012, I played in the normal men's 3.0/3.5 Monday night league. I love playing in this league due to the fact that everyone is comparable in skill level and folks just have a good time.

In this session my partner was Robert even though it was his bye week. Randy was supposed to be my normal partner, but he couldn't make it. He teased me that he asked Robert to play for him since he was "afraid to play me." Like I said, folks just want to have a good time.

Dealing with pace and poachers 3.5 mixed

On Friday, January 27, 2012, I played in the normal 3.5 mixed league. My teammates were Allen and Nancy and it had been two weeks since I played the worst tennis of my life. 

Our opponents for the evening were Trey, Doug and Vickie. I called Doug, Rick for the first set due to the fact I didn't remember his name.

Allen and I joked prior to starting that we should play like the Bryan Brothers, as the Australian Open had been going on. Warm ups went well and we tossed ourselves barbs about our play last time.

Aggressive tennis play and new partner

In the 3.0/3.5 Men's mixed on Monday, January 16, 2011, I played some of the better tennis I've played in a long time. I use the Monday night league to focus on aspects of my game that need work. This week it was aggressiveness.

A brief note, there are no 3.0 players in the league at this point. Robert might technically be a 3.0, but he plays just as good as I do.

This week I was paired with Harrison who is new to the league. He joined after speaking with someone in another league. The funny thing is that he's new blood as no one really knew him. Our opponents in doubles were Mike and Robert. Mike has a booming serve, is tall and can get to everything at the net. Robert is the master of hitting the ball with pace and placement. His serve is awesome as well.

3.5 USTA 3rd doubles tiebreaker loss

Sunday, January 15, 2011, at Forest Lake. Second week of USTA play and I was slated to play 3rd doubles with Dave I. Never played with Dave I. and never met him. Our opponents were Allen and Loren. Allen is someone I play with regularly in a 3.5 friday night WTT league and I had never played Loren before.

I wasn't nervous going in since I knew I could play 3.5 and I've played Allen enough to know what to expect. The mood was more excited, as I knew would stood a good chance.

3.5 Mixed Worst Tennis Outing Ever

Wow. This was by far the worst tennis I have ever played. Nothing went well. I couldn't get on a roll and it seemed everything I tried failed. As I told Missy, it was the only time I've considered not playing anymore; it was just that unenjoyable.  Don't get me wrong, some of my more enjoyable times have been when I lost. I learn things, I have good interactions with opponents and more. There was none of that. Maybe it was the fact it was Friday, January 13, 2012 that did it.

Sub 3.0 Mixed WTT Tennis Great Play

On Wednesday night, January 11, 2012, I subbed for someone in a mixed 3.0 league. My teammates were Jeff, Diane and Sheri. Jeff is someone who I played for in a 3.5 indoor WTT league while he was injured. He has a slight rotator cuff tear, but he is back now.

Highlights:

• Probably the the top three in my tennis playing ever. Played very well.
• Our team won by one game.
• Really practiced the spin serve hard to the point I pulled my trapezius.

Jeff and I played Allen and Dave. This was the first time Jeff and I played together and we did pretty good. Whereas his normal partner Dwight and I would start of slow, Jeff and I started off great. My serve was on and I made some great lobs. We would go up 2 games and then they would come back.

First USTA 3.5 Match

Sunday, 1/8/12, 1:00pm at Kings Point in Belleville. Doubles partner was Matt W. Opponents were John and Matt.

The first USTA 3.5 game I've ever played. Nervous going in, by the end of the first game I felt fine. The winning shot was a fast return to the outside on a hard serve. Perfect and I really felt like I could handle the pace. We ended up losing 6-4 and 6-2.

Highlights:

• I can play 3.5.
• My outside shots were going well, until I started going too far.
• Lobs were awesome.
• Matt (opponent) served hard, very hard. On two serves in a row my return was just as hard. They were my shots of the day.

Focused on strategy – Mark, Matt and Randy

Men's 3.0/3.5 League - 1/2/12 - 8:00pm start.

Paired with Mark for the evening, we lost doubles 6-4 against Matt and Randy who served first.

The doubles game had a few highlights:

1. Mark told me where to stand in doubles. Close to the net and middle of service box. This is probably the better place to play, but I am uncomfortable so close to the net. Randy saw this and just abused us with lobs over me that Mark had to get to. I tend to play back in doubles and set up my net partner.
2. Matt's serves were good. Matt typically tries to serve hard, but last night he was very disciplined and stuck with his killer spin to the outside. This is devastating on the ad side. Kudos to Mark for getting to all of Matt's tough serves.