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  1. #16
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    Like my Signature Quote: ["The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day, It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not" ]

    I would like if you could tell us how you dealt with realizing you were losing a match due to nothing your opponent was doing but solely because of your unforced errors and how you were able to turn that around. Did you use getting angry like Johnny Mac, to focus?
    The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
    It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coach View Post
    Like my Signature Quote: ["The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day, It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not" ]

    I would like if you could tell us how you dealt with realizing you were losing a match due to nothing your opponent was doing but solely because of your unforced errors and how you were able to turn that around. Did you use getting angry like Johnny Mac, to focus?
    I would get angry like that. Yes. It was not always a good thing either. The madder I got the harder I hit and sometimes that is just dumb. HOWEVER, it got the nerves out of me and then I would start playing better. What I started doing is playing tiebreaks before I played my matches and that helped get nerves out of me, but it also let me see how I felt and how I was playing. Warming up before a match just isn't enough to assess yourself and see how you are feeling and playing that day. If I were playing poorly, I would hit big heavy shots crosscourt (Muster-style forehands and backhands with mega topspin) so that I could get into a groove. I would get angry so that I could get pumped. Anger only at myself as well. I always treated my opponent with respect. Anger is really just a way of letting go of the nervousness and worry. I found later that the playing of points and tiebreaks before the match and working on the heavy consistent strokes beforehand let me walk into the match and continue the playing. Believe me, before I did that, I got mad a ton. I also got my ass handed to me on a few occassions because I went into the match unprepared and that really made me mad! Once I got that mad, you could stick a fork in me. I was done.......

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    I would get angry like that. Yes. It was not always a good thing either. The madder I got the harder I hit and sometimes that is just dumb. HOWEVER, it got the nerves out of me and then I would start playing better. What I started doing is playing tiebreaks before I played my matches and that helped get nerves out of me, but it also let me see how I felt and how I was playing. Warming up before a match just isn't enough to assess yourself and see how you are feeling and playing that day. If I were playing poorly, I would hit big heavy shots crosscourt (Muster-style forehands and backhands with mega topspin) so that I could get into a groove. I would get angry so that I could get pumped. Anger only at myself as well. I always treated my opponent with respect. Anger is really just a way of letting go of the nervousness and worry. I found later that the playing of points and tiebreaks before the match and working on the heavy consistent strokes beforehand let me walk into the match and continue the playing. Believe me, before I did that, I got mad a ton. I also got my ass handed to me on a few occassions because I went into the match unprepared and that really made me mad! Once I got that mad, you could stick a fork in me. I was done.......
    I have been wanting to ask this of you and this seems to be a great segue for that. How often have you gone into a match against a player that you had a losing record against? When I say losing record, I mean say of the amount of times you've played this person, you haven't even taken a Set. What's going through your head prior to the match?

    Of these players, how have you faired against them?

    1. Ivan Lendl
    2. Jimmy Connors
    3. John McEnroe
    4. Vitas Gueralitas (sp)
    5. Brad Gilbert


    Last question my friend, of the guys above, have you ever had match point only to lose in the end? If so, can you explain what happened that reversed the momentum?


    .
    The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
    It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coach View Post
    I have been wanting to ask this of you and this seems to be a great segue for that. How often have you gone into a match against a player that you had a losing record against? When I say losing record, I mean say of the amount of times you've played this person, you haven't even taken a Set. What's going through your head prior to the match?

    Of these players, how have you faired against them?

    1. Ivan Lendl
    2. Jimmy Connors
    3. John McEnroe
    4. Vitas Gueralitas (sp)
    5. Brad Gilbert


    Last question my friend, of the guys above, have you ever had match point only to lose in the end? If so, can you explain what happened that reversed the momentum?


    .
    Well, I have not had the pleasure of playing any of those guys. I am 36 years old. I am the same age (a little younger) as Agassi, Courier, and those guys. No, I can rightfully say that I never held a match point and lost in a match that was not ultra close. I have in a tie-break, but that happens. I never beat any of the top 20 players. My biggest win was over a guy named Sebastian Grosjean. I think he was like 70 or 80 in the world when I did that. What usually swings momentum is nerves and disappointment over not putting someone away when you had the chance. What I would do is just say the word "ball" in my head. That's all I wanted to think about. The ball. There were times where I would do that and after winning the last point, I would walk back to play the next point and I had already won. That key word for me kept my mind on the task at hand and that was to get to and hit that yellow object in front of me. Nothing more.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    Well, I have not had the pleasure of playing any of those guys. I am 36 years old. I am the same age (a little younger) as Agassi, Courier, and those guys. No, I can rightfully say that I never held a match point and lost in a match that was not ultra close. I have in a tie-break, but that happens. I never beat any of the top 20 players. My biggest win was over a guy named Sebastian Grosjean. I think he was like 70 or 80 in the world when I did that. What usually swings momentum is nerves and disappointment over not putting someone away when you had the chance. What I would do is just say the word "ball" in my head. That's all I wanted to think about. The ball. There were times where I would do that and after winning the last point, I would walk back to play the next point and I had already won. That key word for me kept my mind on the task at hand and that was to get to and hit that yellow object in front of me. Nothing more.
    I have spoken often about an old man that turned my so called game around back in the early 80's. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard him say,
    "Play the Ball not your opponent"


    Of course there are circumstances where you must be aware of what's happening on the court. For instance, if your opponent is rushing the net, it will serve you well to take note of that instead of solely concentrating on where the ball is.

    Sebastian Grosjean is a very good striker of the ball and I've watch him have some great wins over good people. So if you won against him, then you brought your A-game to work that day because he's dangerous.

    Just to let you know how incredible a win that was,

    Sebastien Grosjean is
    3-4 against Andre Agassi
    1-0 against Jim Courier
    2-3 against Roger Federer

    Not bad for a short guy huh?


    .
    The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
    It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coach View Post
    I have spoken often about an old man that turned my so called game around back in the early 80's. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard him say,
    "Play the Ball not your opponent"


    Of course there are circumstances where you must be aware of what's happening on the court. For instance, if your opponent is rushing the net, it will serve you well to take note of that instead of solely concentrating on where the ball is.

    Sebastian Grosjean is a very good striker of the ball and I've watch him have some great wins over good people. So if you won against him, then you brought your A-game to work that day because he's dangerous.

    Just to let you know how incredible a win that was,

    Sebastien Grosjean is
    3-4 against Andre Agassi
    1-0 against Jim Courier
    2-3 against Roger Federer

    Not bad for a short guy huh?


    .
    Yeah, we had a battle. Unfortunately, I was so spent from that match, I lost 6-4 in the third to a guy 180 in the world. It happens though. The way to beat Grosjean was to hit right at him and attack his forehand. He had a great backhand. Most people think you should go to the side a player doesn't hit as hard, but attacking that side usually draws more errors. Especially if you hit hard to their power side. There are, of course, times where that doesn't work, but it works well against western forehands. The bigger swings against a very hard ball usually gets a weak reply. I didn't realize that he had done so well. I knew he was a top 20 player, but he wasn't when I played him. He had been injured. I'll take it though. As for the knowing what's going on, I used my peripheral vision a little, but once I decided to hit a shot, that was what I went with. Against net rushers, I went right at them with lots of pace and spin and then passed or lobbed on the second shot. Of course, if the obvious passing shot was there, I went for that immediately, but I usually made the net rushers hit a shot. A lot of times, when they couldn't deal with the pace and spin, it broke their confidence. If they were volleying well, I at least had a good chance at another pass or lob. Thank God I never had to play Edberg though. He really had the best volleys and net movement I have ever watched. He played loosey goosey in every situation. I think that is a big reason he was so phenomenal. Suspect forehand, but it never really let him down. When it was on, it was pretty darn good too.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    Yeah, we had a battle. Unfortunately, I was so spent from that match, I lost 6-4 in the third to a guy 180 in the world. It happens though. The way to beat Grosjean was to hit right at him and attack his forehand. He had a great backhand. Most people think you should go to the side a player doesn't hit as hard, but attacking that side usually draws more errors. Especially if you hit hard to their power side. There are, of course, times where that doesn't work, but it works well against western forehands. The bigger swings against a very hard ball usually gets a weak reply. I didn't realize that he had done so well. I knew he was a top 20 player, but he wasn't when I played him. He had been injured. I'll take it though. As for the knowing what's going on, I used my peripheral vision a little, but once I decided to hit a shot, that was what I went with. Against net rushers, I went right at them with lots of pace and spin and then passed or lobbed on the second shot. Of course, if the obvious passing shot was there, I went for that immediately, but I usually made the net rushers hit a shot. A lot of times, when they couldn't deal with the pace and spin, it broke their confidence. If they were volleying well, I at least had a good chance at another pass or lob. Thank God I never had to play Edberg though. He really had the best volleys and net movement I have ever watched. He played loosey goosey in every situation. I think that is a big reason he was so phenomenal. Suspect forehand, but it never really let him down. When it was on, it was pretty darn good too.
    Stefan was excellent at net for sure but I still believe John McEnroe was during his prime the very best. What made him so dangerous at net has to do with your method of attacking a Net Rusher. If you went right at John, he had these incredible hands that softened just at the moment of contact with the ball, resulting in a drop shot forcing you to scramble for it most likely producing a very weak attempt that he would only smack away.

    Going for the angles was the best way to play John. Unfortunately he wasn't very nimble on his feet and changing directions wasn't a friend of his. Going to the sides was the best option for Johny Mac and a well produced lob because he didn't get up for the high ones very much. Nothing like Sampras.

    I love your analysis of attacking Grosjean. I think I'm going to grab that and place it in the Tips & techniques section for others to read.

    I'm so happy you're here for as long as your interested. Nothing like having someone who has walked the road to inform others what it's like.

    Coach



    .
    The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
    It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coach View Post
    Stefan was excellent at net for sure but I still believe John McEnroe was during his prime the very best. What made him so dangerous at net has to do with your method of attacking a Net Rusher. If you went right at John, he had these incredible hands that softened just at the moment of contact with the ball, resulting in a drop shot forcing you to scramble for it most likely producing a very weak attempt that he would only smack away.

    Going for the angles was the best way to play John. Unfortunately he wasn't very nimble on his feet and changing directions wasn't a friend of his. Going to the sides was the best option for Johny Mac and a well produced lob because he didn't get up for the high ones very much. Nothing like Sampras.

    I love your analysis of attacking Grosjean. I think I'm going to grab that and place it in the Tips & techniques section for others to read.

    I'm so happy you're here for as long as your interested. Nothing like having someone who has walked the road to inform others what it's like.

    Coach



    .
    I certainly can't argue about Johnny Mac's hands. I must say that it is Stefan's footwork at net that boggled my mind. When he was playing well, he was unbelievable. His footwork was ridiculous. Thanks for the compliment. I attacked Grosjean's body and then hit away from him. He also didn't run up and back as well as he did side to side, so drop shots to his backhand were effective as well. Mainly though, I played my heavy game at him and then banged the short ball to his forehand which then opened up his backhand.

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