Getting absolutely DESTROYED by this 5.0 player...HELP ME!!! | 4.5 vs 5.0
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- Last video of the year, and what a way to finish the year! haha getting spanked is never fun, but it's the best way to learn! Thank you for watching, supporting, and I'm looking forward to playing more tennis!
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This proves that "old school tennis" works! and is still very effective up to 4.5-5.0 level! It seems like Robert can place his shots where he intended to >90% of the time.
Yes! Strategy over power!
You need to attack his forehand as much as possible with deep and high-bouncing shots because his chopped backhand is his ultimate weapon, and he consistently gets out of trouble on the backhand side.
Slice and touch players are tough to beat from the baseline because they force you to generate your own pace and you end up tired out. What you could do with your current skillset is hit heavy high spin crosscourt until he gives you a short ball. Then approach aggressively to his backhand. It's hard for slicers to pass you because they don't drive the ball fast. Just make sure you bend your knees and don't let the ball drop too low when volleying a slice. Other than that, you should be able to dictate the point this way.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
Hey buddy. How do you put the scores on the top of the screen? What program is that?
I use keynote in Mac!
@@sandratoplaystennisamazing! Thanks Sandrato!
Robert is a very difficult player, not just bc of his skill level but bc of his awkward style. He's a steady mid-tempo player who keeps the ball very low. Some tactical thoughts:
1. Robert loves the ball at the waist level. He hits a linear ball through the court with what looks like a continental/eastern grip. I would think that he would struggle, somewhat, with high and heavy topspin to the fh side. His bh slice above the shoulder is pretty good. The fh side is where he's weaker.
2. Your best play was the slice serve out wide on the deuce court followed by the +1 fh to the bh. Trying to do the same on the AD side might help. (easier said than done)
3. Robert isn't a pusher, but I think you need to attack him like he is...meaning, you got sucked into too many middle-third rallies where he's in his comfort zone. He's pretty good at the net, so I think it's more about you getting to the net than bringing him in.
Absolutely! Attack the forehand early on, and come in on the backhand! I think that i need to rush him and dictate from the serve and return. Getting into a rally is what he likes, and he dictates the ball very well on his backhand. thank you!
Interesting games, decent serve speed, starting to get a fluid arm swing.
Just a tip. The idea is to first, before anything, achieve a full arm swing by taking the arm and shoulder through its full range of motion. First priority is to get from the starting internal shoulder and arm rotation("The Trophy Pose") to full external rotation("The Racquet Drop"), then full extension & internal rotation while wrapping around the body, similar to any throwing motion. A huge key is never allowing wrist extension("The Waiter's Tray Serve") or flexion. Also, most players swing around and forward, not realizing even a decent serve is an upswing.
I'm an independent biomechanics & strength conditioning coach specializing in serve analysis btw.
Make sense? What do you think? Have you ever heard this? Let me know if you try it out.
Against someone who's really solid at the baseline, you gotta change your strategy. Switch things up by serving and volleying, hit drop shots, hit high or low slices to change the tempo of the rally, hit angles, or hit high loopy shots, draw him into the net, etc,. Do whatever to make them the most uncomfortable. Of course, mistakes are going to happen but keep trying and eventually it'll work.
Yes adapting my strategy is a good idea, but how likely can I change my entire game (serve and volley, low slices, drop shots…) and execute well? I understand that you want to make your opponent uncomfortable, but if doing so also makes you play a game you’re uncomfortable with, idk how likely I am going to win. But I should have made more changes for sure!
@@sandratoplaystennis yeah, execution is always going to be an issue so I understand. It'll be the off-season for you soon so start to incorporate those types of tactics and drills into your practices once you get back from your vacation.
@@johnnylee8337I like that! 😊
He has ugly form for a 5.0 player. But those looks are deceiving becuase his placement of the ball n control is really good. You had a good idea going. If a player is gonna somewhat push the ball just work on placement. Seems like u don’t want to get into a rally with him. You had him few times with your replacement shots.
Well, we all lose like this more than we want to, so don't feel badly about that 🙂. I still see the same central issue from your last two matches with him: you're hitting too short. Too many of your shots are landing near the service line. That enables him to take charge of the point and put you on a string, running you from side to side. For a player like him who has such consistency in his precision, your strategy of long baseline rallies will almost never work. He has a lot of time because you aren't really forcing the play. Because you are scrambling, he's controlling the middle of the court and keeping you scrambling. To play against these types, you need more depth (with pace) to the corners. Go back and watch the very first point in the 2nd set. You hit a wide deep shot to his backhand, and then moved in to knock off the volley into the open court. THAT'S how you play guys like this. He's too consistent to rally with him from the baseline. You have to get him out of the middle of the court - and as far behind the baseline as you can push him - to make him hit a lot more lower percentage shots. That's why you keep losing to him. You're giving him a lot of opportunity to play high percentage, safe tennis. As a result, he doesn't make many errors. Putting you in even deepr trouble because without his errors, you have to create your points from your own winners.
Anyway, enjoy your vacation!!! I go back to Vegas in January, but for a trade show - so I'll be locked down LOL! And by the way....pink shoes?? How stylish 😁!!!
I always love reading your thoughtful comments! You’re absolutely correct: my balls land short too often, and that allows him to dictate the point every time. I think I’m just not used to playing against such quality low slices so I’m enable to find enough height and depth off of them. It’s easier for me to hit better balls off top spin shots. I’m going to have to work on that! If I can keep him a few more steps behind the baseline, I should be able to dictate and finish the points quicker.
Nike re-released the Vapor 9.5 which i really liked! But now I have too many pair of tennis shoes haha 😂 have a good time in Vegas and I wish you a good end of the year 😊
@@sandratoplaystennis Thank you!! Happy Holidays to you too!! I sadly understand about having too many pairs of tennis shoes 🤣. Hopefully I will see you soon one day!!!🤗
@@qtancourt371For sure! Maybe in wonderful L.A 😊
@@sandratoplaystennis 😁🤗👍
Agreed - just deeper shots and you might level this...
He has a really effective slice backhand, so a strategy would be to attempt to get into long rallies hitting high topspin to his McEnroe style forehand. Keep the ball away from his backhand slice. He was moving you side to side with it.
The cool thing about match play is that the priority is to try and win. I am more focused on playing the way I want to play more than trying to win but I do appreciate that there are many ways you can still be effective when the goal is specifically to win.
Absolutely! Most of us play tennis for fun, and being able to play the way we want to play is usually what brings the most fun! Also I did get your text about strings but I’m not able to respond cause I’m in Europe and i can’t send regular texts internationally 😢 but we can chat about it and make a video when I get back for sure!
Next time you play him just roll the ball high on every shot you can get setup to do so. Both to the forehand and the backhand. He’ll hit some good shots off it but his error count will go way up plus you’ll have more time to recover so that he can’t move you around as effectively. He’ll adjust and start coming in more but it should work better if you can get yourself to do it.
Consistency wins!
If I remember correctly, he is 50?
If you can make him run a little more?
How ever, just how accurately and easily he can deflect the ball and change direction is amazing. You gotta give that thumb to him. Can you imagine if you can do what he does?😂
😂 I think he had a lot of fun seeing me running around chasing his short angles and low slices lolol I give him all the credit cause he can impose his game and forces me to make a lot more effort to stay in the point!
@@sandratoplaystennis A few of those points you did very well. There are few you dropped and lobed, made him stretched, he wasn’t very comfortable. And those you hit a wide angle to his back hand and finished up net. Those worked so well
assessment of Roberts game... his forehand is good and I disagree with attacking it, it's good because he can hold the ball for a split second before he changes direction and it has good pace and consistency, he also has a good serve... really you need to attack his movement, he clearly has bad knees and is not as fast as he use to be, can't jump much either.. you need drop shots and short slices to bring him in a and lob him back... Robert likes to reset points with his backhand slice... and has a good slice too, however you need to recognise when you hit a good shot to his bh, move in quickly to volley the slice before it dips.. Robert has good footwork but ultimately any running shots will scupper his game.
Agreed! Thank you so much for your analysis!
also whenever you serve hard to his bh, you need to come in for serve and volley..literally never hits a top spin return on his bh.. all chips, blocks and slices
Robert looks like a really tricky opponent. I think to beat him, you really have to concentrate on hitting deep balls with lots of shape, cross court. I think your shot selection could have been much better. Too many times you went down the line without enough on the shot which really opened up the court for him to run you around. I would attack his forehand more, but it has to be deep. He directs anything bouncing midcourt into the corners so well. Inside out forehand out wide to his backhand then aggressivlely closing at the net might work too, as long as you're confident enough in your volleying ability.
Attack with big forehands cross court to his forehand, and come in on his backhand side! thank you!
Robert's strategy is simple: to hit wide angles, opponents are going to get tired or make mistakes running side-to-side. He is consistent also. You can almost predict where he is going to hit next.
That's exactly what he does! and he really enjoyed seeing me run side to side haha!
robert is the equivalent of Adrian Mannarino. His focus is on shot placement and efficiency rather than power.
Btw I really love your movements and technique. Your movements look so fluid and loose.
Yes exactly. I love playing him because he plays so much better than me strategically. He doesn't overpower me but plays smarter than me, and it shows on the scoreboard!
I agree with @EndoftheTownProductions. Hit more aggressive to his forehand. A good example was your serve at 7:48 it set you up for the put away on his backhand side.
Absolutely! Will definitely go more to his forehand next time!
How do you like the Vapor 9.5s? Was thinking about getting a pair
They are comfortable. Feels like a re release in a new colorway. You’d like them if you wear Nike Vapors!
@@sandratoplaystennis hmm I haven't worn vapors before. I have narrow feet and people have recommended these. Thanks for the input!
@@stevenjm12 Oh yes those are perfect for narrow feet!
8 min 15 sec perfect time to play a drop shot...
For sure!
You are a nice player, athletic, good coordination, fast, good balance. Lots of positives!
Playing 4.5 v 5.0 is meant to be hard and sometimes the tennis scoring system is brutal. You also definitely should have got that 4th game and maybe the 5th in the first set. 6-2 would have been much fairer.
Robert has a fantastic forehand, don't be fooled by his excellent sliced bh, the forehand is the danger.
In the first few games i think you needed to find his bh more on your serve and during the rallies. Even though he will hit some nice slices!
I also noticed you got tight on your fh vs his slices to your fh. I would stay away from using the fh slice, it doesn't look as good as your topspin fh.
You hit the ball too short in general off both wings but this happens when you play a better player. Just be mindful, especially if you hit short to his lethal fh.
I noticed that i think you get too close to the ball on the retun. If able id take a large step back to make sure you return deeper. You have the speed to get in after. It didn't look like Robert came to the net every opportunity.
As Robert has no topsin bh you can hangin there and rally with him on that side. Since you can always run down any dtl slices. Just make sure you give yourself space, stay low and rip the forheand, don't place it slowly/spin cc because he'll crush with his fh dtl if you hit short. Which was a pattern that happened alot.
Lastly, be patient. You look to have the speed and Robert has the bigger shots. Need to grind on that bh side and try to keep the ball deep. Robert crushed shorter balls with his fh. You missed a few balls in the net and deep, mainly on your fh. So be aware of those costly errors.
Overall great match. Robert is a great player so no shame in losing.
Right on! Thank you for your thoughtful comment! One thing I take away from your analysis is hitting bigger forehands vs angled ones, since he is able to generate nice angles himself. Also, returning from further out to return deeper balls to the middle or to his forehand to take neutralize the angle and make it hard on his forehand grip! Thank you!🙏
@@sandratoplaystennisglad it's useful - that sounds like a plan. Yeh defo take what I say with a pinch of salt and make your own mind up! I play mostly on artificial grass so face a lot of low slices, especially in the winter on wet courts. You don't see it as much on hc. I can't imagine how good Roberts slice would be on a fast low court!
@@delectableflavourswow I never played in artificial grass! Where do you live?
England. It's not a great surface, it's astro turf. Real grass is much nicer but you can't play on it in the winter!
@@delectableflavours I would love to play on grass! Growing up i used to play on both hard and clay, but now i only play on hard. I miss playing on different surfaces!
Right away I have two suggestions that may help ... your groundstrokes are too short and it's giving time for Robert to play on the rise and move you side to side taking more and more of your time away. Most of your shorts barely land beyond the service box which makes it way too easy for the opponent. If you hit with more depth, you push Robert back and give yourself more time typically to recover. Most of the points you won were due to shots landing 4-6ft from the baseline. Second is you don't really have any major weapons to hurt Robert. So what I would suggest is chipping short and making Robert come forward on your terms. Then look to lob or pass ... pushers like Robert don't tend to like to move forward ... hope that helps!
Thank you for your analysis! Yes, i need to hit deeper and move in! I do think that Robert likes to come forward though as he feels pretty comfortable at the net. Thanks!
@@sandratoplaystennis Anytime, while Robert likes to come forward ... you'll notice that you won a majority of the points when you made him come in on your terms. He comes in like most good players when he puts you on the defensive. Watch what Federer does with his short chip into the service box against players ... absolute master at it.
@@jaygt4 For sure. dragging opponents to the net makes it very hard for them to finish the point at the net.
Just serve & volley the next match. And follow up all shorts ball to the net. He will be stressed out and you will have many easy points.
It’s fairly simple to beat him, as long as you don’t miss as many balls as you do currently. His form breaks down a lot when he’s on the run or when he’s pressed with a bigger ball, and you’re not getting attacked so continue to dictate and run him like crazy.
Seems like a great plan on paper, totally different story on the tennis court. "Missing balls" is often times due to your opponent's incoming balls, not just your own fault.
You seem to be overthinking the game… Robert is just putting the ball inside. You have pretty strokes but you can only rally 2-3 balls. If you change your approach to getting one more ball than your opponent and being patient through the entire match it should be an easy win for you. Your speed, power and technique are above his, he is just more patient than you. Good luck!
I appreciate your analysis. I definitely do overthink of the game sometimes, but don’t you think that you oversimplify his? Saying « just Get one more ball in » is the essential of tennis, but you consider the « quality » of a shot, over quantity.
Definitely don't see enough drop shots.
His backhand is also pretty horrible, playing high to his backhand would probably make this a really easy fight.
I understand. However, it's hard to just hit a lot of drop shots when you're not used to hit a lot of them. He's been a 5.0 player for a long time. clearly his record says that it's not going to be an easy fight.
@@sandratoplaystennis I'm not familiar with the rating system in america, but I doubt that he is playing at 5.0 level because I've met americans from my college with the same rating that plays a lot better than him.
Also. No, I don't think he is a difficult opponent for you. You're athleticism, your form and power(despite you not swinging freely) is clearly way above his level. The biggest problem is the lack of experience and strategy. You even said it yourself that he plays way more matches than you do. But thankfully the fix is just playing more matches and let go of that mental block.
It's similar to real life even, you really need to believe that you're the better player to succeed on the court. And believe me, you are. Keep up the good work. 💪💪
@@sandratoplaystennisOh yeah, I think you should work on playing steep angles, too. that allows you to play slowly, avoid mistakes and do just as much damage to your opponent.
@@elvistrumpetyou’re not familiar with the American rating system yet you have an opinion about it…not only Robert has been a 5.0 for a long time, he played division 1 tennis in college (the highest level of tennis). I think that should be self explanatory as to why he is not an easy opponent to play against.
@@sandratoplaystennis Did you even read my comments? I'm not critiquing the USTA system, I'm simply giving you some advice and even some blessings.
Great, Robert was a D1 tennis player, in what? 1965? I'm saying that with a little bit of work you'll have great chance against him, and he is not as good as you think.
You know you dont have to talk during the entire video?
I know! That’s why I didn’t 😊
@@sandratoplaystennis it felt like it not hating just trying to critique