Canyon Creek Super Champ - 2nd Match Aug 30, 2014
Game Plan: Compete & Implement
Preparation: In my second match of this tournament I did not know who I was playing, I am not sure if this was for better or for worse. All I know is that I was prepared to fight no matter what. *Update: My opponent is ranked 51 in the state.
1st set:
The first set was tough for me. I could not find the court, unlike my previous match, I was missing left and right. My opponent was a what you would call a counter puncher. She had no pace to her ball, but she got to everything! I just did my best to run everything down. I was missing too much for comfort and was getting extremely frustrated with the way I was playing. My first serve had disappeared on me and my second serve percentage was lower than I wanted it to be. I lost the first set 3–6.
2nd set:
During the break in between sets I used a new strategy that i had learned from my previous opponent. The “Bathroom Break” — I took my time on my bathroom break and calmed myself down. I was a lot more relaxed and refreshed after coming back. Even though I was relaxed, I was still fired up and ready to fight. I made it priority to attack her second serve and to dictate to the corners. I did not attack her as well as I could have because I was pretty tight. I need to practice being more relaxed because I tend to move slower and my racquet speed also slows down as well when I am not relaxed. I set myself up for a lot of opportunities, but failed to recognize them and execute them. My energy was good and then we reached the second set tie breaker. I was down 2–5 and then she hooked me. I made the mistake of keeping quiet, even though she might have not changed her call, at least she would have known that I knew that she had cheated me. I lost 4–6, 6–7(3–7). I was happy with the way I fought and implemented my newly learned strategy, but I have a lot to work on. Back to the books!
Take away:
- Need to be more consistent/patient
- Need to be recognize opportunities and execute them
- Need to stay relaxed
- Don’t let the opponent wrong you so easily, fight back
- Found a different meaning to fighting on the court