On Wednesday, I found out that I'll be playing singles against a gentleman ten years younger than me. He doesn't smoke, drink or indulge in any of my favourite sins either. He's also 30 lbs lighter than me, doesn't suffer low blood sugar problems and will have the stands cheering for him, into the bargain. am not complaining, however.
Win or lose, I love a good fight.
Besides, I've been working as much on my game as I have been working onmy strokes and techniques.
For starters, I swallowed my pride and tried to play really well against lower-skilled opponents. Not that I ever refused to play against anyone for that reason. I've always remembered other players not wanting to be seen on the same court as me when I was a beginner (and how hurtful hat was) but I never really felt like wanting to focus and strike the ball properly. So mea culpa, I was disrespectful even if I meant well by not trying to crush them with superior skills. These last few months, however, I focused on placing the ball well (not on trying to whack the hell out of it) and discovered that not only did they enjoy it more but that I also improved a lot mentally from having to focus on pure strategy.
And then I also picked a couple of different things that I wanted to focus on doing well each match, like hitting acute crosscourt angles which are easier against people who don't hit so hard, or playing drive-volleys against soft, high, deep balls. Just one or two different things each time, which I wouldn't have the chance to practise in a regular game. And I found that when I did play against people with similar or superior skills to mine, I was actually able to execute my game plans better using precisely those very techniques I'd practised against weaker guys.
So, without writing a very long post, I can say that I'm a very different player than before and I'm confident that playing well against a younger, fitter man isn't quite the one-sided battle it seems like at first glance.
Win or lose, I love a good fight.
Besides, I've been working as much on my game as I have been working onmy strokes and techniques.
For starters, I swallowed my pride and tried to play really well against lower-skilled opponents. Not that I ever refused to play against anyone for that reason. I've always remembered other players not wanting to be seen on the same court as me when I was a beginner (and how hurtful hat was) but I never really felt like wanting to focus and strike the ball properly. So mea culpa, I was disrespectful even if I meant well by not trying to crush them with superior skills. These last few months, however, I focused on placing the ball well (not on trying to whack the hell out of it) and discovered that not only did they enjoy it more but that I also improved a lot mentally from having to focus on pure strategy.
And then I also picked a couple of different things that I wanted to focus on doing well each match, like hitting acute crosscourt angles which are easier against people who don't hit so hard, or playing drive-volleys against soft, high, deep balls. Just one or two different things each time, which I wouldn't have the chance to practise in a regular game. And I found that when I did play against people with similar or superior skills to mine, I was actually able to execute my game plans better using precisely those very techniques I'd practised against weaker guys.
So, without writing a very long post, I can say that I'm a very different player than before and I'm confident that playing well against a younger, fitter man isn't quite the one-sided battle it seems like at first glance.
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