Date: 27 Dec to 29 Dec 2021
Venue: Mount Maunganui Tennis Club, Tauranga, New Zealand
Website: Tennis New Zealand
About my opponents
What kind of characteristics did Angus Alan Colquhoun feel as a player? What kind of tennis should I play to win?
He is very tall and he loves coming to the net, so I have to have a better lob than today if I want to win. Also, he mostly hits his forehand cross-court so I can shake him to the left forehand corner then once he hits back to my forehand, I will be able to hit a fast shot to his backhand side. If I am on defense mode I will have to constantly hit deep to his backhand or else I will lose in power or consistency. I have to do S&V more because I have to do risky things to win against him. It was kinda hard for me to do that though because I had a lollipop that he was able to smash.
What kind of characteristics did Ryder Wu feel as a player in the second game? What kind of tennis should I play to win?
He is very short, but he hits back most of the balls I hit to the middle, so I can’t win by just hitting the ball to the middle. I won by doing these 2 things: drop shot and overpowered flat forehand. He hits cross-court for his forehand and to be honest it was way better than I thought. But his backhand wasn’t that good.
What kind of characteristics did you feel that Mitchell Hill was a player? What kind of tennis should I play to win?
He has a good 1st serve that won’t really go in, and his 2nd serve is a lollipop. He isn’t really that tall or short, he is just a little shorter than me… His fitness level is very high just like normal kiwi’s (Not racist) He hits cross-court forehand just like the other two on the top. I should have targeted his backhand more, to be honest, I wasn’t really able to think about that because I was too busy thinking of hitting the ball hard or getting the ball in. I should have done less slice and I have done way more proper topspin. My take back was fast for backhand so I was able to hit it deep and consistently. I was surprised, but I did not do much on the net. Instead, I did a lot of over. I think I gave like 2 games away for double faults.
About my Tennis
How did I feel about my body during the match?
For the 1st match, I was really good and my intensity was really high especially in the last game…
2nd match, to be honest, I didn’t have to move my leg much, because I mean he is only 7 and he is slow, so I was kind of attacking and he was defending…
In the last match, my left foot was sort of hurting, and I wasn’t able to give my best shot for footwork. But my blood was really good because I took off my shoes when I was waiting.
What was my skill during the match?
Serve
It was fast, but I did a lot of double faults, especially for the last match.
Forehand
I would give 8/10. I was able to crush the ball and hit fast shots, but the reason why I took off 2 was that I did too much over.
Backhand
I think I did the best backhand I did in my whole entire time in Mount Maunganui. It was good and the ball I hit was very deep.
Volley
I did volley and my backhand volley was very good, but I was not able to hit a good shot on a high chance ball forehand volley.
Smash
There was 1 in the whole 3 matches it was the last match. I ended up doing net, but I think it was a nice try.
How did I feel about my mental health during the match?
In the last match, it was exactly like Ethan’s match. I didn’t want to miss and I was using a high loop ball and slices.
In the 2nd match, I was just thinking about ending the match early, and finishing the point early cause I didn’t want to lose my energy.
In the 1st match, I was thinking of how to defeat the enemy.
What was my confidence about during the match?
The last match: Serve, Fast shots, and Forehand down the line.
The 2nd match: Dropshot, Fast flat forehand.
The 1st match: Footwork, Lob, and moonball
What was I worried about during the match?
I was worried about my double fault and my fast forehand miss going out.
I was worried about not winning the match and not playing the other one.
Looking back on the match, if I could coach (advice) myself in the match, what would I like to convey?
- Try to not rush and hit and make an unforced error.
- Do a lollipop and get your serve in no matter what, maybe even do an underarm if you have to.
What do I want to improve and practice before the next game?
- Serve because I made a lot of double faults and I don’t want to do that again. Get in 20 serves in a row ( I have 2 serves ), but I only have 3 chances to get 20.
- I want to make my forehand more consistent because it is powerful, but it is still a little rough, and I did a lot of outs, so I want to have more topspin and get the ball in.
- I want to practice my drop shot because that is one of the strategies and I want to make it better because I can push the opponent with my forehand then finish it with my drop shot.
I can do a drop shot from a floating chance ball.
