[2022.1.6] Lavie Open – Playoff | Kohtaro Sai

Date: 5 Jan to 8 Jan 2022
Venue: Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand
Website: Tennis New Zealand – Lavie Open

About my opponents

What kind of characteristics did Michael NEEDHAM feel as a player? What kind of tennis should I play to win?

Mikey has a one-handed backhand that I think is pretty good. He has so much topspin on his backhand. He hits crosscourt for his forehand 99% so I always cover that side.
He has a spin serve that bounces on the right side from my angle. The way to beat him is by just getting the ball deep to his backhand, do that 70% and you won’t lose against him.

What kind of characteristics did Sean PURDY feel as a player in the second game? What kind of tennis should I play to win?

Sean is a guy who reminds me of myself in 2019. He is an aggressive player who sometimes smashes the ball too much. He doesn’t like long rallies so if you hit like 5 balls with him, he will do a drop shot or just smash it over to the fence. He is not bad at volleys, he is able to return it pretty well. He does a lot of double faults and if the service goes in it is only a weak kick so it is not much of a problem.

About my Tennis

How did I feel about my body during the match?

It was good, but I wasn’t moving back and forward that well compared to yesterday, I did a lot of overs in the match.

What was my skill during the match?

Serve

I had a big serve, and my 1st serve went 80% in, so I didn’t have much pressure, but my 2nd serve was 40% so I was worried when it came to my 2nd serve.
I didn’t use much slice serve or flat serve. I used many spins serves for my 1st serve.

Forehand

I hit to the middle against Mikey, because he is not really good at the long rallies, so I just got the ball in the court making him go back, not letting him come in the baseline.
In the 2nd match, I tried using a different type of ball, because if I give Sean an easy ball he will most likely hit a heavy ball to my body with his forehand. But anyway it wasn’t that hard as Ridley’s match yesterday.

Backhand

I didn’t want to use it much because it is not consistent, and I tried to go around as much as I could for both matches. When it came to my backhand I used a slice to run for now, but I did hit topspin especially when there is an open court down the line.

Volley

I used it a lot because I wanted to finish the point early. In Mikey’s match, we had a volley match and I ended up losing. I had chances to finish the point but there were some points where it took me many chances.

Smash

There was only 1 against Mikey and it was a quick one where I got a winner.

How did I feel about my mental health during the match?

For Mikey’s match, it was pretty fun, we were having a lot of fun, I was concentrating but we were laughing too. In the 2nd match, I was quiet and Sean was shouting and crying so much. We had a funny voice battle during the point and it was kind of fun tennis.

What was my confidence about during the match?

Consistency because for both matches my opponent was rusty especially Sean so all I had to do was keep getting the ball in. And my strategy and making them move was also building my confidence.

What was I worried about during the match?

My second serve and Sean’s forehand, because when it goes in, it will be a little annoying. Nothing much about Mikey because I had to just get my ball into the court.

Looking back on the match, if I could coach (advice) myself in the match, what would I like to convey?

Watch out for Sean’s drop shot, and try to say more common! And against Mikey, just because your winning doesn’t attack too much and doesn’t do anything unnecessary like S&V when I am winning because all I have to do is do the same play style and if they change something you change something too. Don’t change it yourself, you are winning.