Playing Doubles—Learning to Cooperate

Inside The Lines – My Tennis Journey

Playing Doubles—Learning to Cooperate

December 20, 2009

Volume 2: issue 3

This is the tale of two tennis weekends – one immensely enjoyable and the other like experiencing a root canal and having to say, “Thank You” anyway. You thank your dentist for performing the procedure, but it is still painful. Losses in tennis are like that. You thank your doubles partner and your opponents because it’s good sportsmanship. However, that does not mean the process is pain free. Thanking someone after a loss is a painful experience in my opinion. I guess that gives a hint about my feelings about losing.

Two consecutive weekends I played doubles with the same partner and our results were as different as night and day. This is considering that the level of competition was nearly equal between the first and second weekends. In fact, the competition may have been slightly better when we played recreationally the first weekend, but tournament match play, which is what we played on the second weekend, is a different story.

The first weekend was great. We had great chemistry. The on court communication was plentiful. We were coordinated in our match play. The results were indicative of our play. We won four out of five sets played.

We could not do anything wrong and our execution was nearly flawless.

The second weekend was like a horror movie. We could not do anything right. The demons inside our heads kept coming back. We could not kill them. The communication was lacking and nothing worked. We lost all six sets we played in a round robin format in a local tournament. Frustration is not a word I would use to accurately describe my feelings. It was worse than that, but what could I do? I felt powerless. I could not dominate the court, I could not get my partner to play better, and even when I did something right, it would eventually backfire. I actually enjoy playing doubles with this individual, who I will call Smiley, but I am thinking I probably should not play with Smiley in highly competitive situations like sanctioned tournaments.

I have to believe our play suffered during the second weekend because of the tournament environment. Smiley could not be himself, which is to be quite vocal and demonstrative. Because of the more subdued atmosphere of tournament play where vocal outbursts are frowned upon, I think Smiley was not as relaxed. It showed in his play. As a result, I think I pressed a little more also believing that I had to make up the difference. I did not play as well as I could have either.

We could not do anything right during the tournament and the results clearly showed that.

Tennis is a sport that will force you to examine yourself during the heat of competition. Any flaws in personality and character will be exposed during the heat of completion in tennis. When you play singles, you feel a tremendous sense of responsibility for the match result because it’s just you on the court. There is no one else to blame. When you play doubles, the responsibility is shared and that means blame can be shared too. Doubles play in tennis is tantamount to the cooperation required to make a marriage or business partnership work.

Cooperation, commitment, compassion, and communication are essential to a healthy relationship in marriage, business, or playing doubles in tennis.

When I think of a good “tennis day” and I have had the opportunity to play doubles, it means that I enjoyed playing with my partner during that time. We may not have won all of the time, but the matches were enjoyable, tense-free, and cultivated an atmosphere where one could practice and not feel tense about missing a shot.

Today did not start out as a good “tennis day.”

Last weekend while we were winning the games seemed fun. This weekend we were playing in a tournament. Something was at stake and the atmosphere was different. I’m not sure what exactly, but we played like we had bet the mortgage money on us and our opponents were Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.

We looked bad. Doubles tennis may have been set back fifty years looking at our match.

Why did we look bad? Several of the essential elements of good doubles play, aside from talent, which I mention previously – cooperation, commitment, compassion, and communication were not present in our games.

Cooperation? This was a very challenging aspect of our play. Balls that landed in the middle of the court or in any part of the ad court, I tried to yell “yours” meaning I expected Smiley to play the ball. Similarly, if I thought the ball would land in the deuce court or I had a better shot at a ball in the middle, I would yell “mine”. Smiley seemed to take some special delight in trying to play balls that were clearly on my side of the court. This was in sharp contrast to what happened on several occasions when I went to retrieve a ball that was off the court. That is a situation where I would expect Smiley to slide over and cover the middle of the court. More often than not, Smiley would be standing in the ad court watching me retrieve the ball. The next shot was typically a winner for our opponents. We were clearly not cooperating with each other.

Commitment? I have to believe both of us were committed to winning. However, I also know that the recreational player does not always have the same agenda as the tournament player. Playing for fun and playing to win are two distinct things. I like to believe I do both. Smiley has played longer than I and he takes drills. I don’t know if he has ever taken any lessons and judging from his strokes I am not sure he really wants to play tennis in the conventional way. He likes to chop at the ball and his style seems more suited for racquetball or ping pong. But, I like playing with him because he keeps the mood light and he is a lot of fun. That’s okay for recreational play. Tournament tennis is another story. I am not obsessed with winning, but I want to be competitive and I want to improve my level of play. I take drills and lessons. I make time for practice. I read about tennis and I talk to those with knowledge about the sport. I am committed to improving my tennis game. Smiley “just likes to play.” That is one of the fundamental differences between us. I’ll consider this when I think about the next tournament.

Compassion? I am still considered a beginner in tennis, although I play at the 3.5 intermediate level. As I have embarked on this tennis journey, I know I have encountered other players who have had to tolerate my lack of skill. I believe I am obligated to do the same. You have to be willing to accept your own mistakes on the court, learn, and move on from them. You must do the same for your partner. You can not let the mistakes linger and cause dissension between you and your playing partner. Part of being compassionate is to motivate and let the other person know that things will get better. In tennis this means that you have to shake off errors and concentrate on the next ball and the next point. I am always willing to cut my partner some slack. I hope I can get the same from others who play with me.

Communication? You and your partner have to discuss strategy, strengths and weaknesses, and the goals and objectives before, during, and after a match. You need to communicate during a point in play and during crucial moments in the match. Smiley and I did not communicate well today. Our strategy was not effective, we were sometimes confused about who should play balls in the middle of the court, and we did not communicate after the warm up period to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents.

When I consider what Smiley and I did not do during our matches this weekend, I should not be surprised by the results. 0-6, 1-6, 1-6, 5-7, 1-6, and 2-6. We played like we did not want to win.

We were not competitive as a result.

Today did not start out as a good tennis day, but it ended as a good tennis day.

I learned something about myself and Smiley. We will play doubles again and in time we may get better, but next time will be different. We will learn how to communicate, cooperate, and come to a conclusion about the match goals and objectives. Familiarity and practice will help us play better. That is a good thing.

Immediately after the match today, as if I needed more torture, I decided to go play some more with some friends at another court. Smiley joined us a little later. I finally experienced the thrill of victory this weekend. I managed to win three sets including one against Smiley and his partner, 6-0.

If you can’t join them, then at least beat them. Smiley and I could not win any of our matches, so I felt compelled to beat him when I played against him.

Today was a good tennis day after all.

Tennis and Life coupled like man and wife.

A commitment to excellence takes hard work and may cause pain.

Some days will be sunny. Other days may bring rain.

And when the story is told by others and it is time to reflect,

Life will teach how to forgive. Tennis allows you to play a “let”.

Copyright © 2009 Milton A. Brown

Better Late than Never

Inside The Lines – My Tennis Journey

Better Late than Never

December 10, 2009

Volume 2: issue 2

I play USTA League tennis at the 3.5 level. This simply means I am not a beginner. I am on the long road to becoming an advanced player. Leagues are nice because you get exposed to a variety of players and playing styles. I believe my game has improved dramatically due to the combination of drills, lessons, practice, and the opportunity to play in leagues and tournaments. I don’t believe my game would be at the level it is currently without the benefit of league play. I started playing tennis later in life after I figured I had exhausted my basketball playing days, so it is very easy for me to say, “Better late than never.” I can also say that for some of my match play. Please let me explain.

Our team had to play a makeup match on this night because of a previous cancellation due to rain. The weather was not exactly favorable. It was cold, breezy and very dry. My hands were destined to crack and it was difficult to get a good feel for the racquet or the ball. Nevertheless, part of the beauty of tennis is overcoming the elements. Tonight would be a test of that premise. As has been customary, I played line #4, which usually means I am playing the weakest of the four opponents required in a team match. This is not always the case, but more often than not a player on line #4 does not have as much ability as a line #1 player. My opponent on this night (Alvin Jimenez) was listed as a 3.0 level player. I was not totally convinced of that by night’s end, but that is the nature of league tennis. Sometimes the level of play is not consistent with the USTA ratings. Much discussion has occurred in many circles in the tennis community regarding ratings and their accuracy. The system will never be perfect, but it is used as a guideline to benchmark and classify competition levels.

I had to fight the elements and the notion that I should win against a 3.0 player. Plus, I was playing at my home court. This was enough pressure for me, but I could not think of it in that way.

The match started out in my favor. I won the coin toss and elected to serve. My thought process on this night was to jump out to a lead and put pressure on my opponent to play from behind.

It did not work.

I lost a tough service game where I double faulted the first point, then fell behind 0-30 after Alvin hit a chip return winner off a very good serve out wide in the ad court. At 0-30 I needed to get in a first serve. I did. I won the next two points to level the game at 30-30. Then, the first of several unlucky net cord bounces did me in. I was now down 30-40 on my serve. However, I was confident because I like to serve in the ad court. I hit another good serve out wide and Alvin did the same thing he did previously. He turned it into an angled winner for him. It was now a deciding point that would determine this game. Then, it happened again. Alex elected to receive the serve in the ad court. I wanted to go down the ‘T’, but I missed my first serve. I went back to my best serve – out wide in the ad court. Alex chipped it out wide and I could not get to it quick enough. I lost the first game. It was disappointing, but I told myself that if I continued to serve consistently some of those breaks would go my way. Down 0-1 I decided to concentrate on breaking Alvin’s serve.

Alvin’s serve was deceptive. It came in hard and flat with a moderate pace. It appeared to accelerate once it hit the court. The ball seemed heavy at times, so I tried to chip it back to start the rally rather than attempt to direct in an offensive manner. This worked most of the time. However, it took me several games to figure out the way to handle it. The second game I did not do that. I lost the second game on a deciding point after Alvin hit an ace down the ‘T’. I was down 0-2 and I needed to win my next service game.

I won my service game to maintain contact. Down 1-2, I wanted to keep pressure on Alvin to win his service games. I felt like I would eventually catch up to his serve and mine would get stronger as the match progressed. This proved to be true. Alvin won his service game, but it was a struggle. The deciding point winner was on a shot that hit the net and dropped over. I hit what I thought was a perfect drop shot after driving Alvin deep on the baseline. Alvin’s speed and length allowed him to catch up and stick his racquet underneath the ball. The ball popped up and barely cleared the net after hitting the top and falling over. I had no chance. I wanted to get upset. I could not believe the luck this guy was having so far. I was down 1-3. Then, I realized that I have to hold serve. 2-3 looks a lot better than 1-4. It was time to refocus. I figured if I held serve, I could break on his next serve. But, I had to handle my business. I held comfortably. I was up 40-0 when I made the first error of the game by hitting a cross court forehand too deep, but I was encouraged by my play. I was starting to play myself into the match. At 40-15 I decided to go for it on my first serve. I jammed Alvin with a body serve. He fought it off and hit a ball deep down the middle. I fought it off and looped a forehand deep down the middle to his backhand. It bounced too high and he hit it into the net. I was feeling good about my chances to break. It was now 2-3 and Alvin’s serve.

Alvin struggled with his serve in this game. I think his nerves were starting to get to him because he missed an opportunity to go up 4-1. He lost this game and we were now tied 3-3. However, the unthinkable happened next. I lost my service game. I was down again 3-4. I did not handle my service game well. There was a strange pattern to the games I served and lost. Alvin would hit a return that I bet he could not hit again in a thousand tries. During rallies, I would invariably hit a ball that would be close, but out. Basically, I felt like I was losing these games because of the combination of my errors and Alvin’s luck. I really believed that pattern could not continue. Nevertheless, I took a deep breath and realized I would have to break Alvin’s serve again. Plus, I knew Alvin would be serving under pressure to try to go up 5-3.

The eighth game of the first set was crucial for me. I got off to a good start. I hit a cross court winner when Alvin approached the net on a deep shot to the ad corner. He probably figured I could not pass him with my forehand. I did. It was one of the better shots I hit in the match. I heard one of my teammates acknowledge the shot in the distance, so I knew it was a good one. 0-15 was a good start for me. Several rallies later, the score was now 30-30. This was another key moment in the match. Alvin hit a serve down the ‘T’ that was close, but out. He later told me he thought it was an ace. He had not seen me put my finger up, nor did he hear me call, “Out.” Alvin double faulted on his next serve. The first set of the match was now tied 4-4.

This is what I fought for – a chance to level the set and give myself a chance to win it. I had to hold serve. I felt confident about holding serve at this point. I believe the ninth game was the game that won me the match. The game came down to a deciding point. Alvin, much to my surprise, elected to take the serve in the ad court. I hit the serve in the middle of the box and it jammed him, but he still managed to float a deep ball right at my feet. All I could do was chip it, and hope it stayed in the court. It did and that is when the rally started. The next ball came down the middle and I hit a slice backhand back down the middle that stayed low. Again, Alvin hit a forehand that had me scramble to my backhand. He is now standing at the net. I tried to loop a backhand past him, but he hit an overhead that I managed to fight off and I hit a semi-lob. Alvin hit that ball deep to the ad court. I scrambled and hit a looping forehand that sailed over his head and landed inside the baseline for a winner. He was just as surprised as I was. It wasn’t quite a lob and it wasn’t really a ground stroke, but because of my unorthodox swing pattern (ala Nadal buggy whip style), and being a lefty, I was able to hit that shot. 5-4 and momentum on my side, I felt like Alvin would struggle in his service game. He did. At 30-40, he double faulted. I won the set 6-4. Plus, it was my serve to start the second set.

I lost my service game. It wasn’t that I did not serve well. I did. But, Alvin hit some returns that were placed well. When I served at 30-40, Alvin hit another shot that skidded off the top of the net. It disrupted my timing and my slice backhand floated long. Yikes! Another service game was down the tube. I knew this was a no-no, but I had to get over it quickly. The second set took on the same characteristics as the first set. I got down 1-3, then, I held my serve at 1-3. The difference was that I managed to win the next five games. I decided to change my pattern of play and force Alvin to hit more balls. I noticed he had trouble as long as I kept the ball deep and bouncing high to the backhand. I stopped hitting to his forehand. I hit the ball deep down the middle or cross court, but not to the deuce court if I could help it. When he tried to run around his backhand, I made certain I would slice the ball to his forehand on the next ball hit. This kept him from getting any clean forehand shots. This pattern of play worked because Alvin hit a decent slice backhand, but that played into my hands. He stopped trying to hit forehands and battle me with slice backhands. Then, when his slice backhand sat up, it was right in my hitting zone for the forehand. I could slice my backhand to his backhand because I had more control on that side. His backhand would go to my forehand. I don’t know if he figured this out. Five games later it did not matter. I had won the match 6-4, 6-3.

Both sets started slowly for me. I was down 1-3 in each. But, I figured out that if I kept fighting I would give myself a chance. I did not let the elements, bad bounces, unlucky bounces or the frustration of hitting good shots without getting good results affect me. This was a test of mental focus. I can’t always expect opponents to self-destruct under the pressure. But, I also know that being down one break of serve is no reason for me to panic. Starting slowly is not the ideal way to begin a match and it is a pattern I have to break. This is why I say, “Better Late than Never”, but the better saying might be, “Better, Never Late.” This simply means that if I serve first, I need to win that service game and get my play established earlier in the match. In other words, don’t start late.

What went wrong
- I could have come to net more. My opponent came to net on many slice approach shots, which forced me to pass or lob him. If I had turned the tables on him, he may not have been as aggressive.

-I hit too many balls down the middle of the court. Although I hit a few shots cross court, some for winners, I hit too many neutral balls when I had opportunities to hit an offensive shot.

What went right

-Effective use of the lob and cross court pass shots to keep opponent from charging the net consistently
-I was not affected mentally by the elements (wind, excessive noise at times).

-First serve was effective both in ad court and deuce court.
-I did not rush shots – used patience in executing ground strokes and setting up points when opportunities availed themselves.

What would I do differently (Key Lessons)
-I would elect to receive and try to hit more balls in the beginning of the match when it is cold.

-I would bear down in the second set to make sure I hold serve and put more pressure on the opponent.

Tennis and Life coupled like man and wife.

A commitment to excellence takes hard work and may cause pain.

Some days will be sunny. Other days may bring rain.

And when the story is told by others and it is time to reflect,

Life will teach how to forgive. Tennis allows you to play a “let”.

Copyright © 2009 Milton A. Brown

Making Progress—Playing the Mental Game when It’s Just Practice

Inside The Lines – My Tennis Journey

Making Progress—Playing the Mental Game when It’s Just Practice

December 8, 2009

Volume 2: issue 1

The days of chasing trophies and playing high stakes tennis never existed for me. I started too late. I don’t play for money and I play tournaments as a means to benchmark my progress. I play to win, but I am not competitive to the point of sacrificing my integrity or compromising a relationship. I like to keep my tennis in the “Stress Free Zone” where improving my game overall is more important than winning any single game or match.

Some of my practice partners do not share the same philosophy and I now know that with certainty.

Today I played a couple of practice sets. I played well. I was consistent in my ground strokes. My first serve percentage was high. I think I only had one double fault and although my serve did not have the pace I normally generate, I was pleased with the placement. It allowed me to take control of the point in most cases. The only thing I can complain about from today’s session was my inability to control my slice backhand. Many of them floated out, although they appeared to not miss by much. However, in retrospect, I wonder if some of those balls landed in actually. I’ll explain.

When I won the first set 6-1, lost the second set 1-6, and split the beginning of a third set 1-1 but my “practice” partner insisted the score was 0-2, I began to wonder if this was just practice. It was for me. At 40-5, my serve in the previous game, I hit a cross court shot that appeared to me to be a winner. I walked off the court for the changeover. My practice partner walked over also and did not say anything. I assumed the set score was 1-0. Sam (not his real name) called the score 5-40. He asked, “Isn’t the score 5-40?” I said, “Yes, it was 5-40. That was the game.” I later found out, Sam thought I was giving him the game AND that the ball I thought was a winner was out. It did not make sense. I would not have walked off the court at 40-30. I was certain I had hit a winner. But, you know what happened next.

The next game started. I lost a long deuce game. It was the second game of the third set, we were playing on extended court time meaning additional court fees would be due, and Sam had been struggling mentally (by his own admission) most of the session. I called the score 1-1. Sam thought the score was 0-2 in his favor. Then it hit me.

Sam was just like one of my other practice partners, John. Both men admit to being competitive, but it really appears to be more of a veneer of false superiority. In other words, I believe if you asked either one of them, they would tell you that they are “much” better players than I. The results don’t indicate this. This probably explains why each one will go to great lengths to win, even in practice. One of my other practice partners (whom I’ll call Huey), who I also consider a friend, observed this on one occasion with John and tipped me off to it.

I wish Huey could have been at courtside tonight.

As for my practice partner Sam (not his real name), I think he was trying to regain some semblance of false superiority of his ability, at least over me. Why would I say this? My practice partner talked about going back into teaching tennis. At the risk of initiating the start of World War III, I decided not to ask Sam what qualified him to teach.

Today was clearly not a normal day of practice. I made it very clear at the beginning of the session that I have three goals (in order of priority) in mind when I practice.

1) Get a good workout. I like to make sure I invest the proper level of energy and make the most of my session, as it is my primary form of exercise. I have replaced basketball with tennis, so I like to make the best of the time.

2) Work on specific strokes, strategies, and patterns of play. Anything I have learned new since my last lesson, weak areas I have identified in my last actual match, or something that I am weak in executing becomes a candidate for something I work on in practice.

3) Get a positive result when or if the score is kept. If the practice session concludes with playing a tiebreaker, set, or practice match, I like to incorporate what I have practiced. If I get a win, I consider that “icing on the cake” for the session. However, winning is the third priority when I practice. The point is that I don’t want to slip into a pattern of play that will give me the best opportunity to win if I am not executing the right strokes.

I don’t think mentioning this to Sam made any difference. Sam appeared intent on winning even if it meant making questionable line calls, consistently “forgetting” the score, and complaining throughout the session that his mind was just not into it and he could not maintain focus. I could totally understand this given Sam’s recent traumatic experience, but it was Sam who wanted to “practice” in the first place. For future reference I have to interpret a request “to hit” as a request “to play a match”. I guess that is “my bad.”

I wanted to be accommodating and I needed the practice, so I agreed. I did not want to make this session a bone of contention for the future. After we decided mutually to end the session a series of questions entered my mind.

If I had won both sets, would my opponent have given me any credit or would he have pointed to his inability to focus as the cause of his defeat?

If this was practice, why did Sam “insist” on playing after a brief warm up period? By the way, I obliged, but on this day I would have been content with hitting.

If this was practice, why did Sam become so adamant about line calls I questioned? One might suggest that I should not have questioned any calls since this was practice, but in the spirit of tennis sportsmanship, if I saw the ball was close I noticed Sam would consistently call the ball out even when it may have been in play. In other words, I did not get any close calls that I saw. I expect that in a tournament. I don’t expect that in practice.

I was even told at one point that we were playing “Street Tennis” and tournament rules did not really apply. What? I could not believe that. My introduction to “Street Tennis” followed my playing a ball that my opponent DID NOT call out on the first serve because he thought it was “obvious” that the ball was out AND that I saw it. This was another one of the close calls I did not get. In tournament play when your opponent does not call the ball out and plays it, you are obligated to play the ball. Otherwise, you will lose the point. The Code, which is the rule book of matches that are not officiated, states it like this:

“Any “out” or “let” call must be made instantaneously (i.e., made before either an opponent has hit the return or the return has gone out of play); otherwise, the ball continues in play.”

Sam did not appear to understand this. His response was, “we are not playing a tournament match. This is Street Tennis.”

That was basically the tone of my “practice” session.

I really believe that had the score been 6-0, 6-0, Sam would have made every excuse and not conceded that I played better on this day. You know the player. My level of play would not have been in the equation of winning. It would have been all about them and their game.

I think this is called the “Serena Williams Syndrome” (SWS).

Today I realized I made some progress. I won a set against Sam, whom I had not beaten previously. I feel my game is starting to develop some more consistency. Sam complained that he did not like playing against guys like me. I don’t hit real hard, which makes it difficult for Sam to generate pace on his shots. I place the ball and I try to use my speed. I guess he meant my playing style is not conventional. Sam’s ground strokes are not exactly “Federeresque”, but he may think they are. This is what I know.

As I continue in my tennis journey, I will be looking for folks with SWS. When I encounter it, I will know how to respond. I will have to keep telling myself, “It’s just practice.”

Tennis and Life coupled like man and wife.

A commitment to excellence takes hard work and may cause pain.

Some days will be sunny. Other days may bring rain.

And when the story is told by others and it is time to reflect,

Life will teach how to forgive. Tennis allows you to play a “let”.

Copyright © 2009 Milton A. Brown