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it's also great to see you two have such kind spirited back and forth banter between points and change-overs, in the middle of high level and heated competition!
haven't even finished the video yet but couldn't resist leaving a comment already- I'm at 2-1 and the execution and quality of points have been incredible!! I love seeing the contrast in styles so much, it's like watching a mini-Sampras vs mini-Nadal. Regardless of how it all ends, it's awesome to see your shift in tactics and mentality, Ian! Despite having watched your play for years, I still marvel at your ability to be so crisp at hitting your serve targets, and coming in to the net and placing your volleys so precisely. No one plays like this anymore! It makes for such exciting and edge of my seat point play
Great second set. Chris was excellent on hitting low balls, making it tougher for Ian to volley. Also, the mantra of "one more, hit it again" proved effective, as that made Ian miss some volleys that looked easy. That also can put holes in your confidence, and the moment you second guess something... It gets tougher. Looking forward to seeing Ian's progress as he slowly puts more matches under his belt.
Great content. Ian, you’re playing really well given that you don’t train regularly. Well played Chris; those forehands were heavy and I could tell you had lots of action on that serve.
Well done! you guys play serious tennis. Both players have great shots; especially Ian has a fighting spirit. Just a technical editing advice if I may; Do not shift the scene to the commentators so often, as it distracts the viewers by focusing on other elements rather than the game. An occasional picture in picture is more than enough:)
Chris played well but so did you, Ian. I feel like this was a tribute to Feliciano Lopez. Your style of play reminds me of him. Hope to see more videos coming.
Chris is on fire. I don't see any changes in the fundamentals of his stroke development but just the confidence taking his shots seems to be on a different level. This maybe not talked about that much, but I have a feeling Ian's grip size of probably 4.5, is causing an issue at times for him holding on it too tightly and the volley's go too far. Just a far and very loose guess. One thing to keep in mind is that Ian doesn't play that much at all, so surely being out of practice (match play) certainly does not help, but a much better second set. Cheers and thanks RT. So good to see this version of the match! M
Chris played very well, but Ian certainly was off his game on this day - even missed an overhead, which is unheard of! A couple of key observations... 1. Chris was excellent running down shots which pressured Ian to feel like he needed to make perfect volleys. And had the added benefit of giving Ian more opportunities to miss. 2. Chris was returning serve great right at Ian's feet, which he mentioned several times during the match. If Ian had another 15mph on his serve, targeted the corners of the service box more often, or at least used the lefty spin serve out wide to the Ad court more often, it might have been just enough to reduce Chris' accuracy and might have turned the match around. As it was, Chris had plenty of time to aim those returns as most serves went right to him.... 3. Ian's volleys too often were just pop-ups giving Chris time to run them down and hit passing shots or dipping returns which caused more pop-ups. 4. Ian should hit short to bring Chris in more often as that seemed to be effective. Give Ian another few matches to get settled in and I think he will be more competitive. Then we might have a really competitive rematch!
Great match guys, you always make good content. My one observation, which of course is customary from a viewer, is that I feel like Ian needs to be more aggressive on the return of serve and come over it more. Too many block and chipped returns. However this is likely because lack of match pratice and difficult to replicate in a trainining session.
I would like to see Ian go to a two handed backhand. I am not at his level , but I made the change and never looked back. It takes a lot of stress off that one shoulder doing all the work, he may find he will want to hit the two-hander more often than the forehand.
Ian played well considering he's hampered on the backhand. If you play serve and volley, you need some aces and some cheap points, and Ian didn't get many of those due to Chris' returns at his feet. Love Scott's Carly Simon comment and Mark's "Carly what?"
Chris should’ve hit flatter returns instead of the high top spins he was hitting, those were butter to Ian’s bread to set him up for a perfect volley put away.
I didn't go back and count, but there seemed to be a lot of Ian's serves and approaches to Chris's forehand. Was that a strategy? Seems pretty damn strong over there. Great match. Maybe a little rust on Ian's side? Chris on the other hand mostly looked sharp.
Ian should play every match the way he destoyed MEP. THat's his game and he is very good at it, especially at 4.5. HIs volleys and movement will only get better the more matches he plays and the tougher he will get...
As a net rusher myself, you get to a point where you want to win some matches and not empty your gass tank, so you always see what you can do from the baseline first.
@@Alastairtheduke1 +1. The longer the match goes, the harder it will be for a serve-volleyer. Most opponents will be able to read your serves better and improve their returns. Whereas, most recreational serve-volleyers do not have the endurance to maintain their serving game. You often have to choose between reducing speed to keep the percentage, or hold the speed and lose the percentage. Life is much easier if you can grind a little bit from the baseline and don't have rely entirely on SV for points.
I think "rushing to the net" strategy seems like too much gamble, depend on who's gonna hit worse on that point. Some rally exchanges would worked better in this match. Anyway, I learned alot and respect for both!
Nice match. Ian, in your next match I challenge you to hit over every ball on the backhand side and drop that flimsy/floaty slice. Step into the ball and hit it! You have zero to lose.
@@REALTENNISthat’s probably best. I would brush over the backhand when you’re ready, not drive it. I noticed a lot of your backhands landing short, no bueno. Aim for a window 6’-8’ above the net and brush over the ball. Ball lands nice and deep every time… and as you know depth kills.
Good content guys. Ian, maybe a bit more of a judicious approach to approaching the net. Those chip returns weren't great to follow in (maybe if they'd had more backspin and were deep and close to baseline and middle of court). I think charging the net when it wasn't appropriate might have cost you a lot of points. You can see that when you were more calculated, the points generally went your way. Are you lacking confidence in your groundstrokes? When you're hitting well, your groundstrokes should be able to create net opportunities against Chris. Anyway, good stuff. Oh, don't be so hard on yourself either. Progress isn't linear, as frustrating as that can be. Try to relax and have fun, whether winning or losing. Thanks
I think you had one of the toughest opponents to serve and volley against! Chris makes as many balls as he can and is quick enough to force you to go close to the lines. Step in the right direction though Ian!
Ian…Surely the time has come for you to look at a double handler again. Commit to it for 3 months and just see what happens. Easier on your shoulder and will help you so much in doubles, not having to always worry about a slice return being poached
@@REALTENNIS need help making my slice bounce stay lower and faster and volley stop floating sloooooowa & I miss hit chess high volley however below net I do well but it always side spin,
The amount of effort to fix your backhand I dont think is worth it Ian. I think you should put 100% of your effort into making your forhand a weapon. You need more shape, pace everything really on it but mostly RN you are making to many errors. Having ur backhand being a crutch as a slice is ok if once that ball gets to your forehand you dominate with it.
@@REALTENNIS Yes. Volleys are supposed to stay low. The fact that this floater created a problem is that it just happened to go close to the lines. Floaters like these are usually begging to be killed by the opponent.
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THANK YOU so much for supporting!
Thanks for having me back on the channel. It was a fun match and the editing is always top notch!
it's also great to see you two have such kind spirited back and forth banter between points and change-overs, in the middle of high level and heated competition!
Ya, Chris is a great competitor, he fights hard but is still a great guy.
Thanks! Great match guys! Love seeing RT back in action! 🎾 💪🏻
haven't even finished the video yet but couldn't resist leaving a comment already- I'm at 2-1 and the execution and quality of points have been incredible!! I love seeing the contrast in styles so much, it's like watching a mini-Sampras vs mini-Nadal. Regardless of how it all ends, it's awesome to see your shift in tactics and mentality, Ian! Despite having watched your play for years, I still marvel at your ability to be so crisp at hitting your serve targets, and coming in to the net and placing your volleys so precisely. No one plays like this anymore! It makes for such exciting and edge of my seat point play
haha....I'll totally take "Mini Sampras vs Mini Nadal", appreciate the compliment.
I'm about at the same point in the video and I couldn't agree more, Ian's execution at the net is amazing.
@@REALTENNIS Shades of Patrick Rafter perhaps : )
This was a nice baseline vs net player battle. Entertaining points
Great second set. Chris was excellent on hitting low balls, making it tougher for Ian to volley. Also, the mantra of "one more, hit it again" proved effective, as that made Ian miss some volleys that looked easy. That also can put holes in your confidence, and the moment you second guess something... It gets tougher. Looking forward to seeing Ian's progress as he slowly puts more matches under his belt.
Yup, great comments. Thanks for watching!
Great content. Ian, you’re playing really well given that you don’t train regularly. Well played Chris; those forehands were heavy and I could tell you had lots of action on that serve.
i'm confused. are the names on the scoreboard wrong? i'm five minutes in and ian says he has only two games but won the first set 6 1?
Didn’t Ian lose the first set?
Yup, scoreboard mistake, sorry!
I was also confused.
Well done! you guys play serious tennis. Both players have great shots; especially Ian has a fighting spirit. Just a technical editing advice if I may; Do not shift the scene to the commentators so often, as it distracts the viewers by focusing on other elements rather than the game. An occasional picture in picture is more than enough:)
The intro is Oscar worthy! Nicely done!
👍
thats true Chris nice disguise on your tweener ....... i usually save that tweener for match point though lol
Chris played well but so did you, Ian. I feel like this was a tribute to Feliciano Lopez. Your style of play reminds me of him. Hope to see more videos coming.
Chris is on fire. I don't see any changes in the fundamentals of his stroke development but just the confidence taking his shots seems to be on a different level.
This maybe not talked about that much, but I have a feeling Ian's grip size of probably 4.5, is causing an issue at times for him holding on it too tightly and the volley's go too far. Just a far and very loose guess.
One thing to keep in mind is that Ian doesn't play that much at all, so surely being out of practice (match play) certainly does not help, but a much better second set.
Cheers and thanks RT. So good to see this version of the match!
M
Second singles match in 18 months.....I definitely need some more reps 🙂
@@REALTENNIS You did good man! Multi facet talent!
Cheers.
M
Great match! Ian made a great adjustment, but the worm turned late in the second. That's how tennis can be!
Hats off to Chris!
hahaha what a great graphic visual, bleeping over the curse word with the 'RT' logo!
😆
Chris played very well, but Ian certainly was off his game on this day - even missed an overhead, which is unheard of!
A couple of key observations...
1. Chris was excellent running down shots which pressured Ian to feel like he needed to make perfect volleys. And had the added benefit of giving Ian more opportunities to miss.
2. Chris was returning serve great right at Ian's feet, which he mentioned several times during the match. If Ian had another 15mph on his serve, targeted the corners of the service box more often, or at least used the lefty spin serve out wide to the Ad court more often, it might have been just enough to reduce Chris' accuracy and might have turned the match around. As it was, Chris had plenty of time to aim those returns as most serves went right to him....
3. Ian's volleys too often were just pop-ups giving Chris time to run them down and hit passing shots or dipping returns which caused more pop-ups.
4. Ian should hit short to bring Chris in more often as that seemed to be effective.
Give Ian another few matches to get settled in and I think he will be more competitive. Then we might have a really competitive rematch!
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Great match guys, you always make good content. My one observation, which of course is customary from a viewer, is that I feel like Ian needs to be more aggressive on the return of serve and come over it more. Too many block and chipped returns. However this is likely because lack of match pratice and difficult to replicate in a trainining session.
Had to go back to part 1 to verify the score. I remember Ian being down but then I saw this and was really confused.
The score is backwards Ian lost the first set 6-1
Yup, sorry about that
I would like to see Ian go to a two handed backhand. I am not at his level , but I made the change and never looked back. It takes a lot of stress off that one shoulder doing all the work, he may find he will want to hit the two-hander more often than the forehand.
Ian played well considering he's hampered on the backhand. If you play serve and volley, you need some aces and some cheap points, and Ian didn't get many of those due to Chris' returns at his feet. Love Scott's Carly Simon comment and Mark's "Carly what?"
Chris should’ve hit flatter returns instead of the high top spins he was hitting, those were butter to Ian’s bread to set him up for a perfect volley put away.
I didn't go back and count, but there seemed to be a lot of Ian's serves and approaches to Chris's forehand. Was that a strategy? Seems pretty damn strong over there.
Great match. Maybe a little rust on Ian's side? Chris on the other hand mostly looked sharp.
Ian should play every match the way he destoyed MEP. THat's his game and he is very good at it, especially at 4.5. HIs volleys and movement will only get better the more matches he plays and the tougher he will get...
Net rush is definitely my most competitive approach. Thanks for watching!
As a net rusher myself, you get to a point where you want to win some matches and not empty your gass tank, so you always see what you can do from the baseline first.
@@Alastairtheduke1 +1. The longer the match goes, the harder it will be for a serve-volleyer. Most opponents will be able to read your serves better and improve their returns. Whereas, most recreational serve-volleyers do not have the endurance to maintain their serving game. You often have to choose between reducing speed to keep the percentage, or hold the speed and lose the percentage. Life is much easier if you can grind a little bit from the baseline and don't have rely entirely on SV for points.
I think "rushing to the net" strategy seems like too much gamble, depend on who's gonna hit worse on that point. Some rally exchanges would worked better in this match.
Anyway, I learned alot and respect for both!
Nice match. Ian, in your next match I challenge you to hit over every ball on the backhand side and drop that flimsy/floaty slice. Step into the ball and hit it! You have zero to lose.
I'm not hitting any backhand drives for a while yet, want to be sure my shoulder tear is back to 100%
Two handed backhand could be your shoulder saver and also give good content as you’d have to teach an old dog new tricks ;)
@@REALTENNISthat’s probably best. I would brush over the backhand when you’re ready, not drive it. I noticed a lot of your backhands landing short, no bueno. Aim for a window 6’-8’ above the net and brush over the ball. Ball lands nice and deep every time… and as you know depth kills.
Good content guys. Ian, maybe a bit more of a judicious approach to approaching the net. Those chip returns weren't great to follow in (maybe if they'd had more backspin and were deep and close to baseline and middle of court). I think charging the net when it wasn't appropriate might have cost you a lot of points. You can see that when you were more calculated, the points generally went your way. Are you lacking confidence in your groundstrokes? When you're hitting well, your groundstrokes should be able to create net opportunities against Chris. Anyway, good stuff. Oh, don't be so hard on yourself either. Progress isn't linear, as frustrating as that can be. Try to relax and have fun, whether winning or losing. Thanks
I think you had one of the toughest opponents to serve and volley against! Chris makes as many balls as he can and is quick enough to force you to go close to the lines. Step in the right direction though Ian!
Wait a minute. I watched the first set and Chris won it 6-1, what is up with the scoreboard?
This closer to 4.0 level
Ian…Surely the time has come for you to look at a double handler again. Commit to it for 3 months and just see what happens. Easier on your shoulder and will help you so much in doubles, not having to always worry about a slice return being poached
also, Ian do you feel like some of your effectiveness or surprise element as a lefty, is a bit neutralized given that Chris is also a lefty??
No, not really. Even for lefties, it's very rare we see another lefty. It's just as awkward for us as it is for anybody else.
@@REALTENNIS Exactly, I remember for that same reason Nadal having serious problems from time to time with Verdasco.
Score’s off, Ian lost the first set. Score editing would need to be refreshed
Sorry!
Oof. Thats what we call a good ol fashioned molly woppin. Heal up and get your form back!
Your main camera angle needs to be higher and tighter. This isn’t a good watching experience unfortunately.
Ian 13 years ago was twice as fast and stronger. I feel bad for Ian bcuz he’s a good dude
I just turned 64, so I dream of being an old guy like Ian.
I mean....that's true of everybody 😆. No need to feel sorry for me.
@@REALTENNIS need help making my slice bounce stay lower and faster and volley stop floating sloooooowa & I miss hit chess high volley however below net I do well but it always side spin,
Great job Chirs, played a solid 2nd set.
He did, super tough
The camera is difficult to watch, too far..
Those angles are pretty bad. The channel needs to find a way to record it from a higher point.
It's okay on a big screen but on a smartphone you can hardly see the far side of the net.
The amount of effort to fix your backhand I dont think is worth it Ian. I think you should put 100% of your effort into making your forhand a weapon. You need more shape, pace everything really on it but mostly RN you are making to many errors. Having ur backhand being a crutch as a slice is ok if once that ball gets to your forehand you dominate with it.
That's fair.
The score doesn't look right!!😂😂
Yup, sorry about that
6:05 I stopped watching when the clueless commentators called a FLOATER "nice volley"
It's impossible for a FLOATER to be a nice volley?
@@REALTENNIS Yes. Volleys are supposed to stay low. The fact that this floater created a problem is that it just happened to go close to the lines. Floaters like these are usually begging to be killed by the opponent.