@@joemarshall4226 Agree - it's why I decided to pin this comment as I was concerned viewers would think I'm crazy enough to drive across the city to knock on MEP's door : ]
I love that when MEP first appeared on this channel people were bashing him and now everyone mostly respect him a lot and understand that it is a pain to defeat him
There are two things MEP does that a common, average "pusher" can't: 1. MEP puts underspin on his ball. Underspin makes the ball harder to attack. An average pusher simply pushes the ball with no spin. Even on pro tour, Monica Niculescu makes a lot of her opponents crazy with her underspin. 2. MEP has great control on his placement. He can place one shot deep to one corner then the next shot short to the other corner. This maximizes the diagonal distance his opponent has to move. The average pusher doesn't have such control, they usually just place the ball in the middle of the court. A novice may not be able to tell the difference. But once you play someone like MEP, you'll find out it's much more difficult than it looks at first.
I would literally destroy Mep and I’ve been playing tennis for two months he hits way to short every ball I would attack the net and abuse that non existent backhand
@@Wannabe-Pro Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if I make at least 1 or 2 calls per match wrong. They've done studies that show even the pros can't call lines consistently. Even just realizing how often the pros question calls that they truly think they are right but turn out to be wrong proves that... A wrong calls does not automatically mean someone called it wrong intentionally... We are all human (at least most of us are....lol).
@@alwaysprepared mostly true but the pros don’t need to call their own lines. And calling 120+mph serves and 75-85+mph groundies much tougher than 90mph serves and 40mph groundies, if that.
20:47 I had to stop and play this a few times. It's just poetry. Dialed spot on the pass, and the ANTICIPATION on the next shot, into a perfectly measured mid-court volley. Purely controlled, totally balanced. I want to make a grand, sweeping statement about what this says about him as a tennis player, but for now I'll settle for a "I saw and appreciated that very much, Ben."
Ben is very smart and careful with his strokes. I never had fun playing that way myself. For me it’s more important to “go for it” and let go. No matter what level you are at, the no. 1 rule is to have fun! Love ❤️ 🎾
I've seen MEP played for 2 matches and. I noticed that he doesn't make any unforce error. That's the reason why he wins. Also, he places the ball well tho.
Great match and nice job, Ben. D2 came in in crosscourt approaches too many times (or returned short angled shots crosscourt) which made him very easy to pass. I'd like to see more intentionality with the approach shots and it's okay to slice them and force MEP to hit up. The forehand was also unstable with lots of arm and not much body in the motion. MEP's game is made to take advantage of such inherent inconsistencies and he did well at exposing it here.
MEP is probably the best pusher I've witnessed play (I've seen a lot of pushers at 4 singles in HS) and I know I would be raging my ass off if I had to play against him...
He’s a pretty bad player. Not really a good pusher. He’s slow. His shots are so slow and one dimensional. And just relies on players making unforced errors. But he has a decent attitude and seems like a nice guy. I just think he needs to stop wasting his time playing like this and try to learn some proper tennis mechanics so he can bring his fame to the next level. He will always be stuck at this level if he continues to play like this touch butt tennis.
@@kesun32145 "Stuck" at being in the best 5-10% of tennis players in the country, after never playing until he was 32 years old......And with limited speed, and 44 years old, like you say. Tell me, how many 32 year olds, who never played tennis before, and get "proper" instruction, go on to a level that is as high as MEP's? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? Let's not be ridiculous. As soon as MEP proves how good he is, people change the definition of pusher. They just can't admit that his is a valid way of playing, and that it works. The truth is that starting with high level "proper strokes" is not an easy way to learn, turns a lot of people off, and won't get you the results that pushing will unless you commit to it night and day. MEP will add more shots to his game, better net play, etc. But he should stay with his unorthodox strokes because they are effective....and fun! He should keep working on his net game and his serve, then learn to serve and volley, then hit a topspin BH passing shot. The "lesson players" he competes against should learn how to push, how to slice from both sides, how to work moonballs into their game, and how to how to retrieve. MEP learned defense first, then offense. The lesson players must take the opposite approach if they want to reach their maximum potential.
@@joemarshall4226 MEP deserves credit for what he's achieved. It takes hard work and dedication to win with his style after never taking proper tennis lessons. He can continue playing this style and beat a certain level of tennis player. However, if he really wants to get better, there's no way he can play this style and win against anyone who is a serious tennis player. He got exposed by a very talented 12 year old. There's definitely no shame in losing to a nationally ranked 12 year old, but the fact that it was not even competitive is the problem. A very good pusher would have been able to frustrate and make a very close match against the 12 year old. Because MEP is not a very good pusher he got clobbered. The 12 year old showed that MEP was 1 dimensional, slow, and had a weak mental game. Against other old, amateur tennis players, MEP looks like a good pusher but against quality opponents his pushing style doesn't work. I don't have a problem with pushers. But I am saying if your pusher style isn't good enough to challenge a talented 12 year old, then you need to change your game and add new elements to challenge next level opponents. MEP is definitely not 10-15% in the country. To be 10-15% you would have to be a 4-5 star player on tennis recruiiting and probably a UTR of 11 or higher. That is extremely difficult even for top juniors who take tennis up at a young age and play seriously for a decade. If you had any idea how competitive tennis is and how tough the UTR ranking system is, then you would realize MEP is very beatable by 80 percent of serious tennis players in the country. No hate I'm just telling the truth and I would like MEP to either beef up his pushing game or completely change his game so that he can compete against talented young juniors who have solid technique and fundamentals.
@@joemarshall4226 So I guess what I'm trying to say is MEP isn't as good a pusher as you think. He looks very beatable and has numberous weaknesses. In contrast, Nightmare pushers have zero vulnerabilities in their defenses. I've seen a handful of nightmare pushers who can hit the ball much harder, have much more variety and spin, more accuracy, run extremely fast every point and are extremely mentally tough rarely giving away any freebies. MEP is not a great pusher at the high level compared to these nightmare pushers which is why I believe he should change his game. If he could play like giles simon (one of the best pushers in the world) I would not be critical of his game. But because I saw him offer almost zero resistance against a talented 12 year old who has yet to develop any real power, I know his style is ineffective and limited against higher level players. No hate. I applaud MEP for his body of work thus far. But I want to see MEP do much better against tougher competition.
Solid play. D2 could take this next time with 3 tweaks: 1. Get a flat serve with some mphs. 2. Footwork (but that is for all tennis players). 3. Loosen up. He is almost too measured and tries to guide the ball instead of striking (esp on the BH)
It would be interesting to see how MEP would do against a player who knows how to slice and has a decent netgame. The matches I’ ve seen have been against typical base liners, who all seemed to be pretty uncomfortable at the net.
Personally I find it a bit comical that MEP manages to beat a very solid 4.5 D2 player who seems to be quite athletic but loses to a nationally ranked (top 40) 12s player. No knock on MEP by any stretch of the imagination, just a bit of an interesting dynamic.
D2 could have finished many points much earlier if he attacked the net, esp 1st set. Maybe he lacks confidence in his volleys. He also uses a lot of topspin in his forehands and seems to underuse flat ones; he runs around his BH so often, giving the impression that BH is his strong side!
@@eslynbeck9197 those volleys and unforced errors where hard to watch. How is he a college tennis player? He just embarrassed whatever program he was a part of. I saw MEP bageled by guys (one of which was a senior citizen!!!!) who were willing to volley on the Essential Tennis Channel.
Another match where the opponent “appears” to have the better game, but can’t solve the MEP riddle. Fun one to watch. What racquet is D2 using? He seems to have nice topspin, good feel, and easy power with it.
They both need a lot of work to improve their game. Mep needs to stop playing with terrible tennis mechanics or he’ll always be running around trying to scrap for every point. The other guy has better form, but no penetration and purpose on his shots. He makes stupid mistakes and has a weak mental game. Hopefully they start practicing better habits and improve.
It looks to me like MEP uses the slower pace of his shots to get back into position. He has an extra second or two before his opponent hits the ball. I think that's why serve/volley works well against.
Great play Mep and Divi2 Nice angIes and movement I found MEP's apology insincere to Josh. One bad call in over 100 matches is totally unacceptable. Maybe a large Troll Tennis association fine and loss of a few major corporate endorsement would help. Once you become a star the ego takes over😂
D2 4.5 started out working very good backhand cross-court angles very successfully early on.But MEP I just turned on the melt your confidence spell and grinded him till there was nothing left
MEP forced him to play his game, couldn't really reply with consistent pace and depth, too busy retrieving and running. Just goes to show, the guy with control who can shape the points, no matter how unusual the hitting style, WINS! Ben knows how to take what looks like a defensive floater and turn it offensive by constantly moving his opponent, a kind of genius really. He also takes big opponent blasts and turns them into neutral balls super-effectively, and forces the opponent to go for too much, which then makes him increasingly cautious. You'll never beat Ben playing his game.
He didn't force him to do anything, MEP's play style doesn't allow him to dictate the game in any way shape or form. What happened during this match is the college player didn't control the points enough and played the exact type of tennis that MEP "excels" at. The college player should have played deep topspin and went to the net more often and he would have won handedly.
@@Z-Bone-e7j Yeah it wasn't MEPs doing, the other guy was just also a grinder. Great consistent backhand, but couldn't hit through the short forehand. I can see why he beats other 4.5s, but the consistency without power is useless against MEP.
Simply put D2 player is playing the same defensive style as MEP and is less consistent at it. D2 lacks a confident up the middle ground stroke/return to take away the angles that MEP likes... and followed by a good volley/overhead. You cannot out D MEP.
Have seen a number of these MEP matches now. His strengths obviously very good defense, steadiness and placement, putting pressure on opponents with fast dying slices and drop shots. The aggressive games are beating him, i.e. unload on those weak setup slices, advance to the net. Surprised most of the "4.5s" cannot do the first part, i.e. unload on the ball. It's a good thing to practice, you need a putaway or near-putaway (high pressure) shot in the game of tennis.
Alot of decent tennis players tend to drop down to their opponents level if their way better then them my high school team tended to do that a-lot especially when the opponent hits slower than your used to
@cocosquad hit high percentage points with intensity and assertiveness and work every point w/o taking shortcuts. Working on volleys would help too. MEP relies on 4.5 and under players not developing a net game.
D 2 should try to remember to REALLY emphasize his stepping forward on his volleys to counter the kinda slashing backspin that MEP hits on his passing shots. Great entertainment!
Wood be really interesting to see how MEP wood fair in matches where both players had to use era relevant racquets and strings. Given he doesn’t appear to rely at all on the modern version of tennis called “spin blasting” where the response to any shot is swing as hard as humanly possible with ridiculous amounts of top spin, era relevant might not affect him but drastically affect opponents. Try 80’s midsize, then wood.
Old guy here. I was very reluctant to stop playing with my wood Davis Imperial Deluxe or Wilson Pro Staff. It's possible to hit the ball very hard with such wood rackets. I played a few years vs guys with early Prince oversize frames and did alright. Have to learn how. I understand that newer rackets offer advantages. I miss the skills we developed with wood. Almost every current player will disagree with me and I don't wonder why.
i didnt know there was this huge of a difference between D1 and D2 college tennis. D1 wouldve aced every service game, and probably hit a winner on return to that weak serve. Not saying I could, but someone in D1 could.
I want to hear from all the tennis instructors who emphasize heavy top spin in their teaching repertoire. It didn't seem to help this college guy defeat MEP
Nice match guys. Very fun to watch the contrast of styles. Each player had 1 obviously bad line call, while all the rest were very close and certainly some generous calls as well by both guys...seemed like a pretty typical match in terms of line calling. I always expect my opponent to make at least one bad call over the course of a match. Just gotta roll with it. Line calling did not come anywhere close to determining the outcome of this match.
Using the term Division 2 is misleading if you omitted important details like what spot on the team roster he played, his record in singles/ doubles and the College he played for etc. There is a big difference between # 1 singles and # 6 singles. Also how was the D 2 team ranked I NCAA. I think the give away was that D2 is considered a USTA 4.5. Also he explained he was out of shape so he has not been keeping his skills up to the stand he had when he was younger and actually playing D2 tennis.
@@thomasmedeiros5722 I think I understand the point you may be making as well as others who have commented/emailed. One purpose of this channel is to show the many varieties of tennis. Not every college team is going to have UTR 11+ in excellent shape. Not every 4.5 player is going to have proper technique. For the junior who wants to play college tennis but may not have the best technique or the highest rating, I hope this channel provides encouragement that he/she should continue to strive to reach their goal of playing college tennis. If juniors looked at TV and UA-cam clips of top D1 tennis for comparison, they may be discouraged which is disappointing as that is far from reality. For me, using the description suggested, if I was still in college or just graduated my match title may be Division 1 player for an unranked college team with an unofficial record for most singles wins playing lines #4-#6 for 4 years, unknown number of loses (guessing 20), who had no volleys and a pancake-like serve but implied a pushing strategy to earn a tennis scholarship for 4 years and earned tennis player of the year for the college in singles and doubles and nominated for athlete of the year for the college vs MEP. Unfortunately, that title won't fit within UA-cam's parameters. Miss those days. Thanks for sending me back to the good memories : ]
Excuse me: that ball was most definitely way in at 5:23!!!! The ball was well inside of the line- it did not hit the line. MEP needs to show more respect to his opponents by not cheating so much!!!
USTA self-rating guidelines state that if you "Played or committed to play for a Division II, III, or NAIA college team" and you are age 25 and under, you should rate yourself no lower than a 5.0. How was D2 playing (until recently) at a 4.0 level???
@@TennisTrollChannel I think SoCal is and always has been a tennis mecca but there are plenty of other districts throughout the country that have some great USTA players of all levels. I remember playing USTA 4.5 Nationals, representing a team from the Los Angeles area around 10+ years ago and we got our asses kicked by a team from Texas in the semifinals. LoL
I had a D2 playing 3.5 (when I first started playing 5 years ago) with his team claiming he hasn't played in awhile. No one on my mixed doubles team could return his serve except me. It was hilarious seeing the women afraid but he had a monster lefty serve.
What strikes me about D2's play is the solid 2hb versus the unstable fh. I know the modern forehand no longer has that major takeback and casual looking forheands like that of Mannarino are effective at the pro level, but here the kinetic chain looks almost absent, resulting in low power and low stability. At least the half turn should be there, even with an open stance. The player himself seems to realize it and opts for the backhand when the ball comes through the middle. Under the surface of MEP's pushing, there's a lot of tactics going on. Like somebody else mentioned, he seems to reduce the court by waiting in front of the base line. The instinctive response is to play shorter shots, like drop shots, which plays into his strength. The better response is to play topspin ground strokes corner to corner. In either case, net conversion needs to be there, otherwise MEP will neutralize any disadvantage by playing the high ball for defense. Kudos to UDRacing for taking the stats to another level. Really instructive.
That's quite perceptive. I think MEP is on track to be a McEnroe like player if he can get more comfortable at net and develop shots to get him there safely (like a decent serve).
@@TennisTrollChannel LOL...OK< I guess in the states somewhere. Beautiful facility. I've never seen second floor courts like that on a second floor. Interesting design.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why doesn't Ben split-step on returns of serve? Every time he's dead flat-footed. It's got to make him at least a half-step slow on returns. Just wondering if he even realizes that. Once the point is started, he split-steps pretty decently. Ben played pretty well this match. D2 guy just made a few too many mistakes and missed too many chances to put points away with volleys, particularly, in my opinion... Of course, to be fair, I would be frustrated very quickly playing against Ben! LOL Good match, though. A few points with different outcomes might have totally changed the results. You could say that about most tennis matches, I suppose... As an aside, you should now change his name from MEP to His Airness... LOL
I thought the same thing. If MEP gives himself that extra half second, he can give far better angles on his junkballs. It’s a simple way to instantly improve his game.
Man some of the MEP's calls were not even close.. kinda surprised to see how wrong his calls are. I could understand calls that look barely in on video, but balls that are inside the line are eh.... lol
The point at 12:54. I think that is classic MEP. Just when you try to up the ante, you question whether he can hang with you. And then he does. He’s a human Venus fly trap. There is no escape. He’s just too good 👍
@@lukakozelj4615 The divisions are not based on sport levels. They are based on how many scholarships and sports a college provides. I’ve seen beginners tennis players play D1 (college was transitioning from D2 to D1 and was starting new teams to meet D1 requirements). However, I think on average a player rated USTA 5.0-5.5 can play for many D1 colleges.
He is a hacker, not a pusher or a moonballer...if you want to beat him with topspin groundstrokes. Atleast ntrp 0.5 or 1.0 higher than him. such as NTRP 5.0, 5.5. because hacker's stroke is much more safer than topspin stroke, it means less mishitting.
@@yakzivz1104 I mean obviously this isn’t high level D2, but it shouldn’t be surprising. The range of players in D2 is like 6 UTR to 11+ UTR, depending on the school and the area.
hahahahhaa the trick to Bens game is his amazing footwork. everyone is worried about his stroke technique but that not what's winning him matches look at his legs he move more than all his opponents. right from the get go after serves, after receiving he is on the move
Keep the ball low, serve out wide, come into the net on solid approach shots, and make him pass you. I play hackers at least twice a week and I have learned how to play against people how aren’t able to hit clean shots, and hack the ball. You don’t need power you need low shots and make the old guy bend down to get the ball and bring him into the net, most hackers can’t play the ball. The guy who just showed up at his house and that’s scary my dude. I would probably wouldn’t have been as nice as you were. This is just tennis and nobody should be showing up to anyone house over a tennis call. You have a stalker now to deal with. Good luck my friend.
As a former top 100 USTA player. This is not a college skilled player. His court positioning is all over the place and his serve and power just isn’t there
Was showing up at his house a joke that MEP was in on? Unless it was set up for the cameras, that whole exchange made me uncomfortable.
It was MEP’s idea.
@@TennisTrollChannel He's a good actor. it looked very real. I was uncomfortable too, but now that you tell me this, it's funny....he is a card.
@@joemarshall4226 Agree - it's why I decided to pin this comment as I was concerned viewers would think I'm crazy enough to drive across the city to knock on MEP's door : ]
@@TennisTrollChannel OMG, hilarious. I was HOPING that it was a joke that you were both in on! Yay! He was actually very convincing!
Seen enough MEP matches to know it wasn't intentional, and we all miss calls. That said, this one was bad, not just incorrect. :)
I love that when MEP first appeared on this channel people were bashing him and now everyone mostly respect him a lot and understand that it is a pain to defeat him
4:28 serve was in as well, hard call but still, ball was good (:
There are two things MEP does that a common, average "pusher" can't:
1. MEP puts underspin on his ball. Underspin makes the ball harder to attack. An average pusher simply pushes the ball with no spin. Even on pro tour, Monica Niculescu makes a lot of her opponents crazy with her underspin.
2. MEP has great control on his placement. He can place one shot deep to one corner then the next shot short to the other corner. This maximizes the diagonal distance his opponent has to move. The average pusher doesn't have such control, they usually just place the ball in the middle of the court.
A novice may not be able to tell the difference. But once you play someone like MEP, you'll find out it's much more difficult than it looks at first.
MEP just exposes that the coaches are teaching craps.
I would literally destroy Mep and I’ve been playing tennis for two months he hits way to short every ball I would attack the net and abuse that non existent backhand
No he’s not he would be so easy to hit through
@@thisyou4478 Bring it, we'll find out.
@@thisyou4478 If you after two months playing tennis can beat MEP then you have a talent that almost no other person has.
That MEP slice forehand is pure venom
5:27 haha I love this! Would love these little snippets to show your personality more :D
Moral of the story:
Never make bad calls or tennis troll will come knocking at your door.
Well, perhaps I WANT him to come to my door... LOL
Ha, we all miss calls. Kudos to both players for being such good sports.
@@Wannabe-Pro Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if I make at least 1 or 2 calls per match wrong. They've done studies that show even the pros can't call lines consistently. Even just realizing how often the pros question calls that they truly think they are right but turn out to be wrong proves that... A wrong calls does not automatically mean someone called it wrong intentionally... We are all human (at least most of us are....lol).
Just so everyone knows - it was staged. MEP's idea actually. Good actor - had many viewers convinced it was for real.
@@alwaysprepared mostly true but the pros don’t need to call their own lines. And calling 120+mph serves and 75-85+mph groundies much tougher than 90mph serves and 40mph groundies, if that.
20:47 I had to stop and play this a few times. It's just poetry. Dialed spot on the pass, and the ANTICIPATION on the next shot, into a perfectly measured mid-court volley. Purely controlled, totally balanced. I want to make a grand, sweeping statement about what this says about him as a tennis player, but for now I'll settle for a "I saw and appreciated that very much, Ben."
Ben is very smart and careful with his strokes. I never had fun playing that way myself. For me it’s more important to “go for it” and let go. No matter what level you are at, the no. 1 rule is to have fun! Love ❤️ 🎾
Great movement Ben. Incredible defense. Made him hit shot after shot after shot. Nice match!
I've seen MEP played for 2 matches and. I noticed that he doesn't make any unforce error. That's the reason why he wins. Also, he places the ball well tho.
Of course he doesn't... he just sends the ball to the other side no matter where it goes.
The MEP machine, awesome stuff.
we all think you are insane MEP but that is why we LOVE you
OMG the volley at 13:20 at 16:00. MEP what an improvement from his previous play.
Great match and nice job, Ben. D2 came in in crosscourt approaches too many times (or returned short angled shots crosscourt) which made him very easy to pass. I'd like to see more intentionality with the approach shots and it's okay to slice them and force MEP to hit up. The forehand was also unstable with lots of arm and not much body in the motion. MEP's game is made to take advantage of such inherent inconsistencies and he did well at exposing it here.
I want to hear more about the hyperbaric chamber.
MEP did an awesome job recovering and taking that first game. That's why he's good.
Beb absolutly super play. Best of all your match i watched. Super slice, stopball and net play too
MEP is probably the best pusher I've witnessed play (I've seen a lot of pushers at 4 singles in HS) and I know I would be raging my ass off if I had to play against him...
@@nathanjen3170 I agree. I think MEP graduated from pusher. According to the stats link above, he hit 17 winners.
He’s a pretty bad player. Not really a good pusher. He’s slow. His shots are so slow and one dimensional. And just relies on players making unforced errors. But he has a decent attitude and seems like a nice guy. I just think he needs to stop wasting his time playing like this and try to learn some proper tennis mechanics so he can bring his fame to the next level. He will always be stuck at this level if he continues to play like this touch butt tennis.
@@kesun32145 "Stuck" at being in the best 5-10% of tennis players in the country, after never playing until he was 32 years old......And with limited speed, and 44 years old, like you say. Tell me, how many 32 year olds, who never played tennis before, and get "proper" instruction, go on to a level that is as high as MEP's? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand? Let's not be ridiculous. As soon as MEP proves how good he is, people change the definition of pusher. They just can't admit that his is a valid way of playing, and that it works. The truth is that starting with high level "proper strokes" is not an easy way to learn, turns a lot of people off, and won't get you the results that pushing will unless you commit to it night and day. MEP will add more shots to his game, better net play, etc. But he should stay with his unorthodox strokes because they are effective....and fun! He should keep working on his net game and his serve, then learn to serve and volley, then hit a topspin BH passing shot. The "lesson players" he competes against should learn how to push, how to slice from both sides, how to work moonballs into their game, and how to how to retrieve. MEP learned defense first, then offense. The lesson players must take the opposite approach if they want to reach their maximum potential.
@@joemarshall4226 MEP deserves credit for what he's achieved. It takes hard work and dedication to win with his style after never taking proper tennis lessons. He can continue playing this style and beat a certain level of tennis player. However, if he really wants to get better, there's no way he can play this style and win against anyone who is a serious tennis player. He got exposed by a very talented 12 year old. There's definitely no shame in losing to a nationally ranked 12 year old, but the fact that it was not even competitive is the problem. A very good pusher would have been able to frustrate and make a very close match against the 12 year old. Because MEP is not a very good pusher he got clobbered. The 12 year old showed that MEP was 1 dimensional, slow, and had a weak mental game. Against other old, amateur tennis players, MEP looks like a good pusher but against quality opponents his pushing style doesn't work. I don't have a problem with pushers. But I am saying if your pusher style isn't good enough to challenge a talented 12 year old, then you need to change your game and add new elements to challenge next level opponents. MEP is definitely not 10-15% in the country. To be 10-15% you would have to be a 4-5 star player on tennis recruiiting and probably a UTR of 11 or higher. That is extremely difficult even for top juniors who take tennis up at a young age and play seriously for a decade. If you had any idea how competitive tennis is and how tough the UTR ranking system is, then you would realize MEP is very beatable by 80 percent of serious tennis players in the country. No hate I'm just telling the truth and I would like MEP to either beef up his pushing game or completely change his game so that he can compete against talented young juniors who have solid technique and fundamentals.
@@joemarshall4226 So I guess what I'm trying to say is MEP isn't as good a pusher as you think. He looks very beatable and has numberous weaknesses. In contrast, Nightmare pushers have zero vulnerabilities in their defenses. I've seen a handful of nightmare pushers who can hit the ball much harder, have much more variety and spin, more accuracy, run extremely fast every point and are extremely mentally tough rarely giving away any freebies. MEP is not a great pusher at the high level compared to these nightmare pushers which is why I believe he should change his game. If he could play like giles simon (one of the best pushers in the world) I would not be critical of his game. But because I saw him offer almost zero resistance against a talented 12 year old who has yet to develop any real power, I know his style is ineffective and limited against higher level players. No hate. I applaud MEP for his body of work thus far. But I want to see MEP do much better against tougher competition.
Solid play. D2 could take this next time with 3 tweaks:
1. Get a flat serve with some mphs.
2. Footwork (but that is for all tennis players).
3. Loosen up. He is almost too measured and tries to guide the ball instead of striking (esp on the BH)
4:30 The ball was clearly in. Even watching it live.
It would be interesting to see how MEP would do against a player who knows how to slice and has a decent netgame. The matches I’ ve seen have been against typical base liners, who all seemed to be pretty uncomfortable at the net.
Netplay would honestly be a very easy way to win against him
Personally I find it a bit comical that MEP manages to beat a very solid 4.5 D2 player who seems to be quite athletic but loses to a nationally ranked (top 40) 12s player. No knock on MEP by any stretch of the imagination, just a bit of an interesting dynamic.
Likely has to do with matchups/style as I believe their UTRs are within 0.5 of each other.
D2 could have finished many points much earlier if he attacked the net, esp 1st set. Maybe he lacks confidence in his volleys. He also uses a lot of topspin in his forehands and seems to underuse flat ones; he runs around his BH so often, giving the impression that BH is his strong side!
The problem is that his volleys sucked. He missed very easy volleyd
@@eslynbeck9197 those volleys and unforced errors where hard to watch. How is he a college tennis player? He just embarrassed whatever program he was a part of. I saw MEP bageled by guys (one of which was a senior citizen!!!!) who were willing to volley on the Essential Tennis Channel.
Another match where the opponent “appears” to have the better game, but can’t solve the MEP riddle. Fun one to watch.
What racquet is D2 using? He seems to have nice topspin, good feel, and easy power with it.
d2 is using a version of the head radical mp. not sure which version but one of those
They both need a lot of work to improve their game. Mep needs to stop playing with terrible tennis mechanics or he’ll always be running around trying to scrap for every point. The other guy has better form, but no penetration and purpose on his shots. He makes stupid mistakes and has a weak mental game. Hopefully they start practicing better habits and improve.
4:31 great call that
It looks to me like MEP uses the slower pace of his shots to get back into position. He has an extra second or two before his opponent hits the ball. I think that's why serve/volley works well against.
the legend continues
Great play Mep and Divi2 Nice angIes and movement
I found MEP's apology insincere to Josh. One bad call in over 100 matches is totally unacceptable. Maybe a large Troll Tennis association fine and loss of a few major corporate endorsement would help. Once you become a star the ego takes over😂
It is easy to angle the ball when it is hit 20 mph.
@@LowUTR Everything is easy when you are at your level LDP. You are the best tennis keyboard player on You Tube
@@randymarcum6097 That will have a nice ring to it, LDP vs. MEP.
TennisTroll fine- I like that.
@@LowUTR it would be MEP vs LDP.
LOL that visit to Ben's house is genius 🤣
It was MEP's idea actually. Made for good content I hope.
@@TennisTrollChannel yea no worries, can tell it's a bit of fun acting from you guys. Love it.
D2 4.5 started out working very good backhand cross-court angles very successfully early on.But MEP I just turned on the melt your confidence spell and grinded him till there was nothing left
MEP is playing way more better and more aggressive
He is!!!
@@yoshikay8787 now
MEP forced him to play his game, couldn't really reply with consistent pace and depth, too busy retrieving and running. Just goes to show, the guy with control who can shape the points, no matter how unusual the hitting style, WINS! Ben knows how to take what looks like a defensive floater and turn it offensive by constantly moving his opponent, a kind of genius really. He also takes big opponent blasts and turns them into neutral balls super-effectively, and forces the opponent to go for too much, which then makes him increasingly cautious. You'll never beat Ben playing his game.
He didn't force him to do anything, MEP's play style doesn't allow him to dictate the game in any way shape or form. What happened during this match is the college player didn't control the points enough and played the exact type of tennis that MEP "excels" at. The college player should have played deep topspin and went to the net more often and he would have won handedly.
@@Z-Bone-e7j Yeah it wasn't MEPs doing, the other guy was just also a grinder. Great consistent backhand, but couldn't hit through the short forehand. I can see why he beats other 4.5s, but the consistency without power is useless against MEP.
Simply put D2 player is playing the same defensive style as MEP and is less consistent at it. D2 lacks a confident up the middle ground stroke/return to take away the angles that MEP likes... and followed by a good volley/overhead. You cannot out D MEP.
Have seen a number of these MEP matches now. His strengths obviously very good defense, steadiness and placement, putting pressure on opponents with fast dying slices and drop shots. The aggressive games are beating him, i.e. unload on those weak setup slices, advance to the net. Surprised most of the "4.5s" cannot do the first part, i.e. unload on the ball. It's a good thing to practice, you need a putaway or near-putaway (high pressure) shot in the game of tennis.
Alot of decent tennis players tend to drop down to their opponents level if their way better then them my high school team tended to do that a-lot especially when the opponent hits slower than your used to
Very true Keyshawn. What would you say is the best way to handle that situation?
@cocosquad hit high percentage points with intensity and assertiveness and work every point w/o taking shortcuts. Working on volleys would help too. MEP relies on 4.5 and under players not developing a net game.
D 2 should try to remember to REALLY emphasize his stepping forward on his volleys to counter the kinda slashing backspin that MEP hits on his passing shots. Great entertainment!
Wood be really interesting to see how MEP wood fair in matches where both players had to use era relevant racquets and strings. Given he doesn’t appear to rely at all on the modern version of tennis called “spin blasting” where the response to any shot is swing as hard as humanly possible with ridiculous amounts of top spin, era relevant might not affect him but drastically affect opponents. Try 80’s midsize, then wood.
This I agree with.
Old guy here. I was very reluctant to stop playing with my wood Davis Imperial Deluxe or Wilson Pro Staff. It's possible to hit the ball very hard with such wood rackets. I played a few years vs guys with early Prince oversize frames and did alright. Have to learn how.
I understand that newer rackets offer advantages. I miss the skills we developed with wood. Almost every current player will disagree with me and I don't wonder why.
I imagine MEP might do very well with a quality wood racket, if he could buy one.
MEP is such a smart player, fun match
Hope you are doing awesome in California.
11:38 ROFL you know you can change your mind and say, "Sorry that was in"
i didnt know there was this huge of a difference between D1 and D2 college tennis. D1 wouldve aced every service game, and probably hit a winner on return to that weak serve. Not saying I could, but someone in D1 could.
This is NOT a good D2 player.
MEP actually has a better forehand than the other player.
That moment when you claim 4.5, play like 3.5 and get smoked by a right-hander playing lefty. Ouch...
Federer knows all about getting smoked by a right hander playing lefty 😳
I want to hear from all the tennis instructors who emphasize heavy top spin in their teaching repertoire. It didn't seem to help this college guy defeat MEP
If in doubt call it in
Nice match guys. Very fun to watch the contrast of styles. Each player had 1 obviously bad line call, while all the rest were very close and certainly some generous calls as well by both guys...seemed like a pretty typical match in terms of line calling. I always expect my opponent to make at least one bad call over the course of a match. Just gotta roll with it. Line calling did not come anywhere close to determining the outcome of this match.
The proper thing to do is stare a little bit at the fist bad cal, and then say, "Are you sure?" at the second one.
hard to believe that guy played D2 tennis
I wonder if MEP still has any NCAA eligibility left. Maybe he could play D2 or D1. I would DEFINITELY watch that.
If he did there is still hope for us all to play D2 tennis.
Both of these guys would probably beat you. D2 guy probably isn’t used to playing this type of player and got frustrated.
Bad call from MEP at 4:27 into the video. That first serve was right on the center service line. Ace!! I slowed the video. Clearly on the line.
I wonder what MEP string tension is my is 30-40 llbs. Sounds like a trampoline
I'm guessing low 50s.
where is the set score, it'll help if visible at all times so we the viewers know the situation of each point. thanks!
I’ll try it with an future match that has t been edited yet. Thanks.
Thank you UD Racing for the stats! www.tennisbull.com/match/404
Thanks for adding the link. I've added my match analysis to the bottom of that page. I think D2 might have made a tactical mistake in the 2nd set?
@@Tennisbull-match-statistics interesting. Can you go deeper?
Amazing stats and match breakdown.
I can't comprehend how badly the other player played from 4-3 to 2-0. It was like he wasn't even on the court.
Fine, I deleted the comment, although I disagree.
What college did D2 play for and what spot?
I prefer to not name the colleges players attend as their name and photo is on the website.
I bet MEP has single digit double faults in his whole career. Never saw him doing double faults.
Wait I thought that MEP was supposed to be playing a D2 player??? Did I misread it?
Nope.
Using the term Division 2 is misleading if you omitted important details like what spot on the team roster he played, his record in singles/ doubles and the College he played for etc. There is a big difference between # 1 singles and # 6 singles. Also how was the D 2 team ranked I NCAA. I think the give away was that D2 is considered a USTA 4.5. Also he explained he was out of shape so he has not been keeping his skills up to the stand he had when he was younger and actually playing D2 tennis.
@@thomasmedeiros5722 I think I understand the point you may be making as well as others who have commented/emailed. One purpose of this channel is to show the many varieties of tennis. Not every college team is going to have UTR 11+ in excellent shape. Not every 4.5 player is going to have proper technique. For the junior who wants to play college tennis but may not have the best technique or the highest rating, I hope this channel provides encouragement that he/she should continue to strive to reach their goal of playing college tennis. If juniors looked at TV and UA-cam clips of top D1 tennis for comparison, they may be discouraged which is disappointing as that is far from reality. For me, using the description suggested, if I was still in college or just graduated my match title may be Division 1 player for an unranked college team with an unofficial record for most singles wins playing lines #4-#6 for 4 years, unknown number of loses (guessing 20), who had no volleys and a pancake-like serve but implied a pushing strategy to earn a tennis scholarship for 4 years and earned tennis player of the year for the college in singles and doubles and nominated for athlete of the year for the college vs MEP. Unfortunately, that title won't fit within UA-cam's parameters. Miss those days. Thanks for sending me back to the good memories : ]
Waiting for a MEP match vs D12
How about an All-American?
Excuse me: that ball was most definitely way in at 5:23!!!! The ball was well inside of the line- it did not hit the line. MEP needs to show more respect to his opponents by not cheating so much!!!
We all miss calls man. MEP even had enough respect to film the funny video w tennistroll and apologize directly to Josh.
@@Wannabe-Pro Sure, but that call was terrible. I'm concerned that MEP might actually need glasses for real, that ball was 4 inches in at least.
i'm sure he meant no malicious intent but yeah that shot was miles in
Did you see 5:26?
USTA self-rating guidelines state that if you "Played or committed to play for a Division II, III, or NAIA college team" and you are age 25 and under, you should rate yourself no lower than a 5.0. How was D2 playing (until recently) at a 4.0 level???
I'm guessing it was likely based on his UTR.
A lot of college players sandbag until someone calls them out or reports them to the USTA. It happens all the the time in SoCal.
@@chewey3rd Many viewers say SoCal has the best players per level...maybe this is why : ]
@@TennisTrollChannel I think SoCal is and always has been a tennis mecca but there are plenty of other districts throughout the country that have some great USTA players of all levels. I remember playing USTA 4.5 Nationals, representing a team from the Los Angeles area around 10+ years ago and we got our asses kicked by a team from Texas in the semifinals. LoL
I had a D2 playing 3.5 (when I first started playing 5 years ago) with his team claiming he hasn't played in awhile. No one on my mixed doubles team could return his serve except me. It was hilarious seeing the women afraid but he had a monster lefty serve.
What strikes me about D2's play is the solid 2hb versus the unstable fh. I know the modern forehand no longer has that major takeback and casual looking forheands like that of Mannarino are effective at the pro level, but here the kinetic chain looks almost absent, resulting in low power and low stability. At least the half turn should be there, even with an open stance. The player himself seems to realize it and opts for the backhand when the ball comes through the middle.
Under the surface of MEP's pushing, there's a lot of tactics going on. Like somebody else mentioned, he seems to reduce the court by waiting in front of the base line. The instinctive response is to play shorter shots, like drop shots, which plays into his strength. The better response is to play topspin ground strokes corner to corner. In either case, net conversion needs to be there, otherwise MEP will neutralize any disadvantage by playing the high ball for defense.
Kudos to UDRacing for taking the stats to another level. Really instructive.
Thanks, much appreciated. Your system served as inspiration, I have given you credits on the about page of my site
I dunno, the backhand seems pretty average
That's quite perceptive. I think MEP is on track to be a McEnroe like player if he can get more comfortable at net and develop shots to get him there safely (like a decent serve).
Winning does matter; Imitating pros really doesn't
He has really good serves for 4.5 seems like he wasn't even going for hard shots either. Tough opponent for sure. Nice match.
Worst D2 player in the world? Can't hit a decent topspin forehand ffs, and runs around to hit a backhand instead.
What kind of string does the person who uses Redical MP? It looks like Yonex P2P or Hyper-G
I’m guessing hyper g from the color and it’s popularity with college players.
D2 player needed to take 3 steps toward the net after his Serves and he would win almost all points at the net
1:12 MEP has right hand forehand too
Dude is the definition of placement over power
Good Job. I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, want to play you!
Mep looks like a right hander playing with his left hand.
What is the racket MEP used and do you know the string and what tension?
What a beautiful park...where is that?
Bitsy Grant Tennis Center
@@TennisTrollChannel LOL...OK< I guess in the states somewhere. Beautiful facility. I've never seen second floor courts like that on a second floor. Interesting design.
Ma al minuto 18 chiama una palla di mep out col ditino, ma era dentro di un bel po'... 😮
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Why doesn't Ben split-step on returns of serve? Every time he's dead flat-footed. It's got to make him at least a half-step slow on returns. Just wondering if he even realizes that. Once the point is started, he split-steps pretty decently.
Ben played pretty well this match. D2 guy just made a few too many mistakes and missed too many chances to put points away with volleys, particularly, in my opinion... Of course, to be fair, I would be frustrated very quickly playing against Ben! LOL
Good match, though. A few points with different outcomes might have totally changed the results. You could say that about most tennis matches, I suppose...
As an aside, you should now change his name from MEP to His Airness... LOL
I thought the same thing. If MEP gives himself that extra half second, he can give far better angles on his junkballs. It’s a simple way to instantly improve his game.
@@mskcrc Yeah, as if he NEEDS more advantages, right? LOL
Ben was not in the right position to return. he should stand well in baseline to punish MEP's serve. I don't know what he is thinking.
Another soul harvested by MEP.
Having a hard time finding volunteers lately. Maybe MEP needs to hibernate for a bit : ]
Man some of the MEP's calls were not even close.. kinda surprised to see how wrong his calls are. I could understand calls that look barely in on video, but balls that are inside the line are eh.... lol
I find it hard to believe that MEPs opponent was a D2 player??? No offense to him, by the way. :)
I like both those guys
4:28 was in lol
Where are these courts?
Bitsy Grant tennis center in Atlanta
@@TennisTrollChannel Thanks. Was out there for Atlanta Senior Invitational and practiced there with my son. Clay before, hard after.
@@marktace1 that’s a quality tournament. Hope you had an amazing time if visiting from outside Atlanta.
The point at 12:54. I think that is classic MEP. Just when you try to up the ante, you question whether he can hang with you. And then he does. He’s a human Venus fly trap. There is no escape. He’s just too good 👍
He switched to right handed!
5:26 ROFLROFLROFL!!!! 😂😂😂
4:29 on the line!
Love to watch the mep. Not playing a 4.5 level player by any stretch of the imagination.
Hyperbaric chamber???
Id like to correct to he should not be able too. However this guy so far isn't a 4.5 like near me.
Sorry I am not an American so I have to ask. The one against MEP is a Division 2 player?
Correct. He played for a D2 college (not currently).
@@TennisTrollChannel Okey thanks. An cca how high USTA rank do you need to play division 1?
@@lukakozelj4615 The divisions are not based on sport levels. They are based on how many scholarships and sports a college provides. I’ve seen beginners tennis players play D1 (college was transitioning from D2 to D1 and was starting new teams to meet D1 requirements). However, I think on average a player rated USTA 5.0-5.5 can play for many D1 colleges.
@@TennisTrollChannel Thanks for the explanation.
5:24 that was clearly in.
Outrageous
Thanks.
He is a hacker, not a pusher or a moonballer...if you want to beat him with topspin groundstrokes. Atleast ntrp 0.5 or 1.0 higher than him. such as NTRP 5.0, 5.5. because hacker's stroke is much more safer than topspin stroke, it means less mishitting.
This is absolutely not 4.5 singles, both of these guys would get wrecked at districts
Do you know someone who wrecked them at districts?
An average 4.5 would beat these two 6-1,6-2 or thereabouts.
I'm 5-1 in my last six District playoff matches at 4.5.
@@MEPTennis Maybe Scott S knows that 1 person that won.
Where do you find these hack "division 2" players? Lol. I'm definitely eyeing a trip to Atlanta next year to take out multiple bags of trash.
Given how much you’ve shown up with negative things to say in the comments, I’m sure Troll would be happy to put you on camera 😁
@@MrTablturnr Yes, I'm sure he would.
@@MrTablturnr That doesn't negate the obvious though.
@@yakzivz1104 I mean obviously this isn’t high level D2, but it shouldn’t be surprising. The range of players in D2 is like 6 UTR to 11+ UTR, depending on the school and the area.
You won't. You're only here to comment on UA-cam videos.
Imagine training 6hrs a day in Division 2 college tennis to lose against an older guy who has no real weapon, just chops and slices. LOL. Friggin Ben
hahahahhaa the trick to Bens game is his amazing footwork. everyone is worried about his stroke technique but that not what's winning him matches look at his legs he move more than all his opponents. right from the get go after serves, after receiving he is on the move
Keep the ball low, serve out wide, come into the net on solid approach shots, and make him pass you. I play hackers at least twice a week and I have learned how to play against people how aren’t able to hit clean shots, and hack the ball. You don’t need power you need low shots and make the old guy bend down to get the ball and bring him into the net, most hackers can’t play the ball.
The guy who just showed up at his house and that’s scary my dude. I would probably wouldn’t have been as nice as you were. This is just tennis and nobody should be showing up to anyone house over a tennis call. You have a stalker now to deal with. Good luck my friend.
Ubersonic 3’s are the best shoes ever made.
Went to his house to discuss a bad call 😂
It was staged. MEP's idea : ]
@@TennisTrollChannel even the thought is funny
4:30 was in!
As a former top 100 USTA player. This is not a college skilled player. His court positioning is all over the place and his serve and power just isn’t there
Yet he somehow played college tennis. Interesting.
This is D2 player?
D2 is totally atrocious on the net. He literally put every single volley into the net and all of them were super easy.
He did better in the second set. His volleys were okay he was out of position though.
I 2nd that this guy is a D2 player
Tennis Troll, is that you on the other court?
On the left, it's actually Lefty-Righty (left handed forehand, right handed serve). I'm hitting with him (in orange), but I'm out of the frame.
If your opponent makes a bad call, its only fitting to give it back to them 😉
Disagree with this one.
Nah, we all human bud.