SF Tennis Freak

Many juniors have coaches who spend the lion’s share of practice time on strokes and footwork. But one important component of their game that’s sorely missing is the ability to correctly recognize an “out” serve.

Stop by any junior tennis tournament and you’ll see what I mean. On top of great ground strokes and fierce defense, it’s not uncommon to see juniors AT ALL LEVELS return serves that are 6-12 inches beyond the service line. Not surprisingly, many of these points end with disputed calls.

This isn’t a commentary on juniors and bad line calls. It’s merely an observation that we need to do a better job of training young players how to make good line calls; especially when receiving serve. The reason for this is twofold: accuracy and trust.

We can’t expect players to make good line calls during a rally if we don’t teach them how to correctly make calls when receiving serve. If their ability to gauge “out” balls on the service line isn’t accurate, it only stands to reason the same will hold true for sideline and baseline calls.

Bad service line calls can also engender a lack of trust between players. If a server can’t trust the receiver to correctly call a serve that’s clearly out, they won’t trust them to make correct calls closer to the lines later on in the rally.

There are a couple of things that coaches can do to help juniors improve their service line calls. Most have already talked to their players about the need to make good line calls. Perhaps they could also emphasize that correct service line calls are the first line of defense for proper line calls throughout the match.

Additionally, something as simple as placing tennis balls on the court (as in the picture at top and at right) can provide their players an excellent visual reference for balls on the service line.

Making good line calls, on the service line or otherwise, is a skill that can be learned, and is just as valuable to a player’s overall development as proper stroke technique.

With a little help, our juniors can become great players as well as great sportsmen and sportswomen.

The HEAD Graphene Radical Pro

As a happy HEAD racquet owner, I tend to be a fan of their racquets. But as I’ve also stated before in previous HEAD racquet reviews (ahem, Graphene Instinct), not all HEAD racquets are created equal! Such is the case with the Graphene Radical Pro.

To be fair, it wasn’t my intention to do a formal review of the Radical Pro. I simply went for a hit with a friend who’d received his new sticks. After some racquet chitchat, one thing led to another and I soon had one in my hot little hands for a quick comparison with my own Speed MP 315.

After hearing a lot of good things about the Radical Pro, I was expecting a positive hitting experience. To the contrary, it failed to live up to the hype. I’d expected better feel/control on my shots. Instead, I was completely unable to keep the ball on the court without significant changes to my stroke pattern.

HEAD Graphene Radical Pro and Speed MP 315

Ground Strokes

My forehand suffered the most with the Radical Pro. Shots that usually land deep in the corners with my Speed MP were literally hitting the back fence. And any attempts to slow my stroke in order to keep the ball in play sent shots into the net. Accuracy went “out the window” as well. My favorite shot, the “inside-out” forehand, sprayed uncontrollably wide. And my cross court forehand was hit-or-miss at best.

Backhands weren’t disastrous, but were certainly nothing special. While I managed to keep most of them from hitting the back fence, I struggled with accuracy as I did with my forehand.

Serve

The one part of my game that didn’t suffer with the Radical Pro was the serve. I had decent control over serve placement, and was also able to slice it out wide with ease. The downside was a tremendous loss of power. As a player who relies on my strong serve as the foundation for the rest of my game, this would be unacceptable in any demo’ed racquet.

I switched between the Radical Pro and my Speed MP 315 every so often for real-time shot comparisons, and found that my Speed MP consistently gave me control that was sorely missing from the Radical Pro.

Conclusion

All in all, the Radical Pro was a bust for me. But since it wasn’t a racquet I intended to buy, that didn’t matter. The important thing was that it suited my friend’s game; and it did that very well. It gave him more depth and spin on his shots than he could normally generate on his own. (For comparison purposes, he hit with my racquet and struggled to achieve the same depth on his strokes, and could barely muster any spin.)

So if you need more pop and added spin on your shots, this is a good racquet to try because of the slightly lighter weight/stiffer frame, and 16×19 string pattern. If you already generate your own pace and spin, this racquet won’t help either, and will probably result in a loss of control. In short, I’d look elsewhere for a racquet upgrade.

HEAD Graphene Radical Pro Specs
Head Size: 98 sq. in
Length: 27in
Strung Weight: 11.5oz
Balance: 6 pts Head Light
Swing Weight: 326
Stiffness: 68
Power Level: Low
Swing Speed: Fast
String Pattern: 16 Mains / 19 Crosses
String Tension: 48-57 pounds

HEAD YouTek Speed MP 315 Specs
Head Size: 100 sq. in MP
Length: 27 inches
Strung Weight: 11.7
Balance:  6 pts Head Light
Swing Weight: 315
Flex: 65
Power Level: Low
Swing Speed: Fast
String Pattern: 18 Mains / 20 Crosses
Tension: 52-62 Pounds

Charlie Pasarell and the rest of the Hall of Famers in attendance.

As tournament director and managing partner, Charlie Pasarell was instrumental in helping to build the Indian Wells tournament into the world-class event it has become.

So it was more than fitting that he received his official International Tennis Hall of Fame ring last night on the Stadium court, in front of an adoring crowd, before the start of the evening session.

Charlie was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer. But the HOF has a wonderful tradition of presenting the ring at a home location that affords the best opportunity for the inductee to be surrounded by as many family and friends as possible.

The stadium ring ceremony was a public affair. The celebration dinner afterward, emceed by Pam Shriver, was much more intimate; attended by some Charlie’s immediate family, as well as his extended family in the tennis community.

Also on hand were several other Hall of Fame members, many of whom spoke glowingly about their friend and fellow-inductee. Those in attendance included Hall of Fame President Stan Smith, Donald Dell, Bud Collins (pants as colorful as ever), Butch Buchholz, Brad Parks, Rosie Casals, Billie Jean King, Roy Emerson, and Mark Woodforde.

Charlie, with his father and son looking on, was just as moved by this moment as he was at his official induction in Newport. After an encore viewing of his video tribute, and hearing the touching tributes of his friends, it was obvious to see how touched he was by this moment.

Looking out at the familiar faces, his voice at times struggling to control his emotion, Charlie offered a simple, “Thanks to all my friends who are here today. I’m touched by all the support.”

(Click thumbnail for a larger image)

James Blake
(courtesy www.powersharesseries.com

World-class men’s tennis returns to Northern California tonight with the Champions Shootout: the next stop on the PowerShares Series 12-city tour.  Featuring a roster of tennis icons and legends, the PowerShares Series combines the best of competitive tennis and fan appreciation in a condensed format that’s fun for both the players and fans alike.

The last PowerShares visit to the Bay Area saw Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Todd Martin battling it out for supremacy (and rankings points) in San Jose. This time around, Sacramento is the battleground. And stalwarts Courier and McEnroe are joined by Pete Sampras and series newcomer, James Blake.

McEnroe currently leads the rankings, followed by Courier and PowerShares newcomer Andy Roddick. Blake, however, is quietly making a run for the top spot after picking up his first PowerShares title with a 7-6 (5) win over McEnroe in Salt Lake City.

It’s hard to believe that Blake only just retired from the pro ranks this past fall at the ripe old age of 28. Hard to believe, maybe, but understandable given the toll that injuries have taken on his body over the years.

After struggling in qualifying rounds through most of the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Blake made his official retirement announcement at the 2013 US Open, after a first-round loss to Ivo Karlovic.

With pro tennis seemingly behind him, Blake looked ready finally enjoy some quality time with his wife and young daughter. But the lure of competition proved too strong, so five months later he’s back on the courts: hitting blistering forehands as though he never left, and having a good time with his old friends.

Blake’s first outing in Denver ended in a finals loss to Andre Agassi. His second was another finals loss to his good buddy Roddick in Houston. The third time definitely proved to be the charm, however, with his win in Salt Lake City. At this rate, McEnroe had better watch his back in Sacramento!

The Champions Shootout begins at 3PM with a special “Play with the Pros” on-court hitting session with Sampras and Blake, followed by a second session featuring McEnroe and Courier at 4PM. Semifinal match play begins at 6PM, with the winners advancing to the finals immediately afterward.

Hope to see you there.

Tonight I was humbled and honored that a tweet I sent for Jordan Davis’ parents was read on air to them by Lawrence O’Donnell on “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”. My tweet represented one of thousands expressing support and heartache for these parents who lost their child in yet another example of the Florida’s racist “Stand your ground” law, and prosecutorial incompetence. I hope my simple sentiments, and those of everyone else who tweeted similar messages, helps to provide some solace in this hour of incredulous despair.

This is the clip of the segment when the tweet was read to his parents, Lucia McBath and Ronald Davis. It still makes me tear up when I watch it. When I mentioned how emotional it made me, my partner Steve hit the nail on the head by saying “You (basically) spoke directly to them. And you were able to tell them that you share their pain.”

I sent tweets and posted a status update about this yesterday, but also wanted to do a quick write-up on the San Francisco Spring 2014 Tennis Ladder, a new group for tennis ladder here in SF.

The ladder starts this Monday, Feb. 17 (President’s Day), and goes for 10 weeks. The thing that I find to be the biggest selling point is the $135 prize pot. That almost makes me want to cancel my engagements, load up on Advil for my knees, and join the fun. Tennis and money? What’s not to love?!

Though registration ends on Mar. 24, ladder founder Andreas Blachere, is hoping to have as many players as possible by the 2/17 start date. I had a chance to sit down with Andreas to talk about the ladder. He’s a very cool guy, and also pretty excited about the spring version after a successful fall inaugural season.

So if you’re interested, visit San Francisco Spring 2014 Tennis Ladder at http://sf-spring-2014.ladderplayer.com/. You have a day and a half left to register for the Monday start, so get to it and give yourself a chance to win some moola. 🙂