Topic: Ashwin's Tennis Journal..

[ashwin#1]

I can't believe i hadn't posted about my tennis life here !!!
well..here it is..i've been interested in tennis from 2007..& was interested in PLAYING tennis from June 2009( after fed won that epic wimbledon against Roddick.. )

I've downloaded a lot of matches & i enjoy watching Federer, roddick, Djokovic, Fernando Gonzalez, Tsonga & borg's matches..
My First experience of playing tennis was in sometime during July 2009..i & one of my friend( roddick fan) went to play on a hardcourt with some cheap rackets ...that court was pretty unused & didn't even have net..we fooled around for some time & stopped after 3 hours !! after that, we used to go to that darn useless court every sunday, tie a rope between the two poles( where they tie the net) & play whatever we could !! My friend used to play tennis in his childhood , so he was better than me !! He currently Plays National Level Badminton Matches !!

 I tasted the real tennis in April 2010 when i joined a tennis club after much persuasion to Dad !! It costed $14 per month & the court was kinda clay ! its a mixture between the clay & hardcourt..its called the Indian clay .I purchased a cheap wilson racquet only to find out that my coach requested me to return the racquet to get a much better one.. i have so fond memories of that racquet..i even have photos of me posing with racquet( like hitting Forehand, Backhand, slicing.. ..
Anyways, i returned the racquet & got myself a HEAD TITANIUM TI3000 !! MAn, that was an awesome racquet !! i continued playing tennis until May 2011 when the first test came !!
There was a state level match organised in my city & i thought: what the heck,i'll participate & gain experience !
i submitted the fees & after 2 days, the draw released..My opponent : my coach !!
i lost the 1st round..6-2.. but at that moment, i realized  if i could improve my game & my mental position, i could make an impact !!
i joined another club( as it was cheap & better !! ) It costs $30 for 3 months !! This club had some good players & a great coach !!
i tried to soak up as much tennis as possible !!

>>Fast forward>> October 2011>> another state level tourny was organized..i participated & went till semis !!
i also won a local tourny during november 2011 & the prize money was $100 ( approx) !!

I play tennis everyday( 7 days a week) from 6.30 AM to 9 AM !:)
But currently, i discontinued tennis due to exams..i haven't played from February..& i m planning to rejoin tennis club on 24th April !!

My Details !!

Name: Ashwin
Age : 20
Current Res: India
Height: 170 cms approx.
Weight: when i was playing tennis, around 65 -68 KG..now around 74 kg !!
Playing style : Right handed. like to volley during singles..both defensive & aggresive play suits me..but i feel aggresive is better for me..

Forehand: Right handed one handed..perhaps my strongest play !!
Backhand: i had a one handed backhanded, but then switched to two handed for more stability & power( on advice of coach)..

Skill on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being extreme beginner and 10 being my goal to reach..i'd say overall i am around 7 or 7.5
Forehand: 8
Backhand: 4
Volleys: 6
First Serve: speed :6 Consistency : 5
Second Serve : speed :4.5 or 5  Consistency : 8..i hardly double fault coz i hardly take risks.. 
Speed : 7 ..

since i changed my backhand style, its pretty weak now..& believe it or not, i hate overheads..i somehow mis**t them 60% of the times..
i love to hit the one handed backhanded slices & the drop shot..

i won't comment on my mental strength, but i can say this..i get a little pissed off if i commit silly mistakes..( i tend to show it too by throwing my cap  :whistle:or criticizing myself )
i am trying to work on my mental strength though..
i like to play doubles, but not as much as singles..i prefer sngles more..
My current racquet : PROKENNEX STAR-ACE !! I don't the specs correctly 

hmm..
now comes the main part..since i've been away from playing tennis for around 3 months( Feb, march & also april ) now..
i seem to collected excess flab/weight.. my current weight is around 74-76 kgs..
i am mainly concerned with my thighs..they're disgustingly fat..

can you guys suggest any exercises i can do in my home to reduce the excess fat ?? for example, i jog up & down 105 stairs for 2-4 times a day..
i need to get in shape asap..since i am planning to resume tennis play from april 24, i need to shed at least4 kgs if possible before i can play..

any help would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks for taking time to read my journal..
hope you liked it..
i'll try to update it as frequently as possible..

[Tennis4you]

Wow, nice update!

If you are looking to get back into tennis shape running is a good start.  Sit up, push up, jumping jacks, anything would be good. 

Keep the updates coming?  MT will eat this up!

[ashwin#1]

Wow, nice update!

If you are looking to get back into tennis shape running is a good start.  Sit up, push up, jumping jacks, anything would be good. 

Keep the updates coming?  MT will eat this up!

i am glad you liked it..
thanks for the suggestions..

[pawan89]

4kg in less than a month is a little drastic but you can drop 2-3 healthily. It all starts with your diet, limit your caloric intake and keep working out, here's a quick guide for numbers: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Looks like you're well on your path to being really good at tennis though!

[falcon]

Hi ashwin, nice updates here. May I ask where exactly in india are you from? There are some really good tennis courts that i could suggest if you are in a city that I frequent. (Since you had to tie ropes for nets  )

[ashwin#1]

4kg in less than a month is a little drastic but you can drop 2-3 healthily. It all starts with your diet, limit your caloric intake and keep working out, here's a quick guide for numbers: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Looks like you're well on your path to being really good at tennis though!

NICE  !!! incredible website ..thanks a lot !!

[ashwin#1]

Hi ashwin, nice updates here. May I ask where exactly in india are you from? There are some really good tennis courts that i could suggest if you are in a city that I frequent. (Since you had to tie ropes for nets  )

:D..:D
that was a very old court i used to play on..i think it was unused since the year 2000..now everyone plays Cricket on the court..
now i go to a better club..it has 6 courts..2 hard courts & 4 indian clay courts..& each court has the Net..
i'll post some pics..

1. this pic is a little old..it was taken in October 2011..
It rains cats & dawgs during june-september..so clay courts were closed due to slushiness..only hardcourts were used..
The clay court area was totally unused & it became like a garden ...you can see 2 hardcourts in this pic..



2. this pic was taken sometime in november 2011..The clay courts were getting ready to play on..Nets were just tied..lines were yet to be drawn....


3. Another pic of hardcourt..

[ashwin#1]

my attempt at reducing the weight has been thwarted by the flu..
i was sick for around 10 days. & i also had exams..so i had very little exercise..
However, my exams just finished today..& i will be resuming playing tennis on 3rd or 4th May..

btw..i played tennis a couple of weeks back..had a gr8 time with my friends..played two tiebreaks out of which i lost the first one badly 7-3..& i won the second one 9-7.

i'll be starting the exercise regularly from tomorow onwards.

[ashwin#1]

Hi ashwin, nice updates here. May I ask where exactly in india are you from? There are some really good tennis courts that i could suggest if you are in a city that I frequent. (Since you had to tie ropes for nets  )

Falcon :

do you know any good courts in chennai ? my friend's been looking for a cheap & decent one..but most of them cost more than Rs 2000.
he's looking for a court/academy where there's not much crowd..he's not serious into tennis & just wants to play tennis regularly in the morning..with a occasional entry into local tournaments..
since he's a hostelite, he's damn cheap & wants to find a good academy in less than Rs.1K
any suggestions ?

[falcon]

Hi ashwin, nice updates here. May I ask where exactly in india are you from? There are some really good tennis courts that i could suggest if you are in a city that I frequent. (Since you had to tie ropes for nets  )

Falcon :

do you know any good courts in chennai ? my friend's been looking for a cheap & decent one..but most of them cost more than Rs 2000.
he's looking for a court/academy where there's not much crowd..he's not serious into tennis & just wants to play tennis regularly in the morning..with a occasional entry into local tournaments..
since he's a hostelite, he's damn cheap & wants to find a good academy in less than Rs.1K
any suggestions ?

I am not that familiar with courts in and around Chennai, but my cousin plays at the Nungambakkam courts. That's where the chennai open is held at well. Considering that, I am sure it won't be cheap! Those pictures you posted have some decent courts. Where are these?

[ashwin#1]

Falcon : those courts are in nagpur( thats where i am )

nungambakkam courts are way out of the budget

[falcon]

Falcon : those courts are in nagpur( thats where i am )

nungambakkam courts are way out of the budget

Have never really lived in Nagpur, have always passed through the city though It must be scorching hot there now!! The best part is you get the best mangoes now 

[ashwin#1]

Falcon : those courts are in nagpur( thats where i am )

nungambakkam courts are way out of the budget

Have never really lived in Nagpur, have always passed through the city though It must be scorching hot there now!! The best part is you get the best mangoes now 

Hit the courts today after a month or so..felt really good !!
i did manage to reduce my weight..but only by 2 kg..

falcon : Nagpur is scorching now..its difficult to play after 9 am due to the intense heat.temp. crossed over 40 C yesterday..& yes mangoes season has started..
can't wait to dig into them..

apparently there's a renowned coach coming to our academy for a week for advanced classes..but i've declined it for these reasons :
1. i haven't played tennis regularly for the last 3 months. might take 10 -12 days to get into some kind of form..
2. the classes start at 9.30 AM..the heat would be too much..




i'll post some more pics of court in a couple of days...

[ashwin#1]

Its been a hectic week..we had a advanced camp for tennis players..i participated in it..it was fun though at times it became repitative & boring.. ..it finally ended yesterday evening..
we had 3 hours of training in the morning & 2 hours of training in the evening..the evening sessions( 4.30 - 6.30 ) were a pain in the a** as the temp. during these times were around 41 C..
but in the end, i got some good tips for my weak backhand & also some useful tips for movement & recovery..i think i can get hold of these changes perfectly in a couple of weeks..

its a holiday today & i am already feeling refreshed & re-energized to go out on court tomorow morning for a hit with my usual friends..

the main things i found useful in this camp were :

1. my backhand became slightly easier & better
2. my footwork seem to be better
3. my Serve is definately better..i can serve now with more spin..accuracy has improved but speed has been reduced slightly..i believe it can increased in due course.
4. i made more friends..

i may go for purchasing some tennis balls tomorow..what do you guys suggest ?
Babbleot GOLD balls or Wilson 4 Balls ??

[ashwin#1]

i registered myself for a loal tournament yesterday..& i've got a match against some unknown guy..but my friends assured me he's a rookie..so lets see..
on the other hand, my three other friends got a bad draw...one got a 12 year kid, who defeated my friend ( 23 years  ).6-3..
another friend got a unknown guy..so no comments on that..
& the third friend got the worst one..he got one of our coach.. .He was shocked to see that..

well lets see how the tourny goes..my match is scheduled for today evening : Not before 4.30 PM..
the match timings are pretty bad..Central india at this time is damn hot..& we just recorded the hottest day of the year yesterday at 46.2 C..

[ashwin#1]

i lost in R3 in the tournament..still happy that i got through R3..


meanwhile, i had a pretty bad fall on a hardcourt today..got hurt on right knee & in fingers badly..
got myself an Anti-tetanus Serum just in case..

no tennis for the next 2-4 days..

[ashwin#1]

Having a terrible Stiff neck for the past couple of days..
hope this clears out asap.