Tennis Blog: Changing Gears

Written by: Staff on 20th September 2013

Tennis Blog: Changing Gears |

It’s been about a week and a half since I took off the suit n’ tie and put the training clothes back on. After watching the top pros compete over the course of the Cincinnati Masters and U.S. Open championships, my inspiration and focus on the court is about as high as ever.

I returned to working with my trusted crew in Santa Barbara: Ben and Zibu Ncube of B&Z Sports, Juan Viloca, and a crew of good juniors including recent USTA Gold Ball winner William Grant. I also received a very special package from the world’s top coach and 10sballs.com’s long-time supporter Sven Groeneveld – Included were some of the newest Adidas clothes currently on the market and I was looking and feeling fresher than ever when I showed up to practice.

The biggest difference in my game after a month working behind the scenes at Cincy/NYC is how I mentally view myself and my efforts on the court. Watching and observing for so long really puts things in perspective and I’m happy that I can sort of use a third-person point of view when analyzing my game. It makes the fine tuning and small adjustments needed for significant improvement attainable. Focus comes easier, footwork improves.

It took a few days for my body to handle the three, four, five hour workouts throughout the day. But I’ve been adopting a nutrition lifestyle (thanks to the Grant family) that has refueled my body and cleared up the daily pains. It really is a pleasure to be back on the court everyday, with renewed energy and a more conscious idea of professionalism. Of course, the toughest part is to change gears from working at a desk back to playing. The personal upkeep of the body: Rolling on a foam roller, stretching, the physical work required… I kept telling myself if I keep going, keep putting in the work, tomorrow is a better day and the body will recover. Lest I forget, there’s still the need to hit the ball over the net consecutively and effectively in a rather short amount of time because I have an upcoming tournament.

I’m currently the #1 seed in the qualifying draw of the $10k Futures event in Laguna Niguel, CA this week. With it comes some apprehension. Will my game be good enough? Do I have enough in the tank physically to pass another qualies? Well, frankly speaking, I am just going to go for it. It’s a local tournament in my backyard, I have little to prove to anyone except myself, and I feel an empowerment with the knowledge I gained observing the top 100 pros this past month. I’m going to trust my footwork and approaches to the net. I think I can use my new found skills to a great degree this week and really surprise myself; I possess a great opportunity in front of me. As long as my shoulder doesn’t tighten up