Shubert Daily Blog

Written by: Staff on 1st September 2011

Shubert Daily Blog |

Inspiring First Couple of Days at the US Open!

I’m inspired by the play of former college players and up and coming American talent on the courts at the US Open. It gives me confidence that maybe one day I’ll be playing at that level consistently and be able to showcase my desire to win at pro tournaments around the world. It was unfortunate to see a peer of mine, Steve Johnson, go down suffering from cramps to Alex Bogomolov Jr. in 5 sets. Tournament directors seem to have matched a bunch of American men against each other in the first rounds (Why?!). However Bogomolov Jr. gave an interesting “non-party-line” post-match interview when he said (when talking about his first win at the US Open in 7 tries): “If I can do it, anybody can do it. I’m five foot nothing, and all I’ve done is put in as much work as I can, grinding out here ya know, anybody can do it.” I thought it was a very inspiring talk considering most of the players are asked, “How do you like playing in front of the crowds here at the US Open in the great city of New York.” At which point you get the typical media-trained responses. I’m excited to see how Jack Sock does against Roddick in the 2nd round. Did you see his reaction after he beat Marc Giquel? Him and Harrison definitely showcase the most tenacity and fire I’ve witnessed from any of the teenage American talent. Right now as I sit here, I’m truly inspired to get out there, “Swing as hard as I can” (as Sam Querrey put it on Tennis Channel “US Open Tonight Show”), and grind my way towards my dreams and goals.

A little update on my whereabouts and training the past two days. I’ve still been lucky enough to set up practices with Alexandra Stevenson. It’s a great learning experience since she is a 10+ year American veteran. We’ve had talks about traveling, scheduling, and tournaments which are all really new subjects to me considering I didn’t have to manage all the logistics of my college tennis trips (Thank you to my coaches and support staff back at BYU for always making sure we were taken care of on trips!). Another thing that is beneficial that comes from practicing with her is that I’m learning about the deep/drive ball that has marginal spin on it but is hit around 70-80mph. If I were to go on TV right now at the Open, my ball would look like a puff ball compared to the pros. I’m learning that you’ve gotta be able to step up and wail on your shots, not to play the consistent clay-court height rally-ball, and take away your opponent’s time. If you aren’t able to hit a clean winner, sometimes the speed of the ball itself is enough to cause error or a short ball, it’s just a matter of deciding when to go for this shot naturally. As I practice, I try to hit one heavy shot, with good clearance over the net, then anticipate a ball landing around the service line. If I get that service-line ball, I immediately move my feet up to the ball to punish it. If I don’t get that service line ball, I’m content to stand 5 feet behind the baseline and grind out the point until an opportunity arises. Any other strategy, like slicing and coming in or hitting a ball to the corner and rushing to the net, I would consider to be “forcing the action unnecessarily” and would most likely lead to me losing the point at net.

On top of my practices with Alexandra, I’m still hitting a bit with my old academy at Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine. Today I switched things up however and played a few sets over at the University of Irvine courts. The more sets I play, 3 to 4 a day, the more I feel capable of grinding out futures level tournament matches and hopefully challenger matches someday soon. I had a really good moment earlier today that solidifies this thinking when I was an hour and 30 minutes into my morning practice session. I had just finished a practice set where I had played really well and won. My legs have been getting increasingly sore from all the playing and fitness work I’ve been putting in so I thought to myself, “I’ve gotta conserve my energy and my legs for the more intense sets I’ve got set up later this afternoon.” Then I immediately stopped and said to myself, “You know what, I’ve gotta put in the hours now instead of later, doesn’t matter if I’m tired, hurting, sick, whatever, I’ve gotta keep playing, keep pushing through it until I’m totally wiped out and can’t stand anymore. That’s the only way I’m going to get better. The more I play, the better.” So, I went out there, played another set, and felt fine later in the afternoon. Whenever you think you can’t do anything for much longer or don’t think something will benefit you, THINK AGAIN!! As far as tennis goes, the more the better, trust me. I’ve got a few more weeks until my first future post-college so I’m anxious to keep practicing and finding training opportunities that will benefit my professional efforts!

Trying to watch as much US Open television coverage as I can between practices,

Shubert