does Happyguy still post? Seemed to be a bit of an authority on tennis

Its going to come down to personal evaluations. Doesnt really matter much what people who havent seen either play think

I think I settled on a racquet --- the Head Youtek Speed Pro. I was messing around with a couple of others but this is my fav.

The trend is towards low tension and small grip sizes, right? I still haven't adjusted -- my grip is 4 1/2 and my tension is 57, even with Lux string.

What is the role of the drop shot in the modern game? Any role in an indoor match? When I was in juniors, I was instructed that drop shots weren't worth a lot of practice time b/c they tended to have a poor risk-reward profile.

I've been playing lately with a former touring pro (now a teaching pro in his mid-thirties, Argentinian guy), and he just destroys me with drop shots.

Nadal has some crazy wrist action on his serve.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n76f2KJ36yA&NR=1

What is one trying to do with the wrist on the serve?

Brandon

I really think you should focus on training for a guy like patrik, not a guy with with nasty drop shots. I feel that the drop shot will rarely be effective vs him also but I could obv be wrong on this.

Interesting list of pro racquets/strings/tensions

http://www.colinthestringer.com/pros-strings/

the drop shot is a good weapon to have in your arsenal but the key is disguising when you use it and your preparation/backswing...you can have incredible feel for the shot but if your opponent sees it coming early every time youre going to be in some tough spots.

one of the guys i hit with regularly at work has an incredible ability to hit drop shots with tons of spin and place them wherever he wants, but he's so obvious with the preparation that he rarely wins the point with the shot because im moving forward before the ball's left his racquet

Wow tommy haas strings his racquet at 75 according to this.

I don't think its worth it for you to spend any time specifically practicing drop shots at this point.

ya. probably smartest to focus on your serve, fitness and then an opponent-specific gameplan

wrist depends on whether it's 1st or 2nd serve, more used on 2nd as you're usually trying to get more spin on it

i would avoid trying the drop shot too much, it's perfect if you're vs some 250lb guy who just smashes from the baseline and wont be able to run but I guess PA is going to be able to get to the ball almost all the time

practising serve/volley probably isn't a bad idea and might be a good strategy if you've got a decent 1st serve that he won't be able to smash back at you

Grips and tension is totally an personal preference. I like looser tension and smaller grips cause I can get more wrist play and action on the ball but that is not for everyone. As far as drop shotting, it is not that important that you can hit the actual drop shot but rather how good you are at scrambling and defending against his get. Basically your going to need to be good at flicking lobs, passing shots and basically reading what is going on because he is going to track down your drop shot just about every time indoors. Engaging him in a cat and mouse game is not a completely ridiculous strategy provided you can't beat him from the baseline but it requires a lot of skill to execute it well.

What kind of odds can i get that i will get 1 atp point by the end of the year.
Ive never played a itf tournament in my life

id prob lay 75-1 (not that I can bet any significant amount against you) but I think that line is about right

you'd have to qualify for a professional futures tournament and then win 3 matches in a row vs top 250 players so you'd pretty much have to be the best amateur in the world.

i would have to qualify to a future and win 1 round, you are not playing top 250 guys in qualis of future, 250 would usually be top 4 seed in a main draw of a future, but ya ill snap take 75-1

See below if you want to bet on Pat. This is easier than having people escrow with me directly (and it allows for small bet sizes).

http://chipmeup.pokernews.com/event/...t-patriks-side

ah you're right, you need to get to last 16 for 1apt but there are usually only 32 entrants so yeh only 1 win

i guess it would be luck of the draw but you'd be playing guys between top 200-1000

obv massively reduces odds only having to win 1 round but it would all depend on your skills now i guess

would be really cool to see this bet go down tbh

Does it go without saying that buying a wild card into a challenger doesn't count? Or buying any type of wild card for that matter.

Can we get all the kids in 80-84 together for a reunion someday. Highlight of course being the Francis/Davis vs Wurtzman/Lipsky exhibition.

ya of course, not looking for a hustle

i think its something you could bet on you just make a stipulation that you cant win a point from another players default, the prob easiest futures are in thailand and its a full quali draw every year

Im not a random 4,5 player im between a 5 and 5.5, but i do have 30 pounds to lose to be in tip top shape, maybe ill make a thread out of it and see if i can get enough action

I think that would be a pretty incredible accomplishment if you are able to do it. As far as getting action, laying 75-1 is just not a lot of fun no matter how slim you think your chances of losing are so I don't think your going to get much action. I do think you deserve those long odds cause if you are truly an overweight 5.0 player I would say you have almost zero chance barring some crazy set of circumstances. I remember a few guys when I was playing that were kinda nomadic tennis "optimists" for lack of a better word, that somehow managed to get on the computer so I guess it is not entirely impossible. Are you really going to set aside 6 months or a year to travel and play futures? Good luck to you if you are, I think it could be a lot of fun trying.

if you happen to play the backhand slice which can be very effective on carpet regularly than throwing in a drop shot occasionally could be a good idea but depends on how fast patrik is obviously. also carpet is the absolute best surface imo and evens out skill differences a fair bit. dont try to copy nadal for that surface though he really struggles there as using a lot of topspin is usually not so helpful on carpet.

The ATP and ITF are very strict when it comes to gambling in the sport. Since the Davydenko scandal they have really been pro active. You would probably not be able to step on the court in a futures event if they ever got wind of the fact you had huge action on the outcome of your match. Stupid I know since it will only motivate you to win, but there is a zero tolerance gambling policy.

That being said, there is tons of gambling by tennis players, match fixing goes on all the time, especially in doubles matches.

Your right about the gambling policy of the ATP.

I would be very interested to hear someone in the know elaborate on this. I read a bit about the davydenko scandal, but all i can get is that he lost when he probably shouldnt (although he was hurt and slumping), but the betting on betfair made absolutely no sense as people piled on the dog when davydenko won the first set. he also retired during a virtual tie. interesting stuff, but i cant find a conclusion.

im also interested in more general gambling on the tour.

The conclusion was there was not enough evidence to do anything to him (Davydenko). Very hard to have actual proof which is the main reason it is hard to police. Having said that I think the tour is doing the best they can under the circumstances.