Read it, use it, become an enlightened player

by Julian C.
(Lake Balboa, California)

Hello Tomaz, I hope you're doing great,

Sorry it took me this long to reply and let you know if your answer to my question (from May 15th) has helped me. (I'll go back to that in a minute*)

But first, I just wanted to tell you that since I last wrote to you and during these last 5 months, I took the time to very attentively read (going back to certain chapters, etc.) the Encyclopedia and the Mental Manual.

As I went along I started to realized that for the most part (during matches) the truth is that I was just returning the ball any way I could, with no real/specific plan or purpose... period. Not that I'd never heard of such things, but for the first time (I'm a bit ashamed to admit ;-)) it became very clear to me that neglecting this essential aspect of the game was the main reason for my unsatisfactory results.

I just wasn't really playing the game of tennis, but again, and for the most part, just hitting the ball back any way I could without any justifiable reason, regardless of what type of player I had on the other side of the court, and without understanding or utilizing my own strengths or playing style either.

So I made a decision to consciously establish a pre-game plan based on just the basic strategies on the manual and the mental commitment that I was going to adhere to them. I could really go on a long list of things that have happened to me and my game since, but essentially and without a doubt, the result has been SUCCESS.

Just as you said, I have been able to turn my game around to the point where I'm beating guys that seemed impossible to beat before. To give you one example... I had a 9-0 !! against this ("pusher" style player) guy that I have now beaten twice in a row in the last 3 weeks (the last set I was down 2-0 and I won it 6-2).

Now he seems a bit dumbfounded... He even looked at my racket the other day and said: "is it the hybrid stringing?" Also, at the end of a long rally that I won (by making him hit on the run) he stood there on one side of the court and said: "hey... you're good, you know...?" (In a little while I think I'm going to give him your website info so as to make our matches more interesting...! ha!)

Don't want to take more of your time, but I thought you'd be glad to know how things are going. Thanks Tomaz, your coaching works and I feel like this is just the beginning of my "true" tennis game development (I want to work more on being able to execute my strategies more cleanly/efficiently through better and more advanced stroke techniques.

Like when I'm able to hit on the rise, I've seen how it can do wonders.... Imagine that I'm not even consistent at that level right now and I've been winning already)

P.S ( *Yes, you were right about my first question and the "choking". The thing I know now is that when I had no much of a clue why I was losing and how to turn it around, all I could manage to do was blame it on some kind of a "stroke" deficiency... (wrong source of the problem since my strokes are perhaps the "better" thing about my game.

I am a good hitter, good stroke maker... but "was" a very poor strategist.. !! ) So eventually I'd even lose whatever confidence I had on my good strokes! resulting in cautious pushing, trying to control too much to avoid errors, stupid choked tennis !)

Take care Tomaz and thanks again. Send me some comments/feedback if you get a chance.

Best,
Julian C.
Lake Balboa, California