Lexington S.C. ITF Jr Challengers - Hardcore Tennis Players!

Hardcore Tennis VIP Austin Spinazee at the Lexington SC ITF Jr Challenger being held at LCTC. 
Come out and check out some future professionals!!!

Wimbledon - are you kidding

Come On:http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=12661&zoneid=25

Columbia SALE tomorrow and Saturday

Important News

SAVE WATER, DRINK BEER
April 20, 2011
5 Season Brewing Westside

5 Seasons Westside
1000 Marietta St
(intersection of Howell Mill and Marietta St)
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-875-3232


It's that time again. Time to raise a glass for conservation. Time to show Alabama and Florida which state is boss. Time to thank the Georgia Conservancy for helping us conserve water so our hangovers are manageable. (Kidding. Mostly.)
It's time to mark your calendars for Generation Green's Third Annual SAVE WATER, DRINK BEER.
Where: Rooftop of 5 Seasons Brewery Westside.
When: Wednesday, April 20 | 7-10p
Why: Because beer is good. Wasting water is not.
Tickets: $10 donation (incl one drink)

Hardcore Tennis - Racquet Confusion

After 10 years of listening to Johnny Mac, Killa Cahill, B.G., Uncle Cliffy, Martina and Robbie Koenig, I have to say something -

I feel that I am doing my fellow tennis players a disservice by not "exposing" some of the half and non-truths they are putting out there about professional tennis equipment.
I jokingly say "exposing" because much of the information I'm about to give you has been reported in many places. I'm also sure that these announcers, who were some of the best players in the world, are not purposely giving out false info. I can only assume that they are badly under and/or misinformed.

On every tennis broadcast, you hear one or a combination of the previously mentioned tennis announcer’s talk about the "light and powerful" frames that the players are using. During the US Open Martina actually said that because of the racquets and strings, the players don't have to be very talented. I'm sure Federer, Nadal, Murray and the rest of the players on the ATP Tour would have a different opinion.
There are a few ATP Tour players that use highly customized, much heavier versions of the Babolat Pure Drive (Roddick, Andreev), the Babolat Aero Drive (Nadal, Tsonga), and Head Extremes (Lubicic, Gasquet). But the vast majority of ATP Tour players use thin, fairly flexible, heavy, head light frames. Federer, Djokovic, Murray, and Soderling all top 5 players, are among them.

Here are some ATP player frame specs compared to the retail versions. The ATP player specs are courtesy of Greg Raven. The retail specs are courtesy of Hardcore Tennis. But as you know retail frames can vary greatly from frame to frame.

Roger Federer
Wilson BLX 6.1 Tour
Strung Weight 362.50g
Balance 31.50
Swing Weight 338
Retail
Strung Weight 354g
Balance 31.43
Swing Weight 333

Robin Soderling
Head You Tek Radical MP
Strung Weight 357g
Balance 33.75
Swing Weight 384
Retail
Strung Weight 312g
Balance 33.66
Swing Weight 324

Novak Djokovic
Head You Tek Speed 18X20
Strung Weight 360g
Balance 32.00
Swing Weight 371
*** Flex 51 ***
Retail
Strung Weight 335g
Balance 32.07
Swing Weight 317
*** Flex 65 ***

Rafael Nadal
Babolat Aero Pro Drive Cortex G
Strung Weight 335g
Balance 33.30
Swing Weight 350 (*4 1/4 with two overgrips*)
Retail
Strung Weight 320g
Balance 33.02
Swing Weight 331


As you can see each one of these ATP Tour players use a frame that is much heavier than the retail version. Notice how incredibly more flexible Djokovic's frame is.
Also the frames that Soderling, Murray, and many of the ATP players that are endorsed by Head, use are frames that have been in production for over 15 years. Any tennis player who has put two overgrips on top of their replacement grip knows how much that increases the grip size.

I could go on about the "mis-representations" we hear on every tennis telecast. But you get the picture. In the next discussion I will tackle WTA Tour frame specs.
Feel free to email me with questions or requests for specs for a specific player.

Thanks and Play More Tennis!

ERIC

www.hardcoretennis.net
www.hardcoretenniscolumbia.com

2008 Wimbledon Thoughts || Eric's Corner

Since 90% of tour players play basically the same style, it is always a treat to see something different. In his first round match, Rafael Nadal faced an aggressive, attacking opponent in Andreas Beck from Germany . Nadal won in three close entertaining sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6. Beck has a big lefty serve and was willing to take some chances on his second. In fact the average speed of his second delivery was 110 mph. He also did a great job of varying the placement and speed of both serves. Playing Nadal for 3 sets and only getting broken twice has to be considered a major accomplishment. But here is what I find so confusing. Beck approached the net 18 times and won 14 points. Unless I’m missing something, that is a pretty successful conversion rate. Being so successful at net, why would he go in only 18 times in 3 sets? Please let me know what I’m missing.

Just as confusing is the lack of aggression from Andy Roddick in his match against Janko Tipsarevic. With an average 1st serve speed of 127mph and getting 73% of his 1st serves in, Roddick came to the net a total of 31 times in 4 sets. That’s an average of 7.75 times per set. That is an impossible stat for a player with such a huge weapon. By winning 85% of his 1st serve points he was obviously holding serve easily. That allowed him to be very aggressive in his return games and put a tremendous amount of pressure on Tipsarevic’s serve. Instead he chose to be very cautious on his returns and was content to play long baseline rallies with an opponent who has superior groundstrokes. Even more frustrating was watching Roddick hit a 140 mph serve, Tipsarevic strain just to get it back, and Roddick backing up letting the ball drop, and then spinning the ball back into play. Obviously being one of the best players in the world, Roddick has heard this before. Why does he continue to play a style that does not help him win?

By contrast in the 3rd round 4 set match between Feliciano Lopez and our own Bobby Reynolds, the two players came to the net a total of 95 times. Lopez approached 50 times and Bobby 45 times. I call him Bobby because I know him. (He beat me 7-5 in the third his freshman year at Vanderbilt) Both players have great serves. But they don’t come close to what Roddick has. Is it coaching, execution, or something else?

READ MORE ABOUT 2008 WIMBLEDON
2008 Wimbledon Championships Main Site : [ www.wimbledon.org ]
2008 Wimbledon Scores : [ www.wimbledon.org ]
Federer Secures Spot In Wimbledon Final : [ www.tennis.com ]

PERSONAL THOUGHTS!
I am really excited about playing tournaments again this summer! There are a few things that I concentrate on in a long match.

1. Make your opponent beat you. Chances are, they are as nervous as you are. Try not to give away too many points.

2. Think of positive results you had in the past in tight matches.

3. Figure out the most efficient way to eliminate your opponent during a change over. (Make sure the injuries aren’t permanent)

---Eric Burke
---HARDCORE TENNIS