My picks for the possibly exciting games for the first round:

Djokovic / Troiki – Djokovic hasn’t been at his tempestuous best, and Troiki can hit a good ball. I see Djokovic through in 4.

Bagdatis / Clement – Clement is no slouch, but Bagdatis has been getting better and better. Watch his cross court backhand passing shot for perfection, beautiful! Great shot maker, but a bit slow around the court. Bagdatis in 4.

Hewitt / Mathieu. Watching Hewitt is great. He’s such a fighter, and getting better and better after coming off his injury. I see him meeting the Fed in the third round and it being a good to great match. Hewitt in 3 or 4. He likes to get a feel for his shots.

Gulbis / Chardy. Gulbis is ALWAYS entertaining to watch. He’s like a combination of McEnroe and that crazy eastern European guy I can’t remember the name of. He’s got crazy good shots and ability, but his head gets in the way. Once (if) he gets his head straight, he’ll be top 10. This one could go either way, depends what mood Gulbis is in, but I give it to him on form coming into the Open. Gulbis in 4.

Nadal will breeze through to the ¼ finals. Nalbandian and Murray are the ones to watch out for. Mardy Fish (US) could also make a good play for the quarters or even semis if he keeps up his good form. He had Federer on the ropes but failed to deliver the final blow in the Toronto (or was it Cinncimati) tournament.

You can’t play good tennis without good mind control.

That’s one of the reasons I love tennis so much – it teaches you mind control through instant feedback. If you’re not concentrating on the ball when you prepare for a stroke, you’re not going to hit it well.

The first rule of good tennis is to concentrate on the ball. We all know that and we try. But there is subtle interference from the ego that is sometimes difficult to catch and eliminate. It’s what causes you to play so well during the warm up and then tank as soon as the match starts. The cause and solution to this problem is is what we will look at in this article. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the reason’s I like tennis is it can tell you what you’re feeling, who you are, and what pressure you’re not immune to. Your tennis game is like a personal barometer.

There are the days when your game…..well…..it sucks. For reasons unknown you can’t find the court. You wonder why you ever started playing this stupid game.

But if you’ve been reading this site, or books like Timothy Gallwey’s “Inner Tennis”, you have probably accepted the difficult fact that sometimes you can’t get away with blaming your racket, the balls, the weather, or anything external to yourself.

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and look inside at those shadows in the closet that changed the way you were thinking or feeling without you even noticing it.

But now you have to notice it, because there it is. The easy mid-court ball you put wide. The second serve that just won’t go in. The easy volleys that hit the fence or the net.

Time to take a look inside and see what’s going on there. Something is. And the sooner you face up to it and deal with it head on, the sooner you’ll get back to playing your tennis.

I mentioned it in my article on tennis elbow, but as I get further through this 300 page book, I’m more and more amazed at how good this stuff is.

If you have any pains or weakness in muscles or joints, it’s worth your while to check this book out, or at least visit this site. The magic word is “Trigger Points”

I won’t go into the detail – it is all on the site above. I’ll just tell you that what happened to me today, and espouse that logic says if the treatment you’re having for your tennis elbow or golf elbow or plantar fascitis or turf toe or whatever is not producing results, then it obviously doesn’t understand the root cause of the problem. I’m all about fixing root causes, not killing the messenger (taking pain pills, steroids or anti-inflammatories)

Anyway, to cut to the chase. Tennis elbow is caused by inflammation of the tendons at the elbow right? WRONG! The painful elbow is most often a secondary effect, not a cause. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you getting what you’re paying for in your tennis lesson?

For a beginner, or even an intermediate player, it is often difficult to know if you’re getting a ‘good’ tennis lesson or a ‘bad’ tennis lesson, and by the time you do know, it may be too late. There are so many different opinions and teaching styles that is difficult to tell up from down sometimes.

This article is an attempt at an objective measure of the value of your tennis lesson. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever wondered why almost every pro tennis player gets a long massage after every match?

The answer: Because it works.

Why Massage?

Massage releases trigger points and spasms in the muscles which restores them to full function. You can stretch a trigger point or spasm all you want – you won’t get rid of it, in fact you might even make it worse. Think of pulling on the two ends of a piece of rope with a loose knot in it. The more you pull, the tighter the knot gets. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been playing tennis for a while, you’ve probably experienced it. Yes, the dreaded T-bo, also known as Tennis Elbow, or lateral epicondylitis.

Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons joining the forearm muscles to the elbow. Mostly it is the muscles that lift you hand upwards (if your palm is facing the ground). These muscles are used in the spin serve, and to my surprise, in the one-handed backhand. They’re over used and cause inflammation if you have bad technique. That’s where my T-bow came into the picture.

In this article we’ll look at the common poor tennis techniques that can cause tennis elbow. We’ll also look at why the conventional medical explanation of inflamed tendons, or lateral epicondylitis, often doesn’t lead to recovery and what might be a better solution. Read the rest of this entry »

Live ball clinic on thursday will be at 5pm instead of the usual 6pm at Amelia National. All are welcome for some exercise based around tennis. See you on the court!

The Fall Challenge Ladder was hotly contested with players from Callahan to Fernandina playing for the title of Fall Ladder Champion. Congratulations to Conner Stevenson for winning the title, and Paul Drayton, Ed Spiezo, Mark Olbina and Rod Nichols for finishing in the top 5.

Registration for the new Winter Challenge Ladder is now open to all local tennis players and runs from December 12th, 2009 through February 28th, 2010.

Match times and locations are agreed upon by the players, so you can decide where and when to play that suits you. Fall ladder players will be seeded according to their ranking on the Fall Ladder.

The Winter Challenge Ladder is for all tennis players with NTRP levels from 3.5 to 4.5.  Each match is the best of three sets.

Players can follow their points and make challenges online at GetCourtside.com.  The ladder fee is $21 per player for unlimited matches. It’s a great way to meet new players and play when it suits you.

To register for the Winter Challenge Ladder, visit www.getcourtside.com and sign up for a free players account. Add “North Nassau Tennis” as your club (you can do this when you sign up, or afterward in your profile), and click on the Winter Challenge Ladder to register.

For more details e-mail paul@zentennislessons.com or call 373-TENN (8366).

The ZenTennisLessons.com program now features year round ladders and live ball cardio clinics that have provided playing opportunities for players of all ages and abilities in the Fernandina Beach and Yulee area.

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PTR tennis teaching professional, Paul Drayton of ZenTennisLessons.com, will hold the first Live Ball Cardio Tennis Clinics and Competitive Doubles Tennis Clinics at The Amelia National Golf and Country Club on Amelia Concourse. These clinics are open to non-members and members of all levels and ages.

The Live Ball Cardio Tennis is an action packed tennis clinic which focuses on continuous point play to develop strokes, strategy and fitness. A great way to combine a high-energy workout and build endurance through tennis.   Come out and join us for Live Ball on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 – 7:30 pm and Saturdays from 9:30 – 10:30.

Every Friday from 6:00 – 7:30 pm, ZenTennisLessons.com offers a competitive doubles clinic, which is a great opportunity to improve doubles skills and meet other players.   This clinic focuses on improving your doubles game through strategy, formations, using angles and confident net play.   You will learn essentials for teamwork, beating the odds and choosing your partner.

The weekday cost is $12.00 per clinic or $10.00 per clinic with the purchase of 10 clinics.   Saturdays Live Ball costs only $5.00, which will be donated to the local Fernandina Sierra Club. Space is limited.   Registration is recommended.
To register for a clinic, visit www.getcourtside.com and sign up for a free players account.   Add “Amelia National Golf and Country Club” as one of your clubs (you can do this when you sign up, or afterward in your profile).   For more details e-mail paul@zentennislessons.com or contact us at (904) 373-8366.