Received the Christmas Contest prize from NextLevel yesterday. Keen on trying out the shakehold blade, went to the club. My regular hitting partner showed up late. Didn't get to try out the SH paddle.
Hit with a member that I have not played in quite a long time. Mainly been practicing and not playing matches, ended up playing with this partner... I played horribly ... didn't feel 100% ... NYC weather has been warm one day and the next day like a 20 degree F. drop! But the main reason was that I had a hard time picking up the ball against the white wall. Lost 3-0, 3-0, and won 3-2 ... he lost steam in 3rd match, i jumped to 2-0 lead, miraculously winning one while facing the white wall... somehow he got 2nd wind and came back to win 2 and forced a game 5 --- i somehow jumped to a 5-1 lead despite facing the wall... i'm leading 3-1 and get back-to-back net and edge balls. I apologized profusely. Also I insisted on the changing of sides at 5 and was leading 7-1 when he came back with 4 points. Serving at 7-5, i won 2 to make it 9-5, he came back with 1 to make it 9-6 but lost his 2nd on missed serve ... serving at 10-7, i missed a serve lol and won it 11-8.
Of my losses and wins, vs this partner, they were all at 8 or 9 and 3 games at deuce. He is a lobber, instead of me working on stuff I have been working on - close-to-the-table short stroke loop and RPB, i tried my old dinosaur game of punch, block and smash. What a mistake! I should've continued with what I've been working on. Bottom line though, we both had a LOT of fun ... i punched/blocked side to side and smashed ... he plays steady and lobs ... i served nospin short, or short, not much rocket as he wasn't close to the table ... bottom line, we spent so much time laughing at our shots ... he lobbed with some sidespin he imparted under the table and i misjudged and i looked like a silly old fool missing badly ... i had him moving side to side and caught him flat footed at times... i laughed so hard i literally saw stars in my eyes!
Some of the others saw me playing a match and was surprised because outside of once or twice here and there, for the past 6 months or so, i have only been practicing.
Played for 2 hours the whole night and left a bit feeling a little under the weather but not quite.