Top player surprised by LP player

[Tinykin]

Lorestas Trumpauskas is the ranking no.1 over 50yo player in England.
Interesting inverted vs LP matchup as he is ambushed by an LP player, Anthony Bates.

 

[blahness]

The LP "sidespin" serves are a mind bending nightmare because you always think they brushed it sideways so the ball should curve sideways, but because it is LP it actually is just a dead flat ball with mild spin which they can manipulate depending on their contact. It is super annoying to deal with mentally. Before I trained with my LP using partner, i would receive these serves super poorly lol, i would edge a lot of them because they were not in the position i expected (as they literally dont curve). Quite difficult to adjust in just a few games if you havent got used to it. Sometimes it is better not to watch the service movement and just focus on the ball if they served with LP.

 

[blahness]

This is also why, LP is super good for those who arent athletic and still want to play a "sport".

 

[Lula]

Do not look like he have played a lot against long pimples? Feel he make many mistakes after pushing or looping. I mean with long pimple he knows what will come.

 

[Tinykin]

Do not look like he have played a lot against long pimples? Feel he make many mistakes after pushing or looping. I mean with long pimple he knows what will come.

He has faced pimple/anti players all his playing life. I don't know what his opponent was doing so differently to cause him to struggle.

 

[merlin el mago]

Surely he played against LP or anti used as backhand not as forehand!!!

 

[vvk1]

It's a normal match of an inverted player v LP player. Every LP player is different, takes some time for the opponent to find what works. The end of the 5th game was a one-way street for Lorestas.

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

He has faced pimple/anti players all his playing life. I don't know what his opponent was doing so differently to cause him to struggle.

maybe LP has baby oil applied on it plus has been baked in microwave oven?

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

i have a old veteran, he will spinkle talcum powder on his LP and he says it is perfectly legal.....

 

[Matteones]

He has faced pimple/anti players all his playing life. I don't know what his opponent was doing so differently to cause him to struggle.

I feel this is common when seeing someone with an objectively higher technical level struggling with someone who has many less weapons in their technical arsenal, but are very good at disrupting those 2-3 automatic patterns of the better player.

Usually it only happens the first time they meet, if it keeps happening their level is then much closer than the ones in this video.

You get caught up in many things at once: the disruption makes you tentative (after all you almost never train with these kinds of players from a certain level up, because they quite simply very very hardly ever get to a high level), the tentativeness makes you perform easy mistakes, the easy mistakes make you nervous because in your mind you really shouldn't struggle, let alone lose, to such a player.
He did well and was a bit lucky in winning the match here, you can see that once he was really on the verge of losing, he relaxed and performed at his real level, but many times that's too late, one net or edge ball and you are done for.
I will bet you that the next time he faces him he will very easily win.

 

[Lula]

Okey. I felt it looked like he served backspin and was surprised it was no spin and the opposite. The same in the open game. I am no expert against long pimples and it can be hard but I feel like you can often chose and be kind of certain which ball will come depending on what you played before. I think he seemed hesitant.
He seems pretty good and with the old age aswell so it seems likely he have played a lot of opponent.
Pretty fun that he uses long pimple on the forehand. Cool when different styles of play work.

 

[merlin el mago]

Playing against long pips needs a perfect timing & read all moment what's doing the LP player & how comes the ball, all my opponents tell me is very tired physically & mentally.

 

[d3nium]

I've played against Tony loads of times. Very tricky customer.

 

[vanjr]

I have played LP for years (no longer-I have been double inverted for about 9 months now). Trumpauskas has some text book games on what NOT to do-giving sidespin on your serves, not playing dead long serves, attacking all balls instead of occasionally pushing and re-setting the point. Maybe he knew he was too much higher to lose, but that match could have gone the other way.

 

[Quatro]

Is Bate's serve even legal? Isn't he throwing the ball sideway instead of staight up?

 

[NextLevel]

It's a normal match of an inverted player v LP player. Every LP player is different, takes some time for the opponent to find what works. The end of the 5th game was a one-way street for Lorestas.

Took a bit longer and he had to save a ton of match points in the 4th game. And after doing that went down again in the 5th game. Something was clearly off.

 

[vvk1]

Took a bit longer and he had to save a ton of match points in the 4th game. And after doing that went down again in the 5th game. Something was clearly off.

Well, both of them are very strong players. Next time I see Lorestas at a tournament, I'll try to remember to ask him why did that match go the way it did and what was it that Antony did that made it so difficult for him. My guess is that sometimes even the stronger/higher rated player struggles to force himself to play the way it is necessary to win.

 

[FIXPOINT]

It's a normal match of an inverted player v LP player. Every LP player is different, takes some time for the opponent to find what works. The end of the 5th game was a one-way street for Lorestas.

Even a world-class player like Quadri ARUNA struggles against a long-pips player at first. The following video is an exhibition match between ARUNA and Wataru KOJIMA. KOJIMA is one of Japan's top C-pen long-pips players.

 

[Matteones]

Even a world-class player like Quadri ARUNA struggles against a long-pips player at first. The following video is an exhibition match between ARUNA and Wataru KOJIMA. KOJIMA is one of Japan's top C-pen long-pips players.

Aruna plays with him exactly with the same spirit I play the kids I teach who are very very distant from being able to take even a single set from me (unless I want them to).

 

[J-fed]

The LP "sidespin" serves are a mind bending nightmare because you always think they brushed it sideways so the ball should curve sideways, but because it is LP it actually is just a dead flat ball with mild spin which they can manipulate depending on their contact. It is super annoying to deal with mentally. Before I trained with my LP using partner, i would receive these serves super poorly lol, i would edge a lot of them because they were not in the position i expected (as they literally dont curve). Quite difficult to adjust in just a few games if you havent got used to it. Sometimes it is better not to watch the service movement and just focus on the ball if they served with LP.

This is the serve that convinced me to turn LP.
I had used SP for decades (when I played at all) but was always LP curious. Coming back to play in early 40s there were so many LP players at my club and playing them was a brutal torture.
Often they were pen hold too. Just a total head FK. So I decided to join them.
Found I can chop better (of course) but also block and attack very well with them. Pushing consistently and high ball flat smashes are still not easy but serve returns are very nice.
LP life is never boring. Still discovering entirely new techniques that I had no idea about until they came to mind and I gave them a go.
Would be fascinated to hear everyone’s LP journey.