First things first... NO TROPHY, NO MEDAL in NOTHING... no success there, but it certainly was one of the strongest tourney performances I have ever had, if not the strongest.
... but what the heck, this is the LA Freekin' Open where there is a 30 strong local contingent who drop 4 levels of rating points prior to the tourney so they can be 3 levels better than the top players in the division... so they can win prize money that is 2-4 times better than the other LA tourneys.
These guys do this regularly and it is a big game of sport to them. Some do it for singles, many do it for doubles.
There is no way you are going to compete on an equal level in those conditions. You would need to play so out of your mind to even lose 2-3 to those types.
Still, you be realistic and compete your best, support your friends to the best of your abilities, and do your best to have a royal blast. I did all that.
What I would look for in determining if I had a strong tourney? I would ask a few questions.
- Did I win vs approx. equal players with a high percentage?
- Did I give no chance to lower rated players?
- Did I play better in close scores?
- In a huge tourney, did I perform way better than expected? Was I able to compete under pressure?
- Did I pressure or win better players?
- Did I win my division if there are no ringers or sandbaggers?
- Was I able to make in game adjustments?
- Did I play better opponents I have previously lost to significantly better?
- Was I intuitive and/or efficient?
- Did I make less errors?
I didn't give any chance to lower players and I won vs a much higher player (2095 rated). The win vs Tran (2195), let's not get too happy about it, he had a very sore ankle.
The win vs the 2095 was a good match for me. I received his serve well enough, and after a few misses, he passed on attacking. I say THANK YOU when that happens and attacked away with spin or fast loops. This is my first tourney using the Nexy Batos 92 gram (last tourney was an 84 gram model)
I think the ratings will come out and Der_Echte gets adjusted to 2030s range and final rating in mid 2050s. I guess I can start charging an additional $5 an hour for lessons now that I am 2000 haha. Who believes that noise? I care about helping adults see/know/grow stuff, not looking flashy to attract kid's parents.