Tonight I went to the usual club session. I had a blast.
I first played with the nearby townmate, whom I view as better than me, as he did quite well in the last competition. Ranking wise, he is 120 points above me, but his ranking may not be accurate due to very few activity. The first 3 sets I playedd really well, and I stomped to a 3-0 lead. The 4th set, it got closer, it almost feels like he is coming back, but I won the set 12-10. So it was a 4-0 victory for me. The recent times it has been very close between us, and sometimes he would beat me close or badly. I am not sure exactly what clicked this time, but I think it is a combination of factors: 1. I stayed on my toes more at the start of the point, especially when I am receiving, and almost like I am slightly shuffling at the start. I received better this time, and I felt my fh flick was better and my bh banana were good too (perhaps because I am moving into position faster). 2. I take my time in my serves, I think about what serve I want to do and what he won't like, then I execute. I did not go into automatic mode and just serve straight away. 3. I started rope skipping, and today I brought my new rope with me to the centre, and I did a personal record of 75 times! The rope felt amazing, it has some weight, and I can feel it really well, so I am quite pleased with the purchase.
Then I played against a younger man who doesn't have a backhand. I have sort of figured him out as he likes to use his fh on everything. His bh is rather weak, so I exploit that, either by serving to his bh side to force him out of position then fh finish down the line, or serve a fast one down the line into his fh to do an ace etc. 4-1 for me.
Then I played against a club veteran. I know his game very well, so it was more of a game where I get to practice looping with my forehand, and using my bh to open up on his serves. 3-0 for me.
I will have to try replicate my findings next week to see how it works. The shuffling will probably tire me out faster in a comp, but then if it makes me play better, then maybe it is favourable for me. Sadly the nearby townmate has to cancel our training session tomorrow, so I will have to wait for a week for my next tt. Meanwhile, it is fitness building time.