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PostPosted: 10 Apr 2016, 18:16 
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Count Darkula
Count Darkula
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Joined: 01 Dec 2007, 15:07
Posts: 17502
Location: Dark side of Australia!!
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Blade: Bty Gergely T5000
FH: TSP Regalis Blue Max
BH: Tibhar Grass Dtecs
NextLevel wrote:
Congrats, Reb. A pity you couldn't win em all, but you got what you were looking for in at least one league and that is more than many.


Cheers mate. It's true. There are 14 players in the grade who would like to have finished where we did, and 15 where I did :lol: Then there's about 30 players below my grade, and perhaps a few in the A1 who would too :P :D :D And that's just the players in the stadium on the night, let's not forget all the other wannabee's who, for whatever reason, don't play.

Seriously though, I'm quite happy putting up winning results, it sure beats losing. :punch:

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 21 Apr 2016, 02:03 
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Count Darkula
Count Darkula
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Joined: 01 Dec 2007, 15:07
Posts: 17502
Location: Dark side of Australia!!
Has thanked: 422 times
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Blade: Bty Gergely T5000
FH: TSP Regalis Blue Max
BH: Tibhar Grass Dtecs
Played the first round of the new season on Monday and did I ever get peed off. I played the first match as usual and the team we were playing was the team we beat to get into last seasons final. So I'd lost to their 1st player back then. As it turned out, I got a 2 set jump on him as he played like he played last time I beat him 3-0. Then he began playing like the last time he beat me and took it to the 5th set. :headbang: In the final set though, I took control back and blew him away with an 11-4 win. But this was not the thing that peed me off.

My number 2 then lost his match 3-1 against their anti player, when I felt he should have beaten him. He beat him 3-0 last time. But this was not the thing that peed me off.

While he was playing his match, the realisation that our 3rd player was 20 minutes later to arrive than his usual 30 minutes lateness. So I get on the phone to him and first he says "oh are we playing tonight?" (He's only played at the club for the last 20 years, so should know the schedule better than me). Then he says "oh well, I'm sick so I wouldn't have played anyway". :punch: :swear: :envy: I hung up the phone on him, furious! It's almost 8.30 and even if I'd known at 7.30 I could have gotten a good fill-in. But now? Well, I headed down the hall, and every person I thought might not be playing I asked if they were playing already. The 2nd person I asked was someone who had filled in against us in previous seasons. I never had much regard for his game, but he did beat one of my teammates once...and well, I was desperate. But, I figured if he was there, he'd be there cos he was asked to come and fill-in. Turns out, he'd come along hoping to get a spot and missed out... :whew: We had a fill-in!

Long story short though, the fill-in didn't win a singles. HOWEVER, he played doubles with me and while he plays a LOT of erratic attacks that miss, I got him enough setups that he hit enough winners that we won that doubles. 14-12 and 12-10, so it was narrow, but he hit the winner at 11-10 in the final set (we only play best of 3 doubles to shorten the night these days).

My number 2 player won 1 of his singles and he and I won our other doubles. So come to the last match of the night, we were 5 all. Guess who had to play the decider :lol: :lol:

I played their anti player and I've beaten him 3-1 each time I've played him recently. But that 1 set always puts doubt in your mind, especially when every set against this guy is awkward. He attacks with his anti and he attacks with his inverted. They are not powerful attacks usually, but they're awkward to judge the return power and the spin on the ball. I was determined to win this and turn the night into a positive result. There was a lot of long rallies between us, perhaps longer than usual, but my FH was working the best it has in a while and I smashed down his FH side whenever he put something that was anything like attackable to my FH side. None of my smashes came back. I must have hit at least a dozen in the match, which helped influence things my way. I won it 3-0, although the 3rd set did come down to 11-9 (other sets were 11-8, 11-5).

So we start the season with a 6-5 win, I'm on 100% and I went home less angry at my slack teammate than I might otherwise have been. :lol: But he may not be my teammate for a 7th season :P

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 21 Apr 2016, 02:03 
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Count Darkula
Count Darkula
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Joined: 01 Dec 2007, 15:07
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Location: Dark side of Australia!!
Has thanked: 422 times
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Blade: Bty Gergely T5000
FH: TSP Regalis Blue Max
BH: Tibhar Grass Dtecs
Played the first round of the new season on Monday and did I ever get peed off. I played the first match as usual and the team we were playing was the team we beat to get into last seasons final. So I'd lost to their 1st player back then. As it turned out, I got a 2 set jump on him as he played like he played last time I beat him 3-0. Then he began playing like the last time he beat me and took it to the 5th set. :headbang: In the final set though, I took control back and blew him away with an 11-4 win. But this was not the thing that peed me off.

My number 2 then lost his match 3-1 against their anti player, when I felt he should have beaten him. He beat him 3-0 last time. But this was not the thing that peed me off.

While he was playing his match, the realisation that our 3rd player was 20 minutes later to arrive than his usual 30 minutes lateness. So I get on the phone to him and first he says "oh are we playing tonight?" (He's only played at the club for the last 20 years, so should know the schedule better than me). Then he says "oh well, I'm sick so I wouldn't have played anyway". :punch: :swear: :envy: I hung up the phone on him, furious! It's almost 8.30 and even if I'd known at 7.30 I could have gotten a good fill-in. But now? Well, I headed down the hall, and every person I thought might not be playing I asked if they were playing already. The 2nd person I asked was someone who had filled in against us in previous seasons. I never had much regard for his game, but he did beat one of my teammates once...and well, I was desperate. But, I figured if he was there, he'd be there cos he was asked to come and fill-in. Turns out, he'd come along hoping to get a spot and missed out... :whew: We had a fill-in!

Long story short though, the fill-in didn't win a singles. HOWEVER, he played doubles with me and while he plays a LOT of erratic attacks that miss, I got him enough setups that he hit enough winners that we won that doubles. 14-12 and 12-10, so it was narrow, but he hit the winner at 11-10 in the final set (we only play best of 3 doubles to shorten the night these days).

My number 2 player won 1 of his singles and he and I won our other doubles. So come to the last match of the night, we were 5 all. Guess who had to play the decider :lol: :lol:

I played their anti player and I've beaten him 3-1 each time I've played him recently. But that 1 set always puts doubt in your mind, especially when every set against this guy is awkward. He attacks with his anti and he attacks with his inverted. They are not powerful attacks usually, but they're awkward to judge the return power and the spin on the ball. I was determined to win this and turn the night into a positive result. There was a lot of long rallies between us, perhaps longer than usual, but my FH was working the best it has in a while and I smashed down his FH side whenever he put something that was anything like attackable to my FH side. None of my smashes came back. I must have hit at least a dozen in the match, which helped influence things my way. I won it 3-0, although the 3rd set did come down to 11-9 (other sets were 11-8, 11-5).

So we start the season with a 6-5 win, I'm on 100% and I went home less angry at my slack teammate than I might otherwise have been. :lol: But he may not be my teammate for a 7th season :P

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 24 May 2016, 01:57 
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Count Darkula
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Blade: Bty Gergely T5000
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BH: Tibhar Grass Dtecs
Pressure matches!

We entered round 6 of the competition tonight, playing the team we played in round 1. We beat them 6-5 in round 1, what would happen tonight?

My no.2 asks to play first tonight. He always wants to play where he can go home as early as possible :lol: So I let him. He loses 3-1 with the last 2 sets down 11-3. Gave it up a bit easy.

I play next against a guy who has beaten me before, so I need focus. He doesn't trouble me much though and I get him 8, 9, 7.

Our third turns up and loses 12-10 in the 5th set to the opposition team's fill-in. The fill-in plays SP on FH and LP on BH and hits well with them both. Much harder to play than the regular anti-combo player he was replacing.

I play doubles with my no.2. Being down 2-1 if we lose this we start falling behind by a big margin. We win the first set 11-8 and its looking good. Then we lose our footing and lose the next set 11-8. We need this badly and into the 3rd and deciding set its a tight start at 4 all. A rally ensues for the point that will decide who changes ends with the lead. My partner is a lefty and he loops out to their BH and a counter is hit wide to our FH. From our FH side I run (as best a guy with an arthritic knee can :lol: ) and as the balls falling to the floor, out near the barrier, I make it there and slide my pips under the ball with a chop that is directed by instinct alone as I'm facing the back of the court. I gain my balance and turn to see the ball landing mid-table and then being netted from the heaviness of spin I managed to get on it. :whew:
We turn 5-4 up, extend the lead to 6-4, then 7-4 and 8-4. I tell my partner we need to keep the hammer down...gently (cos he can get carried away and blow points with over-excited kill shots missing). We close the match out at 11-7!

My no.2 then plays the guy I played first up and also beats him 3-0. We take a 3-2 lead.

Our no. 3 then played the 2 wing looper. It was a tight match with our little retriever having his opportunities. He lead the first set 10-8 and lost it 12-10. He won the 2nd set 11-8, and then lead the 3rd set 9-8 and lost it 12-10 again. After that he just lost his drive and gave up. I was scoring and at 5-1 down he actually said to me I'm gone. I thought c'mon, fight! He went down 11-2.

Now I had to play the SP/LP player. I've played him a lot in the past when he played the competition as a team regular. But for the last 2 years he has only appeared now and then as a fill-in. I'd seen his game didn't look too rusty in his first match, and I've almost always gone to 5 sets with this guy. I was hoping to have an edge with his lack of match practice, and when I beat him 11-5 in the first set, I thought beauty! Here we go....3 setter! Then he turned it around and beat me 11-6 in the second. This guy's determination and doggedness and ability to hit with his pips from FH and BH was still turning up the pressure like he used to. In the third set I took him down 11-7 and felt like I was pulling out a thin slither of an edge and maybe I'd close it out in 4. It looked good to go this way too as I broke out to a 10-8 lead, despite him having and early lead. But then he pulls out some ripping shots and makes it deuce. I'm still hopeful to close this out and I take the advantage time and time again. Unfortunately, I just couldn't close it out and he grabs it 15-13.

So once again I go to 5 sets with this guy, and I am immediately under fire as he takes control at 4-0. WTH!! I'm determined not to turn 5-0 and I take some risks to get my FH involved and smash him off with 2 big FH's....one from FH across court, the other from BH across court. Now at 4-2, he gets the next and we turn 5-2 his way. Not how I'd have liked, but it was what it was. From therein I turned up the heat on him letting him taste my FH a lot more. Trouble was he actually started blocking it back. As surprised I was with this, I kept in the points when he did and squared him up at 5 all. We went point for point out to 8 all. There'd been a lot of long rallies, pip to pip mainly (considering he had 2 of them and I had one :P :lol: ). I was the victor of the next 3 rallies though and took out the set 11-8, and the match! :whew:

As I was rather weary after that, my teammates decided to play the next doubles together. And they managed to lose it, albeit in the max best of 3 sets. So we were 4 all on the teamscore.

My no.3 was next, and my no.2 also wanted to play at the same time on another table. No doubt about him, he loves trying to get away early :lol: I scored my no.2's game and he lost it to the SP/LP player in 3. While this match was going on, my no.3's match got through just a set and a half :o as the first set went to 17-15! He carried on to win his only match for the night and the teamscore was tied up at 5 all.

So, once again, I am up to playing the decider. Now this is the third time in 2 seasons that I'm playing a final decider against this team. And not only this team, but the same player from this team, the 2-wing looper. The first time was the first round last season and I beat him 3-0 to win the round 6-5. The second time was a match I had to win for us to make the final last season. I won it 3-0. I played this guy in the first round this season, but not as a decider, and I beat him 3-0. In this last one though, he got me to 8's and 9's and had developed game strategies that weren't there in the previous matches.

As the first set kicks off with him its obvious he's gonna make this match even harder than the previous ones. And as I get into it I hear my no 3. talking off court in a loud voice. I'm distracted and ask him to be quiet (its annoying as he'll get very carried away if you even talk at low volume when he's playing). But the fact I had to ask him sticks in my mind, and I just can't concentrate. I lose the set 11-3.

Getting into the second set and I'm determined to ignite myself. The opponent is not going to make that easy though. He is playing me textbook style. He's looping at me and judging the spin that comes back, and every time he may fall foul of my pip spin, he lifts the ball to a safe place and takes all the spin off the ball. He loops heavy to my FH from his BH side (where I am mainly pinning him to) and I'm chop-blocking these back. His loops are heavy, and so my blocks put back heavy underspin. He gets a few loops past me. I get him to net some blocks. I send some wide angles to his FH and he loops heavily back at me and I chop-block back wide to his BH. A few times I get him to foul his return, but he hits some sizzling BH loops straight into me. I manage to win the set 12-10. :whew: Being 2-0 down here would have given him way too much confidence.

So into the third set we go, and now I feel I have gained some ascendancy by taking back a set. My brain is clearer and my thoughts work properly. I remember where his weaker points are and I'm switched on. I beat him 11-6 this time around, and it all seems much easier. And I really had no right to feel this way, because he was still playing very well and hitting good shots. I just handled them better and drove him into error more (and hit a couple of FH winners).

So now we start the 4th set. His resolve has risen. I can feel it. His serves spin increases, and he's putting them down more awkwardly. His loops are coming at me in all sorts of shapes. Some are high arced coming down at an angle that I have to be careful not to put back too high for him to smash. Some are low arced and fast, requiring soft touch chop-blocks. And all the time I'm trying to keep him on his BH side (which he usually gets around to his FH on). In amongst all this I'm trying to find the right time to angle him out to his FH and hope for an error in his loop on the run (he's quick). In one of these rallies I had him so wide out to his FH side and I sent his return wide to his BH and thought I had him, but he BH loops it back on and all I can do is chop-block it to the middle and the rally is back on, until I lost it! :headbang: We make it out to 9 all and finally I get a higher arced loop to my FH and BANG! I put him away and go to a 10-9 lead, and a matchpoint.

On the very next rally he puts another slower ball up to my FH and I go BANG again....but miss the table by an inch! :headbang: Deuce! I get another round of matchpoints and it keeps heading back to deuce. I just can't get 2 points in a row off him. I get out to 14-13, and we rally. He hits a loop directly at me. Its fast and pretty low. I turn side on to it and block it straight back at him with my FH, just as fast. He's lanky with long reach, but this one right at him surprises him and he blocks it by instinct and throws it long. Finally I close out this marathon 4 setter 15-13 and once again manage to grab my team a victory! :party:

How much pressure can a guy take though? :^)

Luckily we did win tonight. We're 2nd on the ladder and 3rd had a 9-2 win, putting them equal with us on rubbers. We're still 4 point ahead of them though, so we maintain 2nd place. They play 1st next week, who are a team of kids that are blitzing everyone. They've won most their rounds 10-1. They beat us 6-5, which is the best anyone has done against them.

Tonight's 3 wins has me at 78%. I think I'm second to the leading player who is a 12 year old kid, from the kids team. Two of the kids are 12 and the third is 14. The kid who is leading player has lost one match so far....to me :devil: :lol:

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 23 Jun 2016, 00:54 
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Count Darkula
Count Darkula
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Blade: Bty Gergely T5000
FH: TSP Regalis Blue Max
BH: Tibhar Grass Dtecs
Well, its week 10 of our season. I played Monday night knowing we couldn't make the finals, but would finish just one out in third place. That was actually fine by me as our team is changing (substituting the unreliable retriever for an ex-teammate who is reliable and plays a better game). I did want us to finish 3rd though, as no matter what relegations occur 3rd will never be one of them. We only needed to win one match for the night to stay 3rd. We were playing 4th and they could only jump into 3rd with an 11-0 win against us. Issue was, when I told our player the bad news last week, he wasn't too happy. So I was sure he'd turn up....so that could be 4 matches gone right there. Then I let the teamy who is staying play first and he lost.

That made my first match against a guy I've never dropped a set to, feel pressurous. Still, I maintained the record with 8, 6, 5 against him. So we held 3rd position! Then , low and behold our 3rd guy did turn up...and lost his first match 3-0.

My no.2 and I then lost the doubles 11-9, 11-9. And the no.2 lost his 2nd singles. He wanted to go home early and was going to forfeit his 3rd singles, but the opponents agreed to let him play another straight away. Funnily enough he won it in 5 sets! That put us at 4-2 down. The retriever followed up with a win and we were 4-3.

I played my 2nd singles next aganst the opposition's 2nd best player. A 21 year old with a killer FH loop that he generally plays from his BH side (where its best to try to pin him). He either plays it across court (which fr me is preferable to deal with) or he plays it down the line, which is darn hard for me to reach unless I pick it early (and he disguises direction well). You can get him over to his BH and try to go wide to his FH but he's so quick that rarely works. What does work is getting him out of rhythm on his loops with my pips. Blocking back 2 or 3 of his loops with low blocks and then just letting one rise up with a little less reversal spin and his next loop often goes high and long. And with this strategy, I also know his head gets awfully frustrated.

He won the first set 14-12, but I felt I had control of him. I got the next 11-9 and built his frustration just a bit more (evident by the times he slapped himself with his bat or dropped it on the floor :lol: ). When I closed the 3rd set out 11-4, I felt it was my match. However, he had a resurgance in the 4th set and started landing fast loops to my BH that I couldn't get a good bat on and he went out to a 9-5 lead before I knew it. This spelt trouble. Going to 5 was a 50/50, and he'd have the momentum. When I won the point to go 9-6, I felt a glimmer of hope. Getting to 9-7, I felt might have churned him up inside a bit. Then making 9-8 I knew he was brewing. 9 all and I was feeling in control again, but only quietly confident. One wrong shot and he'd squash me like a bug still. We had rallied in most points with his BH pushes and my pip pushes generally until he got a FH loop. Some I blocked well with the pips and he'd re-loop. Some he'd kill me with, some he'd miss. At 9 all, he eventually missed and sent me to match point 10-9. Another rally ensued once again, and he sent a sizzling loop down my FH side, but not so wide I couldn't reach it. In fact I'd picked him going down the FH side and went to move and was almost caught out by how mid-FH it came. A quick and fast-paced block off my FH rubber back down the middle of the table before he could recover and I had my 2nd match of the night.

I'd started the night having dropped to 66.6% for the season. In other words averaging 2/3 games per night. So this win had made sure I'd finish with no worse than this. Taking 3 for the night, would up my percentage to 70%, which would be a nice round number. But anyway, now we were 4 all for the teamscore for the night.

The retriever and I played doubles next and besides losing the middle set, we won the first set ridiculously easy. In the other 2 it was more competitive. The scoreline ended 2, -5, 7. So we were 5-4 up with 2 chances to win the night.

Only trouble was due to the order change from our no.2 playing 2 in a row, their best player was playing the last 2 matches.

He dispensed with our retriever 3-0 in a lack-lustre affair. Now in the past, he hasn't coped well with the retriever and has lost to him. His confidence and energy has always seemed down in the times this has happened/ And in fact, its pretty much why we lost last season's final....because the retriever was late, the order changed, and this guy played the match of his life against me (as in it was the 1st time he ever beat me). And it happened again when we met this team earlier this season. So, I'd been thinking here we go, the retriever will do his thing and I'll cruise through him...a 3-0 easy loss wasn't part of that plan!

Anyway, I go in prepared to give my all and came running out of the first set with tail between my legs at 11-4! Spanked!

Second set, I handle things much more wisely. I play shorter, I play better angles, I get him to give me a couple of 3rd ball smash winners, I make him miss more, and I'm reward with a win at 11-9.

Third set, I deliver more of the same and I'm rewarded again with 11-8 and a 2-1 lead.

Fourth set is a desperate clash. My mind races at a million miles an hour trying to invent ways to stop him attacking me. But this is not easy. To begin with he is a lefty. He has a solid BH loop that he'll dispense away cross court before my bat can even start heading there. But his FH loop is simply insane! Now I've played a long time against a lot of high level loopers and this guy is up there with all, and way above many. I can block some pretty crazy loops back off my LP and turn some loopers hair instantly grey, but this guy just re-loops them, drilling them back with more spin and speed. And he does it off H3! The really stupid thing is, its only been the last 3 meetings with him, he's been able to do it. I played and beat him maybe 10 times prior without a problem. An easy-beat as it were. He's 21 and seemingly from nowhere, he's found "the path" or "the holy grail". So a win against him now means something!!

So, the 4th set battles on and his lefty hook loops keep coming at me, despite my attempts to keep to his BH playing the ball in a way his BH loops aren't allowed any traction (he has T05 on his BH). I pull out to a lead of 10-9 through sheer determination of LP blocks and one or two 3rd ball smash winners (but I can only get them from his low returns to my FH off a surprise BH topspin serve to his BH...unfortunately he never actually pops them up). At 10-9 its my serve and my mind is scrambling with what o give him that might snare me that delicious point that I crave! I serve a safe underspin to his BH, praying that he net it (not that he'd netted many). It comes back with a heavy underspin push, which I push back to his BH safely with the pips as I've done so many times before. This goes back and forth a few times until he gets a BH loop that I'm forced to block out to his FH. He jumps on it with a big, low spinny, loop to my BH and I block it with a bullet straight back to where he looped from. Once again I'm praying he misjudges this one and catches his bat edge, or he over-swings....just one error please! :angel:

No such luck, he executes another perfect driving, hooking lefty loop. I get the pips on it, but this time the spin and speed drag the ball just wide and long of his FH side. Deuce!! :headbang:

I get another match point going to 11-10, and I go through the whole prayer routine again.....to no avail. Deuce 11 all! He wins the next 2 points and takes it 13-11....into 5 sets!

I'm more than twice his age, and I'm mentally and physically spent (who says LP blockers don't move? :P ). I put up as much fight as I can, but he takes the 5th set 11-5. But he knew he'd been in a match and had stolen it away in that 4th set. What an end to another great season of TT!! :rock:

And now, there is tomorrow night. If we win, we go into the final. If we lose, well I've had a good season there too. I've been equal leading player most the season and now sit just 1 match behind the guy who broke away to the clear lead last week when he beat me (and that was a 7 setter against a 25 year old, half my age) :lol:

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 23 Jun 2016, 01:29 
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well done Reb, great season! Thanks for the detailed updates! :up: :up: :clap: :clap:


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PostPosted: 23 Jun 2016, 16:34 
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Count Darkula
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Thanks PRW! As you well must realise, I don't write so many match reports these days....cos they probably all sound much the same :lol:

But when I have a really tough one, or something that is not "run-of-the-mill", I think its worth writing about if I have the time...and usually one of these takes me well over an hour to write (and remember the details of :lol: ).

So I'm glad someone gets some enjoyment out of reading them. :up:

PS. I asked LG if he saw you at the Worlds...he said he didn't think so, although your name was familiar. However, Case De Bondt knew who you were.

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
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PostPosted: 29 Jul 2016, 02:20 
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Well tonight was not exactly a "run-of-the-mill" night at TT. What was so different?

Well to begin with, it was the first proper night of competition with my new Thursday teammate...none other than Jeanc of this forum. You may have read he actually stared with me last week, but we had no opponents, so we won by forfeit. Tonight we had real opponents. And the pair we played tonight had dropped back from A1 the season before last. So they were far from the weakest team in the division.

I began the night against a guy who had obviously improved from his venture up into A1 for 2 seasons, as he beat me for the first time ever last season. The first set hinted that he may well repeat this feat again tonight as he took it 11-7. I felt he had my measure in this set and I was going to have to step it up. I'm really not too sure what I did differently (perhaps Jeanc can enlighten me :lol:) , but I took the next 11-8 from him. That got my confidence back somewhat, enough to win the 3rd 11-6. Things just seemed to flow on and I won the next set 12-10, having been 10-8 down I think. I thought I was going to take the match in the 5th set as I headed for the 11 point finish line, stumbling just before it and having him pass me with 11-9. So I was 3-2 up, still needing another set for the win.

The guy had been complaining about his fingers in his playing hand having no feeling being so cold...and a bloodless white. Just my luck it all seemed to have returned...great. As it was his loops were going on consistently, and he was driving the ball to places I was struggling with, especially when he put in into my belly, or sent it to my BH when I thought he was going to my FH. If memory serves me, I found myself 10-7 down. Somehow, I got back to deuce with him and won it 12-10, but I recollect very little of how I did that (Jeanc....help! :lol: ).

Jeanc went on to win his first match also with a 4-1 win against a guy who is my arch enemy. It was so good to see Jean demolish him :devil:

Jean then went on to beat the guy I'd beaten 4-2 also. At this point we had won the night at 3-0. Given we've won the previous 2 rounds 5-0 (round 1 with a good fill-in and round 2 the forfeit), this was 3 wins chalked up to us.

So now I was to play my arch nemesis. He took the first set from me 11-4 and knowing what he is capable of, I braced for shock. (I really hate losing to him). I switched myself on in the next set and played with greater intensity and got over him 11-5. Ok, so maybe I can do this? I was also getting a little bit of luck, which was getting under his skin....and the more this happened the better. The angrier he was, the better for me. So I just kept joking along and making comments at how unlucky I was when something went against me (which he kept making angry remarks about due to luck I had gotten :lol: ). I won the 3rd set 13-11 after a comeback from 10-8 down. The 4th set was going very well as I started out 5-1. However he shifted up a gear and got things along to deuce again, and took it 12-10 this time. So it was at 2 all.

I rethought my strategy against him in the 5th set and realised I'd been feeding his BH too much. This works when he is playing impatiently and goes for BH attacks that are unrealistic. He had been doing that early on, but then had switched to playing safer shots and being more patient. So I switched to playing to his FH more. He was still playing fairly patiently, but he would finally think he had a valid FH attack and missed enough of them, or I blocked them back enough, that I won the set 11-8.

All I had to do now was win the next set. Ba-boing! I had a brain fade and he took full advantage. Before I knew it he was out to 7-0, then 8-0, then 9-0. I just kept sailing balls off the end with the pips, or putting them in the net. He got to 10-0, and I knew how much he was enjoying this and how much he ached to win it 11-0. It was my pleasure to deny him this, but he did win it 11-1. I actually think this set worked in my favour, as it over boosted his confidence and gave me a rest from blocking and fighting.

So we get into the 7th set and I re-focus myself and quickly get myself 5-2 up at the turn. He gets 5-3 after the turn, but I take it out to 7-3. The next serve change sees us at 8-4, but he makes it back to 8-6. I move it along to 9-7, and then make the critical 10-7 point and I feel this match is now within my grasp...maybe! This guy is sneaky and bloody-minded and stubborn. So its never over until its over, but when I get a ball into my FH attack zone, its looking sweet. I drive with a really hard FH smash...it is PURE! It goes straight onto his bat and blocks back so fast I'm still moving to recovery, and its past me. He yells and swears F... You! directly at me. I laugh it off. But it doubles my already steely resolve to beat him. I am now so focussed, memory breaks down again, but I know I won the next point to win 11-8 and 4-3 in the sets. :party: :rock: :clap:

Jean and I next enter the realm of our first doubles match together.The first set saw us struggle to get our bearings. But we were up against a pair who have played doubles together for about 4-5 years. They took us 11-7, but I think we both knew we could do better. In the next set, we did. we won it 11-4! We won the following set 11-6. The 4th set looked like they would even things up when we pulled it off 11-9. 3-1 up, not bad...all things considered. What came next was just inspiring. We swept through them 11-1 to finish it off. They had pip shots wobbling at them all over the place, and every time I got them to put a ball slightly up on our BH side, Jean blew them away with his BH inverted. Jean had been missing a few serve attacks early, but one of his FH attacks with the inverted off a serve just blew them away, it was a thing of beauty! If we get any better at doubles as we go, we are going to seriously bother people :devil: :devil:

So, 3 rounds in, I'm pretty confident we are top of the ladder not having dropped a single match. So we would sit 15-12 atop of it, and there's only one other team who I think can bother us (who will probably be the team we meet in the final if everything keeps going this way). Ready for A1 next season Jean? :lol: (ok, that might be jumping the gun a bit cos the team who may trouble us have a fill in coming in, in round 6 when one of the guys goes off on a cruise for the rest of the season - I've never beaten the fill-in ;( ).

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 29 Jul 2016, 13:32 
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Wow, fantastic effort from both of you! :clap: :clap: :clap:

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PostPosted: 30 Jul 2016, 01:10 
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New here but enjoyed the read Reb!


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PostPosted: 30 Jul 2016, 02:49 
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Count Darkula
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ruK wrote:
New here but enjoyed the read Reb!


Thanks ruK and welcome to the forum. Love the avatar you have chosen!

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 30 Jul 2016, 07:20 
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Good fun! Especially for your doubles opponents: facing two pips players and having to keep track of who's on which side, using FH or BH pips, whether you've twiddled, and both opponents having to be competent against pips while trying to read the play in a doubles environment instead of setting up their own shots…

You and jeanc ought to form a 2-person Wednesday A1 team at Croydon next season… ;)

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PostPosted: 30 Jul 2016, 17:04 
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hangdog wrote:
Good fun! Especially for your doubles opponents: facing two pips players and having to keep track of who's on which side, using FH or BH pips, whether you've twiddled, and both opponents having to be competent against pips while trying to read the play in a doubles environment instead of setting up their own shots…

You and jeanc ought to form a 2-person Wednesday A1 team at Croydon next season… ;)


Hopefully Jean and I grow in stature in the doubles as we learn what works for each other Hangdog. Only took one set for us to start that process...but I think we should be able to use our "unusual" combination work even better for us as time goes on. We'll need that if we make it into A1 on Thursdays at Dandy.

I'd love to take it to Croydon on Wednesdays too, but I have my daughter on Wednesdays. My time belongs to her on those days 8)

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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PostPosted: 31 Jul 2016, 11:30 
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Hi Reb,
I think you played well, love the angles you can get by blocking and you make adjustments during the match when you recognise something is not working.
I saw several sets that you came back from behind to win them, that shows mental strength and the ability to adjust!!

Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10 using Tapatalk


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PostPosted: 31 Jul 2016, 16:35 
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Count Darkula
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jeanc wrote:
Hi Reb,
I think you played well, love the angles you can get by blocking and you make adjustments during the match when you recognise something is not working.
I saw several sets that you came back from behind to win them, that shows mental strength and the ability to adjust!!

Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10 using Tapatalk


Thanks mate. I thought you also played very well. You're much more aggressive in your game approach than me, which leads you to more attacking errors. But you have more attacking successes than errors, so it lets you prevail. Your BH attack with the inverted is hard to deal with, but the LP attacks were almost impossible for them :lol: You get a fair bit of wobble off your LP due to the way you hit with it. I loved watching you tear my arch nemesis apart, limb from limb :devil: :lol:

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! :twisted: Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.


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