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I'm Tom and I am an Online Sports Retailer of:

• Tennis Racquets, Bags, Strings, Grips


• Squash Racquets, Bags


• Table-Tennis / Ping-Pong Paddles and Rubber


• Badminton Racquets, Bags and Strings

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Warmest Regards,

Tom "Satchman"

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Tennis Tip - Return of Serve

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I get a few questions from intermediate players asking about return of serves, particularly against big servers.

I feel that at the intermediate to advanced level (NTRP 4.0-4.5 level), most servers can only sustain 100+ mph big serves, only if they feel very comfortable that you will not be able to return well. The more irritated you look when missing the returns, the faster (and more daring) these big servers tend to go.

The key is to decide what type of return you want to do BEFORE the opponent serves and you have to do this return, regardless of serve type or direction.

For example, for right-handers, say you decided that that you're going to do a forehand return. Stand more to your left to make the server go down the T on the Ad court or out wide on the Deuce court. If you want to return with a backhand, stand more to the right.

It's amazing how many double faults you can get, just by making opponents think before serving - i.e. by changing your return position on every opponent's serve - more left, more right, further forward, further back, more central, etc.

Another thing is to attack that 2nd-serve. Don't be shy to stand way in the baseline to return a 2nd-serve. And when you do get a short 2nd-serve, don't be shy to rip it down the line or cross-court for a winner. I have even stood on the service line to return 2nd-serves.

Think Serena or Venus Williams returns and you'll get the idea.

Other players who have wonderful return of serves are Agassi, Djokovic, (Andy) Murray, Nalbandian, etc.

Trust me - at the intermediate-advanced level, this form of subtle intimidation will earn you your fair share of double-faults. Your opponent will be scared to blast 1st-serves because they will know that if they come up with a weaker 2nd-serve, you'll be all over it.

I'm a shorter player who doesn't have the height or build to blast 100+ mph serves. That's why I've learnt that good returns are as key as good serves, if not better. Good luck!!


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Selamat Hari Raya!!

Wishing all my Muslim buyers and friends
Selamat Hari Raya and to all other Malaysian's, Happy Holidays!


Regards,
Tom "Satchman"

Tennis Tip - Spin Potential (Factors Affecting Spin)

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We've all heard on courts about players saying that a particular racquet, string or setup produces more spin, while some other players say otherwise.

This debate is a very subjective matter and one man's meat is another man's poison.

From my own experiences from using various racquets, strings and setups, I feel that the main ways to produce good spin are as follows:

1. Swing Style - If you hit from low to high, you naturally add spin to your shots. I tend to hit across the ball and my shots are relatively flat.

2. String Pattern - I find racquets with an open string pattern generate more spin but this again depends on swing style.

3. String Type - Polyester-based strings generate spin much better than multifilaments and I found this to be very true when using Wilson NXT Tour compared with Luxilon.

Also, strings with rough textures help a lot in spin generation and strings like Luxilon ALU Rough/Spin, Ashaway Cross-fire & Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour add tremendous spin to my shots because of their rouch texture.

4. Racquet Head Size - I've found that racquets with a larger head-size generate more spin (perhaps due to a larger surface contact area).

In this case, string pattern doesn't really affect spin. For e.g., I found it hard to generate spin with the KSix-One 90 (open pattern) compared to my KBlade 98 (closed string pattern).

Babolat's 100 sq inch, open string pattern racquets (like the Pure Drive and Aeropro Drive) were a breeze to generate spin with but this again depends on your swing style and string type.

My suggestion is to experiment a little with string type and setup if you're having problems with spin potential. After all, tennis is a trial and error thing and only by experimenting, can you find the perfect balance to improve your game.

Good luck!




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Tennis Reviews - Babolat Racquets

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Sometime last year, I did a quick demo of the Babolat Aeropro Drive, Pure Drive, Pure Drive Plus and Pure Drive Cortex. Compared to my trusted Wilson nCode 6.1 95, the Babolat's were much easier to play with because of the increase in power and the lower swingweight (in most cases).

Here was my 2 cents worth from the short demo...

1) Aeropro Drive (APD):

A very stable racquet. Didn’t expect the hits to feel this nice on a Babolat. Although at a hefty 300 grams, it didn’t feel heavy and had a headlight balance. Power was there and I was able to rip through the ball with spin and depth.

Even without the Cortex or a dampener, I could feel very little vibration on impact. I didn’t get much chance to volley or serve with the racquet but this was definitely on my short list!

2) Pure Drive (PD) Team:

Another sweet racquet with a tad more power than the APD. The racquet was slightly more head heavy than the APD and suited my flat style of play.

In the beginning I was having trouble controlling the power compared to the nCode but once I got my timing right and added a touch of spin, I was able to hit with good depth and placement. It’s so much easier to play with this racquet compared to the nCode. The swingweight was less and I was able to generate good racquet head speed, even when late receiving a hard-hit shot. Slice definitely was a plus because it caught my stroking partner out a few times.

Serving was excellent using the PD. The nCode is a lovely racquet to serve with but it just takes so much effort. With the PD I could hit a flat serve, spin it, slice it, etc with accuracy and much less effort.

My volleys were a little wayward due to the power of the racquet but I guess it just takes time to get used to it. Also, I tried the PD with and without the dampener and wow, without the dampener, the vibrations are bad. Not enough to cause tennis elbow but enough to be annoying…

All in all, I was happy with this racquet.

3) Pure Drive Plus (PD+):

Actually, I didn’t realise I was using this because the coach had switched the PD for this in the middle of the demo. I found the racquet had a much heavier swingweight and felt as heavy (if not more heavy) than my nCode. I was hitting the balls as hard as the PD and I found no problems in timing. I was finding though, that I was tiring fast using this racquet.

At first I attributed the feel and weight to a change in strings but once the coach told me it was the Plus version, then I realised why there was this difference.

Serving was again excellent with the PD+ and I didn’t find any difficulty with the swingweight or extra length of the PD+. Perhaps I was used to my nCode’s heavier swing weight?

Again, I didn’t get to volley much with the PD+ but with that added swingweight, I would think that it wouldn’t be as good as the PD.

All in all, contrary to what the coach believed, I was more impressed with the PD as it felt a lot easier to handle.

4) Pure Drive Cortex (PDC):

I spotted this in the coach’s bag and asked for a demo (it was his personal one so I guess he was worried about me damaging it or something). But he let me try it and thank goodness he did because this was the pick of the bunch for me.

Same excellent power and control as the PD but with none of that annoying vibration. I used the PDC without any dampener and the feel at impact was as sweet as my nCode.

Again, it was so easy to generate pace and spin with this racquet and was much less work than my nCode. At this point in the demo, my stroking partner was hitting powerful, deep shots and I was getting them back with some venom, with much less effort than my nCode.

Conclusion:

So the 2 finalists were the Aeropro Drive and Pure Drive Cortex. It was very hard to differentiate the two and the Nadal marketing campaigns were working on me… but then again so were the Roddick and Moya ones! So…

… the thing was that I felt the PDC more suited my style of play – 4.0 all-court, flat hitting 2 hander, who plays mainly doubles.

So I guess the PDC would be my pick of the bunch.




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Offer - Wilson KFactor String & Backpack Deal

LIMITED TIME 7-DAY OFFER OR WHILE STOCKS LAST!!






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Used Wilson nCode nTour 105 Tennis Racquet

- Wilson nCode nTour 105 -

Condition 7/10 (minor scratches and marks due to normal play)

L2 grip (4 1/4)

Comes with hologram sticker & cover

Pre-strung with Wilson Enduro Pro 17 strings @ 57lbs

Price: Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 255



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