Right then, spent some time today focused on the whole Alcaraz versus Medvedev thing. Those two play so different, huh? I figured I’d try and see if I could borrow a little bit of what they do for my own game out on the court.
So, I hauled myself down to the court. Did the usual stretches, jogged a bit. You know the drill. Then I got down to business. Really wanted to work on a couple of things I see them do.
First up, tried banging those flat backhands down the line, like Medvedev does. Jeez, that’s hard. Trying to keep the racket steady and hit through it cleanly, keeping it low over the net but deep? Way harder than he makes it look. I must’ve hit a hundred balls, maybe more, just trying to get that feeling. Most sailed long or found the net.
Then, I switched it up. Tried the Alcaraz special: the drop shot, especially after hitting a bigger forehand. You know, trying to wrong-foot an imaginary opponent. Well, let’s just say my touch was… off. Way off. Dumped ’em straight into the net, or they floated up like an easy put-away. Made me wanna throw my racket, honestly.
Anyway, I kinda got tangled up after a while. Trying to hit like Medvedev one minute, then like Alcaraz the next. My brain felt scrambled and my feet felt like lead. You watch them on TV, it looks dead easy, so fluid. Then you try it yourself and it’s a real mess.
It hit me then: you can’t just copy people. Not really. Not piece by piece, anyway. Gotta figure out your own thing, what actually works with how you move, how you hit. Maybe you can take an idea, like hitting flatter or using the drop shot more, but you gotta blend it into your own style.
Sorta reminded me of way back when I first tried learning guitar. Heard Hendrix play ‘Voodoo Child’ and thought, “I gotta do THAT.” Went out, nearly bankrupted myself getting a similar guitar, got the pedals. Sat there for hours, days, weeks. Sounded like a dying cat. My fingers just wouldn’t cooperate.
This old guy, Joe, who tried teaching me guitar, he watched me struggle for a bit. Then he said something simple. ‘Quit tryin’ to be Jimi,’ he said. ‘Just be you, playin’ his tunes.’ Took me forever to understand that. It wasn’t about being Hendrix, it was about learning the song my own way.
It’s the same deal with tennis, I figure. Watching Alcaraz and Medvedev is awesome, gets you fired up. But trying to mimic them exactly? Probably a waste of time for a regular guy like me. Better to soak in the ideas, understand why they do what they do, and then see how to fit a tiny piece of that into my own creaky game. It’s less about being a copycat and more about just showing up, hitting, missing, hitting again. Slow work.
Like Joe said about strumming. Just gotta keep swinging the racket, I guess. Took me years to not suck completely on guitar. Probably gonna be the same deal here with trying to add these shots. Patience. That’s the killer part.
