Hector A. Ruiz

MBA, Project Manager, Tennis Player, Musician, and Author of "How to Destroy a Country"

Tag: Tennis Page 1 of 2

USTA League Final Results

By

On June 15, 2024

In Sports

Our first season just ended last weekend, and what a run it has been.

Starting with an 0-9 record until we were finally able to win our first court, we kept practicing, learned from our opponents, built a few strategies, all of which led us to start winning courts left and right. We even beat the #1 seed 4-1!

In the end, the newcomers, the new kids on the block, the underdog team, the Tennis Knights ended on third place without even having it as a goal. My co-captain and myself are very proud of what the team achieved and will be looking for more improvements in the next season.

Of course, special thanks to each of our players: Chet, Chris, Furkan, Harish, Jaren, Karthik, Kyle, Mark, Naveen, Swapnil, and our co-captain Arvind.

See you all next season!

HR

USTA League Update

By

On March 28, 2024

In Sports

What a great experience it has been so far!

We started losing nine matches in a row, which was disheartening to say the least. However, we noticed that we were not being mopped out of the courts, and the guys we were losing to in fact were not any better than us. They were beating us with their experience. With that, we made a few adjustments while keeping our heads up.

Then one of our players came back from a set and a break deficit, to clinch our first win. This proved to us that we could in fact beat anyone. The following match we won two out of five courts.

Long story short, the league has been going great!

HR

2023 US Open

By

On September 11, 2023

In Sports

What an amazing performance by Novak Djokovic. He definitely put to rest the debate of the greatest tennis player of all-time.

…and remember, this I say without being a Djokovic fan.

USTA League

By

On July 21, 2023

In Sports

After much thought and several years of consideration, a friend and I decided to join and start a USTA Team.

Our plan is to start with our closest friends and expand the team bringing players with similar interests of getting out there, enjoying the experience of meeting new opponents.

Let’s see what happens!

HR

Tennis League

By

On June 27, 2023

In Sports

After years of recreational playing and non-competing, I decided to start competing again. I joined a couple of leagues, as well as two tournaments… singles and doubles both.

Here we go!

So close

By

On September 14, 2021

In Sports

Well, Djokovic tried.

While Medvedev put on a superb display, I do feel that occasion got too much into Novak’s head and he froze. Had the record not been at stake, he probably would have fared better.

Congrats to Daniil!

US Open and Djokovic’s Calendar Year Grand Slam

By

On August 15, 2021

In Sports

The fourth and last major of the year begins in two weeks, and all eyes are on Novak Djokovic as he aims to become the first player to win all four majors during a calendar year since Steffi Graff achived it in 1988 and Rod Laver on the men’s side in 1969. Will hesucceed?

Novak is the best player on the tour period. When he is playing at one hundred percent of his powers, nobody can stop him. Only Nadal has a slight chance of beating him in Roland Garros -but that’s a different story-. So what can happen at Flushing Meadows?

There are three players who can reach the US Open Finals this year: Medvedev, Zverev and Djokovic. Depending on how the bracket turns out, one of them will be knocked out in the semifinals or earlier (they all can’t be on the same side of the bracket). Out of the two new comers, it all comes down to who between Medvedev and Zverev can beat the Djoker. Medvedev has the raw power to hit winners and displace Djokovic, and the attitute of playing with nothing to lose as we have successfully seen employed in the past by Murray and Wawrinka against Djokovic. Zverev, may not have what it takes.

However back in Melbourne we all witnessed how Novak was able to outsmart Medvedev and dismantled his game in a straight-sets victory. The difference is that if they play in New York, Novak will have a lot more pressure, which is something he has proved he is able to deal with.

Long story short, it’s a very close call, but overall I believe the finals will be Medvedev vs. Djokovic, and I am honestly giving a 50-5o chance to both.

Tennis Clay Court Season

By

On May 16, 2021

In Sports

So the tennis european clay court season is on full swing, and as always Rafael Nadal is the man to beat. He looks as strong as usual, as smart as usual, and… as unbeatable as usual.

Everytime Nadal steps on a court, it’s like witnessing history in the making. I remember when I first saw him in 2004, he struck me as somebody who was different. Very different from the rest. Then he won his first Roland Garros by beating Federer in the semi-finals, and Mariano Puerta in the finals… and the legend started.

For how long will the legend go? Who cares. Let’s just enjoy it while it lasts.

HR

US Open and Roland Garros

By

On October 15, 2020

In Sports

I have to start by saying that I have 0 ATP points and have never played against a top 50 player in my life. But, I do know that if I would have played in the fifth set of a Grand Slam Final, I would have never hit an 85 mph first serve and even less a 68 mph second serve.

A couple of weeks ago Thiem and Zverev were protagonists of arguably one of the most boring Grand Slam finals of all time, to a point where it seemed neither of them wanted to actually win the title. Three weeks later, Nadal and Djokovic reached the finals by completely destroying almost everyone in their way -including scary and next generation players-, with Nadal giving an almost flawless performance in his match against Djokovic.

As a coach, it’s quite obvious that both Thiem and Zverev have every single shot in the book to be multiple Slam winners. What they don’t have is the attitude, the mind and the understanding that despite being physically fit and capable of hitting any shot, it is strategy and a proper mental state what wins titles. My advise to both: fire their coaches and hire a coach to work on those aspects.

HR

The Right Way

By

On September 23, 2020

In General

If you read my About short bio, you will find that it is stated that I only do things one way: The Right Way. This begs the question: What does doing things “The Right Way” mean?

A few weeks ago Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open for hitting a lines person with a ball, in what was perceived as an accidental yet reckless behavior. I recorded a video about the incident that you can watch on my YouTube channel, and I would say I did a very good job of approaching the incident and showing what “The Right Way” is and how it could have applied to this particular occasion.

We have rules and laws in our society and generally speaking, we should abide to them. However, before rules and laws, fair judgement should always prevail, and this is when doing things “The Right Way” matters. Rather than looking at the disqualification of Djokovic as a punctual event, we should take a look at the larger picture of the conditions and variables surrounding the incident, and ask questions like: Did our rules hold applicable for the incident? Were the rules able to clearly justify the consequences of the incident, or do they need to be revised? And more importantly, are the rules that are in place able to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future? The Right Way is looking at all of these variables and acting accordingly.

Essentially, in my video I not only analyze the incident, but what could be done in order to avoid finding ourselves in the same situation two or five years from now. That is what doing things The Right Way means.

HR

Page 1 of 2

Next →

Categories

Archives

Meta

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén