5 Wildly Ego-Boosting Shots In Tennis

I’ve always viewed tennis as one of the most self-gratifying - even mildly arrogant - sports out there.

Much of it comes down to the way the sport is set up – it’s an individual sport, spectators need to remain silent and stifle that hayfever-induced sneeze while you do your thing, your name is emblazoned across a billboard-sized screen (on the pro tour, of course) and there are more than enough opportunities to throw daggers at your opponent with the knowledge that all they can really do is stay on their side of the net and deal with it.

But more than all of these things, tennis on the pro tour and at club level is hugely gratifying because you only really have yourself to thank and to praise for those paranormal shots you’ll no doubt execute over the course of a match. Shots that leave your opponents well and truly incensed. Shots that send you walking back to the service line with just a little bit more swag than you had a few seconds earlier.

These are the most satisfying shots to hit in the sport of tennis:

THE ACE

I have a very reliable service: reliably in the confines of that little block and reliably S-L-O-W. This means that I hit about three aces per year, and all of them take me by as much surprise as my opponent. Still, there is a ton of confidence to be gained by striking an ace.

By hitting it, you’ve expelled barely any energy and bagged yourself a point. Plus, mentally, your opponent has lost a point without having had a sniff at getting into it at all. If every ace was followed by the expletive ‘BOOOM’, I don’t think anyone would argue with it.

In this example, Serena Williams was down 1-2 in the final set of the 2012 Wimbledon final. She then hit four consecutive aces to level the set at 2-2 and after that, never lost another game:

THE RETURN WINNER

In tennis, it’s generally accepted that the server - by virtue of starting the point - has the upper hand. If you put in a good serve, you’re likely to have control of the point from the get-go.

The return winner is therefore extremely demoralizing to the server. A single, slick movement from their opponent has wiped out their alleged upper hand. For the returner, seeing your opponent still in recovery from his or her service motion as your winner zips past them is reason enough to hop and skip your way to the other side of the court to try the same thing all over again (although, if you’re a club player, attempting that magic twice in a row will probably see the second attempt trying to break a hole in the bottom of the net). 

Still, I have vivid memories of return winners I’ve pulled off and that feeling of hitting the sweet spot on the first attempt in the rally is wonderful.

In this example, Novak Djokovic hits what is regarded as one of the best return winners in history - not only was it hit at the perfect angle and at a ferocious pace, but he saved a match point with the shot. A few minutes later, the whole match turned around and he won it:

THE ON-THE-RUN PASSING SHOT

This could be my favourite shot of all.

Because I am completely inadequate at the net, I’m generally very good at defending when opponents attack me by coming to the net themselves, so I’ve developed a good passing shot.

Again, in general the player who has found a moment to come into the net should theoretically have the upper hand and be able to put away a volley. As the defensive player in that situation, you can either lob the ball over your opponent’s head or bludgeon it into an open space and hope that they won’t get there – I prefer the second option, and when I get the execution right and have a clear target to aim for, it’s hard to resist an internal fist pump.

Rafael Nadal hits passing shots like nobody I've ever seen and by so doing, wins points he should almost certainly have lost. Enjoy:

THE DROP VOLLEY

This is another shot that I’ve very rarely hit, except by reflex, but it’s one of the ultimate crowd pleasers in tennis matches everywhere. Why? Well unlike a regular groundstroke, whereby you gradually move the ball around until you get the chance to let rip, you’re generally playing a volley with the intention to aggressively and powerfully send the ball into the open court for a clean winner.

This means that volleys are generally clinical, fast, point-ending shots.

The drop volley almost always takes your opponent by surprise. They’re waiting for something fast and hard, and the last thing they’re expecting is the ball to delicately, nonchalantly drop just over the net – unlike a regular drop shot, drop volleys are also very difficult to read until it’s far too late.

Federer executes these shots beautifully - I just said that Nadal hits the best passing shots. Well, in this point, Federer's delicate drop volley > Nadal's powerful passing shot:

THE WRONG-FOOTING WINNER

Winners in a regular tennis rally are generally the result of the more aggressive opponent sending the weaker opponent scurrying to the left or right, and then powerfully driving a great shot into the open court.

The wrong-footing winner bucks this more popular means of winning points and makes it clear to your opponent and the crowd that you’re not just hitting the ball, but have the clarity of mind to outwit your opponent. So after a few ‘predictable’, side-to-side, left-then-right shots, you hit one in the same direction twice – your opponent has already begun moving in the other direction and then can’t turn back quickly enough. The successful wrong-footing winner generally leaves the defeated player floundering like a baby wildebeest that has just been born. It’s hilarious, and very satisfying.

Instead of a wrong-footing winner, though, take a look at Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska's ridiculous reflex skills when she is wrong-footed by a net cord:

Radwanska is very quiet and not known for emoting on court, but even she had to take a moment and acknowledge her greatness after that shot.

These are just a few of the most satisfying, ego-boosting shots in the sport of tennis. So often, just one or two of these great shots played in close succession (see Djokovic shot above) can change the entire mood and momentum of a match, such is the mental impact of this game on its players.

Fellow tennis players, I’d love to hear about your favourite shots in the game too, so please – do share!  

5 Subtle Signs Of An Approaching Summer

My favourite season of the year has started to show signs of appearing once more. Sometimes, the signs are quite obvious: a 26 degree day in the middle of winter, which sees hoards of Capetonians flock to the beach as if they had never before seen seawater.

But it’s the more subtle signs that summer is near that I relish most.

The menial tasks that become easier. The simple joys of life that, in winter, were complicated terrors:

OPENING PATIO/COURTYARD DOORS

This morning, like a ground squirrel coming out of hibernation, I slowly opened my patio door and peered out tentatively. There was no chill factor that violently slapped me across the face for daring to step outside. No water dripping from the gutter above. No puddles, branches and sad, dead leaves to navigate. There was the distinct smell of spring in the air, and I was able to cook breakfast with an open door for the first time in months – seems insignificant, but it was so, so good.

DOING A NORMAL-SIZED LOAD OF WASHING

In winter, doing washing usually means throwing five desperately needed items into the machine and praying that they will be dry in something under 48 hours. Today, I did a full load and then hung it all up – gasp – outside.

Who knew?

Even more impressive is that everything will probably be dry by this evening.

DRINKING WATER WITHOUT WINCING

I recently started a group fitness class with a few colleagues and our instructor has been insisting we increase our intake of water, for several obvious reasons.

But drinking a cold glass of water in winter? There is actual physical pain involved.

This morning, however, that first glass went down just a little bit more easily (nearby, a Chestnut Sparrow also tweeted from a tree, as if to approve of my healthier choices. I’m not sure if it was a Chestnut Sparrow, but it sounded appropriately exotic).

COLDPLAY & JIMMY NEVIS

Let’s ignore the juxtaposition of Coldplay in a post about summer for a minute. But I also played my favourite feel-good, summer vibes album for the first time today: Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto.

If memory serves me, the album was released in the summer of 2011 (or, that’s when I first caught onto it), and the likes of Paradise and Hurts Like Heaven are the perfect accompaniment to the summer season, which makes quite a change from cold winter’s nights just trying to ‘make it through the rain…’

My other favourite feel-good album is Jimmy’s Subliminal. The fact that he’s set to release a new album imminently means there’ll be another one to add to the summer season’s playlist.

DRIVING WITH THE WINDOWS ALL THE WAY DOWN

I’m all about car air-conditioners.

I love being able to select the perfect temperature (whether hot or cold) to remain comfortable.

But after months of the car heater at full blast, there’s nothing quite as refreshing as that first drive with the windows all the way down and one of those aforementioned albums at full volume. There hasn’t quite been a warm enough day for windows to be turned all the way down, but slowly but surely, I’m able to let the air in, which only means summer is near.

So yes, the warm season is on its way and its hard not to get delirious with excitement when you live in the best city in the world. And even though I’ll be spending two and a half weeks of a South African summer in the midst of a European winter (now that is going to be something), I’ll be sure to get in my fair share of beach time before I jet off.

If you're still not feeling the summer spirit, I'll leave you with this beautiful picture of a recent Camps Bay sunset taken by my friend, Lesego:

NOT MARRIED, ALMOST 30 AND… STILL BREATHING

Up until about five years ago, news that someone I went to school with (or that someone my age) was tying the knot was reason for gossip – and not always in a complimentary fashion.

“They’re way too young and they don’t know what they’re doing,” I would say. “It must be because of the child,” someone else would say.

Basically, getting married at 22 or thereabouts was frowned upon.

And then, the tide began to turn, or put more bluntly, we all started getting older. Now, news of marriage is the norm – when we hear it, we generally approve of it, believe in it… and then turn around and look up to the heavens in despair, asking why on earth it isn’t us? That last reaction is the subject of this little write-up.

I needed to remind myself – and fellow single beings on the wrong side of 25 – why we need not break out into a cold sweat / hot flushes combination when yet another engagement is shoved down the throats of our newsfeeds.

But do you know what? Despair, or at least a tinge of the stuff, is all I feel sometimes. It’s no secret that ticking off life’s milestones is better done with someone by your side.

Yes, emotional and financial independence is all good and well and you can essentially do whatever you want to do by yourself, but would you rather visit the Eiffel Tower alone or do nothing but eat peanut butter on toast with the person you love for an entire Sunday afternoon? The latter puts up a darn good fight.

In my own experience, and even more so from what I’ve observed in other couples, life’s seemingly mundane moments are some of the very best when there’s someone to share it all with.

So… all of this is not quite feeling like progress. It’s not feeling very positive. And I wanted to write something inspiring for fellow members of the singles / over 25s club so that we may feel a bit better about ourselves. Let’s try removing emotions and looking at a few raw facts:

YOU HAVEN’T SETTLED

Life is too short to spend it alone. But even worse is sharing it with someone that isn’t the right fit for you. I’ve met a few cynics who firmly believe that fairy tale relationships are just that – fairy tales. They believe it’s necessary to severely compromise certain aspects of the relationship for the benefit of being in the relationship.

I beg to differ, and it’s not because of the embellished storylines in Sandra Bullock rom-coms; it’s because I am surrounded by countless examples of couples that just work. They may bicker or even send each other’s blood pressure soaring, but the fundamentals of the relationship are intact. By not settling, you’re leaving treasured space in your life for someone that will actually enrich it.

YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN PATH, REMEMBER?

It’s strange that we can explain away so many of our other ‘failures’ and setbacks in life with the explanation that ‘we’re on our own path’. We rationally remind ourselves that we should never compare our career trajectories or other personal successes to those of anyone else. Why then, does the same not hold true for relationships and marriage? Not being in a relationship is so often seen as reason for grave concern. For someone that doesn’t like staying out late, I’ve sure thrown more pity parties for myself than I can remember (and attendance is always excellent).

The point is, as with everything in life, all things have their time. And I’ve always told myself that the person I meet will make me forget I was ever waiting.

YOU’RE BEAUTIFUUUUUL, AND YOUR MIND IS F*CKING BEAUTIFUUUUUL

I think that says it all.

Something else I wanted to mention is that it would be a travesty to get so caught up in our single status that we can’t fully celebrate the unions of those around us – one day, it will be our turn and we’d want all the support in the world, too.

Yes, it’s okay to occasionally sink into a black hole and not come up for air (or a red polka dot hole; it really just depends on the colour and design of your duvet cover), but don’t do it too often.

Don’t be consumed with something that isn’t stopping you from moving forward.

Don’t obsess over someone that you probably haven’t even met yet – that sounds silly, but it’s precisely what we do.

You may not be as fresh-faced as you were at 19, but you’re still alive and capable and breathing, and until the day that someone takes your breath away, just… LIVE!

DAY 27: THE RETROSPECTIVE BUCKET LIST

I used to hate bucket lists. I used to think they represented all of the things I’d never get to do, all the places I’d never get to see and a life that I’d never get to live.

Yes, I had a pretty powerful propensity for negativity… But once you come to realize that it’s a blessing to have goals to aim for in life, you’ll realize that never will you be left without something to do. And as much as doing nothing sounds wonderful, it only lasts for about two weeks into our annual leave before we become restless – well, at least I become restless.

But rather than list the things still on my bucket list, as we tend to do, I thought I’d look at some of the things that I’ve already crossed off the list without even realising it.

Some of these bucket list entries may seem ordinary, but achieving them – or getting to do them – has made for some of my happiest moments. 

Introducing The Retrospective Bucket list of Karl Ryan Furlong:

MOVING INTO MY OWN APARTMENT

I genuinely had a few years when I wondered if this would ever happen for me. I waited and waited and waited, but either I couldn’t sustain myself, by myself, or I didn’t have the guts to finally make the move. I still wake up on some mornings and look around my little apartment in disbelief – the feeling to have finally gotten to this point and having worked rather hard for it has been hugely rewarding.

DRIVING A REALLY POWERFUL, REALLY WILD CAR

I’ve driven a BMW 335i and a Mercedes-Benz SLK350, and both experiences left me giggling like a complete freak. The feeling of driving a powerful car that actually responds when you put pedal to the metal is an unbelievable adrenalin rush.

But even driving those two fine Germans didn’t compare to taking a V8 AC Cobra Replica to the top of Signal Hill. It was a car that shook and vibrated like every coloured person does when trying to swim at Camps Bay.

It sounded evil.

And I’m sure that on about three of those twisty bends, the car actually tried to kill me – but what a way it would have been to go.

WATCHING VENUS & SERENA WILLIAMS PLAY AGAINST EACH OTHER

I’ve woken up at all hours of the night to watch Venus and Serena compete for grand slam titles. For about 14 years, I’ve watched all their best moments and their most painful, too.

To see them up close in Johannesburg a few years ago was a truly surreal experience, because I was convinced it would never happen. I’ve always said that their rise to world no.1 and no.2 remains the greatest sports story ever, let alone the greatest story in tennis.

SEEING MY NAME IN A MAGAZINE

It was about 10pm, soon after I interned at CAR Magazine for a week or so. I was reading the latest issue of the magazine in bed, when I started reading this buzz article on a new car release that sounded eerily familiar.

That’s when I unexpectedly spotted my name at the bottom of the article, and realised that something I had written for the CAR website also made it into the magazine. I was speechless, and I’m not too sure if I slept that night.

GUEST-SPEAKING AT A BIG EVENT

I’ve only stopped rejecting opportunities to make speeches in the last two or three years. Now, I say ‘yes’ – it may be through gritted teeth and with clenched fists, but it’s a yes nevertheless.

Last year, I attended the Marketing To Kids And Teens conference with a colleague, on behalf of Hectic Nine-9, up in Johannesburg. We were two of about seven ‘industry experts’ sharing our knowledge of a younger target audience with others who marketed to this age group. It all took place in a large and scary-looking auditorium. We had microphones. There was a PowerPoint presentation. And it all ended with a Q&A session whereby we answered some challenging questions (without the luxury of a dark, quiet room which I could use to unhurriedly craft perfectly produced and confident responses, whilst sipping on some calming camomile tea – I know, I couldn’t believe it either!).

Anyway, I was a nervous wreck until halfway through our presentation, when I suddenly realised I was actually doing it, and my listeners were not pointing and laughing, but in fact… listening! It represents one of my proudest personal and professional moments.

There is great value and personal gratification to be found in looking behind and not in front of you, at least some of the time. After all, you are more defined by your cast-in-stone past than that magnificent, hyped-up future we all seem to envision.

Much like a favourite book, your life story is one that should be relished and reminisced about more than just once or twice – and without wildly jumping ahead and trying to fill in chapters that ultimately have yet to be written.

DAY 26: FRIENDS

I remember a time in my life when friendships were extremely hard work.

A failed friendship, or a breakdown in a particular friendship, was a personal failure as well. I derided and blamed myself badly when these breakdowns occurred, and often went to bed riddled with guilt and regret. On the other hand, when things were going well, they were going inexplicably well – happy friendships and relationships seemed to be all I needed to get by.

Ten years later, the dynamic has shifted considerably. As teenagers and even as very young adults, we’re such incomplete souls – we don’t really have a clue of what we want, so by default we go with the flow and follow the haphazard, hit-or-miss paths of our friends. We engage in activities we think we should, go to places we’re convinced we have to and even have entire conversations that we feel compelled to indulge in… until that beautiful, cathartic day when we begin doing and saying what we truly want to and what we truly believe in.

Sometimes, it’s a shift that takes you quite by surprise. Sometimes, it comes gradually. But there is a definite transformation that takes place where you’re no longer defined by the needs and wants of your friends, but by your own needs and wants (now that you can actually see them with clarity).

This transformation, universally known as growing up, will see you drifting away from friendships that previously seemed indestructible. It’s not to say that those you drift from have not grown up, but rather, you’ve both grown apart.

At the same time, you’ll find yourself attracting and being drawn to very different types of people, types that you probably would have disregarded because they didn’t fit your mould.

To go back to my point right at the start… friendships used to be hard work because I didn’t know who I was and what I wanted. I was working overtime at connections that fundamentally clashed with who I was. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have all the answers now either, but I have a heightened sense of intuition that I trust. It lets me know when I’m happy and when I’m not. It lets me know when I’m being appreciated, listened to, comforted and invested in – and of course, when I willingly invest as well.

The end result of growing up and finding yourself is that you’re usually left with a treasured group of friends that truly listen when you speak (to me, it’s a priceless gift to have someone listen, and not just hear you). You’re comfortable enough to bicker with these friends with the knowledge that you still love one another when voices are no longer raised. You’re comfortable and secure enough to know that just because you haven’t seen one another for a little while, the connection is still as it should be.

Friendships do require work, effort and commitment. But hard, grinding, constant exertion? Nope. Insincerity? Scepticism? Definitely not.

Hallelujah to growing older, knowing what it is that you want and finding some incredible friends to share it all with.

DAY 25: WINTER IS RIDICULOUS

Winter is a ridiculous thing. It’s a season designed to show us how absolutely foolish we can look whilst doing the supposedly ordinary.

Like right now: it’s after 11pm and I just got home. First, I swore a few times under my breath as I walked from my car to my front door. Once I opened the door and discovered my apartment was virtually as icy as it was outside, I swore a little bit again.

Before getting into bed, I started doing my hair. Well, you’d think that by switching on my hairdryer, I started doing my hair – but nope, it was all about warming my bed up as quickly as possible to avoid the fifteen seconds of death that it takes for your bed to exit the ice age.

For a few moments, I appreciated that I lived alone and had nobody to witness this odd exercise, but I can’t say I’d care if I did have a witness. On full speed, at maximum heat, a hairdryer is gold.

In a couple of hours, I’ll need to wake up, and it will be awful. There will be the usual desperate and blind (because I won’t have my contacts in yet) search for the warm top I’ve put next to my bed. In winter, one does not simply get out of bed without getting at least partially dressed first – that would be heroic, to put it mildly.

Then, after finally getting up and standing, there will be more swearing (as you can tell, swearing is the common denominator from June to August).

The naked ‘dance’ outside the shower as the water refuses to warm up in anything under an hour is inevitable. Other simplicities that go unnoticed in summer become torture-filled in winter: rinsing your mouth with cold water, putting on spray, taking out the trash, having a glass of water and waiting by the basin like a freak before washing your hands so you can do so with warm water. That's without mentioning checking your washing for the sixth time in two days and wondering how on earth the only decent pair of jeans you have is still damp?

Then, eventually, after one last longing stare at your bed, you finally have to go outside for that treacherous walk to the car – or if you’re less spoilt than the rest of us, the bus stop.

I hate winter.

DAY 24: WHAT'S ON MY DESK/IN MY POCKET/IN MY CAR

Well, this was a rather odd one to write about.

After putting together a list of things I carry around with me (or keep in close proximity), I felt like the most boring person in the entire world. There’s nothing very quirky here, but I guess it comes down to my preference for an environment that isn’t cluttered.

In my pocket (when I go out):

• *Besides the usual smartphone, lip balm and wallet combination, I don’t carry anything else in pockets.

*Is there something else a guy should be carrying around with him that nobody has told me about?

In my car:

• Hand sanitizer (because everything we touch is germ-infested and gross, and one can never tell when you might find yourself with a burger in your hands, whilst on the road)
• A mini padlock (for gym visits)
• My tennis bag (obvious enough, I’d think)
• Me. I Am Mariah – The Elusive Chantuese (this CD hasn’t left my front loader since the album came out in May)
• The ugliest sheet in the whole world (I wrapped it around my jack/spanner/spare wheel, to prevent them from knocking around and rattling when I drive – car rattles = torture)
• Random tennis balls (I try, but I am never able to get all of them out of my car at one time)
• Two jackets (there’s very little that’s worse than being somewhere for a long time and being cold – it’s something I try my best to avoid)

On my desk (at work):

• A tiered file/paper holder that makes it look like I use stationery
• A pen/pencil/eraser holder that also makes it appear as though I use stationery
• A USB-powered coffee mug heater / holder (a very nifty gift from a close friend)
• A hard drive – or three hard drives (because of what I do, I am constantly transferring data)
• A camera (which I use, sometimes, for mini shoots. It takes up a lot of space, so I usually leave it on the extra half of another desk which I begged for and finally got)
• Coffee (because, well, coffee)

Like I said, quite an odd one to write about. I hate clutter and unnecessary stuff because it makes me feel claustrophobic, which is why this little list is… quite little.

The initiators of this month-long writing challenge tweeted the following a few days ago:

So, spectacularly random topic or not, that's exactly what I'm going to do until Day 31 :-)