Tough loss. Igor definitely plays a more “let the opponent make mistakes” style. That style has a ceiling and I’m sure as you get better you’ll sweep the floor against those styles.

Oh man, i played this guy as well in February Open who also beat me 3-1. Same exact style as he has now, probably more polished here. From here and what i remember he just played a solid game in the backhand cross court. His backhand pushing had good quality at the level(hard to outright kill it) and he wasnt afraid to take your first loop in fact he is expecting it. Im curious to understand what the coaching advice was as i am also trying to figure out this puzzle to break this type of defender game play who have strong block and backhand pushing skills. I really like this game you posted. It had a lot of mental back and forth and problem solving with the tools at hand. I would have to argue that Igor's style has a good matchup against forehand dominating players though.

Those are great forehand attacks with a step-around, they worked pretty well when we played, too. One thing though - you shouldn't get too reliant on any particular element of your game, you really need to start developing an aggressive over-the-table topspin attack, otherwise I can just push to your backhand and put too much pressure on your step-around, you're not Jishan, you can't do it consistently when I know you're about to do it. Otherwise great movement.

Just a couple things i noticed: -the majority of your serves were to his BH, which seem to play to his strengths. I saw more serve placement variations in Game 4 but it might have been too late. Maybe use your early games to probe for weaknesses in his receives -when you pivot attack from your BH, it usually goes to his BH, letting him get those crazy blocks -not sure if you were having trouble reading his serves (quite understandable!), but you pushed a lot of topspin balls high, allowing him to attack. If you're sticking with short pips, maybe see if your coach will train with you on attacking with them since they're less susceptible to spin... Either that or master the drop shot. In general, i assume serves are topspin unless they're clearly not (dunno if that makes sense...). -i think the big takeaway vs these types of defensive players is that you don't need to feel pressured to attack asap. Be patient with safe, quality rallies and wait for the right ball. Instead of attacking cross court with 90% power where he expects it, try attacking down the line at 75% power to keep him honest. Don't be discouraged and keep up the good work!

dood, NICE 3rd ball attacks at 1:11 2:52 3:11 3:52 5:38.... those attacks will put the fear of god in your opponents. You'll beat this guy next time for sure.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Why tf do you look so stiff on the recive? I see no flexibility in the wrist when receiving his serve.