The next great tennis legend (Top Spin 4)

[Young Drachma]

I thought it'd be fun to have a tennis dynasty, since those are pretty rare around here and Top Spin 4 showed up today via Blockbuster online so...I'm going to be messing around with it and if I like it, I'll buy it and keep this going.

Ethan Andersson is the son of an American educator and a Danish teacher, Ethan Andersson was born in Armenia where his dad worked as a dean at American University.

A tennis player from an early age, he turned pro at 15 and hit the circuit trying to make a way for himself. We're going to chronicle his career.

JANUARY 2011: HONG KONG OPEN QF
I'm playing using Top Spin Rules (3-game sets) early on mostly to get more reps. I usually start off bad in these games and get a lot better as time goes on. I love tennis games because unlike other sports, I actually know what I want to do before I do it...it's just getting my computer guy to do it too.

Our QF opponent is Yuri Denisov of Russia. He's ranked 65th, I'm ranked 80th. He's a level 3, I'm a 0. We're playing on carpet in Hong Kong, I thought it'd be better than playing on clay in Houston.

MATCH RECAP
I lost 1-3, 2-4 (remember, playing with 3-game set rueles) I was up 2-0 in the 2nd set, but just couldn't finish. This game is like that early on, because your guy starts off craptastic and you have to learn to win in spite of it.

Too many unforced error in this one to expect to win, but I should've beaten him. I had a higher 1st serve % (81%), hit 23 winners to his 10. But the real problem was I also made 23 unforced errors and he only made 4. That's a ball game right there.

Still, a good experience and enough XPs for Andersson to move up a level. Rome wasn't built in a day, his tennis skills likely won't either.

I'll be doing more of this sometime this weekend, I love tennis games..but right now, I'm not in the mood to get killed and I need more time to improve him.

This game is so detailed that the gear is real. I'm talking my character uses the same racquet I do in real life. That's pretty awesome, to put it mildly. The strokeplay is pretty realistic and it's an improvement over the last Top Spin I played (probably TS2) but a lot. Graphics are quite pretty and has levels ranging from Very Easy to Very Hard so the abilities of the players are variable.

FEBRURARY 2011
This month's tournament is in Kiev. It's also on carpet. I need to play a warmup first against a sparring partner. I think I've learned from the last match and the XP I gained should serve me well in this upcoming match and hopefully will allow me to finish a match, because I was in that one and basically blew it.

[Young Drachma]

FEBRUARY 2011
Another match, this time in Kiev again against Denisov. And the result was the same. After being up 2-1, I go down and lose the first set 2-4 and get swept in the 2nd set. Once again, too many unforced errors, 18 in this match. To boot, I wasn't serving well either.

I recall when I had an older version of this game, I spent a bunch of time practicing before I'd go out and play matches. I think I'm going to do precisely that for a while. Nothing is more frustrating than playing matches you ought to win and getting beat and while virtual tennis practice bores me a lot more than real life tennis practice, if he's ever going to get better..it's going to have to come by working harder.

So I'll be spending the next few months against practice opponents (I'm not eligible for March's tournies anyway) and then come back when I feel like we might be more competitive.

[Brian Swartz]

Good game. Biggest issue realism-wise is the extreme rarity of UEs -- from both sides of the net if the human player is well-practiced and playing intelligently. Makes for insanely long rallies on the higher difficulty levels.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Good game. Biggest issue realism-wise is the extreme rarity of UEs -- from both sides of the net if the human player is well-practiced and playing intelligently. Makes for insanely long rallies on the higher difficulty levels.

I'm agree. I still stink, I'm not as versed in this version, but in past version that's been precisely the case for me and I'm even noticing it against the scrubs I play against. The short matches help in that way, because you have less margin for error if you get down early and it seems to put pressure on me in real ways. But the AI is indeed too good a player for what they ought to be.

I'm about to start up again now.

[Young Drachma]

After three months of training and no tournaments, I think we're ready to hit the circuit again. This time, we're in Germany for the Munich championships. My QF match is against Jonas Larsen of Denmark, who is ranked #76th.

This event is on grass. My guy has progressed and so, he's talented enough to hang with this guy. I didn't just hang with him, I dominated him winning 3-0, 3-0 to claim the first win of my career. This result wasn't entirely expected, because I knew once my guy got a bit of XP that he'd be a lot better.

I like that the particular coach you have has an effect on your ratings, because it makes the choice of coach and doing the objectives mean more. I head to the locker room, change my shirt and prepare for my semi-final match against Ian Willows of Australia. Based on ratings, I'm a level above him (I leveled up again after my most recent win) and so, I should win this on that principle.

He has a strong serve, but besides that he's average. My best shots right now are my serve and my power. I also have a bit more stamina than most of these guys, because I've learned in this game that it's critically important.

To start, the worst thing about playing a scrub in the first round is that after you get drawn with a player at your level, the speed of the game always takes adjusting. That happened in this particular match, because he went up 1-0 and the traded back until 2-2, because I am serving well. The unforced errors were a problem in the first set because I was trying to hit cross-court winners that my guy just isn't good enough to hit yet and this became sort of problematic for a bit until I stopped and was more willing to rally with him.

Once I did, I broke his serve and won the 1st set 4-2 and then the second set was all me, winning 3-0 and setting up my player's first appearance in an event final of any kind.

I already know that next week, we'll be traveling to Atlanta for a special event we've been invited to play in for coaching, so there will be no tournament. It'll be nice to end this month with a tourney win if it's possible.

In the Munich final, my opponent is Youssouf Zairi of Morocco. He's a level 5 player with a stronger forehand than me, a lot more stamina and solid otherwise. I have more power and serve than he does, but we'll see whether it's going to be enough or not. It'll be a stiff test to be sure.

This was a battle, guys. An absolute battle. I mean, he had me on the ropes so many times, but the real difference was the shotmaking. In those earlier matches, I could never convert my winners to points. This one was a test of those wills for sure.

The final score in the final was 4-2, 2-4, 10-8 (super tiebreaker in lieu of 3rd set) meaning Ethan Andersson wins his first-ever pro title. Like Brian said, there aren't enough unforced errors or double faults, though I imagine if I played full sets rather than half sets, there might be more.

Still, I had 26 unforced errors to his 9, but had 36 winners (he had 12) which were obviously the difference in this one. His stamina came into play because he was able to run me around the court ragged, but had a hard time converting on shots I could and wasn't as aggressive as I was. I'm a baseliner and I only come to the net in this game when I know I have the advantage and he played that baseline game too, which is why it was harder for me than my first two matches.

In the end, a win is a win..especially a first tourney win. So I'm pumped.

[Young Drachma]

This win gave me 180 season points bringing me to 200 for the year, 3 grass series points and best of all, an additional 6,060 fans to help me unlock some new gear and also gives me the objectives to become a Tour Rookie meaning that I can play in major events which are basically events just below the Grand Slam level.

This is the same week as the French Open which I'm obviously not qualified for, but earned 200 XP for going to Atlanta as scheduled. The same week as the French I can go to Boston and play in a hard court event or to Seoul and play in a sponsor event there. I think I'm going to opt for Boston instead and see how it pans out. Chances are, the guys there are going to be a lot better than me, because that's usually how the tournaments are aligned on the schedule. So I could go to Seoul and probably play guys at or below my level or go to Boston and get my skull crushed. But it'll be worth the experience to see what the other half lives like for a bit until they send me home crying.

[Young Drachma]

I'm in Boston for the Mass Open. My QF Match is against Mexican Elias Figueroa. This is actually a grass event too, which is nice because of my last event, but...Figueroa is ranked #35 in the world and I'm still ranked #80. Suffice to say, my expectations are minimal.

Well, this was my most epic match yet. This guy should've beaten me handily. But I figured out early that he wanted to own the baseline, so I altered my strategy and just played him serve + volley and he didn't know what to do with it. I won the first 4-3 in a tiebreaker (7-5). The second set order was restored more naturally, because he went up 2-0 almost as quickly as we showed up. I knew he was better, but I didn't help matter by my usual unforced errors. 25 in all in this match compared to his seven.

The difference maker in this quarter-finals match against Figueroa who was CLEARLY pissed off that I was like a gnat that wouldn't go away? Winners. I kept putting the ball where he wasn't, found the angles and despite a HUGE lack of fitness at various points, I just wouldn't die. I did make mistakes, but I had 46 winners in this match which is outstanding (he had 21) and my serves were good as well, winning 59% of my 1st serves and 8 of 15 net points which I believe were truly the difference makers here.

So with that, I won the second set in a tiebreaker and the final match score was 4-3 (7-5), 4-3 (10-8) and onto the semi-finals we go. Seems Andersson is turning himself into a grass court specialist.

SF
After knocking off a Level 11 guy in the quarters, I get another one in the semis in the form of Filip Stoklas for the Czech Republic. He's got a strong serve, forehand and backhand and a lot more stamina than me too. That said, I anticipate that there isn't anything I can do that he can't better than him. Let's see how it goes.

Down in the first set 2-1, I come back to tie at 2-2, he takes a 3-2 lead and then I tie it at 3-3. We go to a tiebreak where I was down 3-6, before coming back to beat him 9-7 with shots that I'm not sure where I got them...but I was happy about it. The key to the first set? Net points. I score 9 of 14 from the net he only had 3 of 4. I had 15 unforced errors (I know you're shocked) and 22 winners to his 4 winners and 3 UE. Suffice to say I'm an aggressive tennis player in art and reality.

The second set was a more pedestrian affair by comparison. I lost the first game mostly because I was playing sloppy and then proceeded to win eight points in a row en route to a 2-1 lead, which I completed and won the 2nd set to beat him 4-3, 3-1 to advance to my second straight tourney final.

F
In the final, I'm facing off against Slovakia's Boris Zapotocky, he's ranked 44th right now, but rankings haven't mattered up to now anyway. He's a level 11 player with a strong forehand and backhand, stamina, speed and reflexes. I have him in the power department and my serve is better than his. By all accounts, he's worse than Stoklas from the semis, but I'm not taking anything for granted because we're playing with house money right now.

I lost the first set 2-4 mostly because I was playing sloppy and experimental because Zapotocky has an awesome drop shot and I kept getting beat by it. In the second set, I was up 2-0 before unforced errors befell me again and I had to come back from 2-2 to win the 2nd set 4-2.

I had 30 winners and 24 unforced errors, the most I've had in a while, but I know how to grind now where before I was trying to do things my guy couldn't do, but we're getting closer now.

In the supertiebreaker, I had a commanding 7-1 lead, but kept making mistakes and coupled with his shotmaking, he came back to tie it up 7-7. I fought off some matchpoints, he fought off some as well.

When it was all said and done, the final score of the match was 4-6, 6-4, 10-12 and I lost my first finals match. Still, it was nice to get here. Just a shame because he gave me ample opportunities to finish him off and I just got too pedantic about what shot to hit when I needed to make a play.

[Young Drachma]

You don't get XP for losing a match, but I did earn another 250 season points, earned 2 U.S. Series points and gained another 7,402 fans after this one which is probably why it was better to go to the US tournament against better competition especially since I made the final anyway. Slowly but surely, I'm making progress. In order to reach "new talent" status, I need to win two more minor tournaments, play in a major tournament (which I did) and have more than 17,500 fans.

[Young Drachma]

Back on the circuit again this time in Morocco for the Casablanca. Let's see how this goes...

QF
My first match is against a Belarussian guy named Timofei Zhevnov. He's a 12 level player (I'm currently a 9) and is strong with his stamina, backhand, speed and reflexes. This might be a short stay and perhaps I should've just gone to the minor tournament and won that since they count the same for the next level.

Oh well too late to rue the decision now. Off we go...once I change my shirt.

Remind me never to play any clay tournaments. It's too slow and I can't adapt my pace for it. This was a short stay in this tournament, as I lost in straight sets 1-3, 0-3 and off we go to the next week. I think I'll be taking a practice week during next month's tourney, depending on what's available and whether or not I can play on grass again or a hard court.

Despite losing I gained another 50 season points and another 652 fans to bring my total to 14,537.

[Young Drachma]

Ok, so I'm back to work this time at a grass court event in London. My QF match is against a Chinese guy named Tai Yi Xia. He has a strong serve, better volley than me and better reflexes. I'm ranked #1 in the Grass Series because of my strong showing in two earlier grass events, which is cool.

Yi Xia is ranked #43, I'm still #80 overall.

QF
His serve and volley shtick threw me off to start, because it always takes me a few points to get actively involved. The way to get Xia off his game was to variate my shots. I hit a lot of topspin, some flat balls for winners and really got him with drop shots and lobs at opportune times. We win this round 4-2, 3-1 to advance to the semis.

SF
In the semis, I'm playing Argentine Antonio Grasso, ranked #57 in the world. There isn't any about this match that was particularly notable. He was a solid player, but had nothing in particular he was especially good at. We both played the baseline and when a guy does that and doesn't have the shotmaking skills to hit winners, then I'm going to feast.

And that's what we did here, winning in straight sets, 3-0, 3-0

F
Third straight grass tournament final. The opponent is Greek Theo Migiakis. He's ranked #38 in the world and is a Level 14 player. I'm a level 9 player now, I could've leveled up after the last match but as a house rule, I'm not allowing myself to level up between rounds. So this is a match where I'm the underdog again, if I can hit with him, it'll go fine. If not, it won't.

This guy was the biggest hitter I recall facing thus far. He's just a big return guy who has a lot more pop in this bat than I do and as such, he was dangerous. Down 5-1 in the tiebreaker to end the first set, I came back to 5-5, before losing on two winners he made to lose the first set 3-4. In that set, it was all about my mistakes -- as usual -- and also his ability to make shots when he needed to and to put 'em where I couldn't get.

I can hang with Migiakis, but in order to beat him I'm going to have to hit more winners and figure out when to come to the net tactically. Right now, I'm just on defense too much and I need convert more opportunities into offensive ones.

Serving has been key. No one has been broken on serve all match through the 1st set. In the 3rd game of the 2nd set, I was broken though unforced errors (aka, I suck) and I needed to return the favor to stay alive in the match. I couldn't get it done. My guy seemed to stop working for whatever reason and it was just a situation where I need more reps to get some consistency, because when I play guys way better than the scrubs, I can't put the shots together necessary to win.

Final score 3-4, 1-3. Loss in the Finals.

I earned another 2 Grass series points, another 250 season points and best of all, 7,522 new fans. If I could start winning events, I'll be at New Talent status. That probably means I'm just going to go ahead and play in two craptastic tournaments and see if I can't win them.

I've risen out of the rankings basement, now #71 in the world.

[Young Drachma]

I decided to play in a lower level tournament this week, in the hopes of getting the second of my minor tourney wins so I can move up a level. This week I'm at the California Cup. It's a Grass Court tourney in the U.S.

QF
My first opponent is Austrian Matthias Grumet. He's a level 4 guy with better reflexes than me and a better volley. I should win here or else, I'm gonna be mad. He's a very good serve and volley guy, so I end up 1-1 with him and whenever he advances to the net, I have to remember to keep my lobs deep or else, he just nails me.

So I try to use my power advantage against him and it starts to work as I get more winners. Problem is, he's got his serve and volley down to a t and so, after 4 games it's 2-2 with both of us holding serve thus far and then he breaks me in the 5th game to go up 2-3. I didn't plan for this, but his serve and volley is giving me fits.

I come back to tie 3-3 in the 6th game and we go to a tiebreaker. For some reason, my sucktastic play continued and I lost in the tiebreak 3-7 to lose the first set.

I need to stop writing and start playing.

I come back from down 0-2 in the second set by winning two love games and enter the 5th game of the 2nd set by giving up my 1st point in the last ten. I still manage to win that game to take a 3-2 lead as it's clear he's getting tired and I've figured out a strategy for beating his net play.

My strategy? Pounding the ball away from him and when he is at the net, putting it short so he can't put it away with a volley and using the setup shot to lob him so he can't get it.

I win the second set 4-2 to force a third set tiebreaker. I'm proud of how I battled back, because for a minute there it looked like this thing was done and I was setup for an early exit. Now that said, we're not done yet and I still need to finish him in this super tiebreaker.

The supertiebreaker was as ridiculous as the rest of the match. I was up 4-1, he comes back and takes the lead 4-6 which he stretches to 6-8 before I finally come back and win the supertiebreaker 10-8.

Final score. 3-4, 4-2, 10-8

It was ugly, but a win is a win. The key stats in this match was the fact that I had as many unforced errors (24) as he did winners. I had 45 winners in this one, which was a marvel. But his most interesting stat? He was 24 of 30 from the net. 24 points from the net is insane. I was 0/4 from the net in this match. Serve and volley is hard for me to manufacture without a deliberate strategy and I just couldn't do it in this one. It didn't matter, I just muscled my way into a victory. But it could've easily have been different as I almost squandered it.

I'm going to save. I feel like playing football.


Now in the semis of the California Cup, my opponent is #59 ranked Youssouf Zairi of Morrocco. I beat him back in May at Munich and I hope to do the same this time but with less drama than our first meeting which we went to a 3rd set tiebreak.

And sure enough, that's precisely what I did. After dropping the first game, I didn't lose another beating him in straight sets 3-1, 3-0 to advance to the Finals.


Since I'm only one season into this, I've decided to start my career over. I want my player to play full sets with real tennis scoring rather than playing as I have through now with abbreviated sets. They feel kind of cheap and while I like the time it saves, I'd just rather get the sensation of playing full matches and so, that's what we're going to do.

So back to the beginning we go. I'll skip past the first season when I recap, as a result and will report back with the second season of his career after I begin replay.

Unfortunately, I had to recreate an entirely new player to begin this process and so, I took the opportunity to great the next great American tennis player. Heh.

I used fakenamegenerator to come up with her name. She's Amy Takahashi from Honolulu, because I decided if I was going to mix it up that I might as well do it with a female player and see how that goes.