USTA 5.0 Big Hitter vs 5.0 Control Player | UTR Tournament Quarterfinals (Match #3)

This is the third match in my Universal Tennis event series! The format of the tournament is an 8-game pro set, co-ed, 8-person draw. Tonight we've got Brad and Derek. Both are solid USTA 5.0 players that don't have a UTR rating yet. Leave a comment below what you think they're UTR rating would be. Derek plays a power game with his serve and groundstrokes while Brad is more of a control and steady player. Stay tuned for the rest of the tournament matches and leave some nice comments for Brad and Derek for putting themselves out here please!
Tournament link and draws:
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- Universal Tennis has the tools for anyone to create any type of event easily (tournaments, matchplay, camps, clinics, and much more)
- The UTR Rating helps providers like me pair up players properly without any guesswork
- Players benefit from level-based play to get the most out of every match
- Events like mine can be any format (I chose pro sets) and any gender (I did co-ed) to maximize the best quality match play
- As you can see with my event, anyone can host on the Universal Tennis platform; it's not limited to clubs, academies, and tennis centers
Brad - USTA 5.0
Derek - USTA 5.0
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
1:18 - Racket spin
1:26 - Run your own Universal Tennis event
2:24 - 8 Game Pro Set
19:55 - Match analysis
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[@isbwalden]

righty serve into lefty ground is mindbending

[@jcarter8765]

I just recognized this. I've seen it once before and the guy said it was a shoulder injury that push him to learn to serve from the other side.

[@topspin1715]

Yeah I only realized it on game 3 that he is serving R and then switching to L arm for lefty forehand and a vicious, I mean, vicious two handed backhand with crazy angles.

[@pepinopolice6928]

I wonder if that's why his forehand is so god-awful.

[@isbwalden]

@@pepinopolice6928 Or why his backhand is so sick!

[@pepinopolice6928]

@@isbwalden it's a great backhand. Unfortunately, a 5.0 will have no trouble finding his forehand 90% of the time

[@payamirani5298]

Enjoying this format a lot Winston. Especially love how you always remind us to be nice to your featured players who are helping you deliver such high quality content.

[@Tennisbull-match-statistics]

In the first game Derek hit 3 backhand winners and had 5 unforced errors on his forehand. In total Derek had 18 errors on his forehand and Brad milked it well, for example 9:50 Overall Derek won 4 more points in the 1-4 shot rally length but Brad won the 9+ shot rallies by a wide margin (14 vs 3). Derek actually had more breakpoint opportunities (6 break points in 4 games) but only converted 2. Brad converted 3 out of 4 breakpoints. So it was a lot closer than the 8:5 score at the end.

[@topspin1715]

What I really like about Brad is he uses his serve to set himself up for a winning ground stroke pattern. He does not have a big serve but he more than compensates for it with his ground strokes and movement. Goes to show everyone you do not need a 120mph serve to win but of course it does help haha.

[@rossjaeger1093]

Brutal call at 14:40, was flush on the line

[@AngryBird-fs4di]

I think it was out

[@rossjaeger1093]

@@AngryBird-fs4di go to 0.25x speed and pause frame by frame, there is a frame where it looks to me that the ball is on the line. If you still disagree that’s fair, but there is one damning frame

[@rossjaeger1093]

@@chrisgore2173 lol better yet!

[@kylepiscitello8889]

You can tell by the shakiness in his voice when he vocalized the call. He knew he thought it was going much farther long than it did, but the mishit spin brought it down a lot. Looks like it caught the back of the line.

[@TelecomDr]

I stopped the video and it hits flush on the line and may have even got blue.

[@qiai5447]

Great match! I love Derek’s game and his BH is beautiful. He almost came back just ran out of gas at the end Questionable call at 14:41 😂

[@rossjaeger1093]

It was definitely a fitness battle more than anything, completely agree. Would have been neck in neck like it was in the first half of the match if Brad and Derek had comparable endurance.

[@abhishekjmadan]

Ya was about to comment, harsh call! But I have made worse mistakes while playing.

[@johnnybgood1169]

Respect to both players! Great stuff overall! (I play a similar style to Brad so I can gleefully relate to Derek's frustrations from his post match analysis.). Brad forces players to generate their own pace point after point, while moving them all over the court and testing their fitness levels. He absorbs pace and redirects it quite well, yet he can also take the ball early when he wants to play more offensively. If he had a drop shot, his game would be even more torturous/exhausting to play against IMO. In this match, Derek could not hit big enough while maintaining consistency so he was forced to under hit slightly which lead to the long, physical rallies Brad clearly relishes. Thanks again Winston for the video. Hope to see both of these guys on your channel more often in the future!

[@noor9651]

Great match! Both are strong - 8 plus. Derek changes direction on the backhand better than almost anyone I've seen at the 5.0 level - truly a weapon. Guess as a leftie you probably get tons of backhand practice! Brad's strokes and patience are excellent. His serve is a relative liability (... at the 5.0 level!) he manages well around (I don't think he had any service winners or aces.... Derek had no problem returning and there's a real lack of pace on the first serve - looks like the 'wrong' grip being used too). But he generally placed it well and used it to start the point / feels like he kept the first serve percent up after the first couple games. Edited to add.... his return is top notch too. Great to watch these great players - thanks for sharing!

[@AlexfromHollywood]

Some nice exchanges here...thanks for the upload..fun to watch!

[@jcarter8765]

I'd also experienced playing an opponent that had a killer backhand, which I finally realized was his best stroke. Predominately feeding his forehand changed the match around. Good stuff. These matches are fun to watch unfold.

[@mskcouric]

Brad has almost no internal shoulder rotation on his serve and might use a modified eastern grip. And still a 5.0! He is the textbook definition of counterpuncher - mostly content to run you side to side, but also capable of stepping into the court and hitting a big angle for a winner.

[@LunarEclipsism1]

Derek's got that Marat Safin backhand, absolutely lethal. And I love how he hits out on those kick serves with confidence. Brad played really smart high percentage tennis to wear him down and blunt his weapons. Very fun matchup!

[@sodeepopkid6855]

Agree with the backhand assessment and his forhand appeared to be a safe hit forehand.

[@mskcouric]

14:43 what a hook

[@ryantraniam]

Back in 2017, I remember Brad was the best player in the whole club and he won the Open tournament there. I don't know if I ever saw him lose a singles match. His game is deceptive, he doesn't look super good but in a match setting he will simply win. My money was on Brad before I watched the video.

[@DDRLEGENDCHAN]

I love how during the post match analysis Derek talks about fitness and how as juniors, we could play forever since we played 3 hours a day. Now it's hard to even play a set, especially if you are the one running!

[@KevinHackett]

Hey Winston. I got back in to tennis a little over a year ago after suffering a very bad shoulder injury from a snowboarding accident. I needed a complete shoulder replacement and have a cadaver holding me together now, but I just wanted to say your content is probably my favorite tennis content on KZbin. I was inspired to start making my own tennis match videos. I haven’t put any out yet but I’ve been planning on getting there. I just wanted to say your videos are awesome and that it’s inspired me to follow suit! Hey, who knows.. maybe one day we can even have a match together or something. It’s so cool to see your quality improve and all these legit sponsors you’re getting now. Hey also if you ever want to link up, I own a custom apparel business, so if you’re starting a brand man I’d love to print for you sometime if you ever want. Hopefully we can play one day! That would be so cool. Hell I’d even make a trip out where lever to do a video with you

[@seank468]

great skills and great match...the beautiful sky catches my eyes..it looks almost like a CG

[@FACreate]

Glad to see Brad started going after Derek forehand instead of his backhand after the first couple of games. Derek backhand is a weapon.

[@SimonServes]

Nice match. I like Derek’s backhand and serve. I can relate to Derek since I’m left-handed when writing but righty in tennis and two handed backhand.

[@phoenixgaming66]

Hey Winston - love your videos. Would be awesome if maybe we could get the racquets used by each of the players in your videos? I'm always left wondering when I see a playstyle I like. Keep up the good work!

[@ryanvandewater960]

Brutal match!!

[@danielcassidy7056]

Fun to watching these level of players. Surprised that neither hit that many slice groundies and that Brad didnt approach the net more when he had Derek in trouble. Initially I pegged Derek to roll but then was impressed by Brad's consistency. The difference to me was Brad's style appears very efficient while Derek's requires more energy during play, seeing that he ran out of gas near the end. Goes to show the importance of getting your opponent to play another ball.

[@BackoftheLineTennis]

Solid players for sure, and great match. Cheers.

[@Feanor1992]

Great match! Both guys gave their maximum effort. The final score doesn't paint the exact picture as it was a close set as most of the games went to deuce. The guy in the gray didn't have a particularly strong serve, but he made up for it through his strong baseline play. He was very consistent and didn't force the issue; these are the kind of players you wanna avoid in a one-setter as they will return anything and most of the times make you play an extra shot. The guy in the orange shirt has a great serve. The kick on his serve is astounding. The backhand complements his serve well. The spin and pace on the backhand was excellent. However, I was disappointed with his forehand, because he was pushing mostly from his forehand side and it looked absurd that a guy with a good serve and a backhand had such a weak forehand. I hope he wasn't playing with an injury because he was taking it late and wasn't whipping the ball. The guy in orange could have won if he had a strong forehand. Players who have a style like gray shirt dude are hard to beat in one setters but you can beat them if it's a best of three or a five if you move them around a lot. Having a strong game at the net also helps as it enables you to finish the points early.

[@nickstayoon]

GGs Derek & Brad 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

[@1experience1]

This Brad is a genius! Very good, controlled, and well-placed balls. I wonder what will happen if he plays more aggressively?

[@loganfive5783]

At first I was very impressed with the Derek two handed backhand but really it is a two handed forehand and he also has a one handed lefty forehand. The two hander is BETTER than the one handed lefty forehand.

[@rockssunroom6113]

Looks like Derek's backhand is actually his forehand.

[@AkatsukiShadow]

Derek has a nasty BH! Jeez that thing stupid! lol... Brad played smarter and his FH is very effective. His timing and footwork was definitely better. I'd like to see a rematch when both of them have been playing consistently.

[@ashevillecomputer201]

At 14:45, dude totally called a ball out that was way in...

[@Cdog810]

Caveat Comment: ** I would be lucky to get more than two games against either of them** Brad made Derek dance to his tune after the first game pretty much. Derek probably needed to change direction on both the forehand and backhand to get out of the cross court rallies. Would have been nice to see a bit more variety from Derek as well: slice, going to net, serve volley, dropshot, etc. Well played to both, it looked exhausting lol.

[@courtleveltv-tennis5245]

What camera are you using to shoot this video? Great quality!

[@MarcBossYT]

Nice vid bro

[@kzkingkoopa]

Wow, he (Derek) serves with his right hand, then hits the forehand and backhand as a lefty. Pretty interesting!

[@intlvoiceofreason9239]

interesting how Derek (in the yellow) had much bigger groundies from his backhand side than forehand. that's kinda rare...

[@charlepacman]

I just realized by the middle of the video Derek serves right handed and plays the rest lefty. so crazy. can def throw off opponents

[@ryantraniam]

hooked @14:40 right on the baseline

[@uw10isplaya]

Derek's really got the touch on those drop shots. A lot of them not even off easy balls.

[@ayokay123]

Both are very good players. Interesting to see how little confidence yellow shirt has in his forehand compared to his backhand.

[@beba683]

Could you explain the meaning of the USTA and UTR rating for non Americans in an upcoming video? Watching from Europe and I have no clue what the different ratings stand for 😅

[@awachsmann]

Derek's backhand was awesome! Serve was consistent and had great pace, just needed a bit better placement to be an effective weapon. Forehand lost him the set. Very entertaining tennis!

[@aznpokering4184]

Its interesting how many loopy forehands Derek tends to hit when he is clearly capable of hitting with more depth and penetration while he just absolutely rips it on his BH consistently. TBH if he played more aggressive on that shot he could've won. Especially being a lefty its really important to be able to rip cross court forehands to the righty's backhand whereas ripping crosscourt BH goes right into the righty's FH. I think since Derek's BH is already amazing, if he could get his FH to a similar level he would be a much more complete player.

[@IronFudge]

Yeah he seemed pretty tentative on his forehands. Should try to rip them more like he does with his backhands. He had plenty of time to set up some powerful forehands. Great player overall though. Had a great serve that let him dictate points.

[@adamtash2891]

perhaps has something to do with shoulder inury? he just brushes the ball harmlessly on forehand...not really enough

[@nguyen925]

Lol I thought Derek was a true lefty and then he serves with his right hand! Tricky! But both did pretty well, dig the match up

[@massimosanticchia3404]

Here in south Florida they would be NTRP 4.0

[@dwelch241]

With a little practice, these guys could be pretty good!

[@Dennis-highlights]

When are we going to see Coach Chase again!!!!???

[@user-bk5lr2qe9w]

What’s bred racquet specs??

[@jonizefox]

6:15 6:21 looks like forehand grip for serve

[@novola1972]

He is serving with the right and playing left handed ?

[@mbull9974]

Brads play style is the most frustrating to play against.

[@jeffsmith5341]

A lefty with a better backhand than forehand you don't see that very often. And i thought both playing styles were identical really

[@roma3467]

Is Derek actually left handed or just on tennis? Because It feels like he enjoys more his backhand and only plays defensive on his forehand.

[@EdgewoodTennis]

He writes right handed. Serves righty, but forehand is lefty.

[@Don-kl8ky]

The guy wearing orange is left handed but serves with his right

[@pwachte1]

I'd put them between 7-8 UTR. Decently consistent but no weapons.

[@KeithTingle]

Derek serves right handed and plays left handed?

[@ryan2988]

this guy serves right and plays lefty WHATTT

[@ddhh1270]

If that guy served left handed as well, he'd be much tougher to beat.

[@adamtash2891]

derek - backswing on forehand is off kilter...angle of the racket...and shape of backswing needs to change. i think it way too loopy....and drains all power before the swing. missed almost every slice dropshot. either dont hit those or practice them. of course conditioning seemed to be an issue...net play could help vs this type of player. didnt really have a plan out there. need one. brad - serve is weak and form could be a lot better...dont pronate and what grip do you use? groundstrokes are solid and do not miss.....change of direction shots are good but could be more of a weapon. enjoyable match to watch thanks guys

[@user-eo4wk3if9q]

stability !

[@supermuskelmann8557]

Am I confused? Derek is a right hander. He serves with his right hand. So he plays a 2 handed forehand and a left handed 1 handed forehand as a backhand?!

[@ANa-ln2xp]

Thought Derek could've taken advantage of Brad's short balls and stepped in taking time away from the opponent.

[@rumcoke9123]

Brad is very tough. Id give him a 8-8.5

[@SaqibSheikh]

i dont get the format. why isnt it over at 6

[@SaqibSheikh]

wait he serves right handed then plays a left handed forehand??

[@williamjiang9109]

Is my brain cooked or is Derek serving righty but has lefty groundstrokes?

[@MrBreaknet]

So Derek serves with his right hand and plays with his left? As a tennis coach, this is one of the most confusing thing I've seen over the years. Winston, can you give us a little insight how he developped this playstyle over time? My hypothesis is that Derek is a natural right-hander, but he was forced to play with his left hand (such as Nadal).

[@TelecomDr]

Is definitely a natural right handed.

[@puckpaul810]

Maybe he should switch? If he can hit a one handed forehand from the right side, which seems likely since he has such a good righty serve, and use two hands on the left, it might be better? Or go two handed both sides? His forehand isn’t the weapon it could or should be. Just throwing it out there…late to make such a change.

[@michaela.5363]

I think the kid from the other video would beat them both (for the record, either one of those players would beat me very easily)

[@Ricksonkimura]

Derek must be a baseball player

[@gustavocorreia4231]

If Derek's forehand was 10% as solid as his backhand, he would have these kind of opponents in the bag... Brad played smarter tho.

[@aznpokering4184]

Probably UTR 9.5-10.5 ish

[@bojannovkovic8818]

5 minutes in, and I cant figure out who is a big hitter here...

[@larrybu2000]

Orange shirt Derek couldn’t hit down the line forward, always cross court, and Brad just waited at the corner to hit his forehand most of the times .

[@jennym2276]

Let's see if their more competitive with USTA ratings as I know from experience andwatching this UTR doesn't work well. Their ratings are way off in competition. They are your sponsors but they the results with UTR match ups are not positive for them

[@johnnybgood1169]

The more tournaments a person plays, the more accurate UTR becomes.

[@tomsd8656]

Derek's forehand needs a lot of work. At his level, he cannot afford to have a FH like that.

[@ValentinChablat]

Derek's backhand is very strong and reliable but his forehand is the complete opposite, very weak and unreliable, he can easily work on that forehand and become a lot better!

[@TimTheMusicMan]

What can these two handed backhand players do when it’s time to volley at the net or win a point by dropping a ball cross court at the net from the backhand side ? They are lost with these 2 handed. It’s impossible. There is no touch with 2 handed. There is no time to position. It’s completely eliminated. And no one is coming to the net. Ouch.

[@971lionheart]

I subscribe to you Winston Du

[@panddzz]

I would say any where from 8.8-10

[@thelonelydekuscrub4817]

Imagine if he had 2 forehands 💀

[@adrianponze137]

Serves with his right hand but plays with his left... wtf

[@jameschristin5065]

Their not 5s there like 7s

[@ahnguyen1]

righty serves but plays lefty; very odd

[@bmanbusee3812]

5.0? Probably not

[@rafaelquintanaVODs]

Sooooo many bad calls from Derek, kind of a thief, desperation?