I FINALLY played a USTA 4.5!

Welcome Matt back to the channel! The last time Matt and I played a singles set was about a year and a half ago, back when he was still rated as a USTA 5.0. Since then he's been downgraded to a USTA 4.5 by the system lol. He plays a steady baseline grinding game and hits a one-handed backhand. I'm a USTA 4.5 and play a similar baseline game but with a two-handed backhand.
Leave some nice comments below for Matt and me for playing this set on The Challenge Court!
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Ratings:
Winston - USTA 4.5
Matt - USTA 4.5
Instagrams:
@mattmiller0207
@winstonddu
@thechallengecourt
Matt's racket:
www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babo...
Matt's strings:
www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babo...
Winston's racket:
www.tennis-warehouse.com/Babo...
Winston's strings:
www.tennis-warehouse.com/Soli...
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Game Styles
1:41 - Equipment
3:02 - Set
23:37 - Outro
25:52 - Giveaway!
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#tennis #tennishighlights #ustatennis #tennismatch

[@Tennisbull-match-statistics]

wow, lots of long rallies. More than 64% of all rallies where 5 shots or longer!!! Winston had more forehand winners but also more unforced errors on the forehand. Matt had more unforced errors on his backhand. But the big difference was the return where Winston had 9 return errors, 8 of them on the forehand, including the one on match point ;-) Winston, that S&V on match point was awesome!

[@AliHaider-rb9pp]

This was a ton of fun to watch. I love playing people like Matt, who play with such positive energy and seem like they're having a ton of fun even when their opponent hits a great shot. Makes the whole match so much more fun. Great match, very even. Loved seeing Matt battle his way back into the set. Great vid

[@abortiz87]

I’m 36. I started tennis 5-6 months ago. I decided to start taking lessons after watching you play and improve so much. Thank you very much for the entertaining and educational content

[@WinstonDu]

Great to hear!

[@cks2020693]

love the footwork and aggressiveness, Karue's lessons paying off. You started losing when you started moving slower and waiting for the ball to come to you rather than going to the ball

[@ayokay123]

Man, the lengths you'll run to avoid a backhand. All I can say is NEVER let yourself get out of shape. :D

[@xxpinghead7xx]

This is why he is a true 4.0+/4.5- club player. I would give Winston a 6utr in a good day.

[@huma0605]

Winston is better than UTR 6. I play with a lot of UTR 6 and above. Maybe on a bad day he would be close to 6, but most of time I think Winston should be close to 7.

[@xxpinghead7xx]

@@huma0605 you are funny. Winston doesn’t have a big enough forehand to keep someone from attacking that backhand. When he develops a consistent deep ball off that side and learns to keep forehand out of the middle, then yes…. He can be a 7. Has lots of potential but gets nervous moving ball around.

[@thelonelydekuscrub4817]

@@huma0605 I've played with and around a lot of 4-6 utr juniors here in florida and I think a good majority of them could probably beat winston. But obviously its hard to judge from youtube videos alone.

[@highsocietyskate]

Great playing guys!! Winston just steady improving and playing great. Matt played like a beast like always! So nice to hear laughter on a court 😆

[@jaygt4]

Great match ... love to see Matt's problem solving out there, figured out the short slice angle to the backhand start to pay dividends to get him back into the match

[@jpob7918]

Really good backhand topspin, Matt. Beautiful shot!

[@samopenossam55]

that was one of the best matches I've seen on your channel. good level from both

[@-Munditimum-]

Great rallies. Awesome intensity. So so fun to watch. Matt is a great dude. K's influence is totally visible Winston. Thanks for the upload! Cheers! M

[@alwaysprepared]

Good match. Great comeback by Matt! I like the look of Matt's backhand topspin, the slice looks weird somehow, though, but still overall effective. His volley was a bit tentative which gave Winston some second passing shot opportunities which he took advantage of.... I think as the match went on, Matt kind of warmed up and looked more comfortable. It's nice to see a really competitive match!

[@bgchans]

Great match! Love the whole game, really nice rallies!

[@marcobartoletta8449]

Awesome set, guys! Love to see it!

[@infiniteriver93]

Great match! Lotta fun to watch, great rallies and great comeback by Matt! Match definitely deserved to go to a tie breaker. Well done both of you. Like others have said, love the positive energy and fun had by both of you. Matt's grip looked semi western when shown in beginning but watching during match looked full western.

[@BackoftheLineTennis]

Always enjoyed Matt on the channel, just seems to enjoy himself with everyone while playing. And he is competitive as well. Really even match up though. Good stuff fellas. Cheers.

[@mrchuckles1022]

Fun, competitive match. Matt’s backhand down the line was killer. Winston had some great volleys for winners.

[@jasonrowland1594]

Great, competitive match! Winston, I thought you had him. I would like to see more matches with you all. Matt has a beautiful backhand.

[@parlo9027]

Nice play from both of you!

[@jonbonhamchronicle]

Fun match to watch! So many rallies, where I couldn't stand more than 10s LOL. Matt's BH really kills, but your FH also great, Winston! Keep it up guys.

[@kc24jack]

What an awesome match between two equally matched players!!! such long rallies! This was really fun to watch!!

[@lorbatlo3298]

well played both! Really well played Winston upto 5-2 and then after I think you made a few more mistakes and Matt started to up his game from 5-2 onwards. Keep it Winston definitely improved since the last time you 2 guys last played.

[@RCShufty]

Matt has a great deep slice, thanks for making me feel better about always choking and losing to people my level lol :D

[@kenttalcott8428]

Great playing by both players. In this match you can really see the value of good footwork and preparation. Both players displayed excellent footwork throughout the match. When errors did occur you could appreciate the lapse or change in footwork that contributed to the errors. Overall, excellent play and consistency with tons of pace on their forehands. Also enjoyed the positivity and compliments they shared with each other throughout the match.

[@RollinLeonard]

Great match! I remember Matt from the start of this channel. When you focus fired on his backhand you were able to setup winners. I feel like next time you've got him!

[@DaggerMan11]

Matt exudes so much positive energy! Great match, guys

[@sf108]

Awesome game from equally matched players. I like how you described how the longer the game went on, the balls started softening up. I have the same problem with my forehand on worn out balls. But at the same time, this brings opportunities if you can take advantage of it such as slicing.

[@svlagonda7417]

Good hitting from both. Very evenly matched.

[@soroushrezvan]

idk why but I always pick a favorite early on in the pre-grame conversation to make it more exciting to watch the games LOL Excellent stuff Winston! so fun to watch some realistic non-pro tennis.

[@dirkalester1839]

I really enjoyed this one,especially because of Matt's single backhand. I think he really won it when he started to hit a few more flat ones on the backhand side and mixing it up with the slice. Keen to watch the next matches you post...really entertaing.

[@fuzzyballstennisclub]

GGWP both. Winston's forehand is looking amazing.

[@anonusniogsonisrgnip]

Wonderful tennis from both!:-)

[@Qu3Xu5]

Great match to watch!

[@dOntBcUt]

Good to see Matt again!

[@user-xm7ip3oi1c]

Really nice match! Enjoyed watching it. Here's 3 suggestions to make your game even better: 1. Only run around the backhand when you're going to hit an offensive shot (powerful, opens up the court,) 2. On the defensive wing hit the ball higher with more spin 3. Follow through more on the backhand slice

[@ThatManFromOuterSpace]

I love seeing how much you have grown. You are easily one of the most important tennis creators out there today :)

[@WinstonDu]

thanks that means a lot!

[@Kevin-ms3do]

Finally nice to see 4.5 players play. You should really do this more often. I'm top 5 in singles in my state(Texas) so this is cool to see other 4.5 players in other states and how they compete

[@thientran913]

Good Match, what a comeback!

[@reuelray]

Great come back Mr One Arm Bandit. I thought Winston was going to Du you in.😁

[@TimelyAdventure]

Lol, double fault chant. Great duel, some good tennis. He's crafty and consistent. and a great sport throughout, love to see that

[@dancetnobigdeal]

Am I trippin or was Matt's ball at 18:22 in on the baseline? Great match both of ya'll!

[@ryantabeshi9565]

I noticed that too

[@gelatinousjoe7979]

It was a lot of fun to watch Matt hit his rhythm in the second half of the set

[@chuckfriebe843]

Winston, I think Matt was generous to you on a couple of line calls. However, it was a great match and I really enjoyed this one. Cheers!

[@jaychon8418]

great close game, Matt was generous with his calls and Winston had some calls out, but were in. :-)

[@googlereviewer1944]

Hard to tell calls from video as the frame rate is usually too low as well as the camera angle not looking directly along the line etc.

[@FrankThehumanitarian]

my palms got sweaty in the tie break, awesome match!

[@ROSEMARY-gl7wx]

GREAT FUN MATCH

[@fnecessity]

Hey Winston I think you had this set dead and buried at 5-2. I think it's a mixture of mental and footwork that let you down from that point. Matt stepped up his game but I reckon if you did some chip returns to change up what you were giving back to him it would've been interesting to see how he'd have dealt with it. Anyway this was a very good watch. Enjoyed it so much I'd replay some of the points which I only do for atp matches! Would be great if you do more of these types of matches against people on your level. Also your backhand is a weapon! Use it! ❤

[@BassByTheBay]

Finally, Winston!... But _not_ finally. I mean, you finally played a true peer, but "not finally" because you didn't win ☹️. I'm gonna keep rooting for you, though 😊. Was great to see such a close match. I hold on to the hope that you'll just shed your backhand till it becomes a weapon or at least not a vulnerability. Don't wanna see you running around your bh to hit a fh so often. Matt's backhand is nice though inconsistent. Seems his bh could become a weapon with a few tweaks. Loved that you both seemed relaxed here -- seems like you're friends. Really hoping you can have Matt back soon!

[@gonzalolibano6505]

Great 4.5 level and very entertaining match to watch! Congratulations to both of you. Winston…the only thing you needed to win was a killer instinct (Nadal or Djokovic kind). Maybe you are too nice!😂

[@AB-xp8im]

Fun match to watch, thanks for sharing. Im just a hack player but a couple of things i saw (take it if you want) Matt: your front foot moves back when you serve - never seen that before, definitely wont foot fault - but that might be taking some power away since your body motion isnt moving forward. Winston: seems like you back up a lot on the serve return, i believe you want to be moving forward, and reduce the backswing - like someone is pushing you from behind - maybe Karue can tel you if Im right or wrong on that :) Overall, great content!

[@user-ne5zr1jq5l]

Great match. Do you happen to use Swing Vision ? Would love to see it on the video if you do

[@Outerrythem]

That was a well balanced game with some nice rallies. From the comfort of my couch, I would suggest that Matt should try to finish the follow through on his single handed backhand more in front down the court and less out wide. Also try to avoid the slice back hand on rising balls - easier said than done with a single handed back hand particularly if you have shoulder issues.

[@jaysontang]

this is a really good match to watch and aspire to get to, Most players are at 3.5, 4.0 levels and not 5.0. You rarely see long points

[@TotalTennisGeek]

Talk about snatching the victory!

[@effay83]

Damn man. was hoping you would win one finally.

[@chrislw9053]

I really enjoyed the set Winston and Matt!! Solid playing. Question for you Winston. Did your mindset/focus change when you were up 5-2? Or was in just a case Matt changing up his tactics and the balls getting worn down?

[@escgoogle3865]

Wonderful highend 4.5 match. Match Analysis: Winstons FH leveled up and the high deep heavy balls were causing issues with Matt's backhand. Like me Matt's BH and FH are very balanced so we tend not to run around them. At 5-2 I felt Matt HAD to start running around the heavy high balls or go into "F'it" mode and swinging free. (post mortum it turns out the balls started losing fluff which lowered the bounce). Bring Matt back in the spring, he plays and swings like a small College version of me. 🙂 I maxed out at sectional 4.0 than got old an the bod just broke.

[@nguyen925]

Good match 👏 🎉

[@DonYang73]

Very interesting service footwork. Left foot back before the hit. I’ve actually never seen that in my life.

[@getitnow247]

College Coach in Arizona (Jose )😊 Winston 😢 I have run into your Channel a couple times. Pretty Cool 😎 You Love ❤️ your forehand but I think you should give equal Love to that Backhand 👍

[@harisskordis]

18:22 that was in! 😆 Great set guys!

[@WinstonDu]

yeah might've missed that one

[@ServantoftheLord10565]

Always live to see fellow 1HB players like myself. Matt needs to utilize his topspin backhand more rather than always slicing backhand. 1HB allows great angles to be had. Also, Matt could benefit from preparing for a shot with a full unit turn before the ball bounces on his side. He currently half cocks his unit turn and then when the ball bounces he does the other half of the take back and racket drop which may lead to some late hits and timing issues.

[@davebeery_youtube]

Great match! At the end you gave him 16 gauge strings. Then I wondered, how does the tension of the strings relate to the gauge of the strings? It seems that there might be a different ratio between thick strings at 50lbs and thinner strings at 50lbs. So, maybe ask players in the future what gauge and what tension rather than just what tension they play with? I’d love to know if anyone has discussed this before.

[@ntnnot]

Nice match

[@cb3719]

Wonderful match to watch. More 4.5 play please. @Matt - looked like cross-court TS BH was less than confident. You often went middle or down line to Winston’s FH. Have you considered bending your right arm more on takeback creating a near 90 degree angle with right elbow (More fed like) as opposed to a straight right arm (more Stan-like). This might allow more snap topspin at contact and less pull-through which results in a flatter pull shot across your body and cross court. (I have same issue. Flat pull across).

[@williamb19]

Man that first backhand winner

[@Gutuie2.0]

🔥🔥

[@patrickrogersiegismund2785]

Matt's foot work looks great. Not only his racket but also his FH and BH style resembles Dominic Thiem's.

[@akintomeatloaf]

Great playing! Interesting how Matt's losing a foot+ by bringing his left foot back on his serve.

[@WayneLynch69]

Nice to see good spirited play...not that common. Woof; I've seen tanking not as bad as that last shot

[@stevel.2759]

Someone's improving

[@blasianpanther24]

you honestly got so much better man... and tbh u look like a strong athletic guy but the serve still weak bc the technique seems to need a lil tweaking. Would love to see you try the pinpoint kyrgios/nadal serve as opposed to federer platform stance. could maximize your serve power get more momentum through your legs/body. arm motion looks ok but keep "throwing" the racket forward for more power

[@orangecoolius]

Matt gripping so tight

[@tennnis498]

I wonder if Matt is inspired by Dominic Thiem? His style of play reminds me of him. Fitting to end the match by hitting it out of the park Winston!

[@ntnnot]

Good call. Those flatter drive BHs remind me of Thiem. Plus of course then also the Pure Strike racket.

[@supermuskelmann8557]

Finally a player that uses an active backhand slice! I’ve had the impression that players in the US don’t use it at all. Good to be proven wrong.

[@kevinzhang9936]

Is this an app to record the score and you post-edit it?

[@kiteguy1761]

Hey. Interesting why don't you add results to UTR?

[@TennisFan97]

Is the Rithvik vs Karue match that was talked about last year going to happen? Maybe in the UTR tournament? 🙂🎾

[@WinstonDu]

maybe

[@effay83]

What racket are you playing with bro?

[@djaziztube]

That shank was karma for chanting double fault.

[@Rabit437]

Matt went from a 5.0 to a 4.5? How does the usta system work?

[@lively6015]

Not very well.

[@speedymr]

@@lively6015 Pretty well. If you beat high-rank players you go up, if you lose to lower-rank players you lose rank. Pretty simple.

[@WinstonDu]

@@speedymr except he won more than he lost at the 5.0 level. Could be due to playing doubles matches only

[@nightowldickson]

4 and 1/8th is a very small grip size!!

[@RollinLeonard]

I like the new hairstyle Winston. It's giving supervillain.

[@JH-bb8in]

Great effort guys, you guys are textbook 4.5 -

[@ST-ek6lf]

Hmmm high 4.5 I believe

[@null-7]

the gap I notice between Winston and more advanced players is footwork. Winston does not respond and move that quickly, sometimes just a little late

[@DonRobberto]

instant karma, never chant for a double 🤣

[@stevenjm12]

Why does Matt move his from foot back when he serves? I have never seen that before

[@chubun6631]

Very strange indeed. besides making sure you don't footfault, I don't see any benefit of doing that. Maybe that's why you have not seen that before.

[@jingkkk]

Matt somehow reminds of Dominic Thiem. Both in terms of playing style and clothing style :)

[@wilsonchen910]

Do you have Matt's UTR link? Thanks!

[@WinstonDu]

app.universaltennis.com/profiles/2832606

[@gab_ale]

What gauge of Hyper G do you use?

[@WinstonDu]

16g

[@robertadvani2486]

Does Matt hold his racket very far down the grip? It seems like it’s over the butt of the racket which I haven’t seen before.

[@Johnnybgood76]

Check out both Federer and Nadal on the forehand.

[@chrislin2774]

Im more surprised at the low string tensions you guys use.

[@gabrielcaraos8729]

I noticed you started avoiding the backhand as the game progress. Nonetheless, good game!

[@aSm8full]

May I ask what balls do you use in your matches?

[@ebertbarendse9427]

At 7:36, Matt pulled out the spiderman 4.5

[@shabzone]

Really surprising to see a mainly doubles 4.5 player not have a good smash and not go for angles. Most of the shots were hit straight at winston!

[@neelabhchoudhary2063]

WINSTON HURRY UP AND GET TO 5.0!!! KARUE WHERE YOU AT?? Edit: but it was an awesome match. really fun. watching this video motivated me. to fix my tennis ball machine and start playing again!

[@UOGMathRoden]

Is everyone stringing their rackets in the 40s now!? 😱

[@bigrobsydney]

WD is a UTR 9.x and MM is a 8.x. I wasn't expecting this result. WD I think is a stronger player, but, needs to work on his serve to get more free points, and ultimately hold serve more. You can always discuss tactics, sure, but the technical side needs to be solid as well. And here, the technical aspect of the serve can really be improved. Winston, you're a UTR 9.x now; just imagine where you could be if you developed a bullet serve and could hit it 60-70% of the time?

[@samster978]

*cue advice from 3.0 rated players

[@mburgos5537]

es tu clon????