Guess who?
04 February, 2009 | 23:02
With the snow slowly melting all over London, normal service was resumed at the National Tennis Centre today.
The guys turned up at about 10:30am for a practice session involving Kevin Ullyett, but not before the latest in a long round of tennis/football matches.
The game is more complex than last time we watched. It's still two vs two, but now the two players on the same side of the net can pick on each other if they feel like it.
So, as one player goes for the ball, the other can put the other one off, as Andy demonstrates here:
It works both ways though, because the player who's being crowded by the other can elect to hit the ball at whoever is interfering.
Sometimes its pays off, and sometimes it doesn't...
The net result is a whole load more trash-talk. You frequently hear "I'm so in your kitchen" shouted out as one successfully manages to force the other into making a mistake.
The winners get a limited number of 'favours' from the losers - anything from getting drinks to buying lunch.
Tennis/football out of the way, Andy hit with Miles and Kevin Ullyett for a couple of hours. Having a doubles specialist around makes for great volley drills, and it's amazing just how solid Ully is at the net.
The technique from one of the other coaches on the adjacent court wasn't quite so solid though, and Ully and Andy pointed it out...
The tennis out of the way, and the traditional NTC long lunch digested, they were back out on court for some movement work.
And movement work, as it has done so many times before, involves our good friend the bungy cord.
The drills place emphasis on footwork and balance, skills which are crucial to Andy's shot-making on court.
Having spent plenty of time doing the exercises in Miami over the winter, Andy finds a good rhythm pretty quickly, dragging Jez along with him...
And that was Wednesday. They're back in again on Thursday.
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