Alec (USTA 4.5) vs Shamir (USTA 4.0) Plus Coaching 

Shamir vs USTA 3.5 👉 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JjOq1SuucOI.html

For all the people criticizing Shamir’s intensity, did you miss the part where they mentioned he had a foot injury that kept him completely out of tennis for a year? I thought he played very well, Alec is a tough opponent

These challenges with coaching are so insightful! It actually made me feel better about my game, I'm not remotely close to this level but many pitfalls and coaching tips still apply.

Shamir’s serve is really nice. It was also smart of him to play loopy deep forehands against Alec who seemed impatient and consequently rushed his way into mistakes.

I thought Shamir would be out gunned in this match, but he did a very good job going to Alec's backhand and his first serve was doing just as much damage as Alec's bigger serve. Great job both!

Gotta say, Shamir’s serve is looking really good. He plays with a good amount of intensity and calmness throughout the set. Great coaching as well 💪🏻

It's so much me! Forgetting the score, double faulting, blaming myself for not getting back really good shot and going down mentally.. thanks for showing that it actually happens with everyone pretty much the same, so we just have to keep on going! Great episode!

These dudes are lucky to have great coaching from coach Nik.

Love it! Alec is fun to watch. Shamir, too, as always. Shamir, you were in this match! Keep bringing it!

Yes I love your coaching too because you're also teaching them (and us) your mentality and how to work through their rough spots. Many of us are at their level so it's invaluable to hear your coaching points

After watching several of your videos with Shamir, I wish I had a coach like you as a junior tennis player, but I'm glad I have your insights as a reference as I try and get back into tennis 25 years later.

Great match, guys! Well done. Liking this type of content, Nick! Hope to see more like it in the future.👌

this place is GORGEOUS! Is that a lake or river ? But the yellow (pickleball ??) lines are disgusting

Aaaahh, finally - Shamir vs Alec!!! 💫Shamir was flat-footed and tentative in the first part, which is a bit due to his previous condition and nerves as well. Also a bit absent minded ... I rooted for Shamir from the get go since I had a feeling that he is an underdog in this match-up. It is fantastic to see how thes two rec players appreciate each other and their coach. So much positive energy - true tennis lovers both of them, and coach Nick too ❤ Awesome video! I enjoyed watching it and felt like I was inside the video😛

SHAMIR!! Great match to both of you. I play like Alec naturally. I like to attack every neutral ball. I find that counter punching style forces me to make a lot of errors. That just speaks to the effectiveness of blocking balls back deep when playing a big hitter. You use their speed against them. You don’t need to go shot for shot against them. My adjustment for this play style is to just stay patient and attack short balls that land around the service line.

I would've never guessed the set to be this close. Great play on both sides. One thing that noticeably stood out for me was the level of intensity from Alec vs Shamir's more relaxed presence.

Nik! Thanks for arranging this match. You have coached 2 amazing high level average tennis players!

Awesome video, love this. Some great serving from both players in a well fought match that was fun to watch!

Kudos to the guys, it's not easy coming back from injuries!

Nick is a great coach. He really can drill down to what a player needs to work on. He is also very realistic about what a player is able to do within their capabilities.

The court with the pickle ball and basketball lines. Hard on the eyes

I think Alec's massive serve might have played a part in Shamir's seemingly lack of focus. I know personally that it can be disheartening to play someone with a big serve and you somehow instinctively feel like all their shots are like the serve and that you don't have a chance whatsoever. Getting over that mental hurdle is difficult.

Man im addicted to this format and your coaching is so helpful and on point. Appreciate this a lot, im a big sub of the channel now.

Wow. I would love to drive down there and play either of these guys. Coach is just so insightful. Atlanta is not too far. All around great set guys

Great stuff! Kudos to both players.

I need a rematch with these guys. This was great to watch

Love the video format of playing a match + coaching during match!

Great match. Intensity and being not too tight or nervous is a fine line. Shamir looks so relaxed. I need some of that in matches :)

GREAT MATCH , BOTH !! THANK YOU NICK !

amazing content, thank you for putting this together! shamir really stepped up.

I have found a item that helps me with my injuries, I use the cooper knee sleeve and the leg sleeves and it helps me so much, The company also makes foot and ankle sleeves and they are so lightweight it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing the sleeve. It’s just a suggestion, but my other suggestion is get 3 or 4 surgeons options to seek if you do need surgery. Follow your doctor’s advice my friend. I literally had both my hips replaced and I have a plate in my humerus, so I totally understand my dude. You are playing great and you have a awesome coach in Nick.

These are the videos I get the most value out of keep it up!

love your teaching but also wanna give a special shoutout to Shamir i relate alot to him and he always asks my questions for me :)

Great content! I see a lot of myself in Shamir. Forgetting the score, etc. But he’s got a great serve! I’m hoping to get to this level of play soon. Congrats to both players!

Good match!! I think a fun series would be if you could coach Alex and Shamir at tournaments, kind of a vlog style, if they are interested of course!

Hey nick since you played in germany aswell, what would you say is the equivalent in the "LK system" to a usta 4.5 or usta 4.0? im currently LK 14 and would just be curious if you know the equivalent to that in the usta system.

How on earth can you call a serve on the service line with that extra pickleball line - good god what a travesty

Love to see these videos.

This is great. I just watched the "levels" video and wanted to see Shamir play

#teamshamir! This was a great match! You can tell how much Shamir has improved since his last match on this channel. Congrats to both players for a game well played!

This was excellent for both of them, they should do this often

First strategic tip is look at the braces on A's knees. Think making him run for consistent cross court drives is a good idea? S BH big liability, hits it standing straight or falling away.

Lets go Shamir !

Good match, thanks for sharing!

Wow great stuff nice playing from both Alec & Shamir. What jumps out at me is the progress Shamir has made in his game since returning to practice not long ago. First serve has noticeably more pop and he was landing a good %. Nice 2nd kicker. Consistent forehand and backhand (though both lack power that's my nitpick). Alec - you're probably disappointed in this result but you've only returned to play/practice recently? I can definitely see Alec getting back to 5.0 level if he puts the work in.

Match + coaching are the Best vidéos 👌

Shamir is the most apologetic competitor, both have good characters on court

goog game, but the most important thinh is that both the players need to be positive in their approach, they were playing very passively and many times they failed to put away easy balls and also were not showing intent in them.

more content like this please!

not sure if I commented earlier but it may be better if Emma or Milan coached one and you the other? it felt a little like a betrayal when you'd switch sides :)

Great video!!! Love Shamir's serve!!! he just needs a bit more aggro after that--- do a one, two after an effective serve.

Shamir played much much better. It was the play I was expecting against Emma. His forehand and serve are very good. Haven't seen much play from Alec but great game and lesson overall.

everytime i see Shamir I immediately hit the like button

My favorite series Shamir Arc!

props to both players, good amateur level. Playing well!!

I thought before seeing that alec would win 6-2, Shamir exceeded my expectations. After seeing his set against emma and then this video, I would say it’s fair to conclude Shamir is stronger on hard court. On clay, his movement is awkward, but on this surface he seems much more comfortable.

This Asian dude’s serve more explosive than a Subaru head gasket

Shamir's serve has improved a lot. Just his footwork and ground strokes let him down. Alec has a weapon of a 1st serve when it goes in.

Fun match. Alec really struggled getting his forehand to Shamir's backhand, which is surprising as he's a lefty. But in nearly every rally over 3 balls, Shamir just got fh after fh after fh. Went through the match again. Not counting serves, Alec hit to Shamir's bh on 12 total points. He won 8.

I totally agree that Shamir played a good match, especially regarding the excellent serve and stronger ground strokes from Alec. Nik, you finally recommended to Shamir to play his forehand more agressively. I think he has a tendency to sometimes hit his forehand on the right foot or at least with his upperbody being more leaned back than shifting his body to the shot direction. Working on this habit might elevate his overall game.

Nik, great content. But I wouldn't give congrats to anyone based on 1 set only. But I understand for the purposes of YT 1 set is probably the appropriate length of content for most viewers. I thought it was a close match and both guys showed some nerves.

Great service game from Shamir at 0-2 to get on the board.

Not sure if this will help anyone out but worth to mention, per my friend, to combat nervousness on court, focus on pretending to be someone else, does not matter who but pretend you are mimicking another person with similar mechanics to yourself. This might take the pressure off worrying about losing or missing. Another option if this idea is confusing, count number of strokes on every rally to take mind off thinking about other thoughts. For example, you’re returning, you hit ball, that is stroke #2, you hit another ball l, that’s stroke #4. Cheers.

Nice. Very smooth. Alec's serve must be of a much higher level than 4.5. I get why he's at this level though. Makes too many easy mistakes yet

fun watch!

I’m pretty sure that Alec is on the same 4.5 team I’m on up in Melbourne, Fl. We’re going to Sectionals in Orlando next month so keep going Alec. I’m sure you’ll bring ur A game as usual,

Why the heck is Shamir returning so far behind the baseline? Edit - let me rephrase. Nick, from my own personal experience against a lefty, what I found was to return moving into the court to cut off his lefty angle. Just wasn’t sure why Shamir returning from so far back. Nick you are the best. I’ve learned a lot from you over the years.

Great concept keep it going

Nice set. I do think Shamir sometimes tends to over-focus on some of the advice. You mentioned hitting to Alec's backhand and he was so focused on hitting to the backhand that he missed opportunities to hit higher percentage shots that could potentially win the point. Or, at the least, make Alec play one more point.

Love these videos. Shamir's body language says that he doesn't want to be there, or at least has no confidence in himself.

They played really well… both served fantastic, but it’s unfortunate that they’ve both experienced significant injuries that have caused them to pick up the pieces. What is their goal or expectations?

A pretty even match. The difference for me is that Shamir has no backhand and his slice is pretty erratic, whereas Alec is OK from his backhand side. A really good match to watch though. Shamir has to be a 4.5 now if he can get to 6-4 against Alec

Great playing, awesome tips. Way too many lines painted on the court, very distracting to making quick visual reactions while playing.

I was wondering what racket Shamir is playing with. Is that a Vcore pro 100 or a Vcore pro 97?

This was a great video and awesome teaching. Both fellas won this match in my opinion. Great job coach.

One time in a match I smelt hotdogs cooking and I imagine how I wanted a hotdog in the middle of the match, and started hurrying up the match to get myself a chili dog. I was about 24 years old when that happened, and I was forgetting the score and checked out of the match in the first set. Then my opponent got me angry because he was throwing his racquet and abusing the line judges, so I got back into the match and won the match. So people can get distracted from the littlest things. Yes I got a chili dog after the match. Hahe

Curiosity what shoes do you, Alec, and Shamir use? Also, these coaching match-play videos are helping me a lot in my own game so thank you very much and I hope you do more of these types of videos in the future.

Nikola, i like the serve of Shamir! May i know how tall Shamir is?

I have a doubt that shamir is 4:0 , definitely he's 3,5

Can Shamir just hit from a semi open stance for his backhand?

4.0 is such a wide range. Sometimes UTR makes more sense in defining the level of a player... but Shamir getting to play a level of player like Alec is really gonna do him good. Alec seems tough

Given Shamir's issues with mobility/footwork, he might consider switching to a more forgiving frame. It will help when he hits shots off balance or from out of position. Or he could switch to a racquet that offers him a bit more power/spin, I think the one he's using currently doesn't give him a whole lot (looks to be a VCore Pro but may be wrong). His neutral rally ball looks much slower than Alec's. Great video, really enjoy the coaching and point play analysis. Kudos to both players

Alec great first serve Shamir great second serve. Interesting match for sure. Shamir looked a bit down when he got bombed. But maybe he'd tell himself that his opponent is gonna DF. (which is kind of true)

From beginning video- Shamir needed footworks, he was not moving during baseline rallies.

is Alec using an Eastern grip on his serve? It seem to be really good, but is it a good idea? His second serve seem to be pretty risky and flat.

Alec plays forehand in continental grip?

Great match! 👍👍

Coach I love your contents but the way you coach Shamir, sometime it came a crossed quite patronising and you asked him a questions during a game which can completely put him in thinking mode rather than playing mode. Just an observations but you also gave him clear instructions and encouragements too. Good staffs. 👏🏾

What is the main difference between a 3.5 and a 4.0?

Next we need either Sara vs Maci or Ema vs Sara

Yes the pickleball lines are completely unnecessary as is the hobby. Lefties are def harder to play against. You have to think differently.

“I called both of them wrong” 😂

What racquet does Shamir use?

shamir should hit the slice the way Nick taught him. he seemed to have forgotten that.

Nick, IMO Shamir isnt quite talented (but enthusiast) to have a 1 handed backhand. Have you both thought to change to a 2-handed backhand?? i tell you this by my personal experience, my game improved a lot using a 2-handed, to defent but also to have a new attacking weapon. Keep the good work!

Not to be mean but I always had the impression that Shamir in general is not a very focused individual. He did play well especially after coach woke him up but I don't experience him in other videos as being grounded mentally. Regardless I wish I had his serve.

8:47 Cressy serving...

Dobre Dan Nikola, ich schreibe dir mal auf deutsch, da du ja lange in Deutschland gelebt hast, mal sehen wie gut dein deutsch noch ist ;). Deine Schüler entwickeln sich sehr gut weiter, die Entwicklung ist deutlich zu sehen. Es macht Freude die Videos zu schauen! Außerdem bist auch du ein Teil davon, dass das Tennisfeuer in mir wieder geweckt wurde nach 25 Jahren. Ich spiele jetzt seit 2 Monaten wieder regelmäßig, nehme Unterrichtsstunden und habe mich wieder im Verein angemeldet. Die Schläge kommen langsam zurück und das Selbstvertrauen wächst, ich habe mir natürlich auch ein paar Tips von dir zu Herzen genommen. Es ist unglaublich das sich die Schläge im Alter von 5-10 Jahren so eingeprägt haben, dass sie jetzt mit 36 total automatisch kommen. Ich habe noch eine Frage, da die jetzt grob meine "Geschichte" kennst. Meine Schwester würde auch gerne anfangen zu spielen, sie hatte aber noch nie einen SChläger in der Hand. Ist es eine gute Idee ihr die ersten Schläge beizubringen, ich habe mir deine Anfänger Videos angeschaut oder meinst du es wäre besser direkt Tennisunterricht zu nehmen? Viele liebe Grüße und macht bitte weiter so guten content!!!

Hey Shamir, you really need to move over and hit your forehand because your backhand is weak. Hey Alec, hit to his backhand. Thanks coach, Littlefinger 😉

Shamir always looks like 0 intensity. He’s doing fine when the balls come to his forehand in a good easy rhythm, but as soon as there’s a break in that rhythm, like a short ball, he’s completely thrown off by it and completely stops moving. Also, if Alec played 80% to Shamirs backhand, he would’ve won 6:0. This was a tactical nightmare by Alec. Shamir‘s slice is super weak and mostly floating, producing errors after 2 or 3 shots. I remember playing lefties 2 or 3 times, and they for whatever reason had very weak backhands. I exploited this to the fullest, played 90% of all shots to their backhand, even though it’s not my favorite shot, and completely broke them mentally. Sometimes play clever and not hard.