USAP Nationals 2022 Men’s Doubles 4.5 35+ Gold Medal Match - Brett Warner / Dustin Tessendorf vs Chase Carman / Bobby Carlsen Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California Paddle: Selkirk 003
This was a fun matchup! Great game and mental toughness by Chase and Bobby! Brett and I were on fire all day and now watching myself play (which I recommend to everyone trying to improve) I can see how tired and mentally drained we were after 6 hours of play which did lead to dumb high risk shots or mental errors (high drives, dinks or short drops in the net). Some good lessons to take home and some training to be done to be more tournament fit! Too bad we didn't film some of the other games - Brett had some insane inside out drives that just sucked the air out of our opponents. Nothing beats this venue! Thanks for the support and see you all out on the courts!
Such strong and stable drive. You rarely miss it. I will need to learn it. It will get me into different level. Pls do post a video on how to do your forehand drive once you have time. Thx a lot in advance.
Honest question -- how can a player at 4.5 be in the gold medal match at Nationals without being able to hit a 3rd shot drop? I haven't watched the full video (I'm 20 minutes in) but so far all 8 of gray shirt's 3rds are drives. 4:07 9:58 15:21 16:28 17:51 18:11 19:48 20:01 are his 3rds and they are 100% drives. Why doesn't blue/black team return to gray shirt 100% of the time and punish his 3rd shot drives? Is this typical for 4.5 level play?
Thanks for posting this content. I loved learning from it. One of my fav spots was the early dink to your backhand that you disguised and did a scoop forehand that caught the net guy totally off guard as it would have me as well. It’s the same shot you did to end the first game with. Nicely done. I wonder why the facility uses portable nets instead of permanent net poles?
Can you make a video teaching the mechanics of your forehand drive? Nasty shot! I'd love to learn it and share it with my friends. Most of my drives go into the net or pop up really high and go out
My only paddle recommendation is to demo before you buy and also to temper expectations that a new paddle plays better than a used paddle. Personally, I’ve moved to the Selkirk Halo SLK Max Control. I think the raw carbon fiber face will last longer than an applied grit. Meaning, Joola Ben John’s, Volaire, SLK Halo will play better longer than a fiberglass or powder coat finish. Just my opinion… my game is based on generating spin and I don’t change paddles as frequently as top pros so this is where I’ve landed for now.
@@brettwwarner1 do you reccomend the Ben John’s Joola? Or Halo SLK. Looking for one which will last the longest. Possibly over a year or more. I only play 2 days a week max
@@LoganElliottOfficial I’m sponsored by Selkirk so I’ll say Selkirk SLK Halo… I like the max control 16mm version. The truth is that expectations for performance and durability should be 2-3 months for any paddle. Selkirk has a great return policy and customer service… price point at $140 is less than Joola. In terms of durability, I switch to a fresh paddle after 4-5 weeks… the top pros will switch out fresh paddles every week or every tournament. See if you can demo both Selkirk and Joola paddles before you buy. Maybe ask around at public courts to get a few hits. Paddle choice and fit is always personal preference.
We tried everything to close out game 2, but they held strong… no easy points, no errors. Tough call when you’re up in a game whether to keep the pace high or play safe… I’m watching it back to hopefully learn something for next time.
Lower level players hit it hard..that's common. If they only blasted against higher level players, they would lose bad. They only do it because the lower level players also can't defend it correctly and it works
I think you’re hearing friends and family that are watching behind the camera. The referee is limited to announcing the score before each serve and some other responsibilities.
Amazing game. Some impressive drives and dinks! You guys made it look easy. How do you like your 003? I’ve been playing with 002 for 8 months now and just received my 003 Invikta in the mail today.
Let me know how you like the new 003 Invikta! The 002 was the hottest paddle on the market this spring/ summer. I was late to the party and just started playing with Selkirk when 003 was released. I like the Epic shape and balance. It’s a very light swing weight. 20 mm thick means very little vibration, too.
I like the Power Air. Solid all around paddle. The legend Tyson McGuffin seems to love playing with the Power Air, too so I’m going to keep a demo around in case the 003 wears down. Selkirk has a good line up of paddles right now. I like the 003 Epic… made the switch from Gearbox about 2 months ago. The 003 is soft at the kitchen and accurate on drives. It has a very light swing weight (meaning it’s not head heavy) so I can swing away. It’s also 20 mm thick so there’s very little vibration and makes it easier to drive shots that I would otherwise have to block with a thinner paddle.
Great match! @brettwwarner, I have a few questions if you don't mind. I noticed you play pro tournaments. Would you say the gap between top 4.5 players and pros is a lot smaller than in tennis? I am a good 4.5 ntrp player in tennis but most likely would lose 6-0 6-0 to any pro in top 300. I played pickleball for the first time last week and liked it so I signed up for a 4.0 tournament this weekend. Do you think I would get absolutely crushed and should have signed up for 3.0? Do you have any tennis background? I saw you went from 4.0 nationals to pro in a matter of less than a year which is absolutely impressive. Thank you !!
Thanks @alexb727!! I don’t have any definitive answers, but here goes: - 4.5 to pro gap is greater in tennis… a lot of reasons to choose but I’ll say the “race to 11” gives amateur pb players a chance to compete against top pros vs a marathon 2 out of 3 sets in tennis. - High tennis players like yourself will be at a 4.0 level simply by knowing the rules. It’ll take some time for improvements on shotmaking and footwork, but you’ll get likely be comfortable at 4.5 within two months. My first tourney was a 4.5 major tour event for singles and placed second after about 5 weeks from when I hit my first ball. Dubs takes more time and there are a lot of styles and team ups that are effective. I’m certain you’ll find your way if you give it time. Definitely go into a tournament with an expectation to compete. My advice, make friends and find future training partners at tournaments… it’s important to find consistent games for practice if you want to improve quickly.
@@brettwwarner1 You couldn't have summed it up better. The tournament went ok. I won one of the 4.0 singles matches and lost the other ones. It was round-robin. Definitely felt like a fish out of water at times especially dinking since I only played twice before the tournament. I definitely see a lot of room for improvement if I play at least once a week. Thank you for your throughout response. Best of luck on the pro tour.
Congrats on the win!! Did you find some good players to keep games going outside the event? Did you watch the other levels and how do you feel about a level up sooner vs later?
@@brettwwarner1 Thank you. I haven't played since but I did find a pickleball club not too far from my place so the plan is to join soon. Yes, I watched the 4.5 finals and probably will need at least 4-5 months to get to that level but it is certainly possible. I'll probably play one more 4.0 tourney and if I win I'll move up to 4.5.
Very good match. I imagine after 6 hours of play that it's hard to stay focused, and hit the right shot. Too high of a percentage of drives on 3rd and 5th shots for Brett.
Chase Carman 5.54 DUPR / Bobby Carlsen 5.16 vs Brett Warner 5.03 / Dustin Tessendorf 4.85. How they allow a 5.54 to play 4.5 is funny. Brett enjoy selkirk
I thought Dustin was the best player on court every match. My job all day was to set him up and let him do the hard work. It was a first time team up so we didn’t have any go to patterns… the other teams, especially Bobby and Chase forced us into their patterns. My pace didn’t bother these guys… it would have been nice to get a few freebies off my serve or good thirds. I was impressed at how well they blocked my drives and absolutely crushed a few of my speed up attempts.
Couple things…Chase has played very few tournaments because he is a tennis pro/instructor and has two young children. I believe I was the oldest 35+ in the bracket (not an excuse or badge of honor, but just a fact) and haven’t played a ton of tournament play either. It was a great match that could have gone either way. Brett and Dustin played great and this was not a lopsided rating algorithm as you are insinuating.
@@OrganicHealer the scenario where you would play 4.5 is at Indian Wells you don’t have a choice. If you’re utpr is below 5.0 you have to play 4.5. We tried to get into the 5.0 bracket but they said we didn’t qualify. Next year, when dupr ratings are used will change that. Cheers
@6:05. Player's dont actually switch sides, server just needs to serve from the opposide side after he won the point. Then he can move back to his side. Vs the other team switching sides and staying there after every point
@@brettwwarner1hey! Thank you for the reply! My friend and I just started learning about pickleball when I wrote these comments and I was still learning how the scoring worked. These were just notes I made to get clarification on. I've been playing for a few weeks now and can see there was no issue here. Thank you for the reply!
Watching it back I think I played totally 1 dimensional… long day on courts and locked in to the shots that felt good, but need to be aware of it for next time and bring more variety.
Pretty much. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the USA. Players use a paddle, wiffle ball, and a small court. Big difference from tennis is players stand 7’ back from the net because you can’t volley inside that zone near the net. Matches are 2 out of 3 games to 11 points each… can only score points when serving.
Brett Warner - white shirt, Selkirk 003 Dustin Tessendorf - Black shirt, Joola Vs Chase Carmen - Blue shirt, Diadem Bobby Carlsen - Black shirt, Franklin
Thanks William. Jimmy Z is just trolling for attention. There’s only 1 Jim Zimmerman listed on PT Tournaments and there’s no record of any event history… but who knows / cares… he’s still watching my matches 😂. Most of the players in the 4.5 draw here are 5.0+ DUPR rated… many play in pro events. A lot have had success in 5.0 and don’t play 4.5 events unless USA Pickleball requires players play their UTPR ratings, which is the case for Nationals. UTPR is generally 0.5 lower than DUPR ratings for competitive players.
