Crossbows And Accessories
The Ultimate 5-State Dream Deer Hunting Road Trip
If you were ever able to make a season-long deer hunting road trip, where would you go? I know that this is just about impossible for about 99% of us, but hey, maybe we can do it when we retire, or if we’re fortunate enough to win the lottery. There is a ton of whitetail […]
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Michigan Confirms New State Record Flathead Catfish
Michigan has a new state record flathead catfish, and it’s a chunky one. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced in a press release that Indiana resident Lloyd Tanner’s 53.35-pound flathead catfish edges out the previous state record by more than a pound. The fisherman hooked into this monster while using cut bait on the […]
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Our Favorite Truck Bed Mattresses Are Perfect for Car Camping
Editor’s Note: Products featured on Wide Open Spaces are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. Who says camping is limited to tents and cabins? Have an exciting night outdoors with a truck bed mattress. It’s the perfect way to utilize all of that […]
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What a Turkey Actually Sees When It’s Looking At You
My first time turkey hunting I was sitting in a blind in the middle of a field between my dad and my uncle. Peering out from the little fabric hut, I was easing the barrel of the shotgun out through the small opening. “Don’t move, he’s looking,” my dad whispered. All I knew then was […]
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8 Barriers Women Face on Their Hunting Journey
For most women, hunting is personal. We learn to do it to feed our families, participate in a close relationship with nature, have personal time outdoors to ourselves, and contribute to wildlife management. However, this means the barriers we face when learning to hunt can feel harder to jump over, too. It’s easy to become […]
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How to Be Prepared in Case You Catch a Record Fish
In 2012, a potential world record landlocked striped bass cost angler Rodney Ply not only a shot at coveted title, but over $1 million in prize money. Ply was entered into a fishing contest being hosted by Mustad Hooks, who were offering the awesome cash prize to anyone who could catch a world record fish […]
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Ruud: Play Defensive Against Rafa and He’ll Eat You Alive
The Norwegian made history for his country, and hopes to take lessons from his trip to the final in Paris. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday June 6 2022
Casper Ruud went through trial by fire on Sunday in Paris. Not only was it his first ever match against King of Clay Nadal, the Norwegian had to do it in a final at Roland-Garros, where Nadal has never lost.
Though he was blitzed, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0, Ruud hopes to learn from the experience.
“It was tough for me to really know where I should play the ball because from both sides he has – many people have said that he kind of has two forehands because his backhand is also strong, even though it's maybe a little bit weaker, Ruud said, adding: “I didn't know exactly where to play there in the end and he made me run around the court too much. When you are playing defensive against Rafa on clay, he will eat you alive.”
Still, Ruud can hold his head high after becoming the first Norwegian to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal and final at Roland-Garros. As the ATP’s leading clay-court winner since the start of 2020, he is set up for a bright future at the world’s biggest clay-court tournament.
And the experience of playing the final should help him massively in the years to come.
Doing Norway proud, @CasperRuud98 🇳🇴#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/rGYjKxBrdn
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022
“It was a little bit, honestly, a bit tough to find myself too comfortable in the situation in the beginning, but as the match went on, I tended to feel a little bit better and I could calm down and breathe out a little bit more. But it was challenging because you are playing him, the most winning-slam player ever, and on this court in the final it's not too easy.”
The Norwegian had plenty of praise for Nadal after the final.
“I didn’t have what it takes today, to beat Rafa in the final at Roland-Garros,” he said. “Like I said coming into this match it’s the toughest challenge we have in the sport, to beat him here at Roland-Garros. Even though you like to think he’s getting older and you try to think maybe this is the chance or this is the day, he showed once again why he has won so many times and he really stepped up there in the second and third set and outplayed me for sure.”
Ruud will head back to the drawing board, and he hopes to use the experience as motivation and as a critical learning experience in his development.
“So I know what it takes to win here now, I guess, and I will of course work on a lot of things in my game, and it gives me just a small taste of what hopefully can be happening more times in my career, so it gives me of course a lot of motivation,” he said. “To play Rafa at Roland-Garros is a dream in itself and to do it in a final is something I will remember for the rest of my life. He’s a true champion, a true legend of the sport, and to have shared a court with him at least once and do it here in this situation is special”
Carpe Diem And Photography
Gather your rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will…
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Lester Claims First Elite Title on Pickwick Lake
Brandon Lester conquered what was once his greatest nemesis and, in doing so, notched his career’s greatest moment by winning the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite Series event on Pickwick Lake with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 1 ounce. Entering the event on this 43,000-acre Tennessee River impoundment, Lester believed he was on the fish to […]
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Brain Game: Where Nadal Drew A Line In The Parisian Clay Against Ruud
What happened when Rafael Nadal hit three — and only three — balls in the court against Casper Ruud?
Calculated clay-court carnage.
Nadal defeated Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the Roland Garros final on Sunday on the back of dominating points in which he hit exactly three balls in the court when serving and receiving. In a one-sided final that saw the Spaniard win the final 11 games of the match, Nadal and Ruud surprisingly played very evenly in the 0-4 shot rally length, with Nadal winning 28 points and Ruud 27.
And then the fifth shot of the rally arrived, and it acted like a proverbial line in the Parisian clay.
Five-Shot Rallies (Nadal Serving)
Rally length in tennis is dictated by the ball landing in the court, not hitting the strings, which means the server can only win odd-numbered rallies, and the returner can only win even-numbered rallies. A five-shot rally is an ideal rally length for Nadal’s chess-like strategy, giving him two more strategic moves after the serve to either construct a winner or force an error. This is where his dominance in the final blossomed in all its glory.
Points Won In Five-Shot Rallies
Nadal = 11 points won (3 winners/8 errors extracted from Ruud)
Ruud = 3 points won (1 winner/2 errors extracted from Nadal)
Ruud won four-shot rallies 9-6, but things dramatically changed when one more shot was hit in the court. Nadal forged an impressive 11-3 advantage in five-shot rallies. Getting to hit two more shots after the serve is a sweet spot for Nadal to initially gain a positional advantage and then extract errors from his scrambling opponent.
Six-Shot Rallies (Nadal Receiving)
The returner is typically on defence to start the point in six-shot rallies, weathering the storm of an aggressive serve and then playing defence with a Return +1 groundstroke. Getting to neutral on the third shot is typically considered a minor victory for the returner. Those rules simply didn’t apply to Nadal in the final.
Points Won In Six-Shot Rallies
Nadal = 13 points (10 winners / 3 errors extracted from Ruud)
Ruud = 3 points (0 winners / 3 errors extracted from Nadal)
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Nadal forged an eight-point advantage in five-shot rallies (11-3) and was even more dominant in six-shot rallies, creating a 10-point advantage (13-3). Of all the rally lengths played in the final, Nadal hit the most winners (10) in six-shot rallies. You can picture in your mind the Spaniard rolling back a high return from deep in the court, then moving quickly to the baseline to attack the next shot to Ruud’s backhand and then hitting a run-around forehand winner through the vacant deuce court, out of reach of Ruud’s running forehand.
Nadal forged a dominant 24-6 point advantage when you combine five and six-shot rallies. It is important to note that in both five and six-shot rallies, Nadal hits exactly three shots in the court.
What’s fascinating is that seven and eight-shot rallies had far less bearing on the outcome. Ruud won seven-shot rallies 5-4, and Nadal won eight shot rallies 6-3. There were a sizable 30 points played in five and six-shot rallies and just 18 points played in seven and eight-shot rallies.
Nadal’s Rally Advantage
0-4 Shot Rallies = 1-point advantage (28-27)
5-6 Shot Rallies = 18-point advantage (24-6)
7-8 Shot Rallies = 2-point advantage (10-8)
Hitting three balls in the court, whether serving or receiving, was the sweet spot of Nadal’s lopsided victory. He did well to survive the initial onslaught of the 0-4 rally length and then went straight to work hitting 13 winners and extracting 11 errors from his third shot of the rally.
Three shots in the court is an ideal strategic blend of defending first, outmaneuvering second, and dropping the hammer on the third shot. The Parisian mid-length master plan was hidden in plain sight.
5 Best East Coast Camping Destinations
Camping is a great pastime in our culture, and its participation is definitely on the upswing. Every U.S. state has great campgrounds for both the car camping crowd and the primitive camping enthusiasts alike. From Florida to Maine and back with North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia right in the middle, you can’t go wrong […]
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Why I Don’t Bother With Out of State Hunting Tag Applications
In my opinion, many hunters are wasting their time on out-of-state tag draws. It’s no secret out-of-state hunting is a huge industry in America. It rakes in a ton of money for destination states like Colorado, Alaska, Arizona, or Utah. Even though these destinations often offer much greater odds at a bucket list hunt, it […]
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Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 5, 2022
On June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era. She was the sister of firebrand abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or …
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Zverev Has Torn Ligaments in His Right Foot
The German is heading home to undergo further tests on his injured foot. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday June 4 2022
After suffering an injury during his Roland-Garros semifinal with Rafael Nadal on Friday in Paris, Alexander Zverev announces that he has torn several lateral ligaments in his right foot.
The German, who fell in the backcourt at the end of the second set against Nadal, and was forced to retire the match, says he needs to undergo more tests to determine what the next steps will be.
“I am now on my way back home. Based on the first medical checks, it looks like I have torn several lateral ligaments in my right foot,” he said.
“I will be flying to Germany on Monday to make further examinations and to determine the best and quickest way for me to recover,” Zverev said. “I want to thank everyone all over the world for the kind messages that I have received since yesterday. Your support means a lot to me right now!”
7 Most Important Jobs in My Role as Hunting Guide for Uncharted Outdoorswomen
Historically, guided hunting and fishing trips haven’t been educational opportunities. Customers tend to purchase guided trips specifically to fill big game tags and catch huge fish. This is all fine and dandy; however, at Uncharted Outdoorswomen, our goal is to take things a step further. At Uncharted Outdoorswomen events, we still celebrate landing fish and […]
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Kid’s Reaction to Shooting His First Bear Ever is What Hunting is All About
With the weather finally warming up, we’re getting into spring and summer black bear hunting season. It’s a perfect time of year to introduce a younger hunter to the tradition. The weather is usually mild, making it much easier and more comfortable for youngsters to sit for long periods of time in the woods. Then, […]
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Insect Repellent: The Secrets That Help Shield You From Bugs
All of us have likely used some form of bug repellent at some point or another. For most of us, it is a simple matter of wanting to keep mosquitos and ticks off us out in the yard, on the trail, or in the treestand. It gives us a chance to enjoy our time in […]
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Photo Of The Day By mi allsbrook
Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Natural Harmony of Complementary Colors” by mi allsbrook. Want to get your images in…
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