Was the summer wasted? Think again!

[supinesmokey13]

I just got aced 22 times by a 98/98 guy. That's never happened to me before; I usually only get aced 2 or 3 times even by those guys.

This dude was an incredible server -- every serve was 140 and he was putting them right on the lines. Buuuut it was on WT and he was serving from the tramlines, so that helped him a lot.

Also played someone with 43 speed who still managed to sprint baseline to baseline and put deep shots back into play in a 25 shot rally. That was incredibly frustrating -- I think the problem is that the huge power players with low speed also have really high stamina, so they don't get tired.

Regardless, my point is that this patch definitely did not take away the power game, and anyone who thinks it did probably hasn't actually played it and just thought so based on reading the notes.

you not playing with enough angle the first guy i played on WT had 43 speed and 100 power and beat hit 3-1 3-0 if you place your shots well the dont reach them i didnt see them sprint from side to side as they could reach my shots and serving well with different paces has it's reward. the power is still they but if you can get them to move they are not as effective as before

[MisterGregory42]

There's a reason why breaks are so important in tennis. Against a moderately good server, breaking them is SUPPOSED to be hard, require guessing.

You're not supposed to just be able to time the button press and voila, great return.

...no arguments here.

I wasn't saying that the serve and return were properly balanced before this update. Far from it. I'm just still not sure if they've finally gotten it perfect yet.

I'll have to play more, because from the little bit of play time I got last night, it seemed like every return I hit was either a weak, crushable ball or an outright winner (or darn close to it). There was very little in-between. It was weird. That's all I was getting at.

[supinesmokey13]

There's a reason why breaks are so important in tennis. Against a moderately good server, breaking them is SUPPOSED to be hard, require guessing.

You're not supposed to just be able to time the button press and voila, great return.

...no arguments here.

I wasn't saying that the serve and return were properly balanced before this update. Far from it. I'm just still not sure if they've finally gotten it perfect yet.

I'll have to play more, because from the little bit of play time I got last night, it seemed like every return I hit was either a weak, crushable ball or an outright winner (or darn close to it). There was very little in-between. It was weird. That's all I was getting at.

how deep were you able to get your returns as i used a lot of chip returns deep . i wasn't cracking winners off the return constantly it was mix i hit a few short most returns deep and a few great ones that put in charge of the rally or won the point

[reconskillsxx]

There's a reason why breaks are so important in tennis. Against a moderately good server, breaking them is SUPPOSED to be hard, require guessing.

You're not supposed to just be able to time the button press and voila, great return.

...no arguments here.

I wasn't saying that the serve and return were properly balanced before this update. Far from it. I'm just still not sure if they've finally gotten it perfect yet.

I'll have to play more, because from the little bit of play time I got last night, it seemed like every return I hit was either a weak, crushable ball or an outright winner (or darn close to it). There was very little in-between. It was weird. That's all I was getting at.

I experienced the same thing and yea it was very weird. When i play more today i'll see what happens

[Andymachine]

I agree i think it needs more getting adapted to , i think maybe its too early to judge , but hey at least 2K are actually listening !! altho i must admit id LOVE some downloadable content:D

[Maitre Kax]

I m very surprised that many seem to dislike this great update ! Good serves seem more effective and now, hitting too many power shots has a real cost : it s a great pleasure to make a power guy running and hitting power shots. He quickly become really tired.
Now we ll have to take care of stamina, that put a piece of strategy which is very realistic and interesting.

[djarvik]

I give this update 10/10!

They absolutely nailed the Serve-Return game this time (relative to the game). No matter how hard you hit the serve, if it comes to canter of the box all the time - you will get it back with interest. But should you start hitting close to or on the lines, things change fast! Now you in control. Even a guy with power in 50's that can serve well is able to to do 1-2 punches.

They nailed the slice as well. All my control slices feel just right, but when I try to power up a slice and hit it on the run - they lose their direction if favor of speed. Really like the slices now.

Volley become easier, but, it become harder to put direction on your control volleys. So when you get there with a player who has no volley skills and low rating, you will be putting your racket on more balls, but most of them wont have enough bite and you will get Lobbed. (if you still dont use lobs - you should start, now)

Power players not effective?! hahaha joke right. If anything they are more effective now, just in the right way. If you serve well with a power-guy, holding serve now literally twice as easy. The "perfect" shot of a power guy become more powerful and precise. But once you get them on the run - shanks start. So good serving and good anticipation makes for even scarier power player now.

The game itself got faster. Noticeably so. That is a plus, I felt in should have been faster.

Control shots that are not perfectly timed on the ran go out sometimes. Before they would just sail in mid court.

Stamina was improved as well. I only had 1 rally over 20 shots in about 1 hour. Something happened before during the point to prevent the long rallies. Again, good thing.

Are there more things to improve? ALWAYS!

Is the update good - YES!

[dsavbeast012]

The problem still exists of the weak serve being harder to return than the strong fast one. But I guess that's realistic like Djokovic in the US Open final.

Is it me or is returning one big game of luck now? It's either an unreturnable shot from the returner or an easy winner from the short ball for the server. Totally unbalanced now. Slice return seems to be the way to go now.

[safe_as_milk_]

It'd be hilarious if it turned out the patch hadn't actually come into effect yet

[edlglide]

The problem still exists of the weak serve being harder to return than the strong fast one. But I guess that's realistic like Djokovic in the US Open final.

Is it me or is returning one big game of luck now? It's either an unreturnable shot from the returner or an easy winner from the short ball for the server. Totally unbalanced now. Slice return seems to be the way to go now.

I don't think returning is that bad -- I agree on the ZPS though. Played a guy on WT who had 100 on forehand, and he just hit slow ZPS serves every single time. Even when I hit perfect returns (which was almost every time), they wouldn't have much pace and he'd run around to his forehand and hit a shot right on the line in a corner. Even when I managed to get that shot back he'd put it away on the next shot with another 100 forehand.

Of course, this won't be an issue in ITST play, so it doesn't matter that much.

Overall I really like the update so far.

[RainingAmoeba79]

I give this update 10/10!

They absolutely nailed the Serve-Return game this time (relative to the game). No matter how hard you hit the serve, if it comes to canter of the box all the time - you will get it back with interest. But should you start hitting close to or on the lines, things change fast! Now you in control. Even a guy with power in 50's that can serve well is able to to do 1-2 punches.

They nailed the slice as well. All my control slices feel just right, but when I try to power up a slice and hit it on the run - they lose their direction if favor of speed. Really like the slices now.

Volley become easier, but, it become harder to put direction on your control volleys. So when you get there with a player who has no volley skills and low rating, you will be putting your racket on more balls, but most of them wont have enough bite and you will get Lobbed. (if you still dont use lobs - you should start, now)

Power players not effective?! hahaha joke right. If anything they are more effective now, just in the right way. If you serve well with a power-guy, holding serve now literally twice as easy. The "perfect" shot of a power guy become more powerful and precise. But once you get them on the run - shanks start. So good serving and good anticipation makes for even scarier power player now.

The game itself got faster. Noticeably so. That is a plus, I felt in should have been faster.

Control shots that are not perfectly timed on the ran go out sometimes. Before they would just sail in mid court.

Stamina was improved as well. I only had 1 rally over 20 shots in about 1 hour. Something happened before during the point to prevent the long rallies. Again, good thing.

Are there more things to improve? ALWAYS!

Is the update good - YES!

My experience exactly!

[L Sanchez MD]

It'd be hilarious if it turned out the patch hadn't actually come into effect yet

LOL that happened to me.
I turned on the Xbox and started playing.... and I was trying to avoid slices because I knew they'd been nerfed.....and serving felt a little funny.
But I thought "why are guys complaining about volleys.....they're exactly the same!"
And then I noticed that I wasn't signed into Xbox live.....so, no patch had been applied xD
It's funny what the mind can do...

Anyway, +1 to Djarvik's post. I love this patch. I have to say, I think TS is very generous in its allocation of 'forced' errors, because I was hitting loads of UEs and the stats still only said like 4 at the end of a 7-6 match. There were 10+ easily.

I hit probably the most powerful shots I've ever hit (with Djokovic btw), so power is most definitely not gone.

Movement at the net is different. Possibly better, not sure yet.
Serving feels the same, except I haven't got any aces since the patch (normally I get a handful per match).
I think I beat Tomic on hard mode 6-1 with Fed, with NO aces... strange.

Defensive slices are more realistic. Offensive slices still work great. Return of serve.... I haven't played a good server yet. I played Nadal on hard with Djokovic, and I was blasting almost every return, but the AI serves pretty poorly. Saw more return errors from the AI going for shots..... nice.

Not sure about the effects of speed and stamina yet as I haven't played enough.

[farshad]

I think the update is helping power people even more now, yeah the chance of unforced error is higher but before you could block them by usuing slice or drop shot easily, now you dont have it, im sure its a relief for them.

[Rocketsfall]

The update clearly favours s&v. It is easier to get a weak return and thus an easier first volley. Plus, the high reflexes give you an even greater advantage in returning than already was the case.

[LokiSharpShootr]

Im not trying to troll here but i honestly think the update havent changed the game that much as people are saying, returns are a little diferent, shots when your pressing your opponent seems to be a little stronger but thats all, people need to stop crying and get their game going.

I have seen a lot of people complaining in these threads that the rallies goes forever, that volleys are too easy, that slices are too good, that the game sucks etc

This seems like a case of people just being bad at the game you know, TS4 is not TS3 you cant play it like it was, there is a lot of great players who kill rallies with ease, who pass people at the net with ease, that destroy a slicer guy so to me it seems that there is a lot of bks here who simply cant handle the fact that their oponnent outplays them(fairly) and blame it on the game.

BTW: i liked the update and i still think my Welch guy kills power and net players.