Three R’s – ready read and then react.

Ready – feet spread, knees softly bent, weight on the balls of the feet

Read – as quickly as possible read the ball, see clearly is this ball coming to the forehand or backhand side

React – turn your shoulders and hips to the ball as quickly as possible.

The split step is your transition to ready from shot to shot during a rally.  But consider, baseball infielders wait in a ready position without a split step – would it work in tennis if we were ready but “hopped” less?

Keys to the approach shot

• Play the ball on the rise
• Add under spin to the stroke
• Shoot the ball low and over the net
• Move to and through the hit

I hope you find this latest lesson useful. Make sure you leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

This video was created to compliment the free video series that Will Hamilton has put together on his new Pat Rafter series. Will has just released his fourth free video in the series and you should check it out now.

And yes, I have an affiliate relationship with Will, so I may be compensated for my promotional efforts. But I encourage you to check out the free series, even if you do not plan to make a purchase.

We have positioned the camera at eye level, on the baseline, as though returning serve in the ad court.

I nearly hit Antony on one of these serves, but no worries Mate, he is an Aussie.

That said I think this camera angle gives you the feel for how this serve jumps up and away from you, and unless the opponent has an extremely solid backhand return of serve, this particular delivery creates all kinds of problems.

I hope you find this lesson useful. Make sure you leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

As many of you know we are working with Will Hamilton over at Fuzzy Yellow Balls on his new Pat Rafter series. Will has just released his third free video in the series and you should check it out now.

And yes, I have an affiliate relationship with Will, so I may be compensated for my promotional efforts. But I encourage you to check out the free series, even if you do not plan to make a purchase.

Many years ago (50 to be exact) I sat in the shade and watched Blackie Jones give lessons at Acalanes High School. The lessons were punctuated with difficult questions.

At times, when the student was stumped, he tossed the question to me (as I stole his lessons from off court) and as I progressed to understand more of his questions and more of his system, I became first a player and then a teacher.

So to paraphrase, Blackie would ask, “There are two parts to the tennis serve, they are the toss and the swing. And if that is so, do you recommend swinging at the toss or tossing at the swing?” Actually a good question, and though perhaps either answer might suffice, Blackie followed with a compelling demonstration.

The general answer was, “Swing at the toss.” At which point, Blackie would serve with his eyes closed. And then explain, “If you know the contact location, and the rhythm without a toss, then go and duplicate that swing with a toss, but without looking.” If you toss the ball into the swing, this actually works. If on the other hand your toss is way above the contact zone, it becomes impossible to serve without looking, and in that instance one certainly swings at the toss. When tossing into the swing, the motion and rhythm feel similar. When swinging at the toss the two versions feel like night and day. Blackie was the greatest.

Up and down down and up

The following six shot sequence identifies key elements within the serve (as demonstrated by the redoubtable Roger) but importantly – these elements are part and parcel of a fluid and effortless delivery

And a definition – I am calling UP and Down the moment when the racquet head is UP and the body is DOWN

And I am calling DOWN and UP the moment when the racquet head is down the the body has moved (powerfully) UP

Take special notice of the last two photos in the sequence below  - they highlight the role of elastic energy – where the racquet head drops (lazily) as the legs thrust the body up

You key is to be as loose and relaxed as possible during the transition from Up and Down to Down and UP

(I am hoping these words, though on the surface confusing, may actually simplify this action)

Tell me if it worked

In Federer sequence above, note the following elements (clockwise)

1. Toss released at eye level, tossing arm turned to the side
2. Toss rising, Fed keeps his weight back
3. Knee bend starts to increase, Fed now evenly balanced on both legs
4. Nearing the explosive move – but not yet
5. UP and Down – the racquet head is UP, and he is fully DOWN
6. Snap – everything reverses – the racquet drops DOWN as Fed explodes UP – elastic energy flows to the shoulder and rotator cuff

Release Toss at Eye Level

An accurate toss will be every bit as important as a rhythmic and balanced swing. That said many players release the ball much too early and too low, so the toss travels further and often errantly. Jon releases the ball at eye level. Note the impeccable balance.

Sinking

As the toss “peaks” the knees bend and are equally weighted. The tossing arm remains up and well extended. Further, the red line highlights the alignment of the shoulders, so that Jon can easily swing up and into the ball.

I hope you find this lesson useful. Make sure you leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

As many of you know we are working with Will Hamilton over at Fuzzy Yellow Balls on his new Pat Rafter series. Will has just released his second free video in the series and you should check it out now.

And yes, I have an affiliate relationship with Will, so I may be compensated for my promotional efforts. But I encourage you to check out the free series, even if you do not plan to make a purchase.

Federer on the art of “Hitting Up”

I hope you find this lesson useful. Make sure you leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

We will be working with Will Hamilton at Fuzzy Yellow Balls as he rolls out his free video series with Pat Rafter over the next few days, and from the first look this appears to be a particularly good course. Specifically because Rafter at 40 is demonstrating and describing a game that I believe many club and tournament players can copy and ultimately play.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out Will and Pat now.

And yes, I have an affiliate relationship with Will, so I may be compensated for my promotional efforts. But I encourage you to check out the free series, even if you do not plan to make a purchase.

Tennis ju-jitsu.  Blocking, borrowing, deflecting the ball, playing with angles and change of pace.

The game is not always about power and winners.  Just as easily the game can become one of rebounding the ball, using the opponent’s force and incoming shot to create our own.

This style, ju-jitsu if you will, comes from shorter strokes, firmer grips at contact, and a willingness to look for angles, dinks, drops and more.

McEnroe was the unquestioned master of this – try it out for yourself.

Relishing the contest.  Appreciating the opponent.  Understanding (really) the rules of a contest.

To my mind, some matches are determined before ever hitting the first ball.  We have all been in situations where we knew immediately that the opponent had no chance – and equally we have all been in situations where we knew immediately that we had no chance.  None at all.

The fun occurs, when we play an evenly matched opponent.  And in these contest, both players have an even chance to win.

Look for these opportunities.  Keep your cool.  You can be ahead and blow this lead, you can play from behind and catch up – but in any event there is chance, there is luck, there are a few balls close to the line.

Contests are fun – if you see them that way!

P.S. – I will be at the BNP Paribas in Indian Wells March 10 – 12.  Drop me a note if you will be there as well – we can hook up on the tournament grounds the afternoon of the 11th.

P.P.S.  As regards respect for the opponent and respect for the game – this photo from Jim Fawcette tells it all!

Davis Cup brings an entirely different level of energy to professional tennis.  Personally I have been to Wimbledon, the BNP Paribas, McEnroe exhibitions in New Orleans, as well as two Davis Cup ties one in Portland where we won the Cup, and one in Birmingham Alabama – but truly nothing matches the look feel and excitement of Davis Cup.  In Portland, I met many many people who said this was their fifth, eighth or even the tenth tie they have attended.  Why?  Because of the potential for searing drama.

The United States hosts Serbia, featuring world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, in a Davis Cup quarterfinal April 5-7 at Taco Bell Arena in Boise Idaho. “Obviously for tennis, this is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to Boise and the state of Idaho. … The community is just going to love it,’’ said Patton, part of the organizing group that worked to bring the international match to Boise.  And a note, Greg Patton and the Boise community will work to pack the Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University.

The Americans earned the quarterfinal meeting with Serbia with a dramatic 3-2 first-round victory over Brazil Feb. 2 at Jacksonville, Fla. that was capped by a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) men’s singles victory by Sam Querrey over Thiago Alves.

The other three match-ups for the April 5-7 quarterfinals are France vs. Argentina, Canada vs. Italy and Czech Republic vs. Kazakhstan. This year’s semi-finals are set for Sept. 13-15, and the finals Nov. 15-17. Last year, the Czech Republic defeated Spain 3-2

The American squad is led by 16^th ranked John Isner, 21^st ranked Sam Querrey, and the world number one doubles tandem of Bob and Mike Bryant.  And before you think Serbia may pose too daunting a threat, note that both John and Sam have posted wins over Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic.  This Davis Cup tie is anything but a sure thing.

I welcome your comments.  Share your Davis Cup memories with others – this is team tennis competition of the highest sort.  I hope to see you in Boise!!

For more information, and to order your Davis Cup package from Grand Slam Tennis Tours click here

Novak Djokovic captured his third consecutive Australian Open title.  Crushing David Ferrer 62 62 61 in the semifinals, and wearing down and then beating back the challenge of Andy Murray 67 76 63 62.  The end the fourth set of the men’s final showcased a dominant and domineering Novak Djokovic and a dispirited but soon to be number 2 in the world Andy Murray.

So what does this have to do with Pancho Segura and Jimmy Connors?

Pancho tinkered with Jimmy’s game, and the end result – just like Novak today – was a balanced player that understood court positioning (holding ground along the baseline) – opportunities on the short ball (moving forward to apply pressure) – the ability and willingness to make something happen on the return of the second serve – and the importance of the defensive lob.

Certainly most of us can remember the incredible sequence from the 1991 US Open against Paul Haarhuis, where Jimmy 4 towering defensive lobs – none of which were put away – followed by an amazing running backhand passing shot with Jimbo exulting from the sidelines.

Same thing in Australia but only slightly different.  On a number of occasions Murray bounced Novak’s defensive lobs, and on one particular telling occasion hit a safe sidespin overhead to stay in the rally, ultimately losing the point, and more importantly revealing strangely passive tactics to a more confident opponent.

The keys to the Pancho Segura tactical playbook (so to speak) are as follows (and as you read them reflect whether you see this in Novak’s game and more importantly whether you see these within your own game -

• Before you learn tactics you need ball control
• Hitting hard,  deep,  short and high at will with ball control you can exploit weaknesses
• Knowing all the shots enables you to force the opponent to play a game he is not used to
• On key points the low short return is a great play
• Get your first serve in on big points
• The nature of the game is to draw a short ball from your opponent
• Lob early and often
• Pressure the opponent’s second serve

I believe the tactics above match entirely the game played by Novak Djokovic, who won an astounding 27 of 31 points when he came forward to play at the net.

As regards Pancho Segura ….

“He became so much better as a pro,” Jack Kramer said. “His mind and understanding of the game was tremendous.”

No one captured the nature of court positioning, geometry and how it affected shot selection, and most importantly how to play the points based on the flow of the match geography of the court and the flow of the match. “You are trying to draw a short ball so you can attack,” Segura said. “You need to understand things like your opponent’s grips, his movement, which shots he can hit and which shots he can’t.”

And more:   30-love is when you can afford to take the chance; 15-30 is when you can’t. At 30-30 get your first serve in play. On big points against an opponent at the net, play the ball up the middle, to force an error or to pass with the next shot.

Punish second-serve returns so opponent feels pressure when serving, leading to double faults (note I believe Connors received more double faults that anyone who played in his era). And finally, lob early and often to keep your opponent guessing.

Segura was one of the best players in the world, playing against Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, and Pancho Gonzalez. Said Trabert, “Every town we’d go to, there’d be the headliners, but so many times, ‘Segu’ would be the one who’d win the crowd over.”

So enjoy the game – work on your tennis – and take a few moments at the International Tennis Hall of Fame

And be sure to check out ETI Network – where this month we focus on an actionable lesson plans on Segura’s tactics.

In 1962, Segura became tennis director at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. A few years later, he would commence a relationship with his most famous pupil, a driven youngster from Illinois named Jimmy Connors. Having been taught exemplary fundamentals by his mother, Gloria, Connors was, in his words, “ready to take my game to the next level.” As Caroline Seebohm writes in “Little Pancho,” her elegant new biography, “All Pancho’s love for the game would now be passed on to his eager pupil, who could hardly wait to follow in the steps of the master.”

The court was Segura’s classroom, a cocktail napkin his chalkboard, the wise old man showing the youngster every trick possible with drills and practice matches against the likes of himself and Gonzalez on the court, and drawings and discourse off it. By 1974, under the tutelage of his mother and Segura, Connors had become the world’s best player. “I could get him in a hypnotic stage,” Segura said.

Ours is a wonderful, but equally ours is a very difficult game.

We have all had days when we played great, sometimes unexpectedly great.

And we have all had days when we played far far below our best level, said another way far below our expectations.

When some say the game is 95% mental, I am now coming to understand that this “mental thing” is about a mind that is quiet, free from expectation or worry, a mind that is open and totally present centered.

But from personal experience, I confess I am not always accessing that special state – but I am working on it.

That said  many months ago (January of 2011 to be precise)  I published an article on Ivan Lendl, and the chance that Andy Murray would then hook up with the sports psychologist who had made such a difference in Lendl’s career.

Sure enough, in October of this year (2012) Andy Murray has gone on record that he has been working with Alexis Castorri.

The following from the Independent in England is well worth reading.

Andy Murray tells BBC Scotland that he has been working with sports psychologist Alexis Castorri since the start of the season. Murray’s coach, Ivan Lendl, recommended Castorri, whom he also worked with.

“I spoke about things away from the court that may affect you and stop you from being fully focused on tennis,” Murray said. “A lot of athletes use sports psychologists. I had in the past and it hadn’t worked particularly well for me. It’s something when I spoke to Ivan [about] at the beginning of the year, he’d travelled with a sports psychologist throughout his career. He asked if I was open to trying it and I said ‘yes.”

Andy Murray had doubted the value of psychologists in the past but the 25-year-old Scot revealed here last night that he has been consulting one for most of this year. Ivan Lendl, Murray’s coach, suggested that the world No 3 could benefit from seeing Alexis Castorri, a psychologist based in Fort Lauderdale who helped him during his own career.

Murray believes the sessions with Castorri have helped him on the court as well and played a significant part in his victory at the US Open last month, when he became the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title for 76 years.

“When my mind isn’t free of everything, when things might be frustrating me away from the court, I can’t focus as well as I need to,” Murray said. “When my mind’s clear, I can go on the court and play, not worry about anything else. I can play much better and think a lot better on the court.”

The basis of Castorri’s work comes from logotherapy – the idea that truly the only choice you have in life is attitude – the mental and emotional reactions you choose to the events in your day to day life.

And when it comes to playing your best tennis, to quieting your mind, and becoming present centered – it is possible for you to truly learn to “choose” this emotional state.

I published the following article January 16th – and truly I believe as regards attitude, logotherapy and Andy Murray – you read it here first!

And now if you have made a decision to work on your attitude – consider the ETI Network – we have over 30 online lesson articles devoted entirely to the “mental game.”  And further, throughout the coming year I am going to work personally, as well as instructionally through this site and our online product stream, on training methods and states associated with that elusive yet oh so powerful feeling when in the “zone.”

What are your thoughts, or better yet, when have you been “in the zone?”  Share your comments, this is an interesting topic.

PS.  Djokovic and Wawrinka just finished a marathon 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 12-10 match, with Novak yet again on top.  Consider his 5 hour 5 set match over Murray in last years Australian Open semifinal, followed by his nearly 6  hour victory over Nadal in the finals.  Couple this with his 5 set two match points down victory over Federer in the 2012 US Open semifinals, and his subsequent 5 set 5 hour victory over Nadal to capture the US Open title – and what we have here is an attitude – a commitment – a steely resolve of a player who “refuses to lose.”  Amazing.  Can you imagine the pressure felt by opponents as a match with Novak enters either the 5th set and or the 5th hour.  Attitude – plain and simple.

Time and Angle.  Tactics – plain and simple.

If you move the opponent well behind the baseline – you will have more time to respond, and their angle of play becomes smaller.

If that opponent is as deep but in one corner or the other, their angle remains the same but their cross court shot will cross the sideline at a steeper angle.

The famous Jack Kramer was known to play the ball deep and up the middle, whenever he had not gained control of the point with his serve or volley.

The same will work for you.

If you want more length and less effort on your forehand – check out STREAMLINING – using the template of an overhand throwing motion see how your legs, hips, torso, and even your non dominant throwing arm unlock a flowing streamlined forehand – REALLY

Sometimes those forehands are deliberate and practiced (that is good). Other times those forehands are wristy, in poor form, somehow not acknowledged as genuine practice opportunities.

Truly – practice makes permanent. Practice makes perfect only (repeat ONLY) when practicing perfectly.

But what of the one handed backhand? What of finding and becoming comfortable with a genuine eastern backhand grip?

In classes as well as observation of play at our club, nearly all players could improve this shot. The question is how. The answer – DELIBERATE BACKHAND DROP HITS.

If every time you started a rally, every time you took the ball out of your pocket, every chance you got – you performed a correct, graceful, flowing, one handed backhand – in no time at all you would grow more confidence, improve your consistency and accuracy, and come to terms with a genuine backhand grip.

As a holiday bonus, I am including one of the 40 lessons from within “Mastering the Backhand” – to share in more detail the nuances of this special drop hit shot.

Racquet back before the bounce – contact well in front – a long and deliberate follow thru along the target line.

Check it out – this stuff works.

Check out Mastering The Backhand to learn more, in the meantime make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think of this lesson.

Ours is a game of managing errors, of keeping the ball in play, and with each and every shot always playing the percentages.

Play the ball close to the line, you encounter the risk of an error.  Play the ball close to the line when the opponent is out of position, now the reward may outweigh the risk.

But worse, sometimes it is possible to lose points simply because you are never truly taking any risks.

With this in mind, consider the line of the incoming ball, and whether you return the ball back along that same line – and this play will always minimize errors.  You are playing essentially as a wall.  But if you change the line, such that you take a cross court and return if up the line, or you take an up the line and return it cross court – in those instances you are changing the line of play.

If the opponent hits the ball much harder (setting up a power line) then your decisions become much more important, said another way certain decisions expose you to much more risk.

I recommend always play back along incoming cross court power lines – minimize risk, let them change the line.

Forgive the following “tooting of my own horn” but the response was incredible, including standing room only in the double seminar room.

That said, the nut of the presentation concerned the mechanics of an overhand throwing motion, and how in many instances junior tournament players serve better and with far less effort when using the sidespin serve.  For the kick serve, truly, has far less in common with an overhand throwing motion, and often results in a serve that appears awkward and effortful.

I presented a video, courtesy Kim Shanley of TennisOne.com, that compared the service motions of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.  And this was indeed a sharp contrast where Serena tosses just high enough, Maria tosses way way too high.  Serena hits in a sidespin contact orientation, Maria in an exaggerated kick contact.  Serena is balanced and goes up to the ball, Maria leans way to the left and appears to be falling down.  And finally, Serena has a subtle back leg kick, Maria’s is massive – and to my mind that singularly represents the amount of effort used within the serve.

And for better or worse, in my (humble) opinion – most of the juniors are hitting kick serves and emulating Maria – and darn few appreciate just how simple, fluid and effortless Serena serves by comparison.

Using side by side videos that could be synchronized to the release of the toss, to the point of contact, or to elements on the follow through – the following screen capture stills (of the video) show significant differences.

Toss release

Both have their weight relatively “back”

But of the two Maria already betrays “effort”

After all, this is just a toss!

Impact

Serena is balanced and going up – note the line from her left foot to the racquet

Maria is leaning way left and moving down – again note the line

Leg Kick

Though many coaches train and emphasize this leg kick, I believe it indicates effort (or over-effort)

Do the comparison yourself.

As an active junior tournament coach, I see many players with powerful forehands, outstanding movement,   but often with remarkably inefficient serves.

These same players spend most of their time honing yet more power and spin on the forehand, while their serve, generally a kick, is rarely practiced and remains a liability.

To my eye the issue is two fold – first these same players must develop a strong and flowing overhand throwing motion, and second they must develop the sidespin serve before ever beginning work on the kicker.

Do any of these problems sound familiar?  (This goes for boys as well as girls)

• The toss is too high, often way too high, and generally drifts to the left
• The service motion stops with a hitch or pause in the middle of the motion
• The serve appears effortful and muscular – rather than rhythmic and flowing
• The player is unable to create much spin on the second serve
• The shoulder hurts – often connected to an awkward looking kick serve

The solution

Build a sidespin serve  (NOT KICK) using the balance, rhythm and mechanics of a simple and strong overhand throwing motion.

The basic elements of a loose and rhythmic serve or throwing motion include:

• Keeping the weight back and on the back foot as the motion begins – balance
• Unwinding the hips and shoulders to pull the arm forward – rhythm
• Leading with a bent elbow – this creates sidespin in the service delivery
• Releasing the ball with the arm in a straight line with the shoulders – this position cannot be found at contact in the junior version of the kick serve!!!
• Throwing/serving with a continuous motion – pitchers DO NOT HITCH – means servers must lower the toss

The Stanford Biomechanical Engineering department studied the services of WTA pro’s at the Bank of the West tournament.  The research examined possible causes of shoulder injuries that occur across the women’s (and by extension the junior) circuit.

The graphs below show considerably more force (stress) to the shoulder from kick serves.  Which, for better or worse, appears to be the predominant junior serve model.

Dr. Geoff Abrams and Dr. Mark Safran, Stanford University, 2011

Want to improve the flow and mechanics of your overhand throwing motion – and then overlay that on your own serve – then check out Streamling from my online coursework

Timing – we have all felt the effortless hits and unfortunately we all have at one time or another, felt the effortful hits.

One of the most important sequence during the serve occurs with regard to the racquet drop and the knee bend.

In general, on the serve, one must fire in quick sequence large muscles first leading to smaller and then smaller muscles, culminating in a whip at the top of the swing.

As regards the racquet drop and knee bend, the best one I heard on this was from Vic Braden, who said, “Fire the extensors baby!”

Check this one out – it makes sense and will help – guaranteed.

I will be part of a special tennis camp in Nuevo Vallarta at the Five Star Marival Residence Resort with Scott Borowiak Tennis and Golf Tours November 28-December 5^th

I am joining four other USPTA Coaches including Scott and Stanford Hall of Fame coach Dick Gould.

This is run by a lifelong friend of mine, Scott Borowiak, who has been coordinating tennis travel programs for over twenty years. We grew up together in Lafayette California in the 1960′s.  His brother Jeff, myself and many others were all trained by our first (and best) coach Blackie Jones.

I wanted to let you know that the tennis program includes two hours of instruction in small groups (3-5 people) followed by afternoon social match play and strategy sessions.

I will be teaching four or five people in small groups each morning for two hours.  Then in the afternoon (provided I am not surfing) I will be one of the featured pros working with larger groups.

Gravity footwork.  The Pete Sampras snap.  Pancho Gonzalez’ three fingered serve.  We will have some fun.  I hope to see some of you there.

This is a great opportunity for players of ALL levels to improve their game and learn from a variety of coaches!

Space for tennis players is limited for tennis so if you are interested I urge you to checkout the details soon at www.tennisandgolftours.com

Feel free to ask any questions about this event.

We had a tremendous response from you on your picks.  In the women’s Greg got it precisely correct !  He picked Serena over Azarenka 7-5 in the third.  Greg, choose something from our product line – and it is all yours.

The men’s picks were not as precise, we had two who picked the winner and runner up, as well as in 5 sets, both picked 6-3 in the fifth and truly that is good enough for me.   So the winners for the men are Joe Farah and Wan Rahman – go shopping in our product site and let me know.

Consider both matches when everything was on the line.  In both instances I suggest it was the serve that made the difference.  Azarenka served for the title at 5-3 in the third and was broken at love.  Yes Serena was stepping up, but equally at that point in time Vika needed something big and into the corners.  Equally, in the men’s 5th set Murray’s serving stats were well ahead of Djokovic – 70% of first serves in play, winning 71% of those points, while Novak got 45% of his first serves in play and won just 38% of those deliveries.  Two service breaks, 30 points won vs 19 for Novak, this fifth set was a formality.

Two years ago at the Australian Open the statistics were nearly reversed, where Murray served poorly, and Novak made him pay for it.  But Andy has clearly put in the work, evident in his narrow loss in the Wimbledon finals, his Olympic gold medal and now his first Grand Slam title.

Are you doing the work on your serve?  Not necessarily bombs and cannonball serves (remember that from the 60′s) but more about the confidence to place the ball to all parts of the service box, and to come up with the goods on big points when an unreturnable serve is needed.

Tell me about your serve – what are your projects – are you making progress?  And have you checked out our latest product run BTS 3.0

Serena is the story in the women’s draw.  Yes Azarenka is showing good hardcourt form, but with the best serve in the history of the women’s game – the ball is in Serena’s court and the title (as they say) is on her racquet.  She has continued to improve her fitness, she feels she is “Number 1″ in spite of rankings that may say otherwise.

As regards the men, the ATP Ricoh match facts tell an interesting story.

Federer, riding high with his 17th grand slam title and a 6-0 set against Djokovic – leads in the serving categories

And if you are only as good as your second serve, Federer rules the roost in first place winning 60% of the points on his second serve, and winning 91% of his service games, Novak is 6th at 87%, Murray is 18th holding serve 84% of the time.

Murray is at the top of the match fact board when it comes to the return   game.

Andy leads in points won returning second serve, Djokovic is one hair behind in second place 56 to 55%, Federer is 20th at 50% (most probably occurring out wide to the ad court).

And finally, his coach Ivan Lendl returns to familiar territory.

This could be Murray’s Grand Slam breakthrough.

But interestingly, I don’t believe Djokovic is serving as well as he has or as well as he needs to.

Djokovic is second in points won returning the 1st serve, Murray is 9th, Novak is 2nd in return games won, Murray is 5th and Roger 17th

Something about technique – check Novak as though a spinning top – he is totally vertical, no wobbling, and not off balance.  But further, look at his hitting arm and racquet – at right angles to his spinning torso.  Levers work best when at right angles to a turning axis – this one is worth working on for you and me.

Forecasting –  I am reluctant on this one.  In the main, I love this event, watching the tele day and night.  The coverage and camera angles are superb.  And the evening matches played under the lights in the Arthur Ashe stadium are truly spectacular.

So here goes – I believe both Andy and Novak are more prone to an early round upset than is Roger.  But if they follow their seedings, Andy will play Roger and Novak will play David Ferrer.  So the finalist who plays the shorter semifinal match will have the slightest edge.  As much as last years semifinal match between Roger and Novak came down to a match point ball on the line (rather than one inch out) I think this years title is up for grabs.  A toss up.  A contest.  No clear favorite.

Federer played out of sorts – what’s up with that.  And Andy Murray is breaking through.  Big time.

He was ahead in the Wimbledon finals until the roof closed and Roger found his winning form.  The match was close, the roof closure did make  the difference.

This time around I believe the courts were ever so slightly more dry than during the Wimbledon fortnight.  And where Roger can dominate when the grass court plays fast, something looked strangely different in his semifinal with Juan Martin Del Potro.  Uncharacteristic errors, a hesitancy, and perhaps more retrieving than we have come to expect.  As to Roger’s greatly improved backhand, that improvement has had more to do with topspin on the backhand wing.  For somehow his under spin return of serve from the ad court can be either lethal when skidding low, or just average when sitting up.

2 for 13 in break points against Del Potro, 0 for 9 on break points against Murray (including 0 for 6 in the critical third game of the opening set) and there becomes a story about his backhand return.  (Though that return has still been part and parcel of 17 Grand Slam titles).

Consider Andy Murray’s newfound strength of purpose.  He calmly told John McEnroe in post match remarks after beating Djokovic 75 75, that for the finals he “had a plan.”  And he spoke this with a smiling certainty.  As to Ivan Lendl, who was not present, but had kept in touch throughout the Olympics, there has been an undeniable steadying influence. “I spoke to Ivan Lendl after the Wimbledon final, and he said to me, ‘You’ll never play under more pressure than you did in the Wimbledon final,’ ”   “I’m able to deal with the situations better now, and I did. I felt much more comfortable on the court.”

As to your game and mine, let’s review Andy’s game with particular emphasis on balance.  Whereas Roger can beat you with his serve or his forehand, where Del Potro comes at you with a massive forehand, and where Rafa can dominate with a massive topspin forehand, to my mind Murray plays with much more balance, where he can hurt you with a balanced set of skills.  Certainly the match stats do in fact tell that tale.

In years past, Murray’s Achilles Heel was his second serve.  Somehow a delivery without penetration or even purpose, more or less spinning it in, and at this level of tennis that had not stood up to the competition.  But no more.  In the finals he won as astounding 63% of the points on his seconds serve, compared to 37% of points Roger won on his second serve.  More than anything else that was the whole story.   Murray had 8 winners on his forehand and 9 winners on his backhand.  Finally he outhit Roger, with 27 winners to the losers 24, and made almost half as many unforced errors, 17 to 31 for Roger.

When you or I have an off day, it can be us, or truly it can be something the opponent did to cause this.  Federer had a really off day – but to my mind we celebrate Andy as the cause of this, as the Gold Medal titlist, and as the next guy to wrest the stranglehold at the top of the men’s game from Roger, from Rafa, and now it appears from Novak.

If you compare points won on second serve, that statistic will always (repeat ALWAYS) indicate the winner of any match (professional or amateur).  Murray has significantly improved his game in that important area.

Next time you are on court, pay attention to your points won and lost on second serve deliveries – and keep your eyes open for a new release of BTS3 – Building the Serve from the Ground Up – our first and now greatly improved instructional course.

The incoming shot “feels heavy” when that shot has a lot of momentum.

Generally heavy shots are produced with a combination of racquet speed as well as body weight “against the ball.”

But (as always) there is more.  In addition, I believe it has to do with perception.  If the player times their racquet acceleration and weight shift – the appearance is of minimal effort – and that cue often surprises us when the ball arrives heavily.

Whereas when the player leaps, grunts, and whips the racquet – those cues may more readily help us to identify a ball arriving with significant momentum.

Heavy balls feel like they shoot through the court, seem to have more pace after the bounce, and often produce late or defensive replies.

Want to hit heavily (hold on here what follows is old school) – bring your body weight and racquet against the ball.

Let me know what you think…

As far as stadiums and center courts go – why can’t the US figure this out?  Wimbledon has no corporate boxes, the stadium is large but intimate, and easily covered in the rain.  Whereas Arthur Ashe stadium is massive, way way too big, and certainly had Arthur been alive  during the naming and construction –  someone might have suggested something smaller.

Upsets!! Lukas Rosol upset Rafael Nadal in the second round 67 64 64 26 64.  The match was halted at the end of the fourth set, Nadal had at that point seized the momentum, and it appeared a forgone conclusion that Nadal would easily prevail in the fifth.

Or so we thought.

Rosol broke Nadal in the first game of the fifth set.  And on that break point we saw something interesting.  Nadal served big down the middle to the “T” in the ad court, Rosol scrambled to put up a weak and short return, Nadal moved forward and then …… instead of rifling the ball for a winner to either corner, Rafa blasted an approach up the middle that landed on the service line (repeat landed on the service line) which Rosol spanked cross court to force a backhand volley error.  We are all human, so is Rafa.  Confidence ebbs and flows for us all – and this particular point spoke volumes about Rafa’s state of mind.  Rosol calmly served out the remainder of his service games, yielding but 3 points on serve in the fifth set.  Nice work.

Talking heads – unfortunately Martina and Mary Carillo (mistakenly and I wish they would apologize for this) said that this match was a flash in the pan and Rosol would likely never produce such tennis again.  WRONG.  Doubly WRONG.  Why couldn’t these people simply congratulate this guy on an excellent match, played with stellar tactics.  Consider that the other “telling losses” Rafa has suffered over the years have occurred against just such big hitters – Soderling at the French, Tsonga in Australian and Del Potro in New York.  If you want to rally and grind with Rafa, nearly everyone loses at that game.  If Rosol chose to hit and go for his shots, which he did, then it was not luck, not a flash in the pan, but a player whose game and tactics were poised for such an upset.  And note, Rosol did lose in the next round to Philipp Kohlschreiber, who had beaten Rafa earlier in Queens, and who played through to the quarterfinals losing finally to Tsonga.

Serena – what a success story, from Compton no less.  Foot surgery, pulmonary embolism , losing in the first round of the French Open.  But this child can serve, and it appears she will do so for the next 5, 10 or even 15 years.  Remember Pancho Gonzalez who had the best serve in his era, was winning tournaments in his 40′s.  Serena can do the same.

Chris Evert was close to having it correct.  In match and post match comments Chris noted Serena’s balance (good) her fluidity (good) and her toss which Chris put up to having a good left arm (crazy).  Then Chris noted that most of the ladies serve with a hitch but Serena doesn’t (good) but she left it at that.  Gang – Serena tosses lower, nothing more – and this lower toss unlocks the fluidity – and all with a hitch as well as those with errant tosses – have one thing in common – overly high tosses.  Just because Soderling, and Berdych, and Graf, and Sharapova – all have or had really high tosses – that doesn’t make that a good thing.  it is (was) just a thing – one way to serve – nothing more and nothing less.  Chrissie – lets work on your serve – lower the toss and find the rhythm.

Federer – post match analysis said it all.  Cahill and Gilbert noted that Pete loved to win, Jimmy loved to compete, but Roger loves the game.  Man how he loves this game.  Consider the sidespin backhand volley drop shot to punctuate set point in the third set.  Actually i had seen him practice just such a trick shot in Palm Springs earlier in the year.  Or the simple yet elegant backhand cross court backhand passing shot to break Murray’s serve in the fourth set – somehow Roger engineered the point causing Andy to approach cross court off his backhand wing (yes this did look awkward) to which Roger passed easily with a cross court dipping backhand winner – without a glimmer of effort.  Finally, remember the 15, 18 and 20 plus shot rallies, where somehow it looked as though Murray was the one ever so slightly out of breath.  Age is just a number.  Agassi made a fantastic run in his early 30′s – Fed is ready to make his own statement.

A wonderful tournament.  Wonderful players.  A wonderful game.  We are the lucky ones.

What are your thoughts about the final?

Tennis – moving and hitting – not really much more to it.  Quicker players have an advantage, consistent power hitters have an advantage.

When it comes to improving the moving, the footwork, your getting to the ball and recovering back to center – there are many training methods to chose from.  The first and most obvious choice concerns weight training, where stronger muscles may help you “explode” to the ball.  Another variation includes actual dance and balance exercises, where the goal becomes moving with more grace and less effort.

But no matter your current performance, or your training methods, consider the following question.

“You are positioned on the baseline – ready to go in either direction – you see the ball is coming wide and fast to your forehand side (this assumes you are right handed) – which foot do you move first and where?   Said another way, how do you initiate quick movement to the ball?

As you can probably imagine, I have a few ideas on this topic.

The courts look magnificent – so green – never mind how worn they will look by the end of next week.

And though grass courts play faster than clay, and the ball bounces lower (Fed loves this, so did Pete) the courts are not nearly as slick as they were a generation ago.

Certainly we don’t see the vaunted serve and volley game of previous champions (Becker, Edberg, Cash, Newcombe, Laver, Smith, Ashe – certainly there must be more to this list) but nevertheless, the serve is an undeniable weapon on these grass courts.

As you (and I) enjoy this fortnight of tennis, take a moment or two to observe the differences in serving technique amongst the players.  Not as regards right or wrong, correct or incorrect, but simply your own estimation of a server’s proficiency.

Some grunt heavily when serving – Novak.

Some grimace at the beginning of the serve – Rafa

Some whip the racquet with effortless fluidity – Milos (Raonic)

Some toss overly high – Maria (but her shoulder and her confidence are now much much improved)

Some serve with unshakeable confidence – Serena

And one could capture an elusive Grand Slam title if only the 2nd serve was much better – Andy

But in each and every case, if you look closely you will see nuances of balance, rhythm and efficiency.  Were I to recommend a serve to copy – it would certainly be either Serena or Roger – for both can pinpoint their serves to all corners of the service box without noticeable effort.

We will take a deeper look at selected aspects of the service delivery within the July issue of the ETI Network – but for now I ask you to observe, to compare and contrast, and even to imagine which player most resembles your own service action.  Which brings me to another point….

We are always looking for new resources, methods or points of view to help us play a little bit better.  On that score I have something entirely new…

We have just taken the first step at making available a version of one of our most popular products in iTunes.

This means you can take it, or me for that matter, with you in your iPad or iPhone wherever you go and access it any time. Our first product has just been released to the iTunes store.

It is a streamlined version of Mastering the Kick Serve 2.0 – which sells for $97, but that is not what you would pay for the version in iTunes.

Now, if you are working on your game, and working to play better – what better way to use our coaching materials than on your mobile device – at home or on court.  I also have a surprise in store for you if you are interested to learn more…

Read more about this product and watch a video that shows you a live demo of the app on my iPad …. but I also wanted to ask…

What is it that makes the kick serve so hard to learn, for nearly everyone tells me that it is?  And secondly, why is this serve so darn important?  Most may not know this answer…

Before I tell you what I think on these two questions,  tell me what you think?

Match statistics sometimes tell the story, generally highlighted by disparities in points won on the second serve.  But in this match as well as this tournament I believe two stats tell the story.

In the final, both overall as well as in the conclusive 4th set, the story was entirely unforced errors.  The point totals were similar, Nadal won 125 points to Djokovic’s 116.  The total number of winners were similar, overall he led with 39 to 34, and in the 4th set again he led  13 to 11.  But when it came to keeping the ball in play, and pressuring the opponent by simply never missing, Nadal was and is  truly the world’s best – Rafa made 29 unforced errors compared to 53 for the Serb, and in the final set Rafa missed 7 unforced shots compared to twice as many, 15 to be exact from the losers racquet.

The other one that caught my eye concerns break points.  Coming into the final Nadal had faced 19 break points, and had saved 18. He had been broken only once in 6 rounds on the slow clay courts.  There is a story there.  Read on.

First and foremost, Nadal plays with unbridled confidence, truly an indomitable will.  In our own games, we have played the occasional (as well as unfortunately memorable) opponent who simply refused to lose.  No matter the score, the conditions, or even our own skills – these players are somehow impossible to play.  On clay, and perhaps on all the other surfaces following this tournament – Rafa plays with unshakeable confidence.  Terms coming to mind include resilience, will power, even belief.  And these qualities have an undeniable effect on the opponent.  I find it unusual that the number one player in the world would now conclude two matches against Nadal with a match point double fault – and there can be no other explanation than that the server, in this case the loser was mentally broken.  The announcers described the amazing physical toll these matches take, but to my mind the mental struggle can be yet more difficult.

Comsider Rafa in the following light:

• Resilience – the ability to recover readily from adversity, buoyancy.
• Will Power – the trait of resolutely controlling one’s own behavior.
• Belief – conviction, confidence, faith trust.

The backhand, his backhand, perhaps the most underrated stroke in the men’s game.  In spite of his bolo style, reverse finishing whip lash forehand, Rafa has a great backhand.  Not nearly as much topspin as the forehand wing, but he doesn’t miss this shot, and he can thread the needle when needed.  I believe Rafa runs around this shot less often that at earlier times in his career, and certainly in the final it was Djokovic who exposed his own court, running around the backhand far more often than Rafa. Something similar happened years ago when Andre Agassi made his final run to the top of the game rebounding from a slump that left him with a ranking of 141st.  The young flamboyant (we all remember) Agassi would hit forehands from all parts of the court, in some ways showing the world a style of play based on ferocious forehand power, but having little to do with court positioning.  But in the second stage of his career, I saw Agassi hold his ground, run around backhands far less, and basically punish the ball off both wings.  If you get a chance to see a replay of the French final, note the difference in court positioning between Rafa and Novak, and it had to do with this specific play.  To my mind, and this goes for you as well, if the ball comes to your backhand wing, hit a backhand.  And if your backhand is not as good as your forehand, then start working on your backhand.

Finally, consider the break points.  Generally,  most of the 19 break points Rafa faced were in the ad court.  Rafa serves with truly excellent sidespin, he does not (repeat NOT) hit the kicker.  And when an opponent returns the wide serve in this ad court, Rafa is nearly unbeatable.  Federer knows this as well, some years ago Roger had 13 break points against Rafa in a Wimbledon final, and converted 1.  Consider the receivers options.  Returning this wide serve cross court, plays into Rafa’s forehand wing.  Returning up the line, exposes the opponent to a court opening backhand cross court.  And in either instance, Rafa creates a scenario where the opponent is running from side to side.  Truly, who would want to be in any kind of footrace with this dude – uncle Tony was the genius who moved Rafa to a left handed style – and it had to do entirely with this left handed sidespin ad court scenario.

I received, and have used, the following poem (written by Walter Wintle) from Fred Earle, one of Northern California’s all time best tennis coaches, as well as a mentor of mine.  Fred worked wonders with self confidence and belief.  Rafa brings this belief to Wimbledon and then the Olympics.  He truly walks the following walk – see if you can learn to do the same.

If you think you are beaten you are
If you think you dare not, you won’t
If you like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a cinch you won’t
If you think you will lose you’re lost
For out in the world you will find
Success begins with a person’s will
It is all in the state of mind
If you think you are out classed, you are
You have got to think high to rise
You must be sure of your self before you can ever win a prize
Prizes don’t always go to the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can

Thanks Fred, and good luck to you Rafa!

Robin Soderling beat him in 2009, graciously opening the  door for Roger Federer to capture his first (only??) French Crown.

Years before Bjorn Borg was nearly as invincible, winning 6 titles on the clay over a span of 8 years (and throwing in 5 consecutive Wimbledons to boot).

But yes the game has changed, more power, more topspin, more physicality, and certainly new racquets and string.  As we marvel at Rafa’s run in the coming week, I believe there are THREE basic elements to his dominant play – and at a mortal level these THREE elements can work as well within your game.  Rafa wins because of his depth, his recovery, his ability to pull the trigger – and if you want a fourth how dangerous he becomes when pulled totally out of position.

Depth – at any level of the game, players work on keeping the ball deep.  Rafa more than all the others keeps the ball routinely deep, very deep.  Tactically, deep shots push the opponent behind the baseline (though on this score Agassi never really backed up).  And when the opponent is well behind the baseline, Rafa has more time to get to the ball, and the opponent’s hitting angle is ever so slightly smaller.  Advantage Rafa, in this scenario he is delighted to grind and get to everything.

Recovery – as much as quickness matters when moving to the ball, equally if not even more important is the quickness and determination for recovery steps.  Whenever possible Rafa (as well as you) moves precisely back to the midline of the opponent’s angle of play.  He will shade off center in some instances if he feels the opponent is not in control, and within this shading he obviously positions to get more forehands than backhands.  But whenever in trouble, Rafa will always recover to the precise midline – so he has the best chance to get to as many shots as possible.

Pulling the trigger – Rafa is as good as it gets when he moves inside the baseline – and whether his forehand topspin inside out whipper, or his deadly two fisted backhand – when the court is open Rafa can and will finish the point.  This incredibly confident offense places yet more pressure on the opponent – such that all are more error prone against this Spanish Master.

Dangerous when cornered – Novak has a bit of this himself, but to my mind more than any player ever, Rafa is amazing when stretched totally wide, out of position, and off balance.  A bit like a cornered animal, in these situations Rafa as often as not will thread the needle with inexplicable winners.  Imagine the pressure you would feel if your absolute best shots are returned with winners.  Keep the ball up the middle, Rafa will run you to death.  Play the ball to the corners to win the point, and again he comes up with the goods.

Now two things.

When taking your own game to the court, become much more aware of the depth of your shots.  Work on dynamic recovery steps, this might even include running rather than side stepping back to center.  Finally, keep track of how often you move forward, inside the baseline, to finish the point with threading the needle winners to the corners.

Can Rafa do it again?  Novak is lurking in the shadows.  He is avoiding the glare, the spotlight, even the grounds of Roland Garros between matches.  If he comes through it will be four consecutive Grand Slams.  But this clay court season Rafa has truly turned the tables on the Serb, beating him easily in Rome culminating with a match point double fault from the world’s number one (note rarely if ever does that occur – the world’s best finishing a match with a double fault – and this speaks to confidence or rather a lack of that stuff).  I see Rafa as the prohibitive favorite, playing with confidence, and knowing that really no one in the draw is as good as he is at the three keys to the clay court game – he plays with the best depth, he moves better than anyone else, and when the ball is short he pounces like the cat.

This will be a good week of tennis – that said I am still rooting for Federer.  What do you think?

Take your time with this one.  As regards movement, balance, and dance steps to the ball, nearly all of this material comes from my work with Tom Stow.

And I believe that the following lesson directly addresses the following comments, made after a first round loss at Roland Garros, “My first step is so bad on this stuff, I feel like I am always shuffling or hopping or not stopping or something.”  Read on!

Hopefully you have seen and worked through the podcast entitled Weighting and Waiting.

And as a subtle review, baseball batters “wait” on the pitch with their “weight” back.  Similarly, pitchers and quarterbacks start their throwing motion with their “weight” back.

But somehow in tennis, many players shift onto the front foot when “waiting” and in these instances they lose power and rhythm.

Which also explains why so many of us prefer to play with someone who hits the ball firmly, not overpowering necessarily, but firmly enough to help us establish our own rhythm.

Moving in twos addresses this scenario, with a specific footwork drill, where steps to the ball are always (when possible) in multiples of two.  But, only if the first step in the two step sequence is with the front foot.

Check it out, practice a bit before your next match, if not in your backyard, and your rhythm will be the better for it.

GUARANTEED!

Let me know what you think…

In addition to consistency, control, spin and power, much less trying to produce your best tennis when the chips are down, a large part of the game includes your precise awareness of the conditions – meaning the direction of the wind, as well as the location of the sun.

The next time you are on court with the sun high in the sky, but equally when it is at your back, take special notice of your shadow.  As the sun moves through the sky the line or alignment of the shadow will change.

But (THIS IS IMPORTANT) when you see your shadow pointing exactly across the net toward your opponent, try the following.

Bring her (or him) in with a short shot, and then put a lob up in the air exactly in line with your shadow.

Not an overly high lob, not a winner lob, just an average lob, but exactly “into the sun.”  I believe the results will surprise you.

And once you get the hang for this particular strategy, use if often, use it wisely, and if at all possible use it on the biggest of points – I was on the receiving end of one such play years ago and learned my lesson – though it took a few years for it to sink in (stubborn at this end)

Many ways to play this game, many ways to grip the racquet, and truly many ways to hit the ball.

Flat, topspin, slice, sidespin, under spin – just to name a few (if not them all).

We know to hit up on the ball for topspin, to swing slightly down on the ball for slice or under spin, and to swing more or less level for a flat hit.  And one proviso, the ball will always leave the racquet with some amount of spin, it is impossible to hit the ball perfectly flat.  But for our purposes, flat will mean a ball with relatively little spin.

But in addition to the swing path, and how that will help produce spin, consider simply the orientation of the racquet handle as the racquet accelerates toward the ball.

Pointing the racquet handle down during a down swing will magnify that leverage (good) and pointing the racquet handle up during an upswing again will magnify that leverage (good).

Build your awareness for this “alignment” and your spin will increase – REALLY

Leave a comment and let me know what you think

Photos courtesy Jim Fawcette ©jfawcette

Yes Roger still has it. And no, those of you who are starting to write this “old guy” off have it all wrong. After his heart breaking loss to Djokovic in the US Open semifinals, where he held two match points (just as he had done in the 2010 US Open semifinals) he finished the year with a 17 match winning streak. And watching him first hand at Indian Wells for the recent BNP Paribas Open, I can assure you that Roger is playing dominant tennis.

But as much as his game is about artistry, movement, and outrageous shot making, Federer is making a statement with his serve. In an interview some months ago, when Rafa was asked what stroke on the tour he admired or wished he could have, he remarked, “Roger’s serve!” Though not nearly the fastest (think Raonic or Isner) or the biggest (think Del Potro), Roger serves with pin point accuracy and more importantly with less effort than any player on the men’s or women’s tour. On that score, think, ELASTIC ENERGY. More on that later.

In capturing his 19th Masters 1000 Shield, as well as his 4th title at Indian Wells, Roger played and beat Milos Raonic, Juan Martin Del Potro and John Isner (as well as Rafael Nadal along the way) but note those three guys are always atop or near the top of the serving stats leader board. And in every match Roger served notice – really.

Aces rank total average

• Ranoic 1st 307 16 per match
• Isner 2nd 287 15 per match
• Del Potro 3rd 194 8 per match
• Federer 4th 183 7 per match

1st serve points won

• Raonic 1st 84%
• Berdych 2nd 80%
• Federer 3rd 79%
• Isner 11th 76%

2nd serve points won

• Federer 1st 62%

Service games won

• Raonic 1st 94%
• Federer 2nd 92%
• Delpo & Isner 89%

And when Roger played these three dudes, the story line went as follows.
Against Raonic they both served 10 aces, against Del Potro Roger served 13 aces to 0 for Juan Martin, and against Isner Roger served 7 aces to John’s 4.
When it came to percentage of points won on first serve, Roger was again dominant. Against Raonic he led 88 to 75% on points won, against Del Potro he led 80 to 65% points won on first serve, and incredibly against Isner he led 94 to 71% points won on the first serve.
Finally, Roger leads all players on the tour winning an incredible 62% of points played on his second serve.
The message – excellent serving is a combination of accuracy, disguise, speed, and efficiency. Roger gets more from less effort than any player – all due to ELASTIC ENERGY.

Muscle pre-tension (elastic energy) Dr. Bruce Elliott

In a stretch‐shorten cycle, elastic energy is stored during the stretch (eccentric) phase of swing (the stretch), such that the shorten (concentric) phase of the swing is enhanced. For practical purposes, imagine a forced muscular swing as compared to one that truly appears loose or “elastic.”

Service: The trick on the serve is to drive the legs as the racquet begins to drop down behind the shoulder. The stretch of the anterior shoulder muscles (Don Kerr called this a “bulge”) is maximized by a vigorous leg drive which positions the racquet “down behind and away from the lower back” in preparation for the drive to the ball.

The key to the recovery of the elastic energy is the timing between the stretch and shorten phases of the motion. It is essential that only a short pause occurs between the backswing and forward swing phases of stroke production or at maximum knee flexion during the serve.

Translation – Roger (and Pancho above) appears looser, more relaxed, and fluid than nearly all others. If loose and relaxed, the arm will lag or trail the body, and the racquet head will lag or trail the hand. And when done in that manner, the hits resemble a whip like action more than something purposeful, or workman like. And the key will be in how low the racquet head drops as the body accelerated upward from a powerful leg drive.

Note – I will explore ELASTIC ENERGY in the April issue of our ETI Membership Network.  I filmed Roger at Indian Wells, and believe that there is much more to this relaxed loose swing than initially meets the eye.  Something similar occurs on the Djokovic two hander, but at the end of the day one can truly swing quicker and with less effort using compact swings that source elastic energy.

Consider the simplicity of Mac’s game, which truly contrasts with many of the big hitting from behind the baseline two handed backhand opponents. Mac holds his ground. Mac’s groundies are short and simple. Mac’s volley’s are short and simple. Somehow I believe that it is this simplicity in all areas of his game that allows him to play with the “big boys” at 53 years of age.

And what a backhand, if you ever want to learn how to knife the ball “McEnroe style” we have something coming down the road – but more on that later.

This same Monday night, the second match featured Kevin Anderson and Grigor Dimitrov – the match went down to the wire, finishing a little past midnight (to the delight of our own ball kid squad) with Anderson barely getting by 26 76 76. But, and this must be said, Dimitrov, nicknamed “Baby Fed” plays beautiful tennis. Quick as a cat, deadly off both wings, enormous promise, and just like Federer – he rips a full bodied one handed topspin backhand.Who says the one handed backhand is a thing of the past?

Not me.

Now to the tournament winner, Milos Raonic, defended his title with an impressive serving performance. He faced only one break point in his last two matches of the tournament, and thoroughly dominated Ryan Harrison and then Denis Istomin, both by the scores 76 62.

Yes Raonic is tall, but there are now many tall players on the tour. And yes his serve is very big, and again there are many big servers out there. But to my eye, his motion is simple, flowing, effortless, and very hard to read. Much better than Del Potro, Berdych or even Soderling. I believe Raonic had idolized Pete Sampras and has essentially copied that serve – to deadly effect.

Take a moment with the following video to really appreciate the flow – this guy is the real thing. He still has some work to do on the backhand wing, but with a weapon on the serve – the sky will be the limit.

photos courtesy Jim Fawcette

This one is entirely visual.
Draw a full circle with your racquet, visualizing the face of a clock.

At 3 and 9 o’clock, your arm is horizontal, the racquet head is well away from your body.

Down at 5 and 7 o’clock your arm points down, the racquet head falls below your hand, and your reach is not as extended as it was at 9 and 3.

Use this feel to know that when balls are low (5 and 7), you actually want to play them “inside” but when balls are bouncing up (9 and 3) you actually want to play them “up and away.”

The circle of play is a natural way to feel how your arm moves at various heights, and how to position for the low and high shots.

There have been (and will be) many articles with specific match analyses of tactics, swings of momentum and more.  I would look at this match with a broader brush.

At the end of nearly 6 hours, Djokovic broke serve at 5 all in the 5^th, and held serve to close out the match.  After 369 points – Novak somehow PREVAILED.  I heard the announcer’s use that word, and prevail is apt, for Novak simply withstood and overcame Nadal’s furious defense.

For Rafa, unerring and unflappable defense (remember what it did to Federer in the semis) is a matter of WILL   Loosely defined as the power of control the mind has over its actions, purpose or determination, with a hearty if not stubborn determination.  Rafael Nadal epitomizes will power with every movement, every reply, and with an indefatigable willingness to run for every ball.  Some of the televised slow motion close ups of his facial contortions as he ripped forehands from extreme positions spoke volumes about his effort, his indomitable will.

But when it comes to the champion, I believe Novak epitomizes BELIEF.  Conviction, assurance, confidence, trust – and as regards our game of tennis this means the belief in one’s shots.  Novak Djokovic, who has in his own words, “matured” exemplifies belief with every swing of his racquet.  Always, repeat always, going for his shots.  Where Rafa was willing to scramble, Novak moved every bit as well but more often played the ball much closer to the line.  This guy simply believes in his shots.

On this one the stats to tell the story:

And with a match this close, with so much on the line (prestige, titles, records, and even money) we cannot overlook CHANCE – the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood or controlled, “chance governs all.”  There were any number of chance events that could have turned the tide in this match, but two stand out in my mind.

In the 4^th set tiebreaker, with Djokovic serving at 5-all, Nadal retrieved from the backhand corner with a short slice backhand.  Djokovic moved forward for the kill, his signature inside out forehand, but this time his rifle shot clipped the tape.  Nadal won the next point and the set on that routine Djokovic error.  And Novak had to put that reversal behind him, though at moments within the 5th set he did not look all that “committed.”

Then in the 5^th set – Nadal serving at 4-2, 30-15, Djokovic angled a lunging forehand volley, Nadal moved forward for a relatively easy up the line pass into the open court, but mysteriously hit the ball just wide.  Inexplicable, he may remember this for some time, and there is no telling whether this was luck, bad luck, something unconscious, a momentary lapse, or again just chance.  But with that error, Novak gained energy, gained confidence, broke serve in that same game and got his “legs” back.

Ofttimes we hear the game is 95% mental.  When two opponents are evenly matched, the 5^th set is said to be about HEART.  And in this struggle between will power and belief, only the tiniest of margins separated the winner from the loser.  But in common, tremendous self confidence created the foundation for their will and belief.

I have taken the following from one of the lessons in the Mind Games section of the ETI network.

If you want to take a stab at improving your mental game, the best place to start is with Fred Earle’s 5 keys to building self-confidence.  He taught, and I believe, that if you can answer yes to these 5 questions every time you are on court in either practice or a match, you will be growing your mental game and your confidence.

1. I put out 100 per cent effort today.  I gave it all I had.
2. I maintained and sustained a positive mental attitude. Smile and enjoy what you are doing.  Your thoughts control your feelings, keep your thoughts positive.
3. I was and am patient  As you become a better player, improvement comes slower.  Be patient.
4. I allowed myself to make mistakes. Throughout life, you learn more from mistakes than from most any form of learning.
5. I accepted  full responsibility for me today. What I did and did not do is a result of me and me alone.

The 2^nd serve.  As you may know, I am always following second serve stats, and believe that more than any other number, that one always aligns with the winner.  I am slow to infer cause and effect but it was Laver among many others who said, “You are only as good as your second serve.”

Andy Murray played Novak neck and neck, down to the wire falling 75 in the fifth.  But, here we go again, in that fifth set, though he won 77% of the points on his first serve (pretty darn good against the best returner in the game) he won just 2 of 15 points on his second serve in the fifth and final set.  Unfortunately 13% conversion on 2^nd serve is just not good enough.  Murray is climbing, coach Lendl is all about no-nonsense – I firmly believe they will attack and resolve the service delivery problem, namely precession. *

In the women’s final, there came a moment when Azarenka began to dominate Sharapova, in a way that few people have truly beaten her.  Vika’s hitting was a bit crisper, her movement a bit sharper, but to me I believe there was a mental pressure on Sharapova every time she stepped up to the line for her second serve.  Over the years that delivery has been suspect with many many double faults, of late it is better, but again I believe somehow it is fraught with tension.  And in that match Maria won just 18% of the points on her second serve, winning just 3 of 17 points on that delivery.  Under pressure, rocks as well as people “crack.”

* Note to Ivan – Some years ago I tried to reach you through our mutual friend Warren Bosworth about something known as the serving window.  But you may not have received the note.  At this point I believe Andy “throws himself forward and into the hit” making for some big bombs on first serves, but with so much physical action Andy actually “wobbles.”  For better or worse, wobbling, or precession, especially on the second serve, diminishes the precision of the service delivery.  Place him in video side by side with Sampras or Federer and you will see the difference.

The lead up to this match presented a few contrasts. Federer had looked brilliant in his straight set dispatch of Juan Martin del Potro – and within this match Fed traded flashing ground strokes matching power for power, all punctuated by incredible sidespin serves to the deuce court and booming topspin backhand winners. Roger had remarked in an interview that he doesn’t necessarily work on his weaknesses (implying the backhand) as those same strokes become stronger because the opponents direct most of their play in that direction. But still whether he works on it, or it simply improves on his own – this guy hits a REAL one-handed topspin backhand.

Rafa has still been nursing wounds inflicted by his losses to Djokovic in the previous year. In capturing the 2010 US Open (over Djokovic in four sets) he appeared to have changed his service motion and added considerable speed to the delivery, with many serves reaching if not exceeding 130mph. But in 2011 that same delivery had become ever so slightly suspect, with less ball speed, less penetration, and as a result less free points. Though we cannot overlook the difficulty of serving to the best absolute serve returner in the history of the game – Novak.

So we know Rafa captured another one, and is now 8 and 2 against Federer in Grand Slam tournaments. And as ever, the match was a brilliant display of movement, angles, offense, defense, unbelievable winners, and some really other worldly winners from impossible situations (yes that is Rafa for sure).

Perhaps the match statistics may tell part of the story. And as ever, the art with statistics is not in the presentation but rather in the interpretation – so as usual I am going out on a limb. Rafa got this particular job done but serving an inordinately high percentage of first serves. That and nothing more, to my mind, tells the story of this match.

Rafa won 146 points overall, with 34 unforced errors and 36 winners. Roger won 130 points, making 63 errors with just 46 winners – and to beat this Spanish Bull one must reduce errors and increase winners. But, the serve stats provide the real eye opener.

Rafa got 77% of his first serves in play, against 64% for Roger.
Taking this further Roger had to play 49 points on his second serve, where Rafa played just 32 points on his second serve.

Pressure is always cumulative, and to my mind this swing of first and second serves told the story. But there is more. Of the 75 points won by Rafa on first serve, 33 occurred when serving down the middle to the Tee in the deuce court, and 21 occurred when serving out wide to the ad court (in both instances to Feds backhand wing).

As to the art of winning, consider the role of the first point in every game influencing momentum, pressure and more. Certainly it is much easier for you and I to serve when calling the score 15-love, and it must be (it truly must be) that many of those 33 points won to the backhand in the deuce court created an early service lead.

Brad Gilbert may have summed up this match well, saying, “Somehow Andre seemed to bring out the best in Pete (certainly that was true in their US Open contest though the same cannot be said that Pete brought out the best in Andre) and now it appears that Roger brings out the best in Rafa.” How true.

For the other semifinal – I believe it will be close, everyone agrees that Murray must be more aggressive. But as to stats, Murray must exceed 70% first serves, and must convert more than 50% of the points on his second serve, or Novak will move on.

Murray has won over $19 million in prize money, has yet to capture the elusive Grand Slam title, but has come close a few times.  He lost in the finals at last years Australian Open to Djokovic 46 26 36, but in that same year he reached the semifinals of the French, Wimbledon and the US Open (each time losing to Nadal).  Further, Andy reached the finals of the Australian Open in 2010 losing to Federer 36 46 67, and the finals of the US Open in 2008 again losing to Federer 26 57 26.

It has been his court demeanor, particularly when losing, that so many find “galling.”  Complaining, moping, deploring those in his box with his seeming “bad luck,” those are more often the actions of a petulant junior rather than a leading world class player.

Enter his new coach, Ivan Lendl, and a rather unusual quote from the Scot, “You win like a man, you lose like a man.”  As many wonder whether this coach player pairing will work, Lendl must either improve or remove the notion that Murray’s head and on court temperament has been the issue.

There may be something to this partnership, and though not readily remembered, Lendl secured his Grand Slam title run with the benefit of a particularly keen “logotherapist.”  In 1985, Alexis Castorri made the tennis player an offer he couldn’t refuse:

“I’ll bet you $1,000 I can design a physical and mental program for you and, if you follow it honestly, by the end of the U.S. Open, you will be the No. 1 player in the world.  And if you win, you don’t have to pay.”

Seven months Lendl won the US Open.

Castorri devised a program for Lendl based on logotherapy, which posits that man’s only freedom is the attitude they choose. Meaning, players must face the possibility of losing before walking on court, face that fear, and then put it behind them – perhaps this is what Murray meant when he mentioned “winning and losing like a man.”

For interesting reading, check out Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

Murray has yet one more hurdle to face.  In 2011 he was ranked 93^rd in percentage of points won on his second serve, and Djokovic was ranked first in points won returning the second serve.  This year Murray has improved a little, now ranked 66^th in this important points won on the second serve category.  But to my mind, this is still Murray’s Achilles heel.  In many matches his first serve reaches 130 mph, but in those same matches some second serves are 80mph or less.  And as I continue to study nuances of the serve, and what Pete Roger and Pancho (Gonzalez) have in common, Andy’s serve appears different.  My hunch is that he strokes it, you see way too much hand and arm speed in the follow thru, and far less snap or whip at the top of the swing.  Sampras once credited his seven Wimbledon titles to having the “best second serve in the game.”  For Andy to take the next steps, that I believe is his real project, along with (of course) playing like a “man.”

As Blackie Jones (my first coach) would ask of a student,”If there are two parts to the serve, being the toss and the swing, do you think it is better to swing at the toss, or toss into the swing?”

And as his lessons and demonstrations proceeded, we were schooled in the tempo, the technique, and the benefits for a toss that was low without being overly low, and this produced a motion that was rhythmic and flowing.

Consider servers with the overly high tosses – Del Potro, Sharapova, Safina, Berdych, Soderling – they all serve well but with an overly high toss that requires the slightest pause or hitch as the ball descends. And hopefully these servers are not playing in the wind.

Now contrast with servers who lower their tosses, essentially tossing the ball in the way of the swing – Federer, Serena, Dolgopolov, Kirilenko and remember Roscoe Tanner – they use a lower toss that unlocks a flowing rhythm.

Try this at dusk when you can see, but not perfectly. Now rhythm will be the key, and that key will unlock a serve where you are truly “tossing into the swing.”

Whether pitching, throwing footballs, unleashing your forehand, or unwinding on the overhead or the serve – your non dominant arm plays a very, very important role.

I have a daughter, and have never liked the term, “throwing like a girl.”

That said, inexperienced as well as inexpert throwers let their non dominant arm hang at their side when throwing. And in that manner the throw is one sided.

But take a look at any throwing skill and you will see the non dominant arm coil with the wind up and uncoil prior to the throw/pitch/forehand/overhead or serve.

Learn the secret that unlocks the power of the Pete Sampras serve – call it forearm rotation

But first experiment at the net before putting it into your own service delivery.

At the net put your forearm at net level and parallel to the net strap, with the racquet head at right angles to your forearm.

Now practice quickly turning your hand and wrist such that the racquet head snaps forcefully against the net strap.

Take your time, keep experimenting – and once this feels somewhat natural – toss up a few (rather than tossing down a few) and see how it feels on the serve.

You may be pleasantly surprised!

If you want to hit the ball with less effort and more power, take a page from the baseball batter or the boxer – both wait with their body weight on the back foot before swinging the bat or delivering a punch.

Too often players pay too much attention to grips, swings, and spin without ever mastering their balance.  And truly even the pitcher puts their back foot on the pitching rubber before hurling the pitch.

Once you see whether the incoming ball is a forehand or backhand, turn to the side and get onto the back foot.  And if you need to move to the ball, move in twos so that you always arrive on the back foot.

Stepping in, shifting your weight, getting the body involved, this all begins with your weight on the back foot as you wait for the incoming ball.

“You are only as good as your second serve.”

I know, I do write about this quite a lot, but I believe it – and in nearly every instance the statistics of the professional matches support the idea.

The match winner always wins more points on their second serve, and the match loser will always lose more points on their second serve.

But if you pay keen attention to patterns, as well as the opponent’s mannerisms and tendencies, you can apply more and more pressure on your opponent’s second serve.

In my own tennis life, I found it quite simple to serve against poor or defensive receivers, for there was little threat or cause for alarm.  But against aggressive receivers (and in particular one Steve Cornell) it felt like i was trying to hit better first serves than I wanted to (or was capable of hitting) and then getting hammered on my second deivery.

Further, players of that calibre somehow knew where I would place my second serve in big situations.

They were on to my strengths and weaknesses, and with a new perspective you can learn to do the same.

And where so many players are reactive if not passive against Serena, Sam took the game to her with attacking returns, excellent serving, and overall superlative play.  I would imagine that is the best Sam has ever played, and to think it came in a final, to a player who had prior to this occasion won only two singles titles on the WTA tour.

A note about the press.  Somehow far too many became fixated on the disputed call, where Serena yelled prior to Sam’s reply. The rules are the rules, a similar call was made against Bartoli, and that should be enough.  But in the initial post match movements, the cameras focused on Serena packing her bags rather than on the beaming champion.  Are we so controlled by the culture of celebrity that we couldn’t simply train the cameras on Sam.  And finally, so much of the post match commentary again focused on the disputed call nonsense.

So here goes on non-nonsense.  And for this one, the stats tell the story -

• Serena served 52% on first serves and won 62% of those points
• Sam served 65% on first serves and won 73% of those points
• Serena won 33% of the points on her second serve
• Sam won 63% of the points on her second serve
• The were more or less equal in the winners department Serena hit 19 and Sam hit 20

So the story here is serve and return.  Sam handled Serena, especially Serena’s second delivery, and please remember the glorious inside out forehand winner she struck from the ad court on her third championship point.

And secondly, Sam had her way on service games, with Serena really unable to attack or in some cases even keep the return in play.

So before you go out on court and work on your own kick serve, for truly Sam has the best one by far on the women’s tour, take some time to see and or recall how she used her legs, how she arched her back to reach up and left at impact, and how much action she had with her arm, forearm and wrist on the hit.  Her’s is a heavy if not vicious spinning delivery.  Sometimes a little flatter and to the corners, other times kicking up and away from Serena when out wide in the ad, or kicking up and into her forehand jamming her in this same ad court.

I have footage of Sam’s serve, and it is one of the instructional elements within Mastering the Kick Serve.  If you are interested please check it out but be advised, there are a number of elements to master for your own kicker, and you have to be careful with your lower back (from arching) and your shoulder (from reaching up and to the left).

P.S. As to the more ways than one comment in the title, two things.  Sam was scheduled on the grandstand court for her semifinal match, and was put at somewhat of a disadvantage, for she never played on Arthur Ashe stadium whereas Serena played most (if not all) of her matches there.  And Sam made no fuss about this at all.  But second, some years ago Sam volunteered for a research project at Stanford University on the serve, I was allowed to observe, and Sam and her coach were open, friendly, no star presence, no special treatment, just two delightful Aussies.  Sam, your victory on Sunday made my day!

Caroline Wozniacki.  Somehow I think the press needs to give her a break.  It may not be her fault that the ranking system places her at Number One, when she simply wins more matches than any other (why she is ranked 1^st) but as yet to capture a Grand Slam title.  Over the years I have had the chance to participate in a few of these press interviews and in the main the questions are desultory if not downright boring.  I would prefer a dialogue with Caroline as well as others that had more to do with how they play the game, than whether their results are meeting the expectations of others (meaning the expectations of the press).

On the “how they play the game” thing, Caroline is the consummate defensive player.  Outstanding movement and fitness, we saw just that as Svetlana Kuznetsova faded in the third set.  But more, Woz plays nearly every ball either cross court (when cornered) or up the middle (when centered).  And even when Svetlana was up a set and 4-1 in the second, Brad Gilbert saw a likely comeback.  Gang, it is near impossible to beat a player who is more consistent than you, more determined than you, and where your only chance of winning is if you can hit winners again and again and again.  Finally, as Svetlana gradually “lost her legs” the notion of first strike tennis appeared yet again as a liability.  If you hit the ball hard, attack at the start, but move poorly, these first strikers appear hurried.  For this one the stats tell the tale, Caroline made 6 more unforced errors than winners (26 to 20) where Svetlana made 38 more unforced errors than winners (48 to 40).  The third set, unfortunately, was a formality, 67 75 61.

Gilles Simon and Juan Martin del Potro played a fascinating match, where Simon moved quickly and somehow without effort, while Delpo seemed slower and slower as the match wore on (another victim of first strike tennis?).  But with Simon up two sets to one, serving at 4-5 love 40, he snatched the game and ultimately the match with some heady, offensive tennis.  I often wonder about Simon and others who grew up within the French system, where as a teenager he must have practiced so much with the older and wiser Fabrice Santoro.  And truly one could have no better on court mentor than the “Magician.” Fabrice used every inch of the court with offense, defense, under spin and guile.  To my mind Gilles played a version of that game to beat Delpo (but without Santoro’s wicked two handed under spin forehand) .

Thinking out loud.  At the end of nearly all the men’s matches, the hand shake is personal and generally includes a tap on the others back as well as some conciliatory or congratulatory words.  Somehow the women’s post match routine appears cold, perfunctory, rarely anything resembling a gracious acceptance of the result.  Anyone have a n idea of this?  And or can you suggest a female player who appears gracious in the post match scenario?

It appears it will rain most of Tuesday the 6^th, but going forward here are some thoughts on the draw and more.

Men’s draw.  In the top half the following men are through to the quarterfinals.  Djokovic will play Tipsarevic, and Federer will play Tsonga.  Tsonga has beaten Fed in their last two outings, and certainly his comeback in the Wimbledon quarters when down 2 sets to love was to that point unheard of.  The stat on the tele showed Roger 178 and 0 when leading two sets to love.  But the last three sets showcased an unusually passive Federer.  And actually I saw something similar in the 2009 US Open final, where perhaps Delpo’s power and strength about the court took something from Roger.  Certainly Jo Wilifred presents a similar daunting physique and game.  I am always rooting for Roger, and for this one he will have to serve extremely well, and keep the Tsonga forehand at bay.

In the bottom half the men are still within the round of 16.  Isner plays Simon, Young plays Murray, Ferrer plays Roddick in a rematch of the recent Davis Cup  in Austin where Ferrer defused both Andy and the American team with a straight set drubbing of the local hero.  Finally within this half Muller plays Nadal.  To my eye Murray appears very strong, he is moving exceptionally well, and sooner or later he will rise to the occasion.  John Isner at 6’10” is daunting and might even be the most dangerous player in the draw, and Rafa has yet to assert himself.  How neat if Simon could make it through to play the likely Murray.  Roddick may be the happiest, flying under the radar, no real expectations on him – look for Andy to surprise everyone.

Women’s draw.  In the quarters Wozniacki plays Petkovic and Serena battles Paylyuchenkova in the top half.  In the bottom half Kerver plays Pennetta and Stosur plays against Zvonareva.  With the single best stroke in the history of the women’s game, Serena and her indomitable serve still appear to be the story.

PS.  Aleandr Dolgopolov.  Gifted, a shot maker, unpredictable, with a serve reminiscent of Roscoe Tanner or Kevin Curren (that’s right he just tosses it up and hits it almost as it is rising).  Darren Cahill described his game as “funky” but I disagree.  He is the contrarian, the outlier, the Black Swan (sorry Nasim this may be a stretch), the guy who is so difficult to play because of his unpredictability.  I look for him to crack the top 10 and more – just give the kid a little time.

Video Courtesy of Jim Fawcette

Top of the Bounce – Playing from above the net.

Watch the professional players who are adept at moving inside the baseline to finish the point.  They will invariably make contact when the ball is well above the net, if not the absolute apex of the bounce.

And at this height (which is nearly always above the level of the net) the net is less an obstacle.  In fact, in many instances it appears the stroke and follow through are almost level if not slightly down, that is they are driving the ball over the net but down and into the court.

And to my mind, the problem occurs when beginning to learn tennis.  Grooving a low to high stroke often requires allowing the ball to drop low and into the heart of this particular swing.  And further, this low to high thing works great when well behind the baseline, where the ball has had a chance to descend into the hitting zone.

But once this basic stroke is mastered, then you are off to bigger and better things, like moving forward and making something happen – and in this instance always at the top of the bounce.

Tennis is a game of “UP.”

Suzanne Lenglen, French world champion in the 1920′s, was trained by her father.  And the story goes that they would have a tennis outing to a park in Paris, but, and this is an important but – they would play as long as she did not hit a single ball into the net.  And the practice stopped (dead in its tracks) with her first netted error.  Long, or wide and they continued, but the net was the obstacle to be avoided at all costs.

And even now, in drills with players of all ages, and this includes my super senior group of men, the most common, most vexing, most prevalent error is always netted shots.

But somehow because we can see though the net, most errors occur when we fail to lift the ball up and over the net.

It might simply be the visual illusion created by looking through the net.  Really.

Holding your finish for just a moment clarifies your balance as well as the quality of your stroke and follow thru.

Further, this method has been used by so many famous coaches – Tom Stow, Robert Lansdorp and more.  It will help you as well.

Stow remarked that if the stroke started correctly (balanced on the back foot with a compact but loose preparation) and finished correctly (weight shifted forward and arm well extended toward the target) then everything between the start and finish – meaning contact – would be just fine.

And similarly I have seen videos of the young Pete Sampras on court with Lansdorp, holding the finish on his forehand for what seemed like an exaggerated time.

If you take to this drill, see if you can lightly tap the back foot (not hammer but lightly tap) while holding the finish, were Tom around he would say, “Nice work.”

And more than any other aspect, the control of your head, “poise if you will” defines your grace, your economy of effort, as well as how clearly you see the ball.

Many years ago, in my training with Tom Stow (I was in my early 20′s and had already played 4 years of college tennis) he totally remade my game with constant reference to balance, to posture, to playing with less effort and more “conk.”

Watching our very best players, you can see a similar poise, balance if you will.  Federer is the acknowledged master of all this.  But you too can start by working on how you carry your head.

As amusing (hopefully) as the drill in the video appears, see if you can see if you can perform your swings with a “ball on the hat.”.

Novak at Wimbledon - Courtesy New York Times

Our game is about hitting and moving, and aside from nutrition, psychology, even physiotherapy, winners generally hit or move better than losers. And at the highest level of the game, we now crown a new #1 who is hands down the best mover and the best hitter in the game.

Nadal has been able to pierce the defensive skills of all his previously vanquished foes. He attacks Fed’s backhand, he moves better than all the others, and his forehand is such a weapon that the more he hits it the more he wins.

But in the Wimbledon final, Rafa hit many many backhands, more than I have seen in any other match. In a previous era (just last year) he would command the point with a forehand and for the remainder of that point simply drive the ball from corner to corner with ever more penetrating forehands.

Not so anymore (or at least at this moment). I was stunned at how many under spin backhands Rafa used to stay in the point. Further, he appeared less prone or able to run around his backhand because Novak can hit the ball off either wing with deadly accuracy. But more, I believe he also plays with a degree of disguise that prohibits Rafa from getting a jump on the ball and starting early.

But more, Novak covers the court better than Rafa (yes I said that) and better than even Monfils (because he plays so darn deep), such that many times Rafa’s seeming winners to the corner were returned for two or three more attempts to finish a point that would have ended against any other.

Rafael Nadal - Wimbledon 2011 - Courtesy New Your Times

Best mover, best hitter, most confident server – Novak is the whole package.
Nice work kid, I wrote this in a previous column and now Novak made the same comment in a post match interview, “the times they are a changing.”

The stats are not all that telling, but it is amazing that Rafa could serve at 78% first serves and still face 6 break points. Novak converted fewer 1st serves but his biggest margin was on points won on 2nd serve. Finally, very few errors were made by either player, but Rafa described his nervous play at 4-5 in the first and 3-4 in the fourth, where both serves were dropped with unforced errors. And how about the serve and volley at 5-3 30-all in the fourth – MAGNIFICENT!

As ever, I look to the stats to read between the lines.  In this one Maria had 6 double faults to 4 for Petra.  And though Maria got more first serves in play, 76% to 66%, Petra won many more points on both first and second deliveries – 72% vs 58% on first serve and 36% to 27% on second serves.

Yes the match was close, and given just an inch here or there, Maria could have forced this one to a potentially tight third set.  But in the end Petra served out the match with confidence and a championship point ace up the middle!!

So where does Steffi come into the picture.  And readers, what follows is just a hunch.  From 1988 to 1996 Steffi was ranked 1st or 2nd in the world (in 1991 and 1992).  And Steffi served with an abnormally high toss.  It worked just fine for her, but said again, Steffi served with an extremely high toss.

Maria Sharapova was born in 1987, Dinara Safina was born in 1996 ( Safina is now ranked 64th having reached the number 1 ranking briefly in April of 2009).  But I believe both ladies suffer from similar high tosses (and this goes for quite a few of the other top players) because as formative juniors they grew up idolizing if not copying Steffi.  But what worked for Steffi has not been the case for the others.  Or, perhaps coaches from that era were content with sky high tosses because Steffi was doing just that.

Anyway, I think were Maria to adopt a Serena-like rhythm, produced with a lower toss, she would own the women’s game.  She is a fighter, she has come back from shoulder surgery, hopefully someone can convincer her to investigate rhythm rather than effort on her service delivery.

The mens final Sunday morning will be a real treat.  I will be up for the start of the match, and expect to be glued to the screen throughout.  I do not have a favorite, or even a pick, but I do have a hunch.

Rafa has the biggest forehand in the game.  His winners against Del Potro, Fish and Murray were truly amazing. Piercing accuracy, incredible pace,totally controlling the points from corner to corner.  But sometimes he gives up a little too much court when running around his backhand wing.  Djokovic plays a little closer to the baseline, and is somewhat less apt to run around his backhand, though his forehand is not in any regard weak.  That said I believe one aspect that may influence this match tomorrow morning will simply concern court coverage, and the fact that Novak positioned closer to the baseline and less apt to open the court with run around forehands, will somehow have the slightest edge.  And remember, though Novak is 4-0 against Rafa this year, a few of those matches were pretty darn close.

No matter who wins the final point in the men’s final tomorrow morning, at the end of the day our game of tennis will be the winner.

Enjoy

On the women’s side, I believe the story is all about Serena.  Note most of the analysts regard her serve as the singular best stroke in the history of the women’s game.  Said again, the singular best stroke in the history of the women’s game. And dissimilar to many of the overly high tossing, massively effortful, but ultimately injurious serves within the WTA – Serena serves with fluidity and rhythm much more than with power and effort. In fact, the rash of shoulder injuries across both the women’s tour and the junior circuits is due (I believe) to coaches who either overlook or do not understand that our best servers (McEnroe, Sampras, Federer) strike the ball with an emphasis on flow.

That said, Serena may have nagging little injuries incurred during her layoff that may hinder yet another Wimbledon title.

Now to the men.  They have reached the round of 16.  The big four are all still in the hunt.  Nadal looks strong, Federer suggested his back was sore at the start of the week; Djokovic has played under the radar, and Murray though a titlist at Queens has served to my eye sub par.  Somehow upsets are less likely in the second week of the tournament, probably because as the grass becomes more worn, the courts more resemble hard and green clay courts than they do the slick, low bouncing, dangerous courts they were in the 70’s and 80’s.  Also, undoubtedly, it may have been easier for the volleyers in that earlier era to command the net with skidding approaches and volley placements before the advent of the new racquets and now the massively spin inducing co-poly strings.

So barring an upset, a few thoughts about the big four.

Nadal remains the favorite.  And more than anything else, I believe this because of something known as the “Third Ball Attack.”  The analysts noted that in last years final, Berdych was only able to return 6 serves (in the entire match) to Nadal’s backhand (and of those 6 he won 4 points).  Especially as regards Nadal’s wide sidespin serve to the ad court, it feels as though he has an overwhelming advantage.  Further, this speaks to previous finals against Federer where in one I believe Roger had 13 break points and converted just one.  Can you imagine returning wide in the ad court, well outside the doubles alley, simply to get into the point against Rafa?  Yes he volley’s better, yes he plays closer to the baseline, but to my mind the particulars of his Third Ball Attack to the ad court make him the clear favorite.  He serves wide, the opponent simply gets the ball in play (rarely anything more) and he dominates the point with his third shot, in nearly all instances a heavy, deep, well placed forehand to the open court.

Federer, my sentimental favorite, and he will remain so when he plays into his late 30’s and early 40’s.  Pancho Gonzalez and Ken Rosewall played inspired if not winning tennis at that stage of their careers, I can easily see Fed do the same and more.  Assuming he can get past Djokovic (which is not by any means guaranteed) he has two tasks against Nadal.  First he must serve well above 70% first serves, which he did easily at the beginning of the first set of the French final, but in nearly all service breaks he faltered on his first delivery.  Second, he must be deadly when returning in the deuce court.  Nadal’s sidespin delivery presents far less a problem to this court, and to have a reasonable chance to even accumulate break points in the problematic ad court, it will be all about chip and charge, run around forehands, and even some up the line topspin backhand winners (as he did now and then in Paris).

Djokovic has played under the radar so far.  He beat Baghdatis in four sets, with a little racquet smashing thrown in for good effect, but it remains to be seen whether his semifinal loss to Federer in Paris has dented his confidence.  Against Nadal, if appears that his return of serve (unquestionably the best in the game) totally mutes Nadal’s Third Ball Attack, for in the ad court Nole can do just about anything he wants on his back hand wing (far different than Berdych from the 2010 final).  The key will be his resilience when the going gets tough, and McEnroe questioned just that in his loss to Federer.  Note these guys are playing for millions, and as often as not the momentum within a match if not the outcome can hinge on less than an inch.

Murray is still a threat, and a victory on his home turn would rival the national frenzies normally reserved for World Cup victories.  And yes he did win the run up tournament at Queens, but within a field notable by the absence of Novak and Roger, and with an early exit by a weary Nadal.  My question has always been Andy’s serve.  He was hammered in the Australian final, where at that point in time he was ranked 93^rd on points won on his second serve, against Djokovic who was and still remains ranked first on points won when returning the second serve.  Andy would have to serve better and more consistently than he has ever done to get past Nadal in the semis or either Roger or Novak were they to play in the finals.  As to what is going on with his serve, take some time on Google looking up gyroscopic stability, precession and wobbling.  Andy throws his body into the serve, unfortunately one hits the ball with the racquet head in a whip like (Sampras) fashion.

What do I hope for – simply dramatic semi final matches on the men’s and women’s side, and riveting 3 (women’s) and 5 set (men’s) finals.  At the end of the day Tennis will be the winner.

What are your picks?

Here are the mens matchups in the 4th round.

Top half of the draw

• Nadal vs Del Potro – could be interesting
• Fish vs Berdych – and Fish is on a roll!
• Murray vs Gasquet
• Kubot vs Lopez

Bottom half of the draw

• Ferrer vs Tsonga
• Youzhny vs Federer
• Tomic vs Malisse – Tomic is the latest and greatest Aussie hope
• LLodra vs Djokovic

PS.  Why does this picture of Del Potro look so different from the one of Nadal?  My old coach Don Kerr would have said (and he was truly a piece of work), “Well it is simple, Nadal swings up and snaps the racquet forward, and Del Potro swings forward.”  Want to read more, check out our material on Pancho Gonzalez (who swung up and snapped forward)

This is somewhat a common phrase from mechanics and physics, but it dos take some explaining.  Meaning if you were on thin ice and pushed on the ground, it would not push back but rather you would break through the ice.

Said another way, if you are on a bathroom scale and you drop and suddenly land you will be lighter when dropping but heavier when you land.  And this down and up action adds to the power of the upward drive.

So when using the ground to create more topspin and more power, the key is how you push on the ground, and whether you can create an upward rotational movement.

This means for topspin (as well as the serve) one prepares by turning away from the ball as the knees bend (corkscrewing down) and then pushing and turning into the ball for the hit (corkscrewing up).

This will feel and be entirely different than the other method of simply stepping in with your weight against the ball without any down and up from the ground.

So much of our game is about the legs.

How to move them to the ball, how to take extra small and quick positioning steps for just the right spacing …… and then how to corkscrew down and then up and out for powerful topspin hits.

The Modern Game – Rotational vs the Linear Old School Model

Once upon a time strokes were long and deliberate, and remember the racquets were heavy. And the sweet spots were small. Now the racquets are lighter, the sweet spots larger, and the loosely strung co-poly strings are like magic – and the all combine to make our modern model more about  acceleration rather than deliberation.

Learn how to loosen up, shorten your backswings, lag the racquet head, and accelerate thru the ball. More topspin and more power will be at your command.

The simplest example concerns the racquet head.  In the old school method players were trained to prepare with the racquet pointing to the back fence, and to follow thru with the racquet head pointing to the front fence.   And to move the raquet head carefully thru the contact zone.  Deliberate, carefully, aiming the tiny sweet spot at the ball for as long as possible. I was from that generation and still carry quite a bit of that baggage.  Can’t be helped.  Played college tennis in the 1966 to 1970 – long time ago.

Now the equipment is different, but equally our professional models look so different from what we see on Tennis Channel in the highlight films from the 1970′s. And as our game evolves, and it will continue to do so, the modern stroke is nearly opposite.  Players prepare with the racquet head pointing to the front fence and follow thru with the racquet pointing to the back fence.  And this is the acceleration model, one with much shorter back swings, and much more attention to ripping rather than stroking the ball. I guess, it is what it is.

So - Loosen up and let it rip

All that has changed, as has my opinion of him, and my appreciation for his tennis.

Nole can and does step inside the baseline to make something happen.  A few years ago it was said that the best shot in professional tennis was Roger Federer’s forehand when he was moving forward from inside the baseline.  But reading between the lines the implication was that if someone was in trouble and could get it onto Roger’s backhand wing they might still have a chance.  Now the best shot in professional tennis is Djokovic from inside the baseline, but off either wing.  He moves forward to finish of the forehand as well as his deadly two fisted backhand.

There was a time when Rafa was the best for incredible and indefatigable court coverage.  No more.  Nole scrambles like no other.  See Mats Wilander’s comments below (gulp).

Return of serve.  Amazing, better than Andre Agassi.  That is really saying something.

Finally, and especially apparent in the recent Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, his serve is excellent, far better than Rafa.  And more, his delivery is fluid, his accuracy to the corners amazing.

Winners make it happen, and losers hope it happens, and this summarizes their recent final in Rome.  When Novak was on the ropes, Rafa played to the open court, but without pinpoint accuracy.  But when Rafa was out of court, Novak pounded the ball precisely to the corners.  Nothing tentative.  On this story the stats tell the story.

Djokovic            25 winners against 32 unforced errors

Nadal                  15 winners against 22 unforced errors

And I would hazard an interpretation here.  These two stats may cancel one another out – Nole had 10 more winners than Rafa, but equally he made 10 more unforced errors.  Somehow, and I don’t have the actual stream of points to prove it, I believe Nole hit more of his winners on the big points, and made less of his errors on those same points.  64 64 is close, but throughout the match it felt that Djokovic was in control.

Serve and return.  The stats on the second serve always tell the story of a match.  In every instance that I have found, the player with the edge on this stat always wins the match.

Pts won on return of second serve

Djokovic – 47%          Nadal –  25%

Rafa won 25% of the points he played on his second serve, against the absolute best returner in the game.  And Djokovic won 47% of the points he played on his second serve against the number one player in the world and to this point the undisputed king of clay.

Finally, a thought about tension.  I see a stark contrast in these two men’s deliveries.  To my eye, Novak is rhythmic. I see a calmness in his motion if not in his face.  He is no Pete Sampras, but overall this is a darn good delivery.  On the other hand, Rafa truly muscles the serve, the motion starts abruptly, and as much as anything else you can see a tightness in his face, something almost grim as he begins to serve.

The post match handshake appeared more like something exchanged between Connors and McEnroe, than it did some of the warm embraces exchanged between Rafa and Fed.

Novak is crashing the party.  The boys just might have to get used to this.  “Come gather round people, wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown …….. for the times they are a changing.” Bob Dylan 1962

Post script

John McEnroe believes that the 37-match winning streak that Novak Djokovic has put together in 2011 is even more impressive than the record-breaking run of 42 wins that the American registered in 1984.

“Given that there’s more competition, more athleticism and deeper fields now, I’d say his record is even more impressive than mine,” said McEnroe.

“Especially given that in 1984, the major in Australia was played at the end of the year, whereas he had to win it (as part of his streak). I was coming into my first Grand Slam of the year at the French, where the streak was broken (in the final against Ivan Lendl). So things are different. Also, he came into the year at No.3 and to be able to dominate [higher ranked players] the way he has, well, to put it mildly, it’s been quite amazing to see what he’s done and how much more confidently he’s playing.”

“You can’t cheat on clay,” said Mats Wilander, the former No. 1 and three-time French Open champion. “On hard courts, you inevitably get lazy. There isn’t that big of a difference between Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic in terms of hitting the ball, but Djokovic moves 10 times better.”

Allen Fox on Djokovic.  “He’s clearly in a super high confidence mode. How long it will last nobody knows, but it’s awfully useful when one is hitting as hard and close to the lines as he does off of both sides. Whether or not Djokovic has actually reached a new level where these types of results are repeatable and sustainable will become clearer when he takes a couple of losses and his supreme confidence dissipates.

He’s got a good game to play Rafa because Rafa’s extreme topspin on the forehand makes the ball tend to go short, and though it bounces high, it still goes into Djokovic’s strong backhand and he can hurt Rafa off of these. As a basic fact, it is more difficult to consistently hit heavy topspin strokes deep as compared with strokes that are relatively flatter. This is because there is an extra variable involved in controlling depth with heavy topspin. With a flatter stroke the two variables in controlling depth are racket velocity and trajectory. With topspin, the added variable is how much of the racket velocity is used for ball spin verses ball velocity. This forces the player to leave more margin for error on the depth of the shot. “

For more from Allen Fox, look for his new book, Winning the Mental Match

Everyone enjoys tennis when playing well.  But when it comes to tournaments, league play, or even the regular game with your favorite opponent, we all want to win.  But tennis becomes a contest when your opponent is evenly matched and wants to win every bit as badly as you.

Here are three time-tested keys to winning the close fought contest.

1. Keep the ball in play.  At even the highest level of professional tennis, the winner of the match is the player who makes the fewest errors.  But there is more to the story.  As the second set begins, you must truly how the points are falling.  If you are winning, you must know why, so you can continue to impose your game.  And if losing, you must equally know why so you can decide what aspect of your game you must change.  And this entire process begins simply with your determination to minimize errors and keep the ball in play.
2. First impressions, and the value of winning the first point of every game.   All points are equal, but in some sense big points occur predictably in the tiebreaker or at the end of a very close set.  But way too often, you and I overlook the simple strategic benefit from getting an early lead – in a game, in a set, or in a match.  Simply put, do everything you can to win the first point of every game.  The first game of every set, and the first set of every match.  Momentum is a two way street, and if you are ahead in every game, that can weigh heavily on your opponent.
3. Pay close attention to the other side of the net.  In many if not most instances, players focus on how they hit the ball, and where they direct their shots.   But if you pay close attention to your opponent’s mannerisms, as well as their reaction to errors, you will as often as not discover their “Achilles Heel,” the shot they simply cannot hit, or the error that truly drives them crazy.  Pay  close attention to your opponent.
4. And though we only said there were three keys within this podcast, if you would like a fourth – then play silently and without negative expression.  Arthur Ashe played a cool and collected game, with similar mannerisms whether winning or losing.  Often if you are cool and collected when behind in a set or match, the opponent may actually wonder why you are not “sweating it.”

Friends – this stuff works.  Keep me posted.  I do need your feedback

Cheers

Jim

2011 Australian Open title

Serbian Davis Cup champions

Back to back Sony Ericsson and Pacific Life Open titles

2011 statistics

• 116 aces against 43 double faults (big improvement over 2010)
• Winning 59% of points on opponents 2^nd serve
• Winning 90% of the games played on serve
• Winning 43% of the games played when returning serve

Photos ©jfawcette,http://www.fawcette.net/tennis/

Novak Djokovic now plays with real confidence.  Though a runner up to Nadal at the 2010 US Open, he now appears to be a different player.  Yes he serves better, and yes he continues to cover the court with unparalleled flexibility.  But in the crunch he displays a champion’s mentality, when in the past he simply postured to the crowd and his box with gestures that implied he had heart.  Now he doesn’t need to show us any of this, for, as they said in the old days, he simply lets his “racquet do the talking.”

The clay court season, however, may be a different story.  For remember, his fantastic run to date has occurred on hard courts.  And looking over his past results (still not overlooking these come from his “pre#2 phase) there are few questions.

Roland Garros

• 2010   quarterfinal loss to Jurgen Melzer 63 62 26 67 46
• 2009   third round loss to Philipp Kohlschreiber 46 46 46
• 2008   semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal          46 26 67
• 2007   semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal          57 46 26
• 2006   quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal     46 46 retired

Head to Head on clay courts against Roger, Rafa and Andy Murray

• 2006   Monte Carlo lost to Federer 63 26 63
• 2008   Monte Carlo beat Murray    60 64
• 2008   Monte Carlo lost to Federer 63 32 retired
• 2008   Hamburg lost to Nadal         57 62 26
• 2009   Madrid lost to Nadal             63 67 67
• 2009   Rome lost to Nadal                67 26
• 2009   Monte Carlo lost to Nadal     36 62 16
• 2009   Rome beat Federer               46 63 63

So a few thoughts to make sense of these statistics, and or to interpret his chances to solidify his #2 ranking and make a run at the top spot.  A spot that Rafa shows little inclination of relinquishing (at this point in time).

In Novak’s recent run, he has dominated play with his court coverage, his consistency, but more than anything else his rock solid return of serve – arguably the best in the game.  But, and this more than anything else, is the main difference between hard courts and the soft European clay.  On hard courts, servers use their first delivery to set up offensive opportunities, to look for free points with aces or unreturnable serves, or to step inside the baseline if the return is short to set up offensive patterns.  And in the main, Novak’s skill set on the return totally upsets the server’s offensive mindset.  In fact, when Novak blitzed both Roger and Rafa in consecutive third set routs at Indian Wells, he broke both serves easily and repeatedly (might even be why Rafa served so poorly in the desert).

But on clay, servers are more patient, the rallies are longer, and servers are not as prone to force the issue or favor instant offense.  So in some ways Novak’s returns are neutralized by opponents willing to engage in overly long rallies.

Secondly (and it may be that Novak has addressed this) there have been questions about stamina and breathing issues with the Serb.  And on that score, Novak has retired in a number of matches over the years from assorted issues.   I believe his new found confidence will overcome any lingering doubts here, but it will be up to the Serb to again “let his racquet do the talking.”

For my money, I hope to see him beat Rafa at least once in the run up to Roland Garros.  And then to sit back, and be totally absorbed by this years French Open.  A new day may be dawning!

Join the conversation – what do you think about the state of men’s tennis in the clay court season?

And before going further, Rafa and Fed do not normally succumb to the defensive skills of their opponents.  But something is very different about the Djokovic Defense.

• Movement – outstanding
• Ball control and depth – outstanding
• Incredible gets from defensive positions – ditto
• Willing to grind, recover, and embrace the long rallies – absolutely the best there is, seemed to be more patient than even Rafa!!
• Belief – this must have Rafa and Fed freaking out – he now expects to win, used to be he simply hoped to play well.

In football, in basketball, even baseball – championship teams get there and win it all with their defense.  And in tennis, defense simply means the REFUSAL TO MISS and the REFUSAL TO LOSE.

Note, our tournament juniors deride these players, call them pushers – because they push the ball back and rarely miss. Further, these pushers move extremely well and get to everything.

Well, maybe Novak is just the best pusher we have seen in some time (used to be Rafa) – but there is more to this story, and certainly there must be for a guy to win 18 in a row.

Consider confidence, which is simply expectation of success.  The more you win, the more you expect to win.  But equally, when faced with an opponent who exudes confidence (think Novak), and we have all faced these type of opponents, it becomes a battle of “will power” to see who will prevail, and equally who will opt out of the battle.  Rafa opted out in the 3rd on Sunday.

Rafa said he served poorly, and yes in fact he did.  But as much as his percentages, it was Novak who did more with his returns on Rafa’s second serves, and Rafa who did little if anything when returning Novak’s 2nds.

And note, this stat more than any other corresponds with if not determines the winner and loser.In the third set Novak won 100% of the points played on his second serve (7 for 7) and Rafa won 25% of the points played on his second serve (3 for 12).  Further, Novak won 9 of the 10 points played on his first serve – for the unheard of total of 16 of 17 points on serve.

Those numbers do not denote a contest, but rather a drubbing.

And this tells me two things.  Novak has absolutely the best return in the men’s game.  And Rafa doesn’t do nearly enough with his return of serve.

Question – do you practice your return?  And if so, are you, as they say about Novak, “hugging the baseline”?

Djokovic leads the tour this year in percentage of points won when returning the second-serve (60 percent) and in percentage of return games won (a whopping 44 percent).

“You can vary the serve as much as you want; he sends it back to you five centimeters from the baseline,” said Frenchman Richard Gasquet after losing to Djokovic in Indian Wells. “Right away, he puts you under pressure. He’s the best returner in the world.”

Photos ©jfawcette,http://www.fawcette.net/tennis/

Now get back on the practice court and return a bucket of serves from on or inside the baseline!

I have been lucky enough to have seen professional tennis at Wimbledon (first row center court), the US Open, and Davis Cup in Portland and in Birmingham, the SAP Open and more.

The combination of talent, venue, atmosphere, crowd participation, energy and noise made this the most remarkable tennis experience I have ever had – and I genuinely believe all of the 12,000 attendees (tickets sold out in less than one hour) who packed the Matthew Knight Arena would totally agree.

Incredible.  Unforgettable.  And so much darn fun.  Hats off to Nike (more on that later).

“The Clash of Champions” was at one point a series of professional wrestling television specials aired by World Championship Wrestling.  And true to that format, the players were introduced one at a time, each on descending from the upper reaches of the arena, spotlights focused first on Maria Sharapova, then Vica Azarenko, then Rafael Nadal and finally Roger Federer.  Standing ovations for all.  As they assembled on court for more introductions, who walked in from the corner (just like in wrestling) but none other than John McEnroe.  Unannounced, his entry brought the house down – and or everyone on their feet yet once again.  And as we all expected, there was more to come on this, but no one really knew what or when.

I was fortunate to have a press pass and film from the baseline.  So darn close I was hit by a ball, nothing serious, but the proximity to the players, the camera angle on serve and return, even the chance to watch and listen to their feet – amazing – and I have a lot more footage on that to come.

Thoughts in no particular order:

Vica Azarenko – basic player, no glaring weaknesses, and a bright future.  She played even with Maria until the tiebreaker, which she swept 5-0.

Maria Sharapova – coming back from shoulder surgery, looking good around the court, but her second serve remains a serious liability

Rafael Nadal – strong as a bull, huge whipped forehand winners up the line in singles against Fed, open stance reverse forehands and textbook step in and hit two handed backhands

Roger Federer – he uncoils up and into the serve like a snake with a whipping bite at impact.  Quick as a cat, and on this night he was every bit as playful.And his wide serve to the deuce court appears to be his go to weapon – or at least against Rafa.

The crowd came to its feet in the mixed doubles match, when Federer mimicked the McEnroe serve motion, egged Mac to step on court, to which Mac rose to the occasion to play first a so-so point to Rafa as he looked stiff and was not in any way warmed up.  But then to the deuce court he opened with a bigger serve, a few volleys, then an acrobatic stab volley covering the line against a ferocious Nadal pass, finishing with a pinpoint overhead winner.  You had to see it to believe it.

Finally, during concluding remarks, Phil Knight the founder of Nike was introduced, to a loud chant from the audience of “Uncle Phil.”  His generosity to his alma mater, as well as to Stanford, is legendary.  But equally if not more so, he has held Nike in the forefront as a total supporter of our game of tennis.

Hats of to Nike for this outstanding event

PS – Uncle Phil, I would like to reserve 100 tickets for Clash of the Champions II in 2012.

“You are only as good as your second serve”

This means so much to and in the game of tennis, but I often wonder why so people practice simply their serve and their return. Most seem to practice their groundies with these two skill sets left unattended.

Djokovic now threatens Rafa and Roger. He led Serbia to their first ever Davis Cup title and then followed that up with a flawless performance in Australia, and now owns two Grand Slam titles, with more likely to come if he can sustain the level of his Australian performance.

But as ever the statistics tell the story. And in this one, Andy just didn’t match up well with Novak, in spite of the pre tournament hype.

The Ricoh match facts -

Djokovic ranks second  winning 63% of the points played when he returns the second serve (and ranks first in return games won at 44%)

Murray ranks 93rd winning 46% of the points played when he serves his second serve (and ranks 33rd in service games won at 82%)

So to my eye, this match up was unbalanced from the beginning.  True, Djokovic has tremendously improved his serve, Darren Cahill pointed out that in 2010 Djokovic had more double faults than aces (very unusual) but for this 2011 season Novak has totally improved his service delivery.  And the confidence that flows from his delivery shows in every aspect of his game.

But back to the return

• Position on or inside the baseline
• Come against the ball with more of a blocking than hammering mentality
• Return crosscourt as a rule (more chance of getting it in)
• Understand that as the receiver you must get the return in play

In order to serve tall – you don’t necessarily have to jump, or even be on your tip toes, but contact should be as high above you as is comfortable and as high as allows you to feel balanced.

Note – the pro’s jump to increase their service window – meaning they have a greater margin of error above the net if the jumping creates a taller hit.

But, and here is the but…… somehow most players assume an overly high toss will insure a tall hit.  On the face of it that makes sense, but look a little deeper and you may see on the adjacent courts (as well as at the Australian Open in certain circumstances) that the overly high toss does not guarantee a tall hit.  In fact, often just the opposite.  When the toss is overly high the player must wait for the ball to descend.  And this waiting may disrupt rhythm, and if waiting too long, the inevitable HITCH makes the motion feel yet worse.

So how do you tame the toss?

This depends on the orientation of the tossing arm, and the precise release point during the tossing motion.  Don’t worry about your wrist, or hand, or how you hold the ball.  To me that seems too technical.  The issue concerns where the arm is when the ball leaves the hand.

Second, tempo.  The two arms set up a rhythm, sometimes this has been called, “down together and up together.”  But more to the point, both arms will initially move at the same speed, such that to get control of your toss, you must reassess your initial tempo with the racquet hand – how fast or slow do you start?

Third, location.  Now it gets harder (or perhaps easier).  Toss in front, above you, behind you, slightly to the right, to the left.  There are many options.  But somehow each player has their own distinctive spot, but many may not know it.  On the best serves, the toss has somehow moved to the absolute best spot for contact.

P.S. – Steffi Graf had an overly high, inordinately high, amazingly high toss.  And the announcers in that time noted  just that, and said that for better or worse Steffi “got away’ with that toss.   And I guess that when Safina, Sharapova, Ivanovic and so many others were young they saw Steffi as the best player in the world and resolved (consciously or unconsciously) to copy that toss and that motion.  Unfortunately those players didn’t come to terms with the complexity of that toss and the double faults, loss of confidence, and so much more that has come from copying this serve.

Speaking of copying, Milos Raonic, the new phenom from Canada, said he has consciously copied Sampras – the announcers marveled at a serve they called fluid and free flowing – and it all started with the toss.

You be the judge.  And while you are at it – come to terms with your own toss.

The toss could be the most important aspect of the serve. In Building The Serve From the Ground Up we not only hit this nail on the head but many many more as well.

But this requires a blueprint, this requires a proven method, this requires lucid and accessible materials.

Building the Serve from the Ground UP (BTS) – is back on the market!!

You may ask why.

The answer, BTS, entails personalized one on one feedback – BTS includes a self assessment as well as an optional stroke review – where I review the uploaded video of your serve, compare it with your self assessment, and provide structured feedback within the 8 sequential photos, the 12 targeted on court drills and the 13 detailed articles.

This is an all encompassing product – with both general and specific information on the serve, but the UNIQUE, one of a kind feature, is the personalized blueprint for your own serve (and no one else).

There are bunch of bonuses included within this particular launch (for it will go off the market yet again in about a week) but if you are interested, don’t delay, check out our offer.

I believe this is the best instructional product on the market.

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And I believe that if you join me in the project of building your own serve – you will never regret it.

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Then along came Sampras, who rode his serve to 7 Wimbledon titles, and 14 Grand Slams overall.  And like Pancho, Pete served with effortless rhythm, uncanny accuracy, and total confidence.  And again, everyone agreed, this was the best serve (at that point in time).

Any student of the game would have been well served to study either of these models, to come to terms with the basics of their service deliveries, and to create an image in their minds eye of the motion so that they could practice it mentally and physically.

Now, I believe Roger Federer has the world’s best serve.  Not the fastest, though certainly fast enough, not with the highest toss or the deepest knee bend, but exactly like Pancho and Pete before him, effortless rhythm, and as a model you can find none better.  And lest there be doubters, Roger may owe his 16 Grand Slam titles (and counting) to this serve more than any other part of his multifaceted game.

Come to terms with the elements of the Fed serve, and yours will improve.  Guaranteed.   But, and this is important, these elements are as basic as it gets, but so often misunderstood.

Balance – what to do with your feet

Some servers keep their feet still when serving, the platform stance.  Others move their back foot forward with the toss, the pinpoint stance.

But if the pitcher uses their back leg on the pitching rubber to thrust into the motion, similarly Roger keeps his feet quiet, using the platform stance during the toss in order to get maximum thrust out of both legs.

Note, most players lean forward with the toss and this initial move or loss of balance with influence if not wreck all that follows.

Want to copy Roger, keep your weight evenly centered during the toss.

Orientation of your tossing arm

Years ago many of us were taught to toss the ball out into the court, getting the contact point way out in front.  And in this manner the tossing arm was often perpendicular to the baseline.  I believe this is the common picture we see in recreational and some tournament level tennis.  And before going further, make note in your own mind of the orientation of your own tossing arm.

Roger, just like Pete and Pancho, turns to the side prior to the release of the toss, this windup (just like a pitcher) gives him more room to unwind and more power as well, but your key is to coordinate the release with the tossing arm parallel to the baseline.

Want to copy Roger – wind up then toss – all the best servers do it just this way.

Height of your toss  - take another look at the video to see the rhythm

Now we get to the meat of the serve.  And take as much time with this as necessary, for I believe this is the biggest misunderstanding about the serve.   Many players serve with the slightest hitch or pause in the swing, and this hitch allows the toss to drop, and lowers the point of contact.  But, and this is important, coaches tend to address this problem with yet a higher toss (read Sharapova or Safina) so that any hitch would still enable a higher contact.  But the higher the toss, the longer the pause, and rhythm goes out the door.  And in most instances, a higher toss doesn’t really lead to a higher point of contact.

Federer tosses perhaps 12 inches above contact, somehow a lower toss than we might expect, but swinging with a continuous rhythm he is able to serve “tall.”

Take a look around your local courts and find the most rhythmic server, at our club his name is Dave Orton, and you will see a “low-ish” toss but not a low point of contact.

Want to copy Pete – lower your toss ever so slightly, but do not lower the point of contact.

Hitting up

For greatest racquet head speed, the trick is to swing UP and snap the racquet FORWARD.  Said again, swing up but snap forward.  The action of the serve comes from this up and out motion, but most (unfortunately) snap the wrist down at the ball.  Roger tosses the ball in front, but moves beneath the ball so that contact is above him.  There are a number of specific drills you can do to get the feel for this, but one to consider is the drill Pete did as a youngster, where he served many warm up serves to the top of the opposite fence (on the fly) and then more serves to the opposite baseline – after which he would then serve to targets within the service boxes.

Finishing on Balance

Last but not least, you want racquet speed without effort.  But too often players attempt to get their weight forward and into the ball.  You are not; however hitting this one with your body, but rather with the racquet, so that throwing yourself into the court won’t give you more racquet speed but actually less.

Call to action

Take your time to fully understand these basic elements, examine the photos, see which match your own understanding or technique, and which diverge from what you know or do.

But the serve is ultimately about the doing.  And specific drills, each designed to give you the feel and muscle memory for the balance, the orientation of the tossing arm, the height of the toss, the up and out swing, and balanced finish, will get into the doing.  This method has worked for countless students over the years, and with your commitment to practice it will work for you – GUARANTEED

Please take a moment to let me know what you think.   Do you feel Federer provides the perfect model for the serve, or are there others that you like better?  Join the dialogue.

The debate has gone on for some time, and will continue. One-handed vs. two-handed backhand. Which is better, which is obsolete?

Past champions of the two-handed version include Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and now Rafael Nadal.

One-handed champions over the years include Rod Laver, Ilie Nastase, Arthur Ashe, Guillermo Vilas, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, and now Roger Federer.

When Stefan Edberg ruled the game with his high kicking serve out wide to the ad court, many one handed players struggled with that delivery, until the two fisted Jim Courier solved that problem. And when Federer has struggled over the years with Nadal’s out wide side spin serve to the ad court , many have suggested that a stout two fisted return would easily solve that problem.

But on the other hand, consider that Sampras went from a two to a one handed backhand during his teenage years, presumably to hone his net game. And on that score more often than not the one handers have been much more adept at net play. Somehow two fisters more often patrol the baseline, one handers prefer moving forward.

So I cannot really take sides in this debate, I think it is just a matter of personal choice and how the stroke feels. I hit the one hander, it has always felt natural, in some ways more so than the forehand, but that is another story for another day.

But as regards the one hander, Federer was majestic in the season ending Masters Final in London. He swept through the round robin and semi final round without the loss of a set, and dispatched Nadal in the finals with somewhat of a routine drubbing. I am not entirely sure Nadal couldn’t have reversed this result were the match best 3 of 5 sets, but we will have to wait for the next Grand Slam to find that one out.

At the start of the match the analysts noted (Jimmy Arias is becoming one of our best announcers, he is concise, insightful, and often humorous) that Federer would play in some instances to the Nadal forehand to expose open court area in order to then work on Rafa’s backhand. But to my eye, Fed played it differently, directing many balls just slightly off center to Nadal’s backhand wing, but balls that enabled Nadal to cover those shots with forehands, which then opened Nadal’s forehand wing.

And by my count Federer delivered 5 distinct backhand cross court winners. One to end a 22 shot rally, another on return of serve, and 3 in the first few games to set the tone of the match.

Well, in spite of Fed’s genius, there are a few things we can learn from his technique, and a few elements that you just might incorporate into your own game.

First and foremost for this one-handed topspin backhand, you must find an Eastern backhand grip. Not an eastern forehand, and not a continental, but a full turn to the Eastern backhand. You can spot this grip as Fed winds up in the photo below.

Second, turning to the side with your elbow bent and wrist cocked, take the racquet well UP, such that the top of the swing is at head level. This will become a swooping circular looping drive. Nothing about straight back, nothing about low preparation. Take the racquet back and well up.

Third, allow the racquet to FLOW down and beneath the ball, gathering momentum for an acceleration up and into the hit. At this point the racquet head is lagging and below the hand. Now the stroke feels like a forceful upward pull.

Fourth – contact the ball well in front with the racquet face brushing UP and not OVER.

Key Sequential Positions

• Roger turned well to the side
• Elbow bent and well away from the body
• Racquet head UP and wrist cocked up (not back)
• Note the position of his right hand – this is an Eastern backhand grip

• Roger begins to unwind
• Racquet head below and behind his hand
• Elbow straightening as he shifts forward

• Racquet face moving up against the ball
• Body weight centered behind the ball
• Appears as though Roger is looking through his strings at the ball

Rod Laver, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer. Thanks guys, your backhands were and are beautiful.

Join the debate – what are your thoughts?

As our game evolves into massive backcourt forehand topspin, the approach and volley game has become woefully under developed.  Two summers’ ago, one of our staff pro’s warmed up a Top 10 woman at the Stanford WTA tournament.  He reported that she was deadly from the backcourt, but extremely uncomfortable when she moved forward to handle low skidding balls.  And on that score I noticed that in many instances those same women practiced on the baseline for an entire workout, even letting short balls bounce twice in order to continue to groove their topspin baseline located groundies.

So the following three incidents (hopefully more than just a coincidence) highlight a pattern of play that you can use.  It will take time and practice to master but I guarantee this works.

ATP tournament, semifinals, Roddick serving at match point down in the second set, and Federer to this point totally having his way with poor Andy.  Second serve to the backhand, brief rally, Fed undercuts his backhand short and low and slightly cross court, Andy reluctantly moves forward, over hits a forehand approach which denies him good volleying position, and Fed passes him with the simplest forehand crosscourt.  Roddick didn’t want to come forward, nor does he truly volley with what might be considered McEnroe like confidence, he made no movement to the passing shot – and the match was over in an instant.

2010 Wimbledon finals, championship point – Nadal plays the ball short and low with an under spin backhand, Berdych a big hitting baseliner with some fluency at the net (but truly not much) comes forward with a two handed crosscourt topspin approach (oddly hit to Rafa’s forehand???), and Nadal counters easily with an untouched forehand crosscourt pass.  Berdych doesn’t even move to cover the ball.

2008 US Open finals, championship point – Djokovic serves out wide to Federer’s backhand, Roger slices the ball short and crosscourt with a low skidding bounce – Djokovic moves forward runs around the ball and barely controls a forehand winner.  Point saved.  Fed wins the deuce point and Djok faces a second championship point, Fed repeats the identical play, this time Djok hesitates, doesn’t run around the ball, now faced with a decision to either play a two handed topspin approach or a one handed backhand (and these are terrible choices for a backcourt player) he elects a delicate cross backhand  drop shot, and fails miserably – he simply did not have that shot – and again the match was over in an instant

In each and every case, playing the ball short and low with under spin caused the opponent to move into unfamiliar territory.  Key word “caused.’

To put this into your game you will need two specific skills.  First and foremost you must use an under spin backhand that bounces short and skids low.  Not a pop up, not a floater, but something that barely clears the net and stays low after the bounce.  Whenever possible play this shot crosscourt to invite the opponent to move forward on their two handed backhand side (might be why Fed and Sampras and Edberg and Cash …. all hit the one handed backhand??).  Sometimes this shot won’t work.  Sometimes the opponent will play a neat and effective approach if not a winner. But more often than not the opponent will move forward with reluctance, and now your second skill comes to bear.  This concerns  your facility to calmly select the best options to counter your opponent when they arrive at the net. Lob, pass to the open court, and or make them volley.  Your choice depends on their positioning and more.

I will develop this theme in much more depth within the December ETI Network issue.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you play this short game.

Leaping back court defense

Scrambling forehand from the corner

This may be his Achilles heel – his serve is good but has been “spotty” in the past

Andy Murray ranks 4th in the world, his career high ranking of 2nd occurred briefly in 2009 – he holds wins over Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, but as everyone including Murray knows – he has yet to come through on the grand stage. He reached the finals in Australia in 2010 and the US Open in 2008, each time losing to Federer, but recent results indicate Murray may yet be on the verge of a Grand Slam title.

Back to you and I for a moment. Have you ever lost to a player without big weapons, but somehow with a game that didn’t appear all that good? Juniors in our area call that a “bad loss.” Meaning the loss occurred to a lesser player. But too often we judge an opponent by the pace of their forehand or their physicality, and we judge them less by their tactics and court awareness, because these latter elements are harder to define.

Well, I believe Murray is the smartest player on the tour, who plays with the absolute best awareness of offensive, defensive, and neutralizing tactics. He is not as dangerous as Nadal, he is not as gifted as Federer, but he beats these guys at their own game by totally knowing the court. You can learn to do the same.

Consider Murray’s recent 63 62 victory over Federer in the Masters 1000 Shanghai finals. I believe the stats truly tell the story of a capable counter puncher, totally able to keep the ball in play, one who wins points more from the opponent’s errors than from his own massive winners. I have highlighted the spread between Andy and Roger on 2nd serve return points won – where for better or worse the server has put the ball in play (not too many aces here) and both players are essentially working the point without a beginning advantage or disadvantage.

Hallmarks of the Murray Game – Quickness, Simplicity and Disguise
First and foremost Murray moves exceptionally well, he is quick without appearing powerful, and makes his court coverage appear fluid if not effortless. I have studied footwork over the years, and I am always trying to discern methods used by the best movers. To my mind the best ones (this includes Murray and Clijsters) use a gravity turn to initiate their starts to the ball, especially whey they must cover a lot of ground quickly. (see Secrets of World Class Footwork). But equally there occurs an element of timing, where Andy doesn’t guess or commit early but times his splits steps precisely to his opponents contact.

Simplicity. Murray makes the game look easy. He doesn’t play with massive power, he doesn’t rely on one weapon, and he plays equally well from all parts of the court. So his balanced game doesn’t give the opponent an obvious strategy. Further when you look at his grips in the enclosed photos, his grounded two handed backhand shows excellent balance, but his leaping defensive forehand and backhand show an equal element of poise. He is not going to blow you off the court, but rather he will make the opponent play.

Disguise. And you can practice this one on the ball machine. Murray has the ability to play with varying pace, rolling the ball one time and drilling it from a similar court position another time. Much like a pitcher with the heater and an off speed pitch, Murray’s disguise rob’s the opponent of an early start. In his matches you will see sort of a “lulling to sleep” aspect to his backcourt play, punctuated with big shots at varying times. In your game experiment with the ball machine where from identical preparation and hitting stance you sting one and then float the next one – always from the same initial preparation tempo.

And finally let’s not overlook “winning ugly.” Among the long list of coaches who have worked in Murray’s camp, do not overlook the early role played by Brad Gilbert who was hired by the Brit’s to bolster Andy’s game. Andy was already a smart player, in fact he always has been, Gilbert may have polished this element of his game yet further.

Murray is a player more than a hitter. Which are you? Comments always welcome.

They are “walking” bad losses. Everyone expects us to beat them, but these pushers know the game and are darn hard to beat. They scoot around the court, slow the ball down and rarely miss. Finally, their hitting the ball softly thing and the attendant lack of pace often ruins our timing and ability to generate our own pace. Finally (as though this would be needed) the longer the rally, and the longer the match, they happier they appear to become.

Coming to terms with pushers requires patience on your part. It requires determination. It requires managing your own errors. And it requires adjusting your timing so you can “wait on the ball.”

Lagging on the way back

Against pushers our errors occur from preparing and stepping too early – said again our loss of rhythm and confidence occurs from preparing and stepping too early – instead you must turn to the side early, keep your feet moving, and delay the backswing until after the bounce. Said another way, as regards preparation, you must lag or delay the racquet head (but there is much more to this story).

Fed turns to the side, the ball is about to be hit, and still the racquet is not truly back

Lagging on the way forward (the modern forehand)

There was a time when strokes were taught with the phrase – point the racquet to the back fence to prepare and to the front fence when finishing. But in the modern method the racquet initially points to the front fence and finishes pointing to the back fence. This is an acceleration model – and certainly the modern forehand is all about racquet speed.

There is one more piece to this puzzle, and this is in the lagging of the racquet head on the way forward. Your operative word is – loosen up and pull. In sequence the body unwinds but with subtle delays where the torso leads the arm, the arm leads the hand, and finally the hand leads the racquet head.

Roddick lagging racquet head just before contact

With practice and renewed determination revisit the dreaded pusher. You must be patient. You must move your feet. You must choose when to attack. But when that moment occurs – wait on the ball, delay the backswing, lag the forward swing – and paste the lines with your winners.

Don’t be shy, let me know if you’ve found this stuff to work for you…

But what intrigues me most is the first match they played in March 2004 at the third round of the Miami Masters.    Nadal was 17, ranked 34th, Federer was number one – and this teenager shocked the world and perhaps Fed as well with an improbably easy 63 63 victory.  Has there ever been a teenager who beat the world’s number 1 (if you know of another example please drop me a note).

Aside from Nadal’s powerful serves, amazing defense, and ability to change spin, length, direction and speed – he appears most dangerous when in the absolute worst possible positions – and truly no other player routinely if ever hits winners from way beyond the court on the dead run making desperate shots look routine.  Yes his serve is improved.  Yes his volley is vastly improved – McEnroe has dubbed it the best volley in men’s tennis (a real compliment from one of our best net players ever).  And yes his tactics and court positioning continue to improve.

But what now sets him apart, is his willingness to try to improve just a little more each and every day (AND YOU AND I CAN LEARN FROM THIS ATTITUDE).  To quote Rafa, ““What really gives you a deep personal satisfaction is to feel that you’ve become a better player because that’s the real product of the everyday work, Whether you win or lose in a given match can depend on the small things that you sometimes cannot control, but to feel you are a truly improved player when you go on a court and to know that it is the fruit of all your labor for many years is a big satisfaction.  There’s so much competition at the moment, and what’s clear is either you get better or you’re dead. And I think the reason I improved is because if I had not improved, I would not be here talking to you about winning the U.S. Open. I had to do it.”  And McEnroe seconded this by saying, “I have never seen a guy who was that good already be able to improve that much.”

So back to you and I.  We are told to play tournaments for the “experience.”  And in a tournament the simplest dichotomy is that you either win or lose.  Winners want to play another tournament, and if the winning becomes a habit then they play with confidence, they expect to win, and this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  Losers on the other hand are advised to learn from their losses, and take that information back to the drawing board, to tinker, to adjust, maybe try a new service grip (as Rafa did prior to this tournament), or make a conscious decision to change a certain stroke.

The operative word here is change – and for better or worse few of us (amateur or professional) have the willingness and the guts to change.  But Rafa is the ultimate learner – he has changed and improved his serve, he has totally improved his net play, he has changed his court positioning – imagine if in the next few years he decides to learn how to serve and volley – and from this corner I suspect he will.

So my question, and I am happy to publish your comments -

• Have you recently lost a match, and learned something about an aspect of your technique?
• If so have you taken concrete action steps to address this thing?
• In the past 18 months has your tennis been stalled, or are you green and growing?
• Are you willing to try something new in spite of the fact that the changes might make you worse?
• And finally, can you take the Nadal Lessons Learned Model and become a fearless learner yourself?

Keep me posted

Jim

In the second round match where Janko Tipsarevic upset Andy 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4), John McEnroe was particularly critical, with repeated comments about Andy’s court positioning, shot selection and defensive mentality.  Geoff MacDonald of the New York Times aptly described Tipsarevic as “blending high-percentage shot selection and a high shot tolerance, with an uncanny sense of when to go on the offensive. He defended and neutralized beautifully when Roddick went on the offensive, then took advantage of any ball that he could attack.”

On the other hand, Mac described Andy’s style as something like play in the 14 and unders.  And this is pretty stern stuff from a commentator on national television, at the biggest stage of our game, and how I wonder must Andy feel about these comments.  Further in post match comments, Roddick said Janko tried some percentage shots, and joked that sooner or later Janko’s fine play “would have an expiration date.”  Janko countered that his shots were not were not low precentage but rather purely aggressive, and that after the serve Roddick plays purely defense.  And then Patrick McEnroe said he disagreed with Andy’s post match analysis, and that it is now time for Andy to decide how to finish out the last three to five years of his career – meaning enough with the defense.

Backtracking, 14 and under tennis is about simply grinding the ball back and forth, little variety, court position well behind the baseline, neither player taking chances, and as often as not matches lasting forever, the winner simply being the last one standing.  And though Andy does have a great serve, he has rarely ventured to play the ball from on or inside the baseline (ala Agassi) or to chip and charge to volley with finality (ala Connors, McEnroe or Henman).  Certainly Andy’s game has brought him one US Open title, a Davis Cup championship, over $18 million in prize money, and I would suspect a number considerably larger from his endorsement income.

But could he do more?  Is it too late to reorganize his tactics and court position?  Is it his stubborness, or the inability of the string of coaches he has used over the years?  I don’t know the answer, but my guess is that it all goes back to his first years on court, and which habits became ingrained at an early stage that are now nearly impossible to change.

This 14 and under thing is just such an early stage – and these players in our neck of the woods drill constantly, but play infrequently.  Said again, the junior model is about constant and continuous banging of the ball, drilling big groundstrokes, but without reference to tactics.  Bill Tilden advised that to improve, simply PLAY 5 SETS a day.  And the playing of sets can train the competitive moxie that Tipsarevic displayed.

Where does Vic Braden come into this mix.  I believe his writing, his insight, and the veracity of his material is unmatched within our tennis coaching community.  And his point of view is about the entire game, about the nuance of court position and tactics, and about building a game that is varied rather than one that is built on one note (the big forehand – think Florida tennis).  So what are the three most important shots in the game according to Vic?

• The serve
• The return
• The approach shot

What makes John McEnroe the best all time 50 year old tennis player in the history of our game?  His serve, his return and his approach shot.

Takeaways – Want to work this into your game – then try the following…

• Take the net on your opponents second serve – all the time (this is your approach shot)
• Use a ball machine to practice taking the ball on the rise from inside the baseline
• Hit 50 serves each and every day
• Practice 50 return of serves each and every day

Drilled Out by Trey Waltke published in the ATP Newsletter 1980 (Waltke played # 1 at UC Berkeley, and was ranked within the top 50 on the ATP tour in the 1980′s)

“Having recently retuned from the Easter Bowl Junior Tennis tournament, I couldn’t help comparing this group of juniors to my group of 15 years ago.  True, these comparisons are what all older players do, but nevertheless, I couldn’t help myself.

As a group, the kids coming up today have harder forehands and harder backhands.  Their ability to hit outright winners from the baseline is amazing.  Everyone seems to have a great two-handed backhand or a huge topspin forehand.  These kids can go corner to corner forever.

Which brings me to my inevitable gripe:  Until someone stages the National Drilling Championships, when are these kids going to learn how to play spontaneous all court tennis?

I hate to sound like Don Budge on Bjorn Borg, but if I see one more kid let the opportunity of a short ball go by without coming in or cutting it off in the air, I’m going to scream.  I know all of you coaches out there are saying, “my kids work on their volleys all day.”  That’s precisely my point.

Unless he or she practices the art of how to get to the net, they’ll never be able to effectively incorporate all those long hours of mindless drilling.

There is an area on the court, which kids today seem to view as the forbidden zone, but I like to think of as the forgotten zone.  I’m referring to the middle of the court, or the midcourt, the area about three feet behind and in front of the service line.

What I’m merely suggesting is that kids stop all this drilling and start playing more meaningless sets where they can risk “foolin’ around” in the midcourt.  They must learn to feel at home in this area.  The advantages of using the midcourt are incredible.  To name a few:

It shortens points and saves energy.  The moment you sense your opponent off guard or is not able to make an offensive shot, slyly creep in to the midcourt.

Your opponent will always be trying to second-guess your whereabouts on the court.  Cutting off opponent’s floaters in the midcourt, gives the added dimension of constant pressure on whomever you are playing.

This is the BIG ONE.  Relieves boredom and burnout later in your tennis career by encouraging creativity during play.  Bjorn Borg is a classic example of a player who mentally outgrew his own metronomic style of tennis.  I will never forget seeing Bjorn in his last couple tournaments trying to play more inventive tennis.  His mind had become more complex as an adult, but his training as a tennis player was still basically a one-dimensional style.

OK, so he made a million dollars, but how many kids have his mind?  The average robotic junior could get bored, beaten or burnout before he makes his first hundred!

I doubt the same will happen to McEnroe.  John is playing at the highest level of spontaneous tennis.  He never restricts himself to any one area on the court and has never looked “drilled out.”  He has learned that great tennis is not to hit the ball 1,000 times in a row down the line, but to recognize certain point patterns and then use all parts of the court in his response to every situation.

I firmly believe we can all learn to be “tennis geniuses” like McEnroe through more all-court experimentation.  The next generation of wonder kids will hopefully be taught to play in this manner.

Keep the groundies, kids, but for your sake and sanity and my watching pleasure, use the whole court and stop all this senseless drilling!

(Footnote and editorial comment:  As of 2001, Waltke’s observations continue to ring true on the junior scene.  However, watch McEnroe and Borg on the Senior Success tour, and contrast the unlimited skill set of John’s all court game as compared to Borg’s near “incompetence” anywhere but behind the baseline.)”

Following her impressive run at Roland Garros in 2010 Sam is ranked 5th on the WTA tour. A fluent all court player, previously a doubles specialist, she owns the best kick serve on the tour. Repeat, the best kick serve on the tour.

Take enough time with the videos to create this image in your mind. You could even practice this serve off court, first using your mind’s eye to see Sam serving, and then using your mind’s eye to see yourself delivering a version of this serve.

• Stand off center to the ad court – well off center, 4 to 6 feet off the center line
• Use your legs
• Allow the toss to drift ever so slightly to the left
• Throw the racquet loosely up against the ball
• Keep your head up at contact

Tactics

Cornering – the kick serve moves the opponent out wide, to if not past the doubles alley. In most instances Wickmayer returned weakly up the line or to the middle, where Sam finished with an untouched cross court winner.  And this untouched thing will create even more pressure in the receiver’s mind.

Second serve 30-40

The biggest situation occurs at this juncture. A double fault is bad news. But if the opponent owns a weaponized forehand (and nowadays they all do) spinning this serve into the middle of the service box is really not much better. You must get this serve to bounce up and out to the opponent’s backhand return. And for this one Sam Stosur is at the head of the class.

Talking Points

• Eastern backhand grip – first things first, and it must be loose and well past the continental
• Check out the depth of the swinging drop – let it happen don’t force it
• Accelerate the racquet up, up up – “throw a dart in the ceiling”

BTS includes stills, video, and a lot of written content. Further BTS features a self assessment as well as a personalized analysis of your serve – and with the self assessment and personalized analysis – articles stills and videos within BTS are then highlighted to guide your own personal path to improvement.

We have created a separate Blog to feature the BTS launch, and have included a number of bonuses both to the product as well as for those reading more about how to “Build their Serve from the Ground Up.”

Truly, the serve is the most important stroke in tennis (just ask Pete and Serena). But equally it is generally the least practiced as well as oftimes the most difficult stroke to master (just ask Maria and Dinara).

Serious about your tennis?  If so, it is all about your serve!!!!!

Check it out now

I had a chance to observe her practice under the watchful eyes of two (I think) coaches.

And before I go out on a limb, I have to hand it to Maria.

She is 23, she has played on the tour since 2001.  She has undergone shoulder surgery and has worked through a number of comebacks, often tinkering with a troublesome service motion.  She has won over $13 million dollars, holds 22 career titles, was ranked # 1 in August of 2006, but ever so gradually this young 23 year old “veteran” has seen her ranking slip from # 2 in 2006 to # 5 in 2007, # 9  in 2008, #14 in 2009 and presently she is ranked 15th and in 32nd position in the WTA points race.

But still she practices hard.  Still she puts her hat in the ring.  And still throngs of spectators watch her every move on the practice courts yesterday.  Star power – plain and simple.

This year she has lost in the first round of the Australian to Kirilenko, the 3rd round to Henin at Roland Garros, and the 4th round to Serena at Wimbledon (though on this one she gave Serena her sternest test, falling 67 46).

Now for a few thoughts on her game (brace yourself)

Big Huge Groundies – Robert Lansdorp style, she hammers away on both wings, and if I heard it right once Lansdorp growled that he didn’t believe in tactics – and when watching Maria I do get that impression.  Where Hingis would mix the game and bedevil her opponents with a mixture of spin speed and placement, Maria simply comes at you.

Service toss – somewhat reminiscent of Steffi Graf, Maria really throws this one up in the air.  And there must be something to it, for Graf never seemed bothered by a similar toss.  Certainly there is more to go wrong with such a high toss, especially in the wind, but this appears to be a staple of the Sharapova delivery.

A careful reading of the excellent book, Tennis Science for Tennis Players, written by  good friend Howard Brody - shows how a high toss, in this case dropping as much as 4 to 5 feet, will create its own topspin on the service delivery.  Said again, the downward interaction of the service toss adds topspin to any type of service delivery.  I am not sure this was the design when her game was under construction as a youngster.  And perhaps it was modeled indeed after Steffi.

Service balance – Maria has an unusually high back leg counterbalancing kick.  Lots of the pros do this now, in some cases it is recommended.  But to my eye I question her balance and how much forward she must lean in order to need such a back kick.  I suspect if we found photos of Graf at a similar point in the delivery she would appear much much more balanced.

Effort – here is the kicker.  Compared to Serena, whose serve is rhythmic and effortless, Maria’s entire delivery from start to finish appears muscular.  And I guess that any previous or subsequent shoulder problems flow from how much work she puts into the serve.

I will forever remain fascinated by how many world champions have tossed the ball just a bit above contact, and swung with a continuous and effortless rhythm – these include Laver, Borg, Ashe, Nastase, Sampras, Agassi, Federer and Nadal.  I believe we have gone down the wrong street when coaches either instill or allow overly high tosses.

How high is yours?

By the way, I have some good news. I am bringing Building The Serve From The Ground Up back on the market very soon.  Many of you have asked and we are now readying another launch.  Stay tuned for details.

Cheers

At the receiving end of your emails, many of you tell share your difficulties in learning how to hit, much less understand the mechanics of this particular serve.

Grip.  Wrist.  Forearm,  Continental.  Peel the orange.  Wrap around the ball.  Swing up snap down.  Pronate.  Don’t pronate.  Holy cow – pretty complicated, and as often as not coaches don’t even agree on this stuff.

Step back just a little.  When shooting pool, striking the cue ball slightly off center imparts “English.” Nothing more and nothing less.  And truly striking the tennis ball off center will impart the same “English” but in our case this tends to be called side spin or topspin.

Many of you have asked for slow motion of this hit – and thanks to a great Casio camera (highly recommended) we now have super slow footage of a side spin hit – and sure enough, the racquet simply meets the ball on the side. 

Yes the racquet is going quite fast.  Yes there is a snapping motion during the hitting action.  And yes the racquet accelerates past the ball.

But there is no peeling the orange.  There is no snap down.  There is no wrap around the ball.

Simply put, PMac hit the side of the ball.  Plain old “English.”

• 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon (so far)
• 2009 Australian Open and Wimbledon
• 2008 US Open
• 2007 Australian Open
• 2005 Australian Open
• 2003 Australian Open and Wimbledon
• 2002 Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon
• 1999  US Open

Plays with an incredible fighting heart

Questionable arousal control (semifinal loss to Cljisters at the US Open)

But as regards her serve, many of the commentators agreed that this may be the single best stroke in the history of the women’s game.

Miscellaneous but equally telling stats from the final:

• Fastest serve – 122 mph up the T in the deuce court
• 9 aces - 2 wide in the deuce, 3 up the middle in the deuce, 2 up the middle in the ad, and 2 out wide in the ad court
• 66% first serve, winning percentage on her first serve an incredible 94%,
• Total points won 62 – of which 9 were aces

Takeways – if you study Serena, and I highly recommend that you do just that, note a few things well worth copying.

• Reasonably low toss – not overly high, and all the announcers comment on her rhythm
• She opens the court on both the deuce and ad sides – with balls placed well out wide, and then aces up the T to keep the receivers honest
• Prior to each and every serve, she totally takes her time, composes herself, and seems so calm and within herself
• She hits up, and is actually ascending physically at contact
• The motion appears balanced, fluid and effortless

PS – some years ago we had an astute ball kid at our club ask whether she should copy Venus or Serena when it came to the serve.  And though Venus holds many titles and a very fast serve, truly Venus is not nearly as confident a server, and somehow with a significantly higher toss she is prone to rhythm errors, and in tight matches her second serve sometimes becomes unglued.  Interesting to guess whether the photo below is a cause or effect – meaning is her head down and should that be corrected, or is her head down because of something else prior that caused it.  Your hunches on this are welcome.

Note Rafael Nadal at service address, specifically the relation of his hand and racquet.

Rafael Nadal outplayed and outclassed the entire field at the 2010 French Open, capturing the title without the loss of a set.  Punishing groundstrokes, incredible movement about the court, threading the needle so many times with winners either on or darn near the line – but in his incredible performance, I believe there is one thing often overlooked.

Nadal has an excellent serve. In the finals he delivered his first serve an amazing 77% of the time, in the third set his first serve found the mark an astonishing 87% of the time.  He backed up these amazing numbers with 7 aces and 1 double fault, but to me the story line concerned his reliable, consistent, wickedly spinning serve.  And note the grip (with apologies for last years fashions as shown) – Rafa is past a continental, holding the racquet closer to an eastern backhand.

And when it comes to reliable, consistent, spinning first and second serves – I have even more perspective for you.

1. Pete Sampras, “As regards my 7 Wimbledon titles, I had the best second serve in the game!”
2. Pancho Gonzalez, “When learning to serve (even as a beginner) I recommend a backhand grip.  No matter how difficult to learn, once mastered you will serve with spin, speed and disguise.”
3. The most difficult situation you face when serving, is the second serve to the ad court, score 30-40, against an opponent with a good if not deadly forehand (and these days many a player has a pretty darn good forehand).

Put the above three elements together – second serve, backhand grip, and the ad court – I firmly believe you can unlock the secret to holding serve more often, and to winning more often, when you can serve confidently with a topspin if not kick serve out wide to the ad court.  Nothing more and nothing less.

Unfortunately, this particular stroke to this particular target is rarely practiced.  And, if practiced imperfectly, all you wind up with is ingrained bad habits.

As with most things, the best place to start is at the beginning, and when it comes to a spin serve, first and foremost you must have a backhand grip.  This can be continental, and or this can be an eastern backhand, but when holding the racquet in this manner, the racquet head approaches the ball on edge.  And this is exactly opposite to the look of a serve with a forehand grip where the racquet head approaches the ball in a flat if not pushing manner.

Over the past months, I have done many surveys on particular aspects of the game of tennis.  In response to the question, “What aspect of your serve do you want to improve?”

Nearly all responded, more spin and more pop.  And, this service grip holds the key to unlock that particular door

Is it worth the effort?  The answer depends on your ability to hold serve, and how much you are willing to practice to get to the next level.  But as a lifelong player teacher and student of this game, I am hoping your answer is a resounding YES.

Cheers

Jim

But, I have good news – I have crafted additional bonus materials that add more value to MTGG.

As usual, my friends think I am nuts to give so much away.

They are probably right, but this is how we do it around here.

The additional bonuses include:

• Length – the misunderstood element of the ground game
• ETI Network Archives that support MTGG – 18 articles in all
• A Tom Stow Reader
• Comparing the Agassi and Roddick backhands – a Tom Stow interpretation

These additions complement the coursework and round out the initial bonus materials that included:

• A primer on the grip
• Outside in and Inside Out Swing Paths

Click this link

Remember, to receive the ETI Network 45 day complementary subscription bonus, you need to jump on board before midnight EST
Wednesday May 26th.

IMPORTANT: if you have ALREADY signed up for MTGG, you will receive these extra bonuses automatically.

We worked throughout the night and MTGG is on the market and available.

Now!

I appreciate your support.  The additional bonuses, and money back guarantee,  make this an offer too good to be true.

9am Pacific Standard time, 10am Mountain Standard, 11am Central Standard, and noon Eastern Standard time

I have put a lot of effort into this product and believe, with a 100% money back guarantee, that MTGG will take your ground game to new heights. 

Here is your link

Cheers

Jim

We launch on Wednesday and are busy with the finishing touches.

Stay tuned. Be Well. Mastering the Ground Game is just around the corner…

Make sure you leave a comment below.

In my recent survey on the ground game, many of you asked about the one and two handed backhands – which might be better, how they were similar and how they are different.

And certainly, there is a pretty good debate going about the advantages and pitfalls of the one and two handed backhands.

One handers develop more feel for the backhand volley, and appear to thrive on low bouncing grass courts. Since the open era 1968 one handed backhand players have captured 30 Wimbledon titles, two fisted players have captured 10 titles. There was a time when the slick grass courts caused low skidding bounces, and this may have also aided the one handers fortunes.

Laver (2), Newcombe (2), Smith, Kodes, Ashe, McEnroe (3), Becker (3), Cash, Edberg (2), Stich, Sampras (7) Krajicek, Ivanisevic, Federer (6)

Connors (2), Borg (5), Agassi, Hewitt, Nadal

Two handers handle high bouncing balls much better. Remember Courier returning the Edberg kicker

One handers appear suspect when cornered on high bouncing balls. Certainly this is the case with Federer on clay against Nadal

Two handers often appear ill at ease when moving forward on the backhand side and in this example consider Djokovic and the old model Roddick (he has improved of late)

Keys for the One Hander – model Federer

• Eastern backhand grip enables and promotes topspin
• Topspin contact well in front
• Continental grip enables and promotes under spin – Rosewall
• Under spin contact less in front than topspin
• Continental grip helps this player build a solid backhand volley
• Stance can be closed, square or open, but players must try to step in
• Preparation turns the back to the net
• During the swing the non dominant arm stays back, keeps the player sideways
• Strokes are flowing and smooth
• Challenge occurs with high bounding balls

Keys for the Two Hander – model Agassi or Nadal

• Eastern forehand grip for the non dominant arm – promotes topspin
• Stance must be square or open to allow the hips to turn into the stroke
• Preparation is more sideways than the one hander with back to the net
• During the swing the dominant arm pulls up to impact, and the non dominant arm takes over from contact to follow thru
• Strokes are strong and firm
• Challenge occurs when volleying or approaching

Rafa contacting the high ball with an Eastern Forehand grip on his non dominant hand

Rafa stroking up and through the ball with topspin hit

Federer with Eastern Backhand grip – swinging up and into the ball

Federer with contact well in front on a topspin hit

Similarities among the two strokes

• Play the ball in front
• Swing up for topspin
• Keep your eyes still
• Prepare with your weight on the back foot

Differences between the two strokes

• If you like the baseline - build a two hander
• If you move forward and like to volley –  build a one hander
• If high bouncing balls bother you – build a two hander
• If you like to approach or play on grass courts – go with the one hander

Join the debate. What are your thoughts on the Pros and Cons?

By the way, Mastering the Ground Game, which covers this and much more, will be on the market next week – plus a few unexpected bonuses.

It’s not too late to let me know what you think is key in a product like this – take a moment and answer this two question survey.

Choose a specific stroke (semi western forehand, two handed backhand, one handed topspin backhand, etc) to practice within the following four successive levels – consistency, control, spin and then power.

Since ours is a game of error management, winners simply make fewer errors than losers (a sad but unfortunate truth).  Systematically practicing within these levels reduce your errors, and improve your tennis, as long as you treat your errors as information rather than as an annoyance.

Place the machine, or feeding practice partner on the baseline in either corner, as though a rally occurred and your opponent were cornered.  Set the machine or partner to shoot balls to varying areas of the court that approximate what you would receive in a normal game.  Nothing faster or slower, just similar to what you normally encounter.

1. Consistency – warm up, and then at a selected moment count your consistency on 12 consecutive shots.
2. Control – place a target in the opposite corner from the machine/ball feeder, something like 6’x6’ – approximately 36 square feet, and then at a selected moment count your accuracy on 12 consecutive shots.
3. Spin – if your task is topspin on the one handed backhand (for example) count your consistency on 12 consecutive shots.
   Then count your control with this same spin on 12 consecutive shots.
4. Power – finally count your consistency on 12 shots, and then your control to the target area on 12 shots

This method clearly identifies your strengths and weaknesses, and pinpoints precisely where you should work to perfect your strokes.  Monitor errors, initially with reference to consistency, then control, then spin and finally power.

Too often players practice these skills in reverse order by hitting at full power without any mastery of consistency or control.  And these same players generally pay the price when the match begins.

Now within this vein, I am pleased to announce my latest online product, Mastering the Ground Game (MTGG), which goes live next week.

In the meantime, take a moment with the following survey on the ground game – I will post the results in a few days.

• Most important stroke in the game.
• Most complex stroke to master.
• Taught in many different ways by many different coach/teachers.
• Nearly impossible to see the hitting action with the naked eye.
• Life is great when you have a good one.
• Life often miserable when this stroke goes off.

I receive many many questions about the serve, concerning technique, grips, swing path, spin, action of the arm hand and racquet, and truly the most common question concerns PRONATION.

How do I do pronate? What causes pronation? How can I feel pronation? Why should I pronate?

Prone and supine refer to positions of the body, and by extension to positions of the hand. Lying face down you are prone, lying face up on your back you are supine. Holding your palm down (looking at the back of your hand) is a prone position, holding your palm up is supine. So pronation would be turning your palm down from an up position. Really nothing more. But the catch here is the phrase “turning down.”

So here, in my opinion, is where everything may actually go off the rails (service wise). The action of the racquet as it meets the ball must be up and out. Hitting down on the ball brings the ball down. If you are about 7 feet tall you might actually reach way up and hit down on the ball when serving, but for everyone else you must actually hit the ball up off the strings. There is no other way to clear the net.

But, pronation implies, speaks, somehow even encourages you to think, to feel and to actually perform DOWN. And I don’t believe anyone can truly look at this unfortunate picture to the right  and say, “What an elegant serve!” On the contrary, we see an extreme form of pronation, body moving down, hand moving down, mind moving down, and for better or worse ball moving down.

The rotator cuff muscles within the shoulder are responsible for rotating the hand and arm. If you were reaching up above you, as though to grab and unscrew a light bulb in the ceiling, you would use a rotational movement in the hand and arm, where truly the palm initially reaches the light bulb in a supine position, and the unscrewing occurs from pronation. I doubt many of you have heard of such a thing, truly I had no idea when Don Kerr showed me this many years ago in New Orleans.

Sampras and Federer unscrew this light bulb when serving. Maria and Dinara actually pull this bulb from the ceiling. Yes both are versions of pronation. But the former creates an up and out hitting action, the latter creates an up and down hitting action.

But the key, I believe is that most will think and feel that pronation is somehow about “down” when in fact in this case it is more about “across.”  At the end of the day when teaching I now prefer to use the words “swivel” or “rotate” when trying to describe the feel of this particular action typified by Roger, by Pete, and hopefully one day by you.

What are your thoughts on this? What have you been told, what have you read, where you on this “pronation” thing?

Said another way, how is it that some players have unusual form yet minimize their errors, when others may work night and day on their strokes and form but never truly master the art of playing error free tennis?

Well sometimes it can be as simple as managing your point of contact – hitting the ball in front.  In this regard terms refer to playing the ball early, on time, or late.  Said another way the contact point can be in front, at your side or behind you.  And finally, your grips and the when of your preparation will ultimately influence where you actually meet the ball.

But the other day I am on court with a 4 year old who is totally new to the game, as well as to throwing and catching.  And my challenge has been to find tasks that give him a feel for “ball sense.”  A willful youngster, he often guides me in these tasks, and the other day he and I had a break through.

He positioned at the net with the racquet up and in front of his face.  I positioned on the opposite side fo the net, quite close to him, and gently bounced the ball down so it would rise above the net and essentially hit him in the face.

But, and to my amazement, looking through the strings coordinated his concentration and his movements.  Said again, looking through his strings totally got this little guy on task.

Well, this looking through the strings thing works just as well for the magnificent Roger Federer.  These photos are now common place, but take just one more moment to see how far contact is out in front, and to see how he does appear to be looking through his strings as he meets the ball. 

Then go out on court and move your own point of contact much further out in front.  Just like Roger and my 4 year old friend.

I hope these have been useful, unique and valuable to your game. If you feel they would help others, would you be willing to tell a few of your tennis friends?

If so, you can receive up to 3 bonuses! These are elementary but always overlooked.

If you take a moment and follow the link below you can receive bonus videos and companion reports on:

• The Most Telling Statistic in Pro Tennis - Your Key to Winning
  More Matches – I think you will be surprised by the numbers
• The Secret Move in the Modern Game – and How You Can Overcome the
  Most Common Misconception in Tennis – preparation was ”back fence to front fence,” now it is ”front fence to back fence” – Check this out!
• The 8 Best Bets to Winning at Doubles – see what it is that the ringers know

Cheers,

Jim

So check out this unusual picture.  We have seen the same thing with Sampras, and with Pancho Gonzalez, but truly it appears odd, even difficult to conceptualize.  Similarly, many years ago I read an article by Vic Braden where he said one could serve at full power with the wrist in a cast.  And a close inspection of this photo shows no wrist snap, look again, Fed simply rolled his forearm.

But those words still may not do this picture justice.  Over the years when I have told this story, many many tell me this is (and I am) crazy.  Once at a tennis conference in Santa Rosa, Townsend said as much and reiterated that the serve was all about the wrist snap.  I listened with one ear, having grown tired of all the naysayers over the years.  We agreed to disagree.  Then some months later he called me laughing, said he had found a photo of his serve in his college career that showed the identical position.  Though I am still not sure he has attempted to resolve the two.

So here goes my attempt at capturing or describing this “action.”  Fed has swung the racquet straight up, not forward.  Further Fed has extended his elbow so his hand accelerated straight up.  Then at the top of the swing, Fed released the upward energy into the racquet, much like abruptly stopping a wet towel to make it snap, or a similar action with a bull whip (if you have one.)

So many of the respondents to “Mastering the Kick Serve” or the “ETI Network” have said how hard it is for them to pronate (their word not mine).  But in each and every case those souls are truly swinging forward and not up. 

In the old days the tennis books were quite simple and without biomechanical jargon.  Simply stated, those books advised, “Swing Up and Out.”

We have worked feverishly through the night (truly) and the whole megillah is available for you.

Now!

I appreciate your support.  I believe we have a winner here.  The additional bonuses make this an offer too good to be true. In fact, my friends think I’m crazy that I’m giving away so much great stuff!

Cheers

Jim

Interestingly, in nearly all professional matches, the most telling stat which always coincides with the victor, is percentage of points won on the second serve.  The winner always is winning a greater proportion of those points, the loser is always winning a lesser proportion of those points.

For a quick peek at MTKS click on the link below

go check out the kick serve blog

Cheers

Jim

1. What is your single most important question about the kick serve?
2. If I could go the extra mile, and include something you haven’t seen before in an instructional product, what would it be?

I was really pleased to see so many responses to these questions, and wanted to share some of the results…

What is your single most important question about the kick serve?

• Location and placement of the toss
• Slow motion professional example with audio overlay
• A step my step, how to manual with specific drills
• Questions about injury to the back shoulder or elbow
• Racquet path and swing mechanics

If I could go the extra mile and include something you haven’t seen before what would it be?

• Many asked how to get more racquet speed, power and pace on this serve
• A number of asked how to make the kick serve jump higher
• And some asked specific questions about the grip, wrist snap and pronation

At this point I am pretty close to the mark, as regards what you want in this instructional product.  But equally, I think you will be surprised with the scope, presentation and drills in the Kick Serve.

To be released soon …

Stay tuned and be well

My friend and astute analyst Bill Stei noted how Davydenko hugged the baseline and played many balls up the middle against Del Potro.  And this contrasted sharply with Federer who when he lost to Del Potro in the US Open finals – in that match Fed was often behind the baseline, but equally if not more importantly Roger rarely played the ball up the middle, he is more adept at playing the ball to the corners.  Certainly Davydenko may have similar accuracy, but tactically playing to the middle is an entirely different ball game.

Recall one of Pete Sampras’ signature shots – the running forehand winner.  Pete shaded off center when playing from the baseline, more or less protecting his weaker backhand side.  But either by design or necessity (unless those two are the same thing) he developed an amazing facility for outright winners when scrambling full speed to retrieve the balls in his forehand corner.

To some extent, Del Potro may be as dangerous.  With his workmanlike two fisted backhand, he has less to protect on that wing, but in the US Open he drove amazing and huge forehand crosscourt winners from difficult positions in that corner.  And on the two biggest points late in the fourth set tiebreaker he struck pinpoint down the line winners – make or break shots which won him that tiebreaker and ultimately the match.

Consider the following video to compare angle of play from centered and cornered positions (Del Potro) and distance run to cover these shots from the opposite baseline (Federer and Davydenko)

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment

So what is the deal? It may be in the quality and nature of your first move to the ball. 

Try the following experiment.  Once you have read through the instructions, imagine your response, then stand up and see exactly what you actually do. 

You are in the ready position on the baseline – you see the ball coming routinely to your forehand side, not overly fast or slow, just a basic forehand.  What precisely is your first move, your initial reaction to prepare for this shot. 

Options might include – taking the racquet back, moving one or both of your feet, turning the hips, turning the shoulders, hopping, skipping, and the list goes on.

Now stand up and check your first move, your initial reaction to the forehand (though you could do this just as easily for the backhand).

Years ago when I was studying with Tom Stow, he asked just this question whenever meeting a new student.  Tom would begin by asking what they wanted to work on, and if the reply was forehand (or backhand) he then asked to see their first move.  In general Tom’s initial work with the student depended on the quality of their first move.

In most instances, players respond to this question by turning and stepping onto the left foot (assume a right hander), and this particular move prepares the racquet and places the weight on the front foot.  And if done in Tom’s presence, he would exclaim (if not explode), “No, no, I didnt tell you to step in I asked you to prepare.”  And now a whole series of lessons began for the student where the emphasis was on turning and keeping the weight on the back foot. 

Pitchers place their back foot on the pitching rubber.  Batters wait for the pitch with their weight on the back foot.

But somehow, against the slow balling opponents, players are often unable to wait with their weight on the back foot.

Monitor your moves in this exercise and when on court.  It may be no secret why most club champs are those who slow the ball down, reduce their errors, and give opponents fits because their shots travel so much slower than the balls fed from their club pro.

And if any of this strikes a resonant chord, I have written extensively about Tom Stow both on this blog, as well as in TennisOne.com.

cheeers

Jim

And through it all I am not judging, but rather observing, and then offering gentle prods to try certain aspects of the serve in different ways.

Improvements occur when you get the feel of something loose and rhythmic rather than forced and choppy. And for better or worse this feel may have a lot to do with the throwing motion you developed as a child.

Throwing involves the whole body – with a shift of weight followed by a progressive uncoiling of body parts where hips lead the torso, torso leads and pulls the shoulder, the shoulder leads and pulls the arm, and finally the arm pulls leads and ultimately flings the ball.

Fling.  Sling.  Slingshot.  Throwing is not pushing.  Neither is serving, though we have all seen examples of this on adjacent courts.

The best pitchers appear lithe and flexible, but also abrupt and whip like at release.  In fact, note how Randy Johnson’s jersey appears to bow out and away from him at release.  I suspect this transfers force to his arm and then to the ball.

Clarify your thoughts about the throwing motion.  Experiment with tossing a football.  See if you can improve your length without additional effort.

Yesterday, PMac was effortlessly tossing long long spirals across the tennis courts.  The motion appeared smooth without being describable.  Meaning, we can all see it when the serve (or throw) is effortless, but it may not need complex biomechanical analysis.

It just is what it is.  What is yours like?

Cheers

Jim

This came yet again to light in the past week, as I watched Sampras’s coach give a serving lesson to PMac.  Pete Fischer was all about balance, delaying the hip turn, and getting the toss well into the court.  But through it all he emphasized and reemphasized the need for a smooth swing.  PMac hits a pretty big serve, but whenever Pete wanted yet more power, it was always with reference to a smooth delivery.  And for a lifelong student of the game (I can’t help it) this was a pretty neat afternoon for yours truly.

Backtracking slightly, Tom Stow (world famous coach of American Grand Slam Champion Don Budge – testing your history here) wanted us to only emulate the absolute best examples in the game.  Volley – copy Edberg.  Two handed backhand – copy Agassi.  Running forehand – copy Sampras.  And so on.  And when it comes to the serve, I believe (and I am pretty sure Tom would agree) there are really only three models – Pancho Gonzalez, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer.  Certainly many of the professionals can crack the ball with velocity and accuracy – but this trio did all that and at the same time their service deliveries were smooth and effortless.

That said, with the increased emphasis on strength training and conditioning, many approach this game from the muscular side of the street.  And though that does pay dividends in some areas of the ground game, truly muscling does little to aid the serve.  In fact, I think the recent abysmal serving performance of many of the leading ladies at the US Open reflects just that – over effortful, muscular double faults – by the bushel basket.

So how can you find this elusive “smoothness” in your service delivery?  It all starts with the grip.  Take careful note of the Sampras photo, his fingers are OPEN on the grip.  Look again; this is a very unusual picture.  His whip like delivery started first and foremost with a very loose grip.

On court exercises.  Loosen the fingers/One Two Three/Locate the Swish Point

Pancho Gonzalez sometimes removed his pinkie finger from the grip, and other times removed the pinkie and ring finger for a bigger hit.  Loosening or weakening the grip relaxes the arm, promotes a more fluid delivery, and creates a whip like hit.  However, loosening the fingers will only work when the motion flows without interruption.

Mimic an entire service motion from start to finish without the ball.  Somewhat like a dress rehearsal, this exercise allows you to groove the serve, feel the legs, hips, torso, shoulders and arms, all without ever hitting the ball.  Many times this rehearsal magnifies problems in balance or tempo.

Once you have the knack, begin a quiet counting of the beat.  Find a musical tempo, where you can count one-two-three.  More or less ONE – turn away from the net, TWO – toss,   TWO and ONE HALF-knee bend and racquet drop, and THREE – turn and extend up and into the hit.   With practice, the tempo and three count becomes habitual.

Practicing again without the ball, swing with enough speed to produce an audible swish.  This should occur slightly to the right, slightly in front of you, and well above your head.  The swish point locates the moment of greatest racquet head speed, truly your “spot.”  Often students ask, “Where should I toss the ball?”  This exercise will answer that question.  If the racquet swishes above and to your right, then toss to that spot.

Cheers

Jim

Pancho stories.

I watched Pancho play Raz Reed in a small clay court tournament in Lake Worth Florida, 1973(or4).  I had lost in the first round to Eddie Dibbs, 3 and 2, he ran me literally from corner to corner.  But in this particular match, probably the semi finals, Pancho argued with the umpire, play was halted, Pancho left the court, and in the wink of an eye Raz disappeared.  The tournament director was surely going to plead with Raz and Pancho to continue, but absent an agreement from Pancho, the match was awarded to Mr. Reed.  Pretty good win.

For many years I practiced and traveled with Tom Muench, a particularly gifted competitor.  Not so much an excellent ball striker, but a canny strategist who seemed to win matches with inexplicable shots.  He would play the occasional set/lesson with Pancho in Las Vegas.  The terms were $100 per set/lesson.  But the instruction occurred as Pancho allowed Tom to come close to winning, but at the critical juncture Pancho would run a pattern that Tom could not handle.  Perhaps a backhand up the line approach, or a forehand crosscourt pass.  The point of the lesson was to show Tom a particular if not glaring weakness, and to present it to Tom at a turning point in the set.  Some years later I had similar experiences playing Whitney Reed (former US # 1 in 1963) where I would hit what I thought was a perfect shot at just the right moment, only to look up to see Whitney standing there.  (Prescience – knowledge of things before they happen, foreknowledge, foresight).

In 1987 Don Kerr and I developed and patented an electromechanical teaching aide that measured angular momentum.  The gizmo “whistled” when the force of the swing exceeded a preset threshold.  Good servers would make it whistle at the top of the swing.  Poor servers either could not achieve a whistle or timed it at a point well below and after the top of the swing.  I began a Masters Degree in Sports Psychology at the University of West Florida, and used the Whistler for my Masters thesis.

During the coursework in biomechanics I chose Pancho as a template for the serve, for both descriptive and comparative purposes.  I used film and video footage as well as a number of books about and by Pancho.  And for the next few years I looked at his serve inside and out.  Even presented it at a USTA teacher’s conference in New York – “Teaching the Serve:  The Pancho Gonzalez Model.”

Pancho was fluid, grounded, loose, whippy, and with a forearm roll at the top of the swing.  A lot like Federer and Sampras, but not at all like many of the women this week at the US Open.

I hope you enjoyed the footage.  Apologies for the quality.  Pancho was one of a kind.

And if you have listened to any of the coverage of the US Open, there is no shortage of opinions as to the cause of these double faults, or to their remedy.

But from my end, there is no need for over analysis, biomechanical jargon, or tennis lingo.

Simply three elements – Balance, rhythm and effort.

The double faulters were routinely off balance, out of rhythm, and or swinging with much too much effort.  Sometimes all three occurred at once.

In stark contrast consider the Gonzalez/Sampras/Federer model.

Observational learning.  Modeling.  This stuff works.  And any of these three are the model.

Note - I have presented this in much greater detail where you can see clearly how the ladies serves diverge from the “model.”  Go now to learn more (ETI Network membership required)

P.S I am introducing the “trifecta” – Gonzalez/Sampras/Federer, as the absolute best examples of a fluid balanced effortless serve.  Pancho had the best serve til Sampras came along.  And now, somehow, Federer has upped the ante on his own serve, rivaling if not surpassing Sampras in pin point accuracy.

We  launch on Tuesday and are busy with the finishing touches

If you are committed to taking your serve to the next level, BTS provides both a roadmap to point you in the right direction, and a blueprint to address each aspect of your serve.

But unlike any other instructional vehicle, the material will be personalized for you – from a combination of your own self assessment, a video upload of your serve, a detailed swing analysis, and then structured feedback prescribing which of the exercises, sequential positions and articles address your own particular issues.

And stay tuned – we are getting close.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

But equally, perhaps nothing in the game is harder to do.  The serve is the most difficult and most often misunderstood stroke in the game.

Certainly, practicing on your own without a roadmap or blueprint, simply seems to more deeply ingrain many of the habits you are trying to change.

I have fixed that…

Building the Serve From the Ground Up – is a unique, extensive, and interactive tool.  

BTS includes articles with text and supporting video, on court exercises, and key sequential analyses with reference to Pete, Roger and Pancho

Upload a video of your serve and receive a swing evaluation with structured feedback that describes exactly which exercises, sequential elements, and articles address where you are at this moment in time and how to improve.

But everyone’s background, experience and goals are different.

And, with your own self assessment, my personalized swing analysis and structured feedback, and the entire BTS course at your command – all that is left is focused practice -

And then take it to the next level!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Further, seeing comparative examples will open your eyes to how these things look and feel, and ultimately how to improve them in your own game

If you are “only as good as your second serve” – and on that score note that Sampras credited his 7 Wimbledon titles to having the “best second serve in the game” – an actual quote from Pete – it truly follows that you must get that ball spinning to master the second serve – or really all serves for that matter

Take some time watching the video below.  Note the swing path and how the two examples diverge.  Then go out on court resolved to build your own version of this “wicked serve”

Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think

If you are actively working to take your game to the next level, the ETI Network provides actionable monthly lesson plans that  focus your on court efforts

Practice with a roadmap.

Build your game with a blue print

Systematically.

Make sure you also check my post on Introducing ETI Network

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment

PS.  Check out ETI Network here

Each month’s lesson plan focuses on a specific theme and includes; video lessons, on court diagrams, articles and stroke analyses – all revolving around specific themes with well defined action plans. All monthly topics are presented within the following five categories.

• Between the Lines presents actual on court diagrams, with sequences of shots, discussion of angle of play, and shot selection based on court positioning
• Mind Games explores the mental side of the game
• On Court Video Lessons detailed presentation of techniques specific to the monthly theme
• Hot Seat presents an online review of a members stroke where the video submitted by the member, as well as the online analysis are available to the entire network. The Hot Seat offers a unique insight into common problems with proven corrections.
• Ask Jim – a video discussion of a commonly asked question from the community of members.

Let me know what you think…

I also added a quick tour of ETI Network as well…

Let me know what you think…

I use their self assessment to correlate my thoughts about how their serve looks, what their experience has been, and specifically what each one wants to do better

But so far there has been one fact that truly stands out.

All but one of the initial respondents self described a continental grip.

One and only one self described serving with an eastern backhand grip.

And for better or worse, that respondent had the absolute most action and snap at the top of the swing.

Further, many of the self described continental grips had more the look of an eastern forehand at contact.

Translation.

To get around all this constant and continuous opaque tennis jargon – moving the grip past a “normal service grip will totally open up the feel (and look) of the whip at the top of the swing.

In response to the question, “What aspect of your serve do you want to improve?”

Nearly all responded, more spin and more pop.

And, sure enough, this extreme service grip, also known as the eastern backhand, totally opens this particular door.

Note Rafael Nadal at service address, specfically the relation of his hand and racquet, and darn it all that is the good old eastern backhand.

The ball is in your court.

Cheers

Jim

The initial response has been overwhelming.

I had offered BTS with a bushel basket of bonuses – including:

• 2 free swing reviews
• 2 two months complimentary membership to my new online membership site – the ETI•Network
• BTS companion booklet
• On Court Exercise drill sheet
• Key Sequential Elements Drill Sheet

But if you are still on the fence, I encourage you to move fast

As of noon EST Wednesday June 17th – the bonus package will be reduced

I will no longer offer the complimentary 2 month membership to the ETI•Network and I will only offer one free swing review instead of the two reviews currently offered.

I believe in BTS

The testimonials have been amazing – I am going to share some of these with you soon.

This will work for you

As they say,”The ball is now in your court.”

Doors are closing  Click here to get BTS

I stayed up most of the night writing a sales letter to explain the extent, terms and procedures of the BTS coursework.

This took longer to write than I expected – for there is a lot inside

And a warning… I finished with a really long letter

Many of you have said you are ready to order immediately…

If so, at Noon Eastern, skip to the bottom and place your order.

On the other hand, some of you may want to see everything included in the offer…

If so, the letter describes all the components of the BTS coursework.

You will be able to access the letter here at precisely 12.00pm EST.

If you fall in this latter category, there is one proviso…

Based on the amount of interest already received I don’t think the 25 fast action bonuses will last very long. That said, there are lot’s of other great bonuses within BTS.
INSTRUCTIONS:

We will open the order system at *EXACTLY* 12:00pm Eastern time.

Make sure you refresh the page at 12:00pm Eastern, so you can review the sales letter in detail. Or, if you are ready to purchase, jump to the bottom of the page and order the BTS coursework immediately.

This is the link to the page

Remember, REFRESH that page after 12:00pm Eastern to get to BTS

A few weeks ago I sent an email asking the following: 

1. What is your single most important question about improving your serve?
2. If I could go the extra mile, and include something you haven’t seen before in an instruction product, what would it be?

I was overwhelmed with the response to these two questions, and want to share some of the results.

What is your single most important question about improving your serve?

• More power, pop and consistency
• Toss placement, height and consistency
• Positions, drills, exercises and practice methods
• Improving the second serve
• The topspin kick serve

If I could go the extra mile and include something you haven’t seen before what would it be?

• Many asked for a review and critique of their service motion
• A number of asked for slow motion to carefully see the serve action
• And some asked specific questions about wrist snap, pronation, and the whip 

As regards what I believe you want in an instructional product, I think I am getting pretty close to the mark.

But equally, I think you will be surprised with the scope and breadth of “Building the Serve From the Ground Up”

To be released soon …

Stay tuned and be well

Andy Murray is having a pretty darn good year, and it is only April.

He was won titles in Doha, Rotterdam and Miami, with wins over Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Roddick in the 2009 campaign, with a startling 29-3 record.

Presently ranked fourth with 9050 points, he is nipping at the heels of both Djokovic (9160 points) and Federer (10060 points).

Interestingly, the number one and two positions have been held by Rafa and Roger every week since July 2005.

To my mind Andy recalls the movement and anticipation of Miroslav ‘The Big Cat” Mecir, and the cunning and wiles of John McEnroe. Hardly a big banger, though certainly capable of punishing the ball, Murray relies on movement, change of pace, playing a patient counter punching style.

Darren Cahill commented, “Murray moves so well he “shrinks” the court, and from nearly any position on court he can roll tricky angles or hammer the ball outright for winners.” (agility, guile)
As regards shot making Federer said the following after his semifinal loss to Murray at Indian Wells, “Murray is a great counter puncher and reads the game really well. He knows he doesn’t have to play close to the lines because he can cover the court really well. I think that calms him down mentally.” (composure)

And from Andy Murray, “I try to explain that there’s more than one way of dictating points. It’s not just going for big, booming serves and huge forehands. If you change the pace with the ball a lot and mix it, I’m playing the match the way I want it to go. Very rarely do I lose matches having let the other guy play his natural game.” (guile)

Take a page from the Murray handbook – become better at analyzing what your opponent likes and does not like. Too often you and I may focus too much on our own shots, our winners and our errors. But this perspective obscures the tendencies, and weaknesses on the other side of the net. Resolve to pay more attention to your opponent on the other side of the net.

Remember, in the not too distant past Murray was tutored by Brad Gilbert, the Master of Winning Ugly. Somehow Murray makes it look easy rather than ugly.

PS. You too can do this!

Guile – chicanery, craftiness, cunning, deception, wiliness
Composure – calm, assurance, cool headedness
Agility – moving quickly lightly and easily, nimble

Certainly this creates a simplistic dichotomy – but also highlights how much mental effort occurs to play well.

Consider the following scenario with an unusual degree of unconscious competence – the server hits a big one, you ready to stroke it, the ball lands very close to the line, you meet the ball cleanly if not perfectly, and then a moment after the fact you see the ball out and call it so. Has this ever happened to you? Somehow in the wink of an eye your unconscious mind noted “fault” and felt “no problem,” but the stroke was already underway, you could not stop at that point, but uncannily you hit the ball perfectly. Worse, on the subsequent second serve you wonder why you can’t hit that ball as well.

Somehow Roger Federer knows this story.  Five consecutive US Opens and five consecutive Wimbledon’s.  And within that amazing run Fed hit the lines so many darn times.  In fact, in the early days of his run Agassi presented his greatest challenge.  At the US Open he beat Agassi in 5 sets in the 04’ quarters, and 4 sets in the 05’ finals, but what stands out in my mind was his Palm Springs 2004 semifinal victory, 46 64 63 – where on so many occasions after 8, 10 and 12 ball exchanges Roger absolutely hit the lines with repeated winners.  At that point in time his supreme confidence removed all doubt.  And doubt, to my mind, is the conscious estimation of possible failure.  Within that 10 grand slam run, Fed played unconscious tennis, and it showed.

Roger may rise yet again, but these days he appears less able to play the ball to the lines, and as regards Nadal that may be a necessity.  In fact, in his recent loss to Andy Murray at the BNP Paribas Open, he indicated perhaps an inability to thread the needle. The following post match comments from Federer tell the story, “Murray is a great counter puncher and reads the game really well.  He knows he doesn’t have to play close to the lines because he can cover the court really well. I think that calms him down mentally. I think that is why he’s playing so well.”  This type of observation never occurred during his Grand Slam run – I hope he finds that form again.  That said,  unconscious competence is darn hard to achieve, much less reachieve.

Takeaways.  I am not exactly sure how to advise you to access your unconscious tennis genie.  But I do believe that by exploring how those unconscious moments feel (when the ball is barely out just as you are stroking it) you can get a handle on playing less with your conscious mind and more by letting muscle memory take center stage.

Postscript.  For another look at playing out of your mind, in this case as regards Arthur Ashe, check out Levels of the Game by John McPhee.

As regards our Davis Cup squad, which incidentally has totally come together under the firm hand of Patrick McEnroe, James and Andy are fire and ice. Their styles could not be more dissimilar.

James Blake plays to win. He goes for his shots, rips the return of serve, and looks to finish the point with a monstrous forehand. When the ball falls in all goes well, when off by even the smallest of margins, this sometimes top tenner falls prey to lesser players. At the end of the day his style of play may be due less to coaching or conscious decision but rather simply to personality. With a career begun 1999, having amassed in excess of $6 million dollars, and a best ever ranking of 4th in November of 2006, who can truly quarrel with his tactics.

Andy Roddick plays not to lose. Positioned 10 to 15 feet behind the baseline (I assume Connors gave up trying to change him), he chips one handed backhands and over spins topspin forehands – truly this may not do much against Federer, but Andy is a closer in Davis Cup, a stalwart of the team, and wrapped things up on Sunday with a convincing three set victory over Wawrinka, 64 64 62.

Takeaways: When you are running wide and into the corner – what is your best shot?

Plan A – blast the ball down the line (Blake)?

Plan B – float the ball crosscourt (Roddick)?

Plan A reduces your recovery time, and generally results in a mad dash scramble from corner to corner. Plan B – generally prolongs the rally, and reduces your opponent’s offensive opportunities. And where James plays many fast and furious points, Roddick prefers the longer more drawn out defensive rallies. In fact, the first point with Chiudinelli serving to Roddick, the players exchanged 26 ground strokes before the Swiss tired of the exchange and ended the point with an error.

Could Blake learn to play with a little more defense? Could Roddick add a little more offense to his ground game? Tough to answer? Considering personality, history, and fear of failure, change can be a daunting task.

The real question is for you – what is your plan on court? How do you attempt to win? And ultimately, what is your decision tree when cornered?

In subsequent posts I want to explore the “midline of the opponent’s angle of play” and attempt to diagram consequences of down the line and cross court patterns. Truly this may be as difficult to explain as to learn, for in my own case it came rather late as a 30 year old former hard court player trying to learn backcourt patterns on the slow rubico. My friend Juan Weiss always told me to “be more patient” but the specifics of that patience is what I plan to explore with you.

Postscript. The best ticket in professional tennis (aside from a center court seat at a Grand Slam final) may be the Saturday David Cup doubles venue. In Birmingham, with the Tie even at 1-all, doubles was pivotal. A US win would give a comfortable margin with Roddick to play Sunday. A loss would create significantly more pressure where the US would have to sweep both Sunday singles matches. The Birmingham arena was packed, the noise was incredible, and where sometimes ATP doubles matches are an after thought, this was the real deal. And on this stage Bob and Mike Bryan were (as usual) superlative. Cruising early in the match, having won 40 of 47 points on their first serve, and breezing through the first two sets, the Swiss finally broke serve to capture the third set, and took the fourth set to tiebreaker. Tiebreakers can be all about luck, where a let cord here, a ball one inch out there, decides the set. But in this instance the US played spot on – Wawrinka and Allegro never converted a first serve (odd), the Bryans only hit one second serve. Result – 63 64 36 76(2).
The US advances to play Croatia in the quarterfinals.

Consider the following experiment recounted both by Stanley Plagenhoef (Fundamentals of Tennis) and Howard Brody (The Physics and Technology of Tennis).  A ball machine shoots a ball at a racquet fixed firmly in a vise, and shoots a ball at a racquet either hanging from a rope or balanced on its butt cap on a table.  So the contrast is between something firmly fixed, and totally loose if not unhinged.  The experimenters then compare the rebound velocity from the fixed and free racquet.  Stop for a moment.  Common sense tells us the fixed racquet will produce greater rebound velocity.

Incorrect.  Both balls rebound with equal velocity.  Explanation.  When the ball hits the strings a wave moves down toward the handle, but the ball has left the strings before the wave reaches the handle, nullifying any gain from the fixed grip.  I know this sounds crazy, and a few of the locals much smarter than me (quite a large group actually) explain that yes this is true.  Rebound velocity does not increase by tightening the grip.  However it will be true that the racquet will be less likely to turn in your hand, but that for better or worse is another issue.

So on your next visit to the courts, look at other players around you, evaluate for yourself the varying levels of tension you see – hopefully someone will appear graceful and flowing, not overly tight, and present a delightful contrast to others who over work the racquet, and often acquire tennis elbow in the process.

Finally, this past week we saw Pete Sampras in an exhibition at the SAP – and as ever the Sampras serve is truly a thing of beauty.  Loose, flowing, effortless, pinpoint accuracy.  And check out the grip – his fingers on the racquet hand are actually OPEN!!!

Certainly Benhabiles got this thing started, and Gilbert was on board with the US Open title and the briefly held number One ranking.  But results have paled in recent years when compared with the early promise shown

Interestingly, Roddick has less a sense of court position and patterns of play at the net, than he does for the big serve.  But it is so darn hard to retool at any point in time, and perhaps harder yet at the professional level.

Stefanki has had a formidable resume working with John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Yefgeny Kafelnikov and Francisco Gonzalez.  So far he has had A-Rod on the track and eating far differently, such that he has dropped 15 pounds and covers the court much better.

But, can Larry remake this game, to add a real backhand approach, better volleying skills, a more consistent return of serve, and a less predictable pattern of play?  Well if pedigree counts for anything, Stefanki’s time with the legendary Tom Stow may serve him well.  Tom was willing and able to take anyone’s game apart, so much so that deconstruction may actually be an understatement. 

Coupling this incredible serve with the Tom Stow “All Court Forcing Game” would be just amazing.  Skills include borrowing pace from the baseline when returning serve, moving forward on any and all short balls, and a simpler more efficient hitting technique – for Andy could hit his groundies with far less tension and more effect.

Larry – I hope you can do it – the kid deserves more Grand Slam titles.

Remember years ago when Edberg kicked the ball up and out to the backhand corner of the ad court, most one handers struggled to get the ball down to Stefan’s net rushing feet, and his Wimbledon and US Open titles are a testament to his kick serve and volleying prowess.  But over time, Jim Courier developed a strong two handed reply, and after an initial loss to Edberg in the US Open finals he reversed form at the Australian Open.

The current trend in the modern game is to play with more and more topspin, creating higher and higher bounces, and over time this does in fact create problems for the one handed players.  Indeed, the lower bouncing grass courts at Wimbledon served both Sampras and Federer well.  But as the ball gets up on the backhand wing, the two handed stroke has definite advantages, and we see this clearly with Nadal.

Where once the game was played with one handed strokes, and players moving forward – Laver, Gonzalez, Smith, Ashe, Newcombe, Roche – the list goes on and on – now we are are adopting a backcourt game with heavy semiwestern topspin forehands and deadly two fisted backhands.  And just as Sampras modeled his game from videos of Rod Laver, we have legions of youngsters emulating our new King – long live the King – his name is Rafa 

But at this point in time, it is all about Nadal on break points, Nadal in the fifth set, and Nadal absolutely refusing to lose.  Patrick McEnroe spoke of Rafa’s uncanny FOCUS against Roger in the fifth, and this is not about hitting big shots or elevating his game.  It is simply about the refusal to make mental errors, refusal to lose his nerve, and refusal to make errrors.  Against Verdasco he never faced a single break point in the fifth set and won an astonishing 100% of the points played on his own second serve.  Against Federer, same story, he never faced a single break point in the deciding set.

And as champions have distinguished themselves with the best second serve in the game – Sampras, or winners from any part of the court at any time – Federer, now it is the impenetratable will that elevated Nadal above the pack.

In his interviews he graciously deflects praise but insists that he is always getting a little better.  If that is so we are in for an amazing ride.

Sampras and his record can breath easy for a while – thanks to Rafa the King.

1. Balance Posture Leverage and Footwork
2. Hitting the Ball
3. Spinning the Ball
4. Court Awareness
5. Getting into the Point

All the posts, instructional products, webinars, evaluations and more will fall within one of these simple five categories.  And I believe that the simplicity that flows from these five keys will open the door for you to significantly improve your game.

When you are green you are growing – when ripe you fall off the tree – here is to the green and the growing !!!!!

But, imagine for a moment the classic tennis commercial where the spectators move their heads from left to right, following the ball from one end of the court to the other. Interestingly the same thing occurs when we watch a match on television, that is our eyes follow the ball.

In this way we enjoy the match, watch the incredible movement and shot making, but entirely lose track of if not the awareness of the split step – the all important readiness that occurs each and every time the opponent hits the ball.

So try the following the next time you view a match (either live or on television). Watch one player the entire point, if not the entire game. Do not follow the ball, but listen closely to the hit on the opposite side of the net.

Then observe when where and how the player you are watching splits. Does the split occur before during or after the opponents hit? Does the hit occur always on the center of the baseline? If not where does it occur? Are there times when a player runs through their split, and if so what has occurred to enable them to do that?