Archive for the ‘Player Profiles’ Category
Name: Novac Djokovic
Country: Serbia
Birthdate: 22th of May 1987
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 190 cm or 6ft 3in
Website: www.novakdjokovic.rs
Scouting: Novak is a very strong player from the baseline with equally good ground strokes on both sides. His forehand side is a bit stronger than his double handed backhand, but he tends to go for his shots a lot more on the forehand side, producing more winners but also more unforced errors.
As well as having a strong forehand he also has a strong first serve (as most of the top professionals do). Novak’s second serve is mainly just a stock standard kick serve but also likes to switch it up from time to time.
In terms of weaknesses a player really needs to step up on the day to be Novak. Making a lot of unforced errors isnt really going to give you not much of a chance playing Novak. Stepping in to his second serve and trying to push him onto the back foot early in the rallies is essential, while also mixing up your depth of shots from the baseline. From what I have seen of Djokovic over the years is that he has good hands at the net, but takes him a long time to get settled and into the right position to make a good volley.
Name: Andy Murray
Country: United Kingdon
Birthdate: 15th of May 1987
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland
Residence: London, England
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 190 cm or 6ft 3in
Website: www.andymurray.com
Scouting: Andy has a great first server in which normally provides him with a good step into the point. His second serve is not as good and tends to double fault more than other players. Andy’s key shot is of course his forehand in which he generates a lot of racquet head speed and allows him to move forward in the rallies. Andy has a very solid baseline game but for some reason his best results seem to come on either the grass or hard courts, which are the fastest surfaces. His backhand is his weaker side but it is improving on a daily basis.
Previously Andy used to have a lot of problems with fitness but in the last 2 years he has improved this dramatically, and this seems to be the stepping stone that has allowed him to really compete and beat the best players in the world. The last facet of the game that Andy really needs to improve on is his volleys and movement into the court. Sometimes he can get caught flat footed and not sure when to come in behind a ball. When playing Andy you should stay in the point and try to return serve as well as possible and then see if you can move him around the court while mixing up your depth.
Name: Jelena Jankovic
Country: Serbia
Birthdate: February 28, 1985
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia then SFR Yugoslavia
Residence: Bradenton, Florida
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 177 cm or 5ft 9.5in
Website: www.jelenajankovic.net
Scouting: Jelena is one of the best female tennis players in the world. Jelena has great ground strokes on both sites and likes to play straight across the baseline. Her fitness levels are also very good, so once you start a match you have to be ready for a long encounter. Jelena however doesnt really like to be stretched on either side. Her backhand slice isnt very strong and tends to land short. If you can keep her around the baseline but mix up your depths at the same time.
In terms of her serve Jelena has quite a strong first serve and the second serve likes to go fo the forehand of her opponent. Jelena doesnt really have a very strong kick serve in her bag, but neither do most female players.
Name: Elena Dementieva
Country: Russia
Birthdate: October 15, 1981
Birthplace: Moscow, then Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 180 cm or 5ft 11in
Website: http://eng.dementieva.ru
Scouting: Elena is a very offensive baseline player with solid groundstrokes on both sides, but her forehand is her main weapon. Elena has a very strong running forehand in particular and she tends to go for it a lot more, but this also means she makes a lot more unforces errors.
Elena is pretty much one of those players who comes to net only once in a match and that is to shake hands. She has great speeds and athleticism around court and her fitness levels are very high.
Elena’s main weakness is her serve. Her serve is very inconsistent at time and especially in tight situation of big matches. Once Elena starts to tire her serve drops a little shorter and with less pace. Her very obvious weakness is her second serve that is nearly always to her opponents forehand, because she cant hit a kick serve and her serves are just slice.
Name: Ana Ivanović
Country: Serbia
Birthdate: November 6, 1987
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia then SFR Yugoslavia
Residence: Basel, Switzerland
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 186 cm or 6ft 1in
Website: www.anaivanovic.com
Scouting: Ana Ivanovic is one of most promosing tennis players in the world, but she has only really lived up to expectation once and that was the 2008 French Open in which she was the champion. Apart from that Ana has a great serve and hands around the court. She has a very strong forehand and likes to play from the back of the court as much as possible. Her return of serve is also quite strong and she really going for the first shot.
However, she still seems to lack a fair bit of consistency in terms of days in days out. Thus, some days she can turn up on top form and the next day she doesnt even turn up. Additionally, Ana doesnt really seem comfortable when moving forward into the court and seems even more tentative when it comes to volleying.
Name: Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
Country: Russia
Birthdate: April 19, 1987
Birthplace: Nyagan, Soviet Union
Residence: Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
Plays: Right-handed with a double handed backhand
Height: 188 cm or 6ft 2in
Website: www.mariasharapova.com
Scouting: What can you say about Maria Sharapova? Maria has some of the best ground strokes in the game and on a good day is pretty much unbeatable from the baseline. Both her forehand and backhands have great power and she loves to really go for her shots.
Maria’s first serve is top notch and she really likes to hit it hard, but this can also lead to not a very high first serve percentage. However, her second serve is the opposite, its quite weak and doesnt really do too much. When tired or tight Maria tends to really slow down her second serve which either ends up in double faults or falls short in the court.
Approaching is a very strong point for Maria as her ground strokes lay a good path to net. However, when at net she isnt too assured of herself. Normally, her racquet head drops which causes her to lose control and try to feel the ball over the net instead of moving forward into it.
Maria also plays a very slow game so be prepared to wait and take your time.
Name: Venus Williams
Country: USA
Birthdate: June 17, 1980
Birthplace: Lynwood, California, USA
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)
Highest Singles Ranking: 1 (February 25, 2002)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 5 (October 11, 1999)
Scouting: As we all know Venus is the older of the two Williams sisters. Venus has been one of the most influential female tennis players in history. Between Venus and her sister Serena they have made womens tennis a lot competitive and exciting.
Venus has a very solid all-round game. One of her key strengths is her movement around court. Venus is a very agile and fast mover around court and with a very potent forehand and backhand to match. Under pressure Venus tends to break down in two key areas, her second serve and forehand. Her backhand is very consistent and can also hurt you on short balls. Players need to look to take advantage of her second serve and move forward into the court. When playing big points from the back of the court make Venus hit as many forehands as possible and if coming to net on her forehand make sure you cover the line, because that is her favourite passing shot.
Name: Serena Williams
Country: USA
Birthdate: September 26, 1981
Birthplace: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)
Highest Singles Ranking: 1 (July 8, 2002)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 5 (October 11, 1999)
Website: www.serenawilliams.com
Winner US Open 2008
Scouting: Serena is one of the greatest women tennis players of all time. She has been at the peak of the sport for nearly a decade. Between Serena and her sister Venus they have nearly completely changed womens tennis for the better. Womens tennis is a lot stronger, faster and more exciting since they came on to the scene.
Serena has a very powerful all-round game which consists of strong ground strokes mixed with a powerful serve. Her serve is very compact and tends not to break down. Both forehand and backhands are equally powerful and dangerous. Serena is quite good at moving forward into the court but still doesn’t have the volleys to play a lot from the net. This is really the key weakness in her game. However, that being said she is very hungry to win, but some days in lower level tournaments she just doesn’t come out to play and tend to slip. When it comes Grand Slam time however wait to see her in the closing rounds.
Name: Roger Federer
Country: Switzerland
Birthdate: 8-Aug-81
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Residence: Oberwil, Switzerland
Plays: Right Handed
Highest Singles Ranking: 1 (2-Feb-04)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 24 (9-Jun-03)
Website: www.rogerfederer.com
Scouting: Roger is of course one of the greatest players of all time. Roger is 5 times champion at Wimbledon and has also won the US Open and Australian Open. Thus, the French Open is the only Grand Slam to aloud this great champion.
Roger has one of the best all-round games on the tour. He has a big serve especially when it comes to big moments in the match. His movement is so fluid and has great anticipation, plus he also likes to mix up with a few serve and volley points from time to time (normally once a game and when he is leading in the game). His forehand is his stronger side and also makes the big shot with this stroke. If he does have a slight weakness is his backhand and his inability to make this shot when being rushed. If a player can stay in the ralley long enough you need to continue to work over his backhand and then try to push forward when possible and make him his a rushed passing shot.
Name: Ernests Gulbis
Country: Latvia
Birthdate: 30-Aug-88
Birthplace: Riga, Latvia
Residence: Jurmala, Latvia
Plays: Right Handed
Highest Singles Ranking: 46 (8-Oct-07)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 160 (25-Jun-07)
Scouting: Gulbis is one of the players on the rise in a fast way. I saw Earnests play juniors a few years ago and he is a big fella with an even bigger serve. His main weapon has to be his serve but the remainder of his game is also improving, this is the key reason why his ranking is also on the continuous rise. I predict Ernests to be in the top 20 by the end of the Australian Open next year.
As I mentioned Ernests has a very big serve and he likes to follow it into the net as much as possible. Currently, you need to stay on top of your returns and really trying to get some penetration on his second serves. Ernests also has quite a big forehand that he likes to really go after and hit, so you would need to really focus on his backhand side and just play consistent from the back of the court and you should have a good chance. All this is easy to say when you have a 200km serve coming down at you consistently, but in this case it is really not about the pace, but more about the height he gets on his serves. Because Ernests come down from a fair height when the ball bounces down the other end you will always seem to be hitting returns from over your head.
