Philippoussis earned more than $8 million dollars on court over the years, but is now being sued for failing to pay the mortgage and not just for a small amount, for about $1.3 million.

“Money came in left, right and centre; you just thought that’s how it was for everyone and that’s how it will always be,” he said.

“It’s the toughest time of my life right now, but it’s also the best time because I’ve woken up to so many things in my life.

“When I get back up from this I’ll appreciate so many things so much more. I’ve fallen down and I’ll get back up. This is how it is. It’s life.”

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There are many many examples even at an elite level Web players have started thinking about the end of the match. Things like shaking hands, shaking the umpire’s hand, photos with the trophy, people to think in their speech etc.

Thinking about the outcome and defending your lead a common symptoms when winning a match. There are processes and strategies you can execute to ensure you see the match to its completion as the winner.

Read the full article at http://playtennistowin.com/blog

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It is impossible, nor is it recommended that you stay focused during the whole match. You need to have many breaks, in between points. The challenge, is to regain a high level of concentration quickly at the start of each point.

A technique, I am sure that you have seen the professionals do, is to maintain straight strings in your racquet. Keeping your strings straight makes very little physical difference, however is a great concentration technique.

You will see top players continually straightening their strings before each point. While they are straightening their strings their concentration is very focused. It gives them place for their eyes to focus while they think about the next point and how they going to execute their plan.

If you stick to this technique is easy to see when you are not concentrating. If you look down at your racquet, notice that all your strings are not straight, you need to concentrate more and take more time before points.

Try it out and let me know how you go!

Michael

Related Articles

• Two Handed Backhand Wrist Position – April 2, 2012
• Staying Focused Is About Rhythm & Timing – September 8, 2011
• Go Forward After Every Volley – September 23, 2008
• Playing at a Tennis Centre for the First Time – September 22, 2008
• Hit Your Volley As Early As Possible – July 27, 2008

When you are playing it a tournament at a tennis centre for the first time it is very important to make sure you know a few of the finder details about the centre.

Spending a little bit of time gathering all this information will make your time at the tournament much more relaxed. You will know how to prepare, you’ll know what to expect, and most importantly you will feel in control and settled in unfamiliar environment. This will allow you to focus on your match and your opponent and improve your chances of winning.

In the weeks leading up to the event find out the following information:

* How you are going to travel to the tennis Centre?
* What facilities they have at the tennis Centre.
* Do they have toilets and change rooms?
* Do they have restringing service?
* What is the turnaround time for a restring?
* Do they have a pro-shop?
* Do they sell consumables like grips, wristbands?
* Do they sell healthy food and sports drinks?
* Where are the practice courts?
* What time is another practice courts available?
* Do you need to book a practice court?
* What are the opening hours for the pro shop?
* Do they sell clothing? Just in case you run out of fresh clothes.
* Is the tournament being played at more than one tennis Centre? If so does the tournament arrange transport between the tennis centres?
* What is the surface of the courts at the tennis Centre? (and other tennis centres being used?
* If you’re travelling by car where can you park your car? Are there costs associated with parking?
* If you are relying on public transport know the timetables especially the last bus or train. is public transport safe?
* If possible get a map of where the tennis Centre is located.
* If possible also get a layout of the tennis Centre marking on it where the toilets are, food, pressure, tournament office.

It is a great idea to get the tournament a day before it starts if possible. Try and arrange a warmup practice hit at the tennis Centre start to familiarise yourself with the environment. This will help you relieve some anxiety coming into your first match of the tournament.

If you require accommodation, try to stay within walking distance of the tennis Centre. This is especially important if you have a late match followed by an early match the next day.

For most tournaments this tennis centre would become your home for a couple of days or maybe a week. You need to feel comfortable as soon as possible to increase your chances of winning early matches in the tournament. if possible, even try and find some photos of the tennis Centre to further familiarise yourself.

I hope that helps!

Michael

Related Articles

• Two Handed Backhand Wrist Position – April 2, 2012
• New Cincinnati Tennis Centre is Taking Shape – April 28, 2010
• Go Forward After Every Volley – September 23, 2008
• Straighten Your Strings to Improve Concentration – September 23, 2008
• Do not think during a match. – September 19, 2008

On the weekend I watched a young player slip over on Synthetic Grass during the warm up for his match. Synthetic Grass has a layer of sand over it making it slippery. He slipped because of his shoes. He was wearing his 2 month old, hard court shoes. He had left his grass court shoes at home this time. After falling and taking some skin off he forfeited the match in the warm up!

(in an upcoming article I talk about what you SHOULD do if you injure yourself in a match)

Amazing, you can do all this training and practice and something simple like keeping 2 pairs of shoes in your bag can determine how well you play. Simple really! I personally always have both sets of shoes in my bag. Even if I am playing a ‘hard court tournament’ I will bring my grass court shoes just in case. Why? Well I know that if there is a delay sometimes other ‘outside’ courts are used. This may mean different tennis centers are used and potentially they can be a different surface.

Be strict with yourself. Never wear your grass court shoes on a hard surface – not even once. The hard courts just strip the tread off – you want maximum grip when you need it.

So why different shoes?

There are 2 main things to look for when deciding what shoes to wear when. Cushion and grip pattern.

On a hard court surface the pattern does not matter as much as the cushion. Having extra padding, cushioning, gel, air – whatever the technology – is important.

Elite players notice the difference between a good and inferior pair of shoes. Always purchase shoes with padding at the front as well as the heel. This subtle and overlooked difference can be the difference between you feeling light or heavy on your feet.

I remember playing in shoes which were the model down from the top model. It felt like I was playing in thongs. Tennis players spen alot of time on the balls of our feet – jumping for smashes, recovering from a wide ground stroke, going forward on our volleys. You really notice the difference with extra cushioning at the front.

The other reason why cushion matters on hard court is the heat of the court. Playing on a hot court in the middle of the day can be very draining. You need a large buffer between you and the court to keep that heat away from your feet.

Cushioning also – obviously – protects you from injury. By the shoe absorbing the impact – it stops you from taking the impact to your ankles, knees and leg muscles. You also want some ankle support.

Ok, now ‘slippery’ surfaces. Clay, synthetic grass, grass etc. Cushioning and durability is less important. It is more about the tread pattern typically you want a shoe with the majority a heringbone pattern. The rubber can actually be softer so the shoe can mould to the surface of the court. The old Dunlop Volleys are a great shoe for these conditions – however – offer very little ankle support or cushioning.

NEVER wear your shoes on the wrong surface. You need your slippery tread to be fresh, not worn from use on a hard court. And Vice Versa.

Keep both pairs in your tennis bag if you are going to an event and there is a chance between playing on either surface. It can be the difference between winning and loosing.

I also recommend playing on both surfaces regularly. Playing on slippery surfaces is a completely different game to hard courts. They are both very enjoyable. We are going to discuss some surface strategies in an upcoming article.

Related Articles

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• Power Cushion: New Range of Tennis Shoes from Yonex – June 8, 2011
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• Andy Murray Joins The Sick List – May 6, 2012
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The drill goes like this.

What you need – 2 players. One Serving and the other Receiving. 2 balls – one for the server and one for the receiver.

1. The Receiver starts the drill by bouncing a ball on their racquet, not letting it touch the ground.
2. The server serves another ball whenever he or she is ready. – Second Serve speed – about 80% serve.
3. The receiver must continue to keep bouncing the ball on their racquet, hit the ball the server served and continue bouncing the ball on their racquet.

It sounds difficult however you work it out after a few serves. What I worked out is – tap the ball gently only leaving the racquet about 1 foot. Just after the server makes contact with the ball tap the ball higher (not sure how high I was not watching the ball in the air – I was focussing on the return- maybe 3 meters)

This really trains you to work on your peripheral vision and after a while you are actually become quite relaxed and confident you can make the return and keep bouncing the ball on your racquet.

After you have finished that drill try hitting normal returns… How easy are they now !!!

By overloading your system you work on all your senses. An advanced version of this would be to have people throwing balls at you, random noise next to you, or obstacles you need to step around. When all these distractions are taken away and ‘all’ you have to do is hit a return it much easier !

What do you think? Leave a comment or let us know another drill you like and use

Michael

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• Milos Raonic Serving at SAP Open – February 20, 2012
• Jo Wilfried Tsonga Hits a Dead Spot on His Serve on Australian Open Centre Court – January 23, 2012

Ok, firstly anxiety and nerves are slightly different things.
Anxiety is where you are looking forward to achieving a particular outcome in the future. The frustrating part about anxiety is that you are basically waiting for a ‘time’ to achieve it. For example a match on the weekend, in a few hours etc. Usually anxiety goes away once the match has started and you are able to do something about the outcome.
During a match or just before anxiety is usually replaced by nerves. So, what are these nerves? A definition of nerves is: ‘the gap between what needs to be done and what you believe you can do’.

Nerves are good – it mean that you care about the outcome !
Again, ‘what needs to be done’ – beat this opponent, play strong, volley well, work out how to beat someone.
The next part – ‘what you believe you can do’ – can you beat this opponent, play well etc. The closer your ‘belief’ on your ability to ‘achieve’ what needs to be done the less nerves you should have…. Never thought about it that way? The nerves are proportional to the size of the gap! Examples
If you are confident you can beat someone you might be slightly anxious to do it – but not nervous.
If you think you are going to loose, and are sure you can achieve loosing well you wont be nervous. (being negative – but proving a point)
If you are playing a good player of similar standard however you are feeling a little rusty, well you might feel nervous about how you will perform on the day.
How do you reduce nervousness?? Increase confidence. How do you increase confidence? Be confident in your preparation leading into the match. Your fitness, technique, routines etc.
If you are well prepared, confident with what you have done before the match you should be less nervous.
Preparation is something you can work on to reduce anxiety ! It makes you already in control of the outcome – preparing yourself. Now do you see how they fit together?? Interesting…
There also other tips for confidence like strategy and mental rehersal – that is going to be in another article!!
Have a great day !! Michael

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• Talk to Your Towel – July 17, 2008
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• Rafael Nadal & Ronaldo New Nike Advert – March 30, 2012

This does a few things.

Firstly it gets you moving forward to the volley. With your body momentum going forward you will use your body weight as the main power in the volley. Most people who stand very flat footed tens to swip and slap at their volleys in an attempt to generate power.

Secondly, it forces you to take an attacking approach to the volley which really threatens the opponent.

Thirdly, the earlier you hit the ball the higher over the net the ball is at contact. The longer you let the ball come to you, the lower your volley will be hit. So, with a lower volley you will then need to hit up on the ball to clear the net and are forced to play a softer shot.

Forth, with your momentum going forward you will continue to get closer to the net on the next volley – therefore closing out the point at the net.

Fifth, you will naturally hit the ball out in front of your body which is essential for good volleys.

Wow – all these results just by thinking about hitting it as early as possible !

Volley positive, go forward and close the point out.

Michael

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One of the most challenging parts of tennis is that nearly every ball is going to come to you differently. In most other sports there are not as many variables. This is one of the great parts about tennis, the challenge!

Ok having said that, the shot with the LEAST number of variables is our serve. We can PLACE that ball anywhere in the air, we can decide WHEN to toss the ball up. Two big variables !!

So why do people server inconsistently, or continually chasing their ball toss? The answer, an incosistent ball toss ! Sure a bit of wind might alter it slightly but really not that much.

What can you do? Practice your ball toss. Practice placing the ball in the air in the same spot over and over. Dont hit the ball practice the toss only.

Your ball toss – if you dont hit it – should land in the same place on the court. When I was young we used to place the racquet flat on the ground. Racquet handle butt against our front toe, strings toward the net. When we tossed the ball up it should land on the strings. We would practice landing our ball toss over and over, landing it on the same spot on the ground.

Only with a consistent ball toss, can build a consistent serve. Many people grip the ball too hard on the ball toss, ‘chuck’ it up then worry about it afterwards.

The ball toss should be a very gentle, gracefull placement. Start by holding the ball gently with your fingers. Nearly with your finger tips. Turn your hand so your palm faces your body. Gently release the ball with the tips of your finger, place it up there. Are you thinking about your ball toss differently now?

Work out where your toss should be for your different servers and practice placing them up there. Get the height right and how far forward or behind your head etc.

Enjoy ! Michael

Related Articles

• You Are Only As Good As Your Second Serve – October 2, 2008
• Hit Your Volley As Early As Possible – July 27, 2008
• Respect Your First Serve – July 24, 2008
• Serves Going Into The Net? – July 21, 2008
• Win the Warm Up – July 16, 2008

Wristbands, they sometimes are a little forgotten. Well here is an insight, they are not a fashion accessory – they are a performance enhancing tool !! Ok, why?

They are used to do a few things. Firstly, to wipe your forehead to stop sweat dripping into your eyes and secondly to stop sweat running down your arm, hand and onto your grip.

Remember in a previous article I talked about keeping a loose grip for more power?. I also talked about keeping your grips fresh and moisture free to keep the grip sticky.

Getting the picture? Yep, wristbands increase the life of your grips, keep moisture away from your hand and grip, therefore allowing you to continue to grip the racquet lightly!

Most people would never think of wristbands having an effect on their strokes – but indirectly they do !!

Having said all that – some top players dont wear them. See the articles pictures. You can now make up your own mind if they will help you!!

Exciting news readers !! All I will say is check out The Tennis Times. http://thetennistimes.com

More on that tomorrow !!!

Michael

Related Articles

• Hit Your Volley As Early As Possible – July 27, 2008
• Raining Tennis Balls In Seville – April 22, 2012
• Two Handed Backhand Wrist Position – April 2, 2012
• Maria Kirilenko Hinders Sharapova at Indian Wells 2012 – March 30, 2012
• Rafael Nadal & Ronaldo New Nike Advert – March 30, 2012