Archive for the ‘Strategy’ Category
Although nearly everyone would put their house on Nadal to win his 5th straight French Open title, Robin Soderling is one of the dark horses that he should be wary of.
Nadal beat him so convincingly a few weeks ago in Rome 6-1, 6-0 and is 3 and 0 in head to head results against Soderling but there has been some fierce rivalry between these two which started at this very tournament in the first round of 2006 in which Nadal clinically won in straight sets.
The tension between these two esculated at Wimbledon 2007 in a match that was played out over 3 days due to the weather. There was alot of niggling going on from Soderling in response to the time Nadal took between points and also some of his mannerisms. There was no love lost here between the two and Nadal went on to win 6-4 6-4 6-7(7) 4-6 7-5. This to me proved there was enough fire inside the belly of Soderling to take revenge and upset the world number one on what could be described as his very own court having never lost a match on it and over the course of the last four years only losing 7 sets from 31 matches.
The key to this victory could be put down to many things like Nadal not at his best or Nadal had peaked too soon this year winning so many titles already on the red surface, but the two things that really stood out for me in this match was (1) Soderling believed in himself and his game plan and (2) he went out there to make Nadal work and put him more on the defensive by hitting more to the strength of Nadal (forehand) and then exposing more of his weaker side in the backhand.
To learn when to come to the net, imagine that the court is divided into three colors, like a traffic light. The zone that the ball lands in should determine your response. The back court is the red zone. Do not move in when the ball lands in this area. The middle part is the yellow zone. If you get a ball there, proceed only if our opponent is out of position or you can hurt them with your approach. The front third of the court is the green zone. When the ball bounces here, get in as quick as possible.
Glenn Irwin – Noosa Springs Tennis Centre
The tennis court can be a very lonely place for a singles player. In between points it is easy for our mind to wander and be distracted. People wandering around the behind court, planes flying over, other matches going on around you, all have the potential to take your focus away from the match.
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
Ok, the title is not entirely true – however the point is DO NOT think TOO much during the match.
During the match is the time to EXECUTE everything that you have thought about before the match.
What am I talking about?? Ok. Before a match you would have trained and practiced. You would have worked on your technique across all your shots. You would have found great rythm on your serve and ground strokes. You also should have developed a clear plan / strategy on how you are going to play this match. Plan A and Plan B.
Do you see what I refer to when I say THINKING? During a match is the time to EXECUTE all these things. Forget about technique, you can not change that in a match. Forget about rhythm – it is your opponents objective to ensure you get no rhythm! Also forget about strategy.. it is pretty tough to work out a solid plan when you are in the middle of a match. Before the match is the time for that.
So, during the match you are relaxed and free to only think about executing your PLAN to beat this opponent. Focus on your plan, have confidence in your plan and most importantly STICK TO IT. Give your plan time to work.
So many people come into a match with a plan and then get discouraged because they are down in the first set. They go to plan B, which also fails.. What happens then? Then they are totally lost. When you are totally lost you are hitting balls aimlessly and points have less meaning. Then what do you start to think of? …. Technique, or creating plan C. During that time, game after game is slipping away and ultimately the match.
IF you PREPARE your plan well, be confident to EXECUTE it. Sometimes your plan may take a few games or set to take effect.
THINK before a match EXECUTE during the match..
Michael
Well the title is not entirely true. However, the point is that winning tennis matches is not about hitting winners. Yes, hitting a winner feels great ! I think it is one of the most exhilarating feelings. The more difficult the shot, the greater the feeling when you make it. Personally, being pulled wide on my backhand, then executing a winner down the line feels fantastic ! You have such a small thin slice of court in which to land the ball – high risk and high reward. Anyone watching loves it and the opponent will be impressed.
However, does that win matches? Unfortunately the answer most of the time is no. The chances of hitting winners all match is very low. The risk of these attempted winners becoming unforced errors is very high. Some players, sometimes will hit winners shot after shot, however usually that will only last a few points or games. Maybe they can keep it up for a set, but not likely for a whole match.
I am considering a winner to be one where you have executed a shot at about 95%, it would need to be close to the lines and unreachable by your opponent.
So when is the best time to go for a winner? Hmmm, tough question..
Some would think – when you have a decent lead on the opponent. However you should never change a winning game. You should be closing the match out not handing points back to them.
Maybe, if you have little or no chance of winning the point so it is ‘do or die’. Clean winner or loose the point. However if you dont go for a winner and give the opponent another shot – they might make an error on their shot or play a weak shot so you can recover. So really you MAY still win the point.
If you have a short ball and maneuvered your opponent out of court, a high percentage winner is a good shot selection !
Maybe the secret is Winners in Moderation..
Let me know your thoughts… Winners feel great, they get the crowd excited but do they win matches?
Something to think about !! Sign up to ensure you do not miss the Daily Tennis Tips. Please contact us with comments, suggestions, topics etc.
Until Tomorrow !! Michael
For singles players The Tennis Court can become a lonely place. There are so many things going on out there and it is left to you to process them all and work out what to do.
Well here is a tip. Pretend, in your mind that your towel is your new best friend and coach. Take him or her with you all over the court. Your towel follows you down each end of the court and every time you need a chat do it! (You can actually wipe your face and forearms with it too !)
It may sound strange, but by talking to your towel – probably not too loud – you are actually talking to your self, and having to construct your thoughts in a coherent way. Therefore the jumbled ideas in your head become clearer. Listening to yourself or asking yourself questions, you WILL give your self answers.
There is a great book called ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ and early in the book it talks about Self One and Self Two. You become the player and the coach. Talk about what to do next, if you are feeling tired etc. IT is also a way for you to ‘vent’ and become more relaxed afterward.
By talking to the towel you start to ask the coach in you clear questions and YOU WILL get answers. Remember not to talk too loud, maybe you dont need to actually say anything out loud, but just go through the process and see how that goes !
Thanks for listening and keep the feedback coming in.. It is great to hear !!
Michael
It is important to get off to a quick start in a match. Why not start with the warm up! The best part is you make the rules and start controlling what is happening on the court. I am not talking about hitting winners or junk in the warm up. It is unsportsmanlike and you should always respect your opponents needs to warm up. Tennis is one of the few sports where you actually warm up the person you are about to try and beat.
Focus on making no unforced errors. In the warmup you should be looking for your opponents weaknesses and not letting them see any of yours. Focus on not having any balls sitting on your side of the net.
After warming up your ground strokes be the first to come into the net to warm up your volleys. This shows that you are happy with your ground strokes and are moving on. You are already starting to control the match.
After you have practiced your serves to first court be the first to change sides and serve to second court.
Finally, when you are practicing your serves to second court offer to start the match before the opponent. “Are you Ready?”
This is what I call win the warm up. You are already focusing your attention to the job at hand AND you are already appearing like a solid opponent who is already in control and knows what they want.
Keep that momentum going and win the first game, serving or receiving, it sets a nice tone for the match !!
Enjoy and keep improving. Dont forget to Sign Up to ensure you do not miss a Tip!
You never know, the next tip could be the difference between winning and loosing your next match!
It happens all too often. Before we know it we are about to serve a second serve. What happened to the first one? Did we just throw it away? Is it because we have a second chance that we treat the first serve with less respect? We might just have a slap at it, go for a big hard flat serve and not really think about it. Then, if it goes in, well that is a bonus.
If you look at the statistics of elite level matches usually the winner has a higher first server percentage. Is this just a coincidence OR are we looking at something obvious here?
Lets think about it. In theory, when you are service your first serve you are in a stronger position than the returner. They do not know how conservative you are going to be, in actual fact they expect you to be attacking your first serve. Therefore most of the time the receiver in defensive mode, just trying to hit a decent return to neutralise your server – then you both can fight for the point.
Now the interesting thing, on the second server the attitude changes. As the server, you must get this one in. You are more conservative. The returner is more attacking than what they were on the first serve.
The receiver steps up into the court and is ready to attack your potentially weaker second serve. The receiver is more positive and more prepared, which you do not want.
The point is that you have so much more advantage on the first serve than the second serve. Treat it with respect. How?
Work hard to increase your first serve percentage by really thinking about it before you hit it. Treat the first serve like you do not have a second serve. Maybe back the pace off a bit from 95% to 85% and add a little spin to increase the margin for error.
The first server already has ‘natural pressure’ associated with it. Let the natural pressure of the first serve work in your favor!
A great way to practice this is play a set only using a single server per point. Pretend second serves do not exist. Sounds scary doesnt it !! Yep, miss the first serve, its the oppontnets point. As I write this t makes me nervous !!
Look forward to your serve !! Until tomorrow !
