The Score: 4-1 Up A Break

Here is the deal, you are up a break 4-1 in the first set. Your opponent is at a comparable level to yourself and the match can swing either way. Thankfully, all your preparations heading into the match have panned out, sprinkled with just enough unforced errors from your opponent at inopportune times. The nerves of your opponent were not as sharp as yours, thus causing more unforced errors than they would usually make. The good news is you are up a break 4-1.

Then your opponent does the unthinkable and STOPS MISSING! (I hate when that happens!)

The rookie mistake is to accuse your opponent of treeing (playing unbelievable, this can't be!). You begin to panic and overhit. The obligatory 2-3 unforced errors a game are cut down to 0 or 1. Your opponent has suddenly relaxed into the match and settled down. The person on the other side of the net desperately wants to claw their way back into the match. Points that were coming easily are becoming less frequent and rallies of 10 plus shots are becoming the norm. Your heartrate starts to accelerate and frustration starts to build because of their solid play. How can this be?

When they stop missing, THIS IS WHEN THE MATCH BEGINS. You have to be on alert for when this moment comes. It might come at 4-1 or 5-2 or 2-0 up in the second set. But against any good player who is mentally strong, they will eventually decide to put the ball in the middle of the court- over and over again. When you think about it, nothing bad has happened and you should be grateful you have a 4-1 lead. Now is the time to remain calm and be ready to wrestle into some long rallies.

It is very conceivable the rallies won't go your way and you find yourself up 4-3, losing 2 consecutive games. Again, nothing bad has happend, you are still on serve. You have to realize at 4-1 down, they had nothing to lose and maybe loosened up a bit. With the pressure off of them, lots of players can recover from a break down. However, once the score reaches 4-3 on serve, the pressure is back on for them. And as long as you have remained emotionally calm and not do anything drastic, you can weasel your way to another break. Being emotionally calm, not reacting or panicking to the 4-3 scoreline will only increase your odds of winning the set. If you panic, you have simply decreased your odds.

At 4-3, this is not the time to try fancy plays (interject new strategies), but this is the time to bring high percentage tennis. Lots of meat and potatoes and see if they can hang with you mentally (maybe they will crack). The rookie mistake at 4-3 would be to change strategies completely and be hotheaded. This is a sure recipe for losing the set 7-5.

The goal at the end of the day is to maximize your odds of winning. You want to stack all the odds in your favor (remember, your opponent on the otherside has problems too) and execute your strengths to their weakness. Towards the end of the set is when people begin to crack. Weak backhands at 1-0 are easy to make, but weak backhands directed to an opponent become increasingly difficult at 4-3 and 5-4. You have to work on their head and don't let them off the hook with cheap unforced errors. If they keep up the good tennis, atleast you played smart and didn't let go of the rope.

Good luck with your next 4-1 lead!

Analyzing Your Opponent

Tennis has been compared to life, war, boxing, martial arts and a number of other human endeavors. Heck, I've even compared it to ballet through a minefield with a tennis racket in hand (yes, I have an active imagination). But the analogy that works best is probably war. Sure, nobody dies or gets injured but all the elements are there: weapons, strategy, tactics, elements, planning and preparation (both physical and mental). However, it's the planning aspect that really correlates the two activities. In order to devise a proper strategy (as well as tactics to implement the strategy) you must have a complete understanding of your opponent: stroke by stroke; attribute by attribute; characteristic by characteristic. Before doing battle, you must know your opponent better than he knows himself.

Often times, the only feedback is that the opponent is a righty and has a big forehand. That's a start. In the grand scheme of things, however, it's like saying that he's "half-white and good at square-dancing". It scratches the surface but doesn't quite get into the substance of the matter. Before preparing for a tough match - preferably the night before - try to approach the match as a general would approach a battle. Start by asking some questions about the opponent so that you have a better understanding of what's to come. Remember, this is only an exercise; you will not be right immediately or all the time. In many ways, breaking down your opponent is like appraising the value of a house: there are a number of factors to consider but in the end it's more art than science. However, by continuing to continuing to engage in this process you will become more proficient at it. At some point, you will face a 6'3" lefty from Perth, Australia (with a two-handed backhand) and you will identify him more by strategy than by name. Again, the underlying theory is that a BAD PLAN IS BETTER THAN NO PLAN AT ALL. A bad plan can be changed (particularly if you have back-up plans). If you have no plan, then it's harder to get one going on the fly (especially if you're down 2-3 breaks). So here are some questions to help you along the way. These are NOT the only questions and you have to formulate your own to assist you through this process.

1. Is the opponent a righty or a lefty? We've covered this before, but this a good starting point as it will assist you in visualizing his serves and weapons as well as your own serves and weapons.

2. Does he have a two-handed backhand or one? This can have various consequences based on your own attributes but it may assist you in figuring out whether to hit the ball high (usually against a one-hander) or low; make him pass you on the run (easier for one-handers than two-handers); where you serve (generally, one-handers hold a backhand grip on the returns); etc.

3. Is your opponent tall or short? Tall people like high balls and, generally, move better up and back than side to side. Short people usually like lower balls and are better moving side to side than up and back. If you hit a high ball, will it elicit a short response (around the service line) that you can thump? 

4. Is he fast or slow? That is, how good does he cover medium distances around the court (e.g. baseline to net)? Slow people are like walls - they hate to move and love pace directed to them. If you make the opponent move will he (a) miss, (b) get tired and/or (c) hit short? If so, you can figure out a game-plan. 

5. Is he quick? Unlike #4, above, this deals with how well the opponent adjusts to the ball and covers small distances. Someone can be fast but not quick. If they're not quick, wrong-footing them or hard body-shots sometimes work as they will not be able to change direction as well or adjust to your shots.

5. Is he strong or weak? That is, can he generate his own pace or does he feed off someone else's pace? Make a weak player generate his own pace. A strong player should be forced to generate pace from the most awkward positions (high/low/jam/slice).

6. What type of player is he? Serve and volleyer; baseliner; pusher; touch-player; all-around? What does he like to do; what does he not like to do? Who coaches him and do you know the coach? This may be a more advanced concept but there are certain "schools of tennis" throughout the world. Some produce big forehands; others have more of a serve and volley approach; some produced fighters; etc. If you know the "school" you will be in a better position to develop a counter-strategy. Furthermore, "indoor" players sometimes hit the ball flat and "without dimensions" (i.e. deep). Indoors is not as conducive to angles (maybe because the air is thinner) and, usually, favors bigger-flatter hitters (who, incidentally, are not accustomed to long rallies or sharp angles). If he's a high-altitude player, there's a chance that he might not hit the ball as hard when playing at sea level (since, at high altitudes, the ball tends to fly). However, high altitude players normally have incredible serves and strong lungs so it's important to be prepared for big serves and long points.

7. Who are the players that have beaten him? You want to defeat this opponent, correct?! Well, often times you're going to step outside of your own comfort zone and emulate another player. It doesn't have to be Roger or Rafa; it can be Johnny from down the street. What did he do to win.

8. What are his weapons and when does he like to use them? How does he use them? It's not enough to say that he has a big forehand. You have to know FROM where and TO where so that you can either stay away from it or know where to go if he manages to get a shot where he wants it. So, for example, in the first diagram below, which "X" represents his "kill shot(s)" and which question mark represents his preferred target(s)? In the second picture, from which height does he like to hit the ball: 2 feet off the ground (white line); 4 feet (purple); 5+ feet (red)? Not every player can hit the best shot from all positions so it's important to break it down three-dimensionally so that you can figure out exactly the spot to keep it away from.

9. Where does he like to serve under pressure? How good is his out wide serve? Kick-serve? Does he get nervous when you "crowd the T"? Does he have specific serving patterns (e.g., does he always starts the game with either flat "down the T" or a slice out wide)? If you chip and charge, does he start to get shaky on his passing shots?

10. How is is head? Is he a fighter? Is he smart? Does his concentration lapse? Is he better when he's in the lead than when he's behind? Can you "get in his dish" if you show some "game" (i.e. feistiness) or would it better if you were an iceberg? Is he patient or does he try to rush off the court?

11. Does she have obvious weaknesses and how does he defend them? Someone with a glaring backhand weakness will often plant herself in the backhand corner. Hitting MORE shots to the backhand won't get her out of that spot. You have to break some eggs and hit some shots to the forehand AND THEN pick on the backhand (like a dried booger).

12. If the opponent is an attacking player, is he just as good when he's BROUGHT in (e.g. through a drop shot or short, low-lying slice)? Some players will love to attack but only like to come in on their own terms. If you take the initiative and bring them in once in a while, they will be coming in unprepared. Sometimes, it's best to also try "taking the net away from them" by beating them to the net. For example, if you're first in, your opponent will be forced to play a defensive role - something she might not be accustomed of doing.

13. How is her overhead and backhand volley? These are two shots with which most young players struggle. It takes a great deal of pressure off you if you know that your opponent can't hit overheads to save his life or "duffs" the backhand volley short. If that's the case, when your opponent makes it to the net, belt the passing shot for the backhand and bolt in.

14. How does your opponent handle losing the first set? Does she usually "bag it" or is she a fighter. If so, maybe it's important to be fired up early and steal the first set away from her (obviously, "steal" DOESN'T mean cheat). Figure out the best way to "fire on all pistons" from the get-go. Don't rely on winning the second and third set. Scratch, fight and crawl for the first one.

15. How are the opponent's returns? Does she run around the backhand a lot? Maybe preparing for a slice serve to "keep her honest" would be a good play. Also, someone who routinely punishes the second serve return should not see many second serves to begin with (i.e., MAKE YOUR FIRST SERVE). Does he have specific targets that he likes to hit with the return? If so, cover them. Kids are NOT THAT SMART. They will, generally, do things over and over (even until they lose) without realizing that they're getting burned. All you have to do is figure out their patterns. Remember, if any of your opponents were actually good they'd BE ON T.V.

16. Does he have endurance (is he fit or fat)? Is he a fighter; could you "take him down" if you were 1-on-1 in a cage match with him? How many matches did he play the day before? Is he far away from home and homesick (i.e., looking for a "way to the airport")?

Etc.

As you progress through the sport, you will, hopefully, identify further issues and trouble spots. By being a "thinking player" you will often find yourself beating players who are far superior on paper. It all boils down to figuring out your opponents' likes/dislikes and tailoring around it. Will these strategies work for everyone? Of course, although many "pure hitters" will continue to do things without realizing whether they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Many will stumble onto the correct strategy over and over (until wily opponents figure out the best way to take them out of their game).

As a player, it is important to be confident but to FORGET ABOUT CONFIDENCE when you're faced with a tough match. Coldly analyze the facts and figure out how you would beat the opponent on your WORST day. Or, alternatively, figure out how to beat your opponent if you believe that, between the two of you, he is the best ball-striker. Don't assume that the chips will fall in your favor this time (or every time). Perhaps it helps to assume that things will NOT go your way. NOW HOW DO YOU WIN?! When you know that you can (and will) win on your worst day - THAT's true confidence (the rest is cockiness that masks uncertainty).

One Bounce To The Fence

The great coach Harry Hopman was a firm believer in telling you where he wanted the ball to land and how it should travel there. (Harry was also a firm believer in putting 50 boys at the top of the building and the first one down was your "man"). He strayed away from technique whenever possible because he understood there were many different ways to hit the ball. Throughout tennis history, players have consistently demonstrated slight variations in their technique, but what always remains true is where the ball lands and how it travels there for the type of shot you are trying to execute.

If Andre Agassi asked you to practice tomorrow, would you be able to give him a solid practice? Any top level junior, college player, or minor league professional would give him a great practice. In the warmup, Andre shouldn't be moving too far too the right or left, or front or back. A common issue that arises with aspiring players is the lack of control. Often times, the ball you hit will bounce twice before it reaches the opposing baseline. If Andre were hitting with you, he would have to move into no-man's land and scoop this ball at his ankles.

A good habit to get into is to be aware of this issue and try to get the ball in one bounce to your practice partner (If you are hitting the ball short on purpose, that's another story). One way to develop a deeper, heavier rally ball is to try to get the ball in one bounce to the fence. It takes more height and/or power to have the ball travel in one bounce to the fence.

Another simple equation to consider:

HEIGHT (over the net) + SPIN = DEPTH

There is nothing more frustrating to a good player than having to run into no-man's land to scoop balls from his ankles in the warmup. A ball should never bounce twice before the baseline in the warmup. In addition, there is nothing more frustrating than working on your volleys from the baseline. Although good players should be able to handle ankle scrapers in no-man's land, on the run forehands, and volleys at shoulder height from the baseline- but this isn't an "ideal" practice for a world class player in warmup, let alone anyone at the local club.

Go practice your control, Harry Hopman style, and get the ball to the fence after one bounce.

Proper Placement on Warmup Overheads or Injure Groin

There is an art to warming up the overhead. It takes skill, precision, dancing on the toes, and rhythm. When I am warming up with my practice partner or opponent, the overhead can be a great indicator of the level of player I am about to face. As like other strokes in the warmup, you are always trying to gather as much information from your opponent. Unlike other strokes, the overhead can quickly tell you a bigger chunk of the story and the truth about your opponent.

If you are returning someone's overhead and it is landing all over court, darting in 10 different location off of 10 different feeds, be careful. I really mean it, be careful. You can easily criss-cross your knees and involuntarily tweak a groin before the match even begins. Here are some simple signs of a poor overhead in warmup:

1) The ball is struck too hard. Veteran players do not hit overheads hard. In fact, they hit them very slow and relaxed. Trying to get a feel for the ball and swing. It's called a warmup. Plus, if you hit the ball too hard, how is your opponent going to bump the ball back? It takes two to warm-up your overhead.

2) You are warming up your volleys from seven feet behind the baseline. Think about that again, you (the lob feeder) are hitting balls out of the air to give them another overhead. Great way to break your knees in the warmup.

3) The overheader is making you run from side to side and up and back. Overheads should be hit within a reasonable 5 feet radius of the returner. All overheads should land at the service line. No exceptions!

4) The overheader needs more than 10 overheads to warm-up. If they can't feel good by 7, they are already considered a rookie.

5) The bounce off the ground should be a closer to 90 degrees than 0. You (the lob feeder) should be tapping lobs back from around your shoulder area, not your knee caps. Lobs made from knees or ankles are terrible overheads because they landed on the baseline. From a consistency point of view, this is too risky in a match.

Watch top junior boys, college players, or professionals warmup overheads. There is an art to a proper overhead. Now if you want to break some knees and injure your opponent's groin- keep swinging for the fences in 10 random locations.

If You Want To Be A Sprinter Don't Train For The Marathon

It seems that with the advent of televised matches and attendant commentary, American coaches and parents have become obsessed with statistics. Talk about unforced errors and first serve percentages has turned the audience into a generation of record-keepers. Perhaps it's cultural - drawn from the fans obsession with statistics in "sports" such as baseball where if it weren't for a religious fascination with numbers the commentators wouldn't have anything interesting to discuss.

When it comes to tennis, however, I often see the focus on first serve percentages as an obstacle in development. Listen, after 30-40 years of getting hammered with first serve percentage figures or the importance of not making any unforced errors, you'd think that we, as a nation, would be completely dominating the international tennis scene. This is obviously far from being the case.

So how is the focus on first serve percentages detrimental you ask? Well, in my opinion, it is not so much in what is said, it's how the message is perceived by the student that causes a problem. In this case, if the coach keeps dwelling on the first serve percentage, the player usually holds back on the serve and practices only to "just make" the ball in service box. This usually means slowing the ball down and hitting quasi-second serves.

Although I'm a HUGE fan of second serves, unless you're using the serve simply to 'kickstart' the point (pun intended), if you want to put some pressure on the opponent throughout you're going to go after some first serves. In theory, I think you should go after your first serve most of the time though sometimes you put slightly more spin on the ball in order to create some angles and Often times, however, players are simply incapable of hitting big first serves because all they've done in practice is hit their shot with too much emphasis on making the ball. In other words, they have practiced hitting it slow. In a recent lesson, one student would hit 1 big first serve and, if he missed it, went back to hitting 10 slow second serves in order to build confidence. So, in 30 minutes of serving, he's hit 15 big first serves and 150 second serves. Then he's wondering why his opponents - after they get a good read on his "first" serve - start hammering him with their returns.

The point is that if you practice slow, you're going to hit slow. It's like a sprinter who, while training for the 100m sprint, is running long-distance races in practice. The stride, just like the serve, is simply different. No coach in their right mind would tell Usain Bolt to run 1 mile circuits in training while focusing on the short-course sprint. If you want to run fast - practice fast.

Same with the serves, if you want to hit "hard" during during match, practice hitting hard while training. Train your fast-twitch muscles to be explosive. There's entirely WAY TOO MUCH emphasis in instructional videos, reading materials and lessons on particular components of the stroke and not enough focus on actually getting the "fire" (or anger?) in the player's belly to GO AFTER THE SERVE.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying, however. DO focus on the technique!!! But focus on the technique WHILE you're hitting hard first serves! Otherwise, you're like a race-car being fine-tuned while driving circles in the parking lot and don't know if you're capable of hitting laps at 230mph. Often times, a slight variation in degree (string bed contact with the ball) will send the ball 10-20 ft off course ( due to speed of racket; depending on mph). This means that the player needs to develop a better "feel" for the ball at that speed - not to drop back and hit an entirely different stroke. So practice hard and make small adjustments in the process. If today you can only hit 10 good, hard serves - great. Tomorrow go for 12, the next day 16 and so on. However, as a high level player you need to develop the stamina AND the explosiveness to hit hard first serves for 5-6 sets/day (i.e., in a tournament). You're not going to do that practicing only soft serves (regardless of how many you actually manage to make in the box).