Getting the job done – Rafa advances to the Australian Open finals

Roger and Rafa have given us (yes they play, but really these matches are gifts) some incredible tennis over the years. Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and now two matches here in Melbourne, the finals a few years ago (yet another 5 set masterpiece) and now this spell binding four set struggle.

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.

Andy Murray + Ivan Lendl = Australian Open title?

Andy Murray enters this year’s Australian Open ranked 4^th (as usual), coming off a strong head of stream with a 5-0 record in 2012, at last years Oz Open he was the presumed favorite – but something is different this year.  Or so it may seem.

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.”

ETI 012 | Tossing into the Swing

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.”

ETI 012 | Tossing into the Swing Download

ETI 011 | The Non Dominant Arm

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.

ETI 011 | The Non Dominant Arm Download

ETI 010 | The Pete Sampras Snap

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!

ETI 010 | The Pete Sampras Snap Download

ETI 009 | Waiting and Weighting

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.

ETI 009 | Waiting and Weighting Download

ETI 008 | Pressuring the Second Serve

“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.

ETI 008 | Pressuring the Second Serve Download

Sam Stosur – you are the best – in more ways than one!

Sam Stosur was fantastic on Sunday.  She outplayed, out hustled, out served, and definitely out – composured Serena.

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!

US Open – Labor Day Weekend Results and Forecasts

Note, just like forecasting the weather, with a certain amount of (acceptable) error, the same goes for this picking of winners and more.  That said there are some darn interesting matchups in the next few days, as well as some excellent tennis that was played over the weekend.

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

ETI 007 | The top of the bounce

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.