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A friend has given me a copy of this smart, well-written book by Pat Blaskower, a former NoCal champion and coach elsewhere. It is a turn-on, far more interesting (to me) than "Tennis Tactics" by Bill Talbert, a 1983 book that Blaskower refers to, and drew from, with great respect.
Here are the first few sentences from her introduction:
"Why do some doubles teams look like wooden soldiers and others like a pair of dancers whose movements seem synchronized to the sound of music only they can hear? All that running around on the court -- where are they going? How do they know where to be?
"There are, essentially, three kinds of doubles teams: those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what the hell happened." I realize now that I'm a member of each group, and feel informed about how not to be "playing singles with a helper," which still creeps in. Having a regular partner with this knowledge is a great advantage. Many, or most, of us play with many partners, however.
Blaskower's book prompted me to continue my exploration of John Yandell's site. I found two excellent essays on doubles -- Louis Cayer's "Doubles Playing Styles" and Allen Fox's two-part "Doubles Strategy." Cayer has counseled or coached top ATP teams over many years. Fox is a renowned thinker and teacher, and was a heck of a tour player.
While I'm on the subject of instruction, I should note that I have, in the last two weeks, found topics I had requested before searching well enough to learn that they exist deep in TP's archive. One was the slice backhand: there is basic information, with old mini-vids, on how Don Budge and Ken Rosewall did it. In another post, I said I would rather know how Rafa Nadal gets so much heat and various spins on his forehands, than how Federer uses a more complicated technique that provides him with molto UEs. A disection of Nadal's forehand was presented by John Yandell in early '06, I think it was. I would still like to read/see an explanation of why Federer's been averaging about 15 UEs per set, mostly forehands, over the past 12 months or so. Could it be because of his cross-body follow-through. Does he need a slightly higher finish?
I haven't come up with a copy of Cayer's book on doubles yet. Please comment if you have read it. And what is the title?
Here are the first few sentences from her introduction:
"Why do some doubles teams look like wooden soldiers and others like a pair of dancers whose movements seem synchronized to the sound of music only they can hear? All that running around on the court -- where are they going? How do they know where to be?
"There are, essentially, three kinds of doubles teams: those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what the hell happened." I realize now that I'm a member of each group, and feel informed about how not to be "playing singles with a helper," which still creeps in. Having a regular partner with this knowledge is a great advantage. Many, or most, of us play with many partners, however.
Blaskower's book prompted me to continue my exploration of John Yandell's site. I found two excellent essays on doubles -- Louis Cayer's "Doubles Playing Styles" and Allen Fox's two-part "Doubles Strategy." Cayer has counseled or coached top ATP teams over many years. Fox is a renowned thinker and teacher, and was a heck of a tour player.
While I'm on the subject of instruction, I should note that I have, in the last two weeks, found topics I had requested before searching well enough to learn that they exist deep in TP's archive. One was the slice backhand: there is basic information, with old mini-vids, on how Don Budge and Ken Rosewall did it. In another post, I said I would rather know how Rafa Nadal gets so much heat and various spins on his forehands, than how Federer uses a more complicated technique that provides him with molto UEs. A disection of Nadal's forehand was presented by John Yandell in early '06, I think it was. I would still like to read/see an explanation of why Federer's been averaging about 15 UEs per set, mostly forehands, over the past 12 months or so. Could it be because of his cross-body follow-through. Does he need a slightly higher finish?
I haven't come up with a copy of Cayer's book on doubles yet. Please comment if you have read it. And what is the title?
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