Learning from pros is great, but there are far better options.

[GeoffWilliams]

Every point you lose in a match, is two points you have to now win, to get back even to the point you would have been at, if you had won the first point! That is inherently known by some match players, who are very careful about making any ues.

[don_budge]

The Mental Game of Tennis...a struggle and a mind game between two opponents

Pro players do a lot of good stuff that John and others mention in their articles.

But, the huge problem is that pro players do a lot of stuff what we, club players, shot not do, not even think about it, like heavy windshield wipers and other more advanced technique, very offensive baseline game....

Since tennis is a visual learning game, shouldn't we be watching and modeling our game on some non-pro players, like, I don't know, some lower level players, maybe college players, John Yandells or other coaches from this site students?

nikae...your observations about pro technique are pretty darned good but you must understand that those players have arrived at their conclusions, technique wise, largely as their understanding of how to play the game became shaped by the tactics and strategy. True...technique is an all important facet of the game but there are others as well and it isn't wise to believe that by solely improving your technique that it will automatically make you a great tennis player. The game is fundamentally mental and cerebral as well as technical. Throw in emotional stability and there you have it...the ultimate challenge in terms of recreation for mankind. God’s gift to mankind. Of course he first gave it to the elite...and the control of it still remains in their not so trustworthy hands.

I would never suggest that you quit devoting attention to improving your technique and the same can be said for ignoring your footwork for that matter. But you will find that your most worthy opponents as you climb the ranks...ascending on the food chain...are those opponents that are "mentally tough". Guys that do not crack because they are dead certain in their minds what it is that they are trying to accomplish in any given tennis match. Plus...they have the fundamentally sound technique that will not crack under pressure. Keep in mind that the more motion...the more can go wrong. Aspire at all times to be FC (fundamentally correct). Master yourself at all times...then proceed to the next level. Your compatriot Novak Djokovic is arguably the most mentally tough player in the world today and he is currently reaping the benefits.

But the chapter entitled "Maintaining Pressure on your Opponent" from Tilden’s book “How to Play Better Tennis...a complete guide to technique and tactics.” remains one of the most important chapters ever written about the sport of tennis and much of it is devoted to how to play to the score. I wonder...with so much talk about technique and the attention paid to the infinitesimal detail...what is being overlooked? So nikae...take heed. Technique is merely one piece of the puzzle to be developed in the maturing of your repertoire. Paying more attention to the tactical and the strategic is more apt to start paying dividends on your investment of work, practice and study. Play to the score and you will see that your opponents will be more impressed with your mental resolve than if you attempt to flash an ATP type 3333 in their face. Each point should have some thought behind it and once you understand this your technical game just may make the necessary adjustments as a result. Questions such as to how much to clear the net by, may find answers that vary from point to point or by the tactics that you employ against specific opponents. Best of luck...my friend from Serbia. Always know the score...in any given situation in tennis and life.

From Bill Tilden...

Maintaining Pressure on Your Opponent: Playing the Score...the best fundamental mental approach ever written. The simplicity is like a white light of inspiration in the Gold Mine of the cerebral cortex.

Every point in a match is naturally important but there are certain points in each game, certain games in each set and certain sets in a match that are crucial. The player who knows those points and games and makes special effort to win them will greatly increase his chances of victory. The crucial points in a game are the third and the fifth. The crucial games in a set are the fourth particularly the seventh and the ninth. The crucial sets are the first, in a two out of three set match and the third, in a three out of five match.

While understanding the psychology of these vital moments in tennis, never lose sight of the fact that every point, game and set counts, and you must play to win them. Do not think that you can play carelessly at other times if you play well at the critical stages. What I mean in stressing them, is that you should exert extra effort at these times.

Consider the third point of a game. Your score is given first. The score stands 30-0, 15-all, or 0-30. In the first case if you win the next point it gives you 40-0 and you will win that game about nine times out of ten. If, however, the score is 15-all, then the point means the advantageous position to you at 30-15 (or at 15-30, if you are receiving), from which you can press on to game. At 0-30 if you win the third point you still have a life, not too good, but still a chance whereas if you lose it and are 0-40, then you have only about one chance in ten for the game.

The fifth point means that the score stands at 40-15, 30-all, or 15-40. Here you are playing a point which, in two cases, actually means the game, while in the other case you are both fighting for a very important advantage. Certainly, if you’re ahead at 40-15, you cannot afford to be careless since a lost point will make it 40-30 and one more point won by your opponent evens the game at deuce. Yet many players play that 40-15 situation with an air of having such a commanding lead that they need not worry about it. I see more games booted away by a careless, half-concentrating shot at 40-15 than at any other time and second to that is at 30-0, where the situation is fairly similar. The necessity for special effort on the 30-all and 15-40 situations is so obvious that I need do no more than point it out.

[lobndropshot]

I agree the players with simple games often win and they beat players with "pretty games." However, I think it is important to try to become a player that can play their game and adapt to the challenges presented. I want to be the puzzle solver not the puzzle.

[don_budge]

Gleaning from the Professional Tennis Player...

Every competent tennis coach knows something of technique but a truly great coach is the philosopher and the psychologist as well. Believe me...you can preach technique until you are blue in the face but when it comes down to it...when it comes down to “game time” you better have your head into the match or else all of your pretty strokes will be useless once the ball is in play.

I really enjoy teaching technique to my students. It is a really wonderful feeling to watch them develop and potentially master a stroke...to watch them master a handful of shots over the course of the first year of the tennis experience. But the real payoff comes when you send them into matches and watch them become more comfortable with the competitive experience. Here is where the value lies.

Yesterday I watched Novak Djokovic defeat Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo...at a tournament that Nadal virtually owned. He had it won it eight times in a row which is a unheard of mark as far as holding a specific title goes. One can only begin to ponder the significance and the mental toughness that it takes to accomplish such a feat. But Djokovic took it away...and he did it with his mental toughness. Not with pretty strokes so much as with strokes that have been forged in battles over the years in order that they hold up along with his mental discipline in order that he can carry out his tactics and get the mission done.

Watching Djokovic roll to a 5-0 lead while maintaining a constant stream of intense pressure on Nadal in the first set caused me to reflect on these words by Bill Tilden. I looked into the Djokovic personna and saw that he was playing each and every point with purpose...clearly he knows the score and knows all of the potential outcomes and what they mean to his chances of winning. After leading 5-0 he managed to finish off the set 6-2 with a little stumble at the end of the set. You see how tough these two are...Nadal too was fighting and he was fighting to not go down 6-0 and never letting go of the set until his opponent sealed the deal. He had to serve notice towards the end of the first set to Djokovic that he wasn’t going away and if Novak wanted his title he was going to have to take it...and earn it.

And so it went into the second set...and it became quite a see saw battle for the control of the set. This was a real struggle to maintain pressure and if Nadal had prevailed in this second set it would have set up quite an interesting third set. Nadal went up a service break twice but each time Djokovic responded with a break of his own. He maintained pressure on his opponent and this is something that no other player seems to be able to do against Nadal. Two years ago at the French Open I suggested that players have been unable to put enough pressure on the Nadal backhand (you can read it in the French Open thread from 2011) but now Novak had figured this out. Tactically he has come up with the combination of shots that are needed to expose the lesser of Nadal’s weapons. Wins like yesterdays match come as a result of superior tactics...which are enabled by technique that has been forged to steel like strength.

These are the kinds of things that tennis students should be trying to glean from the professionals game...along with the technique. That was quite a show put on by Novak Djokovic. I was most impressed with his fundamental understanding and application of the Tilden chapter Match Play and Tennis Psychology. It was a living demonstration of Maintaining Pressure on your Opponent while he was Playing to the Score.

It was a masterpiece...as in a work of art. The paint was flowing off of the artist’s brush.

From the book of my coaching model...Bill Tilden. The fundamental book prerequisite to coaching tennis. The book is Bill Tilden. The model is Richard Gonzales with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach and Roger Federer is the living proof.

How to Play Better Tennis-a complete guide to technique and tactics

Part 3-Match Play and Tennis Psychology

Chapter 16- Maintaining Pressure on your Opponent...Playing to the Score

There are many psychologically important games. For that matter, every game is important, and no player should throw one away by carelessness or inattention. The psychological effect of winning the very first game, particularly if you can break your opponent’s service may determine an entire match. If you possibly can your opponent’s first service game and hold your own. Still the chips are not really down until about the fourth game. Here is the first big psychological moment in game score.

Let’s look at the possibilities. The score may be 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, or 0-3. This next game really puts it up to you. If you win it and lead at 4-0 (in the first instance), you hold a double service break and will win the set an overwhelming majority of times. If you lead at 2-1, you are playing to establish or to hold a service break and to stay in the lead at the halfway point in the set. This is a big advantage that may well make your opponent “press” in an attempt to recover. But if he wins this fourth game you are all even, with the psychological edge to him particularly if he broke your serve to do it, since he has cut down your lead. If you are on the short end of 1-2 or 0-3, the reverse of all the above is true and you must win the fourth game to stay in the set. Strange to say, the psychological advantage of winning the fourth is greater than that of the fifth or sixth, although both the latter are important, but the really big moment comes in the seventh game.

The set usually hangs on it. The score is 5-1, 4-2, 3-all, 2-4 or 1-5. Since the set ends if the player leading at 5-1 wins the game you can forget that situation. With that lead he will almost always win the set anyway. It is the 4-2 situation that is so vital particularly if it is on your own service. Here you have the chance to push your opponent into an almost hopeless position. If you win this seventh game he must win three games in a row to get even to a deuce set, a far from pleasant prospect. On the other hand, if he breaks your service he is within a game of being even with his own service to follow. Encouraged by his success in breaking your delivery he will probably reach 4-all easily. Once more you will have allowed the psychological edge to get away from you and pass to him. Always make your greatest effort to consolidate a 4-2 lead. The 3-all situation explains itself since you are both fighting for the obvious advantage on the first step after the halfway mark of the set. If your are down 2-4 you must win that game to stay in teh set, as shown conversely above.

[don_budge]

Play the game...son!

The real reward of a tennis coach is when he sends his charge or his protege off to battle. To train you student to engage with the opponent is your ultimate responsibility as a coach, mentor and Svengali. To merely emphasis the technical aspect of the game is to forget or worse, ignore, the game of tennis is largely an intellectual, psychological and emotional endeavor. Of course stroke must be sound and fundamentally correct (FC) but equally or more important the tennis player's head and heart must be in the correct spot.

Tilden asserts somewhere that it takes one year to play the game...five years to be a tennis player and ten years to be a champion. Keep in mind that champion does not necessarily mean to be number one in the world. It may mean being the champion of your city or even your club. At any rate...it is a long process. With this in mind, the tennis student should realize that to copy the professional game at the onset or even in midstream of their education will be fool hardy and even worse detrimental in the long run of their education. Better to stick to the fundamentals and build on a solid foundation of rock...as opposed to shifting sand. Recognize that little pearl anyone?

The following excerpt from Tilden's "How to Play Better Tennis- a complete guide to technique and tactics" is indispensable sage wisdom that should be implemented at the one year point in the education of the tennis player. Hammer home the technical aspects of the game for the first year and then send your student out to play. Get them to play as much as they can possibly can. There is more to learning than being a casual observer...more is to be gleaned by doing. But learn them to appreciate all aspects of the learning process. Teach them to be a true student of the game. Teach them to "Play the game!". These are the fundamentals. Sure the game has changed but this wisdom will serve as a foundation from which to build. Make no mistake about it and don't be fooled...somethings have not changed. Even with the engineering.

Teaching your student to play to the score is the same as teaching your child to see the signs and to know their meaning. Focus on the point in front of your nose and at the same time have the peripheral vision and the awareness to see all that is around you.


How to Play Better Tennis-a complete guide to technique and tactics

Part 3-Match Play and Tennis Psychology

Chapter 16- Maintaining Pressure on your Opponent...Playing to the Score


The ninth game often winds up the set of course. The score is 5-3, 4-all or 3-5. Since a victory for either man with five games means the set, I need only say win it at all costs. The 4-all situation is where you are fighting for the set itself. If you win, the pressure on your opponent is greatly increased since he will have his back to the wall in the next game and every point will practically amount to set-point. If you lose that ninth game, then you will be the one who will be fighting for his life. Give all you own in the ninth game and if you win it many times your opponent cracks and the tenth is easy.

It goes without saying that every set is of extreme importance. Any time you drop a set you are in danger but in a two-out-of-three set match the first set usually carries the victory with it. I believe that the man who wins the first set wins 80 percent of the two-out-of-three set matches played. If you are a set in your opponent is placed under the tremendous pressure of knowing that he cannot afford to let you have a chance at another. Therefore, he is forced to work at top speed all through the second set, which, even if he wins it, may have nothing left in the third set. In a three-out-of-five set match, the climactic set, in my opinion is usually the third. The first is naturally of great psychological value but it is not actually decisive. If you can win both the first two sets so much the better. Still, the third set is the critical one. If the score is 2 sets to 0 a victory in the third means the match. But in many three-out-of-five-set matches, the players divide the first two sets and stand at 1-all. Now the real importance of the that third set comes to the fore. If you win it and lead, 2 sets to 1, the discouragement to your opponent is tremendous. By the end of a third set any player will be feeling the physical strain, more or less. To face the necessity of winning two sets in a row places a great burden on the mental and physical courage of your opponent. It looks like an awfully long road back. You may even be able to afford taking the chance of running him in the fourth set and even if you lose it, tire him so much that he will be easy in the fifth. It is, of course, better to keep pressure on in the fourth set and take no chances.

There is much more to playing to the score than just learning what points, games and sets are crucial. You must know how to put the pressure on your opponent in the most effective and winning way. Putting pressure on an opponent is not just hitting hard and rushing the net. There are many other ways, just as difficult for him and much safer for you. The method should be determined by the situation. When you have a commanding lead and an error will cost your opponent a vital point, perhaps even a game or set, give him every opportunity to make it. Keep that ball going back to him at all costs and always, if possible, to a new place so that he must move to reach it. Every time he hits the ball he is aware that, if he makes an error it’s costly and each return you send back to him makes him more and more nervous and tense. If he should give you a weak mid-court return which he is very apt to do under pressure of that kind then attack it deep, not too hard, very safe and sure and go in behind it!

Pass the buck to him. Now he must take a chance or lose, for if he defends you have the kill. He will probably go all out for his shot and miss. Whenever you have your opponent where he cannot afford to take a chance, keep the ball going back and vary spin, speed, direction and depth consistently but never so much that you are in real danger of missing. Give yourself plenty of margin. Only if you have an exceptional chance should you attempt to win outright. do not let him off the hook by making errors yourself. Make him earn his way off if he can, by the sweat of his brow and his own good shots because if he should get off he will have a psychological uplift that will make him very dangerous.

[lobndropshot]

Tilden asserts somewhere that it takes one year to play the game...five years to be a tennis player and ten years to be a champion.

I am stealing this

[jbill]

Tilden's book

At your request don_budge I got a copy of Tilden's book from Ebay. As a student of the game I wanted to know first hand what you were talking about.

Tilden's discussion of tactics is undoubtedly quite interesting. I have not read it all, but certainly much of what he says is timeless and very appropriate for today's game, a lot to be learned from what he puts forth.

As much as I know you love this book, I have to say on the other hand that the book is lacking with respect to the technical/mechanical discussion. This part of the book does not seem adequate or even appropriate for today's game.

For example: 1) footwork - no mention of the split-step (in my humble opinion, the game can't be played without split-stepping, of very basic importance.) ; 2) grips - Tilden does not advocate any form of western grip (Personally, I wasn't able to hit a decent forehand until I changed my grip to some kind of a semi-western. As a boy I was taught to play with a continental.) ; 3) serve - no mention of the racquet drop or trophy position (The illustrations are rather inadequate.) ; 4) eye on the ball (That's a rather common admonition, but what about also watching your opponent? I have found watching my opponent to be equally as important. I need to know where my opponent is and what kind of spin he is putting on the ball; otherwise I find I am woefully unprepared to respond to his shots.) These are just a few things.

One small thing I found interesting was Tilden's use of the term "winner" and hitting "clean winners". I thought this term came along much later. I didn't realize players back in his day were using that term. I thought it was more of a "modern" tennis term that came into existence when wooden racquets went out and graphite racquets came in.

But yes, don_budge, Tilden's book "How to Play Better Tennis" is definitely a book worth having and reading with regard to strategy and tactics. I will definitely pay attention to what this great champion has to say about the game.

One last thing, don_budge. I totally agree with what you are saying about Djockovic's mental toughness. His is superb. Actually, I find in my own experience that the mental part of the game of tennis is one reason I like it so much. The mental challenge is what brought me back to the game after many years of seldom playing. As a youngster I did not do so well with this aspect of the game. Now as a player in my 60's I am finding this challenge to be rather satisfying! I am at a point where my mechanical aspect is fairly sound and now am focusing more and more on tactics and I just love it. This part of the game is just so much fun!

Jim Bill

[don_budge]

The Book is Tilden...then the student must connect the dots.

At your request don_budge I got a copy of Tilden's book from Ebay. As a student of the game I wanted to know first hand what you were talking about.

Tilden's discussion of tactics is undoubtedly quite interesting. I have not read it all, but certainly much of what he says is timeless and very appropriate for today's game, a lot to be learned from what he puts forth.

As much as I know you love this book, I have to say on the other hand that the book is lacking with respect to the technical/mechanical discussion. This part of the book does not seem adequate or even appropriate for today's game.

Jim Bill

Such a wonderful post...jbill. At sixty some years old...a true student of the game. It is never over until it is over...and then it is only the beginning. Of something else.

When you first posted this it was so thought provoking that I thought that I would wait a bit. You know...let the others read it. Grasp it. Ponder it. Mull it over...as it is. Meanwhile I have been thinking about what you said.

My motto for coaching tennis is...The Book is Bill Tilden. The Model is Richard Gonzales with the J. Donald Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the coach and Roger Federer is The Living Proof. It is all an attempt on my part to connect the dots...the three little dots. The attempt to connect is an attempt to connect my students into the game. In order that the game will come to them. My foundation is built on tennis history...founded in science, art, philosophy and in the end...metaphysics. An admission that true understanding comes with the confession...I am a human being and just like all the rest. Sort of.

When I say that the book is Bill Tilden it begins the journey...or the path for the student. The book..."How to Play Better Tennis...a complete guide to technique and tactics" was written or rather published in 1950. It was written by Bill Tilden as we all write the story of our lives...it is a compilation of his thoughts boiled down to their simplest form in order that it benefits the beginner, the tournament player...and all points in between. He connects the dots for all of us. Taken by itself and in of itself...the book is incomplete as you have duly noted. But that is not the point either. Now you must do yourself a favor and get the other book..."Match Play and The Spin of the Ball" if you want the total view of "The Book" that I am referring to when I refer to Tilden being the book.

Keep in mind also that my model for coaching tennis is just that. It is a model for coaching tennis. It is designed to give my students the chance and the opportunity to take the journey where it will take them. This part is completely beyond my control. I cannot take that journey for them...that is the beauty of the game. Each human being will take a different path and where it takes them nobody knows...even themselves in the end. Are you with me so far?

When I speak of a coaching model I tend to speak of it in the same general terms that Tilden wrote his "How to Play Better Tennis". I apply my model to every student that comes across my path but in different levels...and even in different shapes and forms. Depending upon how I read the student. Every one of them is uniquely different and their needs in a teacher are all unique too. That is the unique difficulty and the unique challenge that comes with the territory and responsibility of being a tennis teacher...you must have an almost uncanny ability to read people. But you not only have to read them...you must adapt to them, while preserving the integrity of your teaching. It's no easy task I tell you.

What is the common denominator with the student and the coaching model? How do you connect the two? This goes right from the initial ball that you feed them...you must understand how to feed to each and every individual. Then you must connect all of the dots right to the very end. The point where conceivably they are playing for the title at Wimbledon or the US Open...or the French Open or their very own club championship. How many dots are there? How many points are there in a line? Infinite!

So for me...the book is an overwhelming success. Even the fundamental and rudimentary drawings and explanations of the technique are the white light of inspiration to beginners and all the way up to the top of the game...clearly illustrated in the most understandable form for the tennis coach. Keep in mind too...this book was written long before the modern engineering of the game was even on the drawing board.

Even Roger Federer must at some point in the course of his profession contemplate fundamentals when he makes all of the instinctive decisions on how to hit any given shot or how to place his feet to set up for the infinite number of situations that he will face in the course of his career. Trust me... he is only connecting the dots as well. On the highest level of the order...but nonetheless he has something in common with the beginner as well. He started at the beginning too. The difference is...he just keeps on connecting and connecting. Right up until the end.

In this light...for instance Robin Söderling would have done himself a big favor if he had heeded the letter that I wrote to his father about his serve. I was talking to the fourth ranked player in the world as if he were an ordinary tennis student. Is that arrogant? No...that is being realistic and honest. His serve is inherently fundamentally falling short of his potential. He is a human being and therefore not perfect. He has potential...or the equivalent of room for improvement. We all do.

So the shortcomings that you mention are really not shortcomings. They are natural progressions as conclusions...if and only if you build on a solid foundation of fundamentals. As you have pointed out...it is easy to find shortcomings. The true artist and therefore student will continue to endeavor to seek the merit in the teachings. That being said...read "Match Play..." as soon as you are finished with "How to Play Better Tennis" to get optimal understanding from his teachings.

For instance, the ATP forehand is the natural progression of these things as well. It is the natural progression that may lead one all the way to a full blown western grip...or to the relatively tame continental. It is not an act of magic...it was not willed by God. It is a natural progression of fundamentals...plus man's intervention with all of the godforsaken engineering. His one and only attempt to be superior to the natural order of things. Invention.

Are you with me so far...? Yeah...learning from the pros is one thing. Learning from the player currently at the top of the game is one thing. Learning from the truest master of the game ever intellectually speaking is another. Listening to the voice in the wilderness...that too is a remote possibility. Knowledge comes to you...you just have to know it when you see it.

[brielmaier]

Hello

Are you really Don Budge? If so, I just want to tell you how much I respect you as a tennis player. Winning the Real Grand Slam in one calendar year is really remarkable. If you are really Mr. Budge, I have a few questions for you. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I just don't know if your user name is just that, or if you are really Don Budge the tennis great. Thanks, Tim

[don_budge]

I am don_budge...not to be confused with the great J. Donald Budge

Are you really Don Budge? If so, I just want to tell you how much I respect you as a tennis player. Winning the Real Grand Slam in one calendar year is really remarkable. If you are really Mr. Budge, I have a few questions for you. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I just don't know if your user name is just that, or if you are really Don Budge the tennis great. Thanks, Tim

Hello brielmaier...aka Tim. I hope that you won't be disappointed to learn that I am just a guy that happened to pick don_budge as a user name. As you can see on my user profile i joined tennisplayer.net on 12-31-2009 and never posted on the forum until the March of 2011. I never realized in the beginning that my user name would become my forum moniker.

As it is...I am very happy that I did. I spent a couple of summers with Mr. Budge and I can tell you that he is another of these great, great champions who in real life acted like a regular guy. I got to know him quite well actually...seeing him everyday on the courts at the Don Budge Tennis Camp in McDonough, Maryland back during the summers of 1972 and 1973...and actually sitting at the table to break bread with him at least twice a day...sometimes three.

Thanks for mistaking me for him. That is quite an honor in itself. I often wonder what he would think of my online performance here on the forum. His teachings and his love for the game have left a life long impression on me. I can tell you that. He was the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet. Thanks.

[jbill]

First of all, don_budge, let me thank you for giving such an articulate and complete response to my critique of Tilden's book. I must say I truly do respect your writing ability,your manner of expression and your depth of thought. You most definitely have a way with words.

I very much understand where you are coming from. As a tennis player who has taken many lessons from different coaches and also as a former teacher, I understand a lot about how the acquisition of a skill oriented subject matter takes place. I have given much thought to this type of learning primarily because I wanted my students to be successful. I can tell a good teacher from a bad teacher or often someone who teaches who should be doing something else. I can identify with the process of "connecting the dots" as you put it. Acquiring tennis skills is a long journey and as you have so aptly stated, it is an individual journey that the individual tennis playing person has to take. As such, I totally agree with you when you insist that each and every player will develop their own style and will need to find out what works best for them. Fortunately, there are many ways to go down the path to achieve tennis play that is satisfying and or successful and that is what makes it so fascinating as you have pointed out in a number of your posts. There is no one correct way as the ATP pros prove over and over again. What is successful for one player is not necessarily successful for another. That is why it may be a waste of time to try to standardize what is being taught from one professional teacher to the next. Obviously, there are certain fundamentals that can't be ignored, but after that it is up to the individual to find their own way, or as you suggest to connect the dots in a way that is meaningful, useful and proven to work.

I love it when you say that your instructional tennis method is based on "science, art, philosophy and metaphysics." This reminds me of why I play tennis because I don't play just to chase and hit a silly little yellow ball all around the court. I often find that tennis is about relationship, the relationship of one person to another. I generally like to play with people that I enjoy being with. I often find that when I am playing with someone I really like we establish a very nice rhythm. I always honor my opponent because I realize (unlike Serena Williams) that without my opponent there literally is no game (I can't hit the ball to myself, can I?). I will often play with anyone at least once, but after that I usually settle in with people that I enjoy being with. After all, I do have other things that I do with my time. So tennis is so much more than just hitting a little yellow ball. As I mentioned previously at this point in my tennis career, I enjoy the mental and tactical challenges of the game, and this in particular includes learning to try to keep my ego at bay so my body can perform in its most relaxed fashion.

What a privilege that must have been for you to have worked and been friends with the one and only Don Budge! What an experience!

I look forward to getting a copy of the other Tilden book you have suggested, "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball."

jbill

[johnyandell]

jb,

have you seen this???

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/teaching_systems/william_t_tilden/william_t_tilden_part1/william_t_tilden_part1.html

It's the first article in a whole series excerpted by Match Play and Spin of the ball in the teaching systems section... it's great stuff.

[jbill]

Thanks for letting me know, John. Great stuff!

jbill