First Strike Tennis At All Levels

[johnyandell]

Let's get your thoughts on Craig O'Shannessy's latest article, "First Strike Tennis At All Levels"

[klacr]

Good stuff. How it is applicable to the amateur player is critical. I can attest to this, The one ball practice does work. I use it with many of my kids and I used it in college. Good stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[dipperhitter]

I have been away for a while and was plowing through Craig's articles. I love the fact that Tennisplayer keeps pushing the paradigm with new ways to look at tennis. But I was always impressed with the system in John's statistical articles twhich added winners to errors players forced and then subtracted unforced errors to create the aggressive margin. That was usually a positive number and certainly in pro tennis. Trying to see how that relates to Craig's view which has way more total errors.

[johnyandell]

DH,
I am glad someone remembers those articles! The thing I like about Craig's approach is that he accounts for all points--the same as the aggressive margin. I think he has a point that it would be very difficult over many matches to distinguish between forced and unforced errors unless you charted the matches yourself--like I did. But his data base goes exponentially beyond that. It sitll works because you are able to see percentages that are meaningful.

[stotty]

A decent article.

Over here in the UK there has been a shift towards practicing serving and returning more than what was done in the past. Fifty percent of lesson time (with performance players), it's felt, should be allocated to these two disciplines.

I also went on a course recently where we were taught to basket feed set pieces based on scenarios after a good return of serve or a good serve. Sadly none of the set pieces involved moving to the net after a good return or a good serve. Instead the set pieces were based on seizing the opportunity to work inside the baseline after a good serve or return....with perhaps the opportunity to move up to the net to mop up a gimme.

The 2.5 average rally seems almost hard to believe. It seems ridiculously short compared to the junior tennis that I have witnessed, where the rallies often seem interminable. I'd better start counting from now on.

Stotty

[johnyandell]

Do some counting. Intuitively it seems impossible but there seems to be a mountain of data.

[stotty]

Do some counting. Intuitively it seems impossible but there seems to be a mountain of data.

Oddly enough a few of us counted data at a tournament over the weekend, a boys U16 event. It was an average of just over three strokes. What brought everything down were the missed returns and the occasional double faults. There were long rallies in there but it's the unforced errors that seemed to bring the stats down.

We came to the conclusion U16 boys needs to return better. It might be better they take a leaf out of Novak's book and return deep down the middle, as the percentages for success would seem higher than gunning for the lines.

Stotty

[don_budge]

Objective Number One...Neutralize the Serve

Oddly enough a few of us counted data at a tournament over the weekend, a boys U16 event. It was an average of just over three strokes. What brought everything down were the missed returns and the occasional double faults. There were long rallies in there but it's the unforced errors that seemed to bring the stats down.

We came to the conclusion U16 boys needs to return better. It might be better they take a leaf out of Novak's book and return deep down the middle, as the percentages for success would seem higher than gunning for the lines.

Stotty

Super observation regarding the return of serve. Sheer lunacy to try and reverse the advantage of the serve on the return. Better to try and neutralize and take it from there. The neutralizing in itself is perhaps at least a two shot process...maybe more. It depends upon the situation.

[klacr]

Good options Stotty and don_budge.

Another way and one of my favorites, Hold your own serve. Effectively using a Serve +1 and a few quick service games from you and your opponent has the pressure put right back on them. The ability to serve and hold comfortable has a deep impact on the psychology of your opponent as well as their tactical options moving forward.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[faultsnaces]

Kyle, I would add that being confident in ones' own serve also has a deep impact for ones' return games: when I am confident with my serve game - confident in being able to hold - it gives me great confidence to attack when returning: I will make more errors, maybe even give away a game or two, but long term it shakes the opponent's confidence in their serve and results in breaks....

I think the core idea is super fundamental, singles and dubs: confidence serving is a foundation for being able to attack and win, serving and receiving.

[klacr]

Kyle, I would add that being confident in ones' own serve also has a deep impact for ones' return games: when I am confident with my serve game - confident in being able to hold - it gives me great confidence to attack when returning: I will make more errors, maybe even give away a game or two, but long term it shakes the opponent's confidence in their serve and results in breaks....

I think the core idea is super fundamental, singles and dubs: confidence serving is a foundation for being able to attack and win, serving and receiving.

Agree. And why should one not be confident in their serving? It is the only shot we have 100% complete control of.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Old School Tactics...

Good options Stotty and don_budge.

Another way and one of my favorites, Hold your own serve. Effectively using a Serve +1 and a few quick service games from you and your opponent has the pressure put right back on them. The ability to serve and hold comfortable has a deep impact on the psychology of your opponent as well as their tactical options moving forward.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Absolutely...hold your serve! Hold your serve...hold your serve...hold your serve. The key to the game.

This is the other half of my "old school" tactics. Hold your serve as quickly and efficiently then try to bleed your opponent on his own serve. Win the first point of the return game...at all costs! If you win that first point it changes everything. Then go for the jugular on the second. If you've won the first point of the game you are either at 0-30 or 15-15. Bleed him at any rate...no gimmes. No Xmas gifts! No missing.

Chip away at him...take a swing when the opportunity arises. But make him work just as hard as you can...on his service game.

[klacr]

Old School Tactics...



Absolutely...hold your serve! Hold your serve...hold your serve...hold your serve. The key to the game.

This is the other half of my "old school" tactics. Hold your serve as quickly and efficiently then try to bleed your opponent on his own serve. Win the first point of the return game...at all costs! If you win that first point it changes everything. Then go for the jugular on the second. If you've won the first point of the game you are either at 0-30 or 15-15. Bleed him at any rate...no gimmes. No Xmas gifts! No missing.

Chip away at him...take a swing when the opportunity arises. But make him work just as hard as you can...on his service game.

"Old school" tactics Or "Timeless" tactics?
Any player, any era... needs to follow this.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[Guest]

"Old school" tactics Or "Timeless" tactics?
Any player, any era... needs to follow this.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Case in point. Yesterday your favorite player Tomas Berdych playing against Alexander Zverev in theand trailing 4-6, 3-5 worked the Zverev serve game to 0-40 and managed to lose the game and the match. Tough game...after Zverev evened it at deuce they went back and forth with the advantage before Zverev sealed it.

The confidence factor is big as faultsnaces mentioned...or was it klacr? If you can make your opponent struggle on his serve a couple of times. If you make him struggle all of the time you cause him to think...perhaps to doubt a bit.

It is amazing though what confidence in one's serve can do for the return game. It opens the door somewhat on the opponents serve game Berdych really made Zverev work to serve out the match. I didn't see the rest of the match and I wonder how hard he made him work on the other games and how much he struggled on his own serve.

[don_budge]

love-40...

"Old school" tactics Or "Timeless" tactics?
Any player, any era... needs to follow this.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Case in point. Yesterday your favorite player Tomas Berdych playing against Alexander Zverev in theand trailing 4-6, 3-5 worked the Zverev serve game to 0-40 and managed to lose the game and the match. Tough game...after Zverev evened it at deuce they went back and forth with the advantage before Zverev sealed it.

The confidence factor is big as faultsnaces mentioned...or was it klacr? If you can make your opponent struggle on his serve a couple of times. If you make him struggle all of the time you cause him to think...perhaps to doubt a bit.

It is amazing though what confidence in one's serve can do for the return game. It opens the door somewhat on the opponents serve game Berdych really made Zverev work to serve out the match. I didn't see the rest of the match and I wonder how hard he made him work on the other games and how much he struggled on his own serve.