Carlos Alcaraz Archives - Brain Game Tennis

2023 US Open Final Breakdown: 97 Backhands Turned Into Forehands

Monday, 19 August 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Carlos Alcaraz’s unsung hero was his run-around forehand. Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 in the US Open final in major part to hitting a slew of run-around forehands standing in the Ad court to counter the Norwegian’s full-court press towards his backhand. Ruud played a tactically savvy final by flattening out his

Published in 0-4 Shots, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Forehands, Run-Around Forehands, US Open

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Wimbledon Men’s Final Preview: 18 Stats That Matter

Sunday, 14 July 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Wimbledon! 🍓 Two weeks have flown by, and the men’s final is today at 2.00 pm. It’s the biggest day of the year on the tennis calendar and I can’t wait to see Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic light it up for the second year in a row. I was onsite at 7.00

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon

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Single Digit Rallies Dominate Double Digit Rallies

Saturday, 27 April 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Clay court tennis is dominated by single-digit rallies over double-digit rallies. By a country mile. 🏃‍♂️ Carlos Alcaraz took his first step towards a three-peat at the Madrid Masters 1000 by defeating Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1 in an hour and some change on Thursday. It’s important to note that Alcaraz did not play in Monte

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Madrid, Rally Length

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Novak’s Forehand Is Being Put To Sleep

Saturday, 18 November 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

NEW Webinar: Tuesday, November 21: 1.00 pm US Central / 8.00 pm CET Webinar 35: The Backhand Cage G’day From Torino, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have won the year-end ATP Finals six times. Djokovic could very well be sitting alone at the top of the mountain after the dust has settled in Torino this

Published in ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Webinars

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Carlos Alcaraz Has 10 Red Flags

Wednesday, 18 October 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

Is Carlos Alcaraz in a post-Wimbledon slump? After winning both Queens and Wimbledon this year, the 20-year-old Spaniard has competed in Toronto, Cincinnati, the US Open, Beijing, and Shanghai. He failed to win any of those five events and only made one final (Cincy). So what gives? Let’s put the magnifying glass over his two

Published in ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz

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2023 US Open Round: 16 Men. Who Is Crushing So Far?

Sunday, 03 September 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York! We are down to the last 16 players at the US Open, so let’s check in and see who has been excelling when serving, returning, rallying and getting to the net. These are the men’s match-ups for the Rd of 16. Carlos Alcaraz v Matteo Arnaldi Alexander Zverev v Jannik Sinner

Published in Alex De Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Matteo Arnaldi, Novak Djokovic, US Open

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Carlos Alcaraz Has A Hole In His Game

Monday, 28 August 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York, Carlos Alcaraz wants everyone to believe that all is good in his world coming into the 2023 US Open, where he is the defending champion. He has actually gone a step further by announcing in a pre-tournament press conference that he has improved since taking the title last year. “I feel

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, US Open

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2023 Wimbledon Final – Alcaraz First Serve Lesson

Sunday, 23 July 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

Alcaraz: Wimbledon Final 1st Serve Lesson Carlos Alcaraz stunned Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final a week ago in a thrilling five-set final. Next Thursday’s webinar will focus on learning the patterns of play and momentum swings of the final and how you can directly improve your game by studying the best two players in

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Serving, Wimbledon

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2023 Wimbledon: Where Djokovic Serves On Break Points

Sunday, 16 July 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

Gday from Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic takes on Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final later this afternoon in a blockbuster match-up for the ages. Djokovic is playing for history. If he wins, he ties Roger Federer with eight Wimbledon titles. He would have also won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and now Wimbledon. Only the US

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon

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2023 Wimbledon: Men’s Semi-Finalists Rally Length

Thursday, 13 July 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Wimbledon. 🎾🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 On Friday, we have two outstanding matches in the men’s semi-finals at The Championships. Carlos Alcaraz v Daniil Medvedev Jannik Sinner v Novak Djokovic Below is an analysis of rally length for all four players to the semi-finals. It is not meant to be a head-to-head comparison. Instead, it is about

Published in 0-4 Shots, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon

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Preview 2: Djokovic v Alcaraz. New Predictive Analytics

Thursday, 08 June 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Paris, What a treat the tennis world is in for Friday afternoon in Paris! Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz. This match is going to stop all of us in our tracks. The new generation is ready to take a big step forward against the old generation. I look forward to writing an analysis

Published in 0-4 Shots, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic

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Roland Garros Prediction: Djokovic In 5 Sets vs. Alcaraz

Wednesday, 07 June 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Paris. 🇫🇷 It’s blockbuster time. 💥 Novak Djokovic versus Carlitos Alcaraz in the men’s semi-final on Friday. It should be the final, but that’s not how the draw shook out. Who is going to win? I think Novak. I think it will be five sets, and I anticipate it being a spectacular match

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros

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Should You Hit More To The Middle? Alcaraz Does.

Friday, 13 May 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Carlos Alcaraz rose to a career-high ranking of No. 6 in the world courtesy of winning the Madrid Masters 1000 last week. What makes this 19-year-old so special? What does he do a little bit differently than other players? Here’s one thing that stood out to me, and I bet it will help with

Published in ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz, Madrid

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Tim Henman & Pat Rafter Would Chop Today’s Deep Returners

Friday, 08 April 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, I was sitting courtside in Miami last week watching Andy Murray battle Daniil Medvedev. Sitting next to me was Tim Henman. Our discussion initially focused on Andy’s resurgence and how he is feeling better and better on court. Medvedev won the match 6-4, 6-2, pulling away from Andy after an even start to the match.

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Miami, Serve And Volley

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Understand Carlos Alcaraz in 3 GIFs & a Pic.

Saturday, 02 April 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, As a preview to the 2022 Miami Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud, I want to share the first time I saw Carlos Alcaraz play live. DATE: August 24, 2021 LOCATION: Wake Forest University EVENT: ATP250 Winston-Salem Open, North Carolina It’s a warm, sticky evening on the campus of Wake Forest University.

Published in ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz, Miami

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Alcaraz’s Subtle Weapon: The Body 1st Serve

Wednesday, 30 March 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Most first serves in tennis go at the corners, chasing aces and return errors. And then there is 18-year-old Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz. The body server. Alcaraz is lighting the tennis world on fire in Miami this week with a breathtaking display of power tennis that now has him in the quarter-finals against 22-year-old

Published in ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz, Miami, Serving, Stefanos Tsitsipas

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The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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