Wednesday, 16 August 2017 / Published in ATP Tour

Does Serve & Volley Work in Brazil?

Where do we draw the line with coming forward?

Surely serve and volley has its limits, doesn’t it?

Surely approach and volley doesn’t work everywhere. Maybe it’s a lot tougher on clay in Brazil, for example…

I want to share another success story with you as a result of the 5-Part Roger Federer Serve & Volley series a couple of weeks ago. We saw that the Federer analysis helped Terry from Kansas City. His story is HERE. Terry is a 60yo+, 4.0 level player who almost exclusively plays on clay. He tried it, and it worked great!

Now I want to introduce to you Thiago from Brazil. He is a coach, and tried it in his own game. This is a fantastic story! Here we go…

Today I played a match against a former Argentinian Tennis Instructor, on this tournament we have every year for the anniversary of our Tennis Academy. I had only played him once before, two years ago, on this same tournament’s final. It was a heavy rainy day, and our clay courts were the slowest I have ever seen. He was ahead 6-0 5-0. Somehow I managed to hang in there, but he ended up winning the match 6-0 6-4.Thiago

So two years ago, Thiago almost got cleaned up love and love. Good job fighting back at the end of the second set! The key thing here to understand is that Thiago tried to play the other instructor with “normal” tactics, and his opponent was simply too good at that.

But then they played again… just a week ago.

A WEEK AGO…

Today I committed to serve & volley on every point, and also to charge the net on every possible occasion. I also watched some Edberg’s Roland Garros matches, especially one he beat Mancini in the quarter final in 89, to get me inspired! I won 6-3 6-3.Thiago

Congratulations mate!!! Really well done. Love the word “committed”, because sometimes that’s exactly what it takes. A bad loss a year ago turns into a solid win today because of not playing his opponent on his terms. Thiago took control. He served and volleyed on clay. He approached and volleyed on clay. This match this year must have had a completely different look and feel to the one two years ago.

The new style also opened Thiago’s eyes to the wonderful win percentages at the net. So he looked around, and SAW this…

But what struck me the most was what happened right after our match ended. As I sat to watch the other match on the adjacent court, I decided to do some scouting for this friend of mine who was playing. It was the beginning of the second set. The score was 6-4 1-1. They played 30 points. I counted every time my friend charged the net, not just serve & volley. He did it on 13 points (43% of points played), and won all 13 of them (100% winning percentage). He stayed on the back of the court for 17 points (57% of points played), and won only 6 (35% winning percentage). He won every game that I watched, and the final score was 6-4 6-1. When I talked to him about this scouting, he said he had no idea of what had happened, and was really amazed when I told him his winning percentages when finishing at the net. He’s a 35 years old high level recreational player.Thiago

Ladies and gentlemen. Please re-read this again and again – because Thiago is really talking to YOU! A lot of the time it’s tough to see what you are doing wrong and right in a match. The competition gets in the way. Winning and losing gets in the way, and you lose focus of the tactics that MATTER.

What a wonderful insight from Thiago to provide to his friend!

So I want to congratulate you for the great work you’ve been doing, and thank you to help us have a better look at this game we love so much. Have a great weekend!Thiago

Thank YOU Thiago! Well done with winning you match, and even more so for taking the time to help your friend – and help all of us with your story.

The net is alive and thriving in Brazil!

All the best,

Craig

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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Does Serve & Volley Work in Brazil?

Where do we draw the line with coming forward?