Brain Game Tennis Blog
Learn tennis strategy, read analysis of pro matches, and more from the Brain Game Tennis blog. All posts are written by ATP tennis strategy coach & analyst, Craig O'Shannessy.
The perfect percentage is 54%.
Monday, 19 February 2024
G’day, Jannik Sinner is the best player in the world today. Period. Sinner won Rotterdam yesterday with a gutsy 7-5, 6-4 victory over Alex De Minaur. He has now won 15 matches in a row and collected back-to-back titles after winning the Australian Open at the start of the year. But Sinner’s current purple patch
- Published in ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner
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2024 Australian Open Men’s Final: 8 Keys To Victory
Saturday, 27 January 2024
G’day from Melbourne! It’s the 🦊 vs. the 🐙 in the men’s final this evening! Jannik Sinner will take on Daniil Medvedev in an intriguing match-up that will decide Grand Slam glory to start 2024. Here are seven things that will go a long way to deciding the final outcome. 1: TIME ON COURT TO
- Published in Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner
2024 Australian Open Rd1: More Points At Net
Tuesday, 16 January 2024
G’day from Melbourne, Points played at the net are on the rise again at Melbourne Park this year. 📈 Hip, hip, hooray!!! 🥳 As you may well know, I am always championing players venturing to the net to win points for a variety of reasons. Taking time away, pressuring with court position, and taking the
- Published in Approach & Volley, Australian Open
Novak’s Forehand Is Being Put To Sleep
Saturday, 18 November 2023
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
Sinner d Djokovic in ATP Finals. 5 Things To Know Why
Wednesday, 15 November 2023
G’day From Torino, I had the privilege of sitting in the front row to watch Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals last night. What a high-energy, high-level match! Sinner prevailed 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6 (2) in three hours and nine minutes of scintillating tennis. The crowd was going ape droppings for Sinner, and
- Published in ATP Finals, ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic
The Key Stat To Break Serve More Often
Tuesday, 14 November 2023
G’day from Torino, Through the first four matches here at the 2023 ATP Finals, there have been 16 breaks of serve from 102 service games. That means players are holding 84% of the time. That’s a very solid number. As a comparison, the men held serve 78% at the US Open this year. One factor
- Published in ATP Finals, Serving
When Is The Right Time To Approach?
Monday, 13 November 2023
G’day from Torino, Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune combined to come to the net an eye-opening 56 times in their ATP Finals match last night. Djokovic defeated Rune 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3 in three hours and four minutes. It was a very entertaining match, with Rune trying to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at Djokovic to
- Published in ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz Has 10 Red Flags
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
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
How Coco Gauff Won The US Open Final
Saturday, 09 September 2023
G’day from New York! Defense defeated offense. Speed of foot defeated speed of racket. Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff defeated Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a remarkable display of courage, determination, positive match rituals, defensive prowess, and a single-minded between-point routine that never changed, no matter if she won or lost the point. Everything
- Published in Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, US Open
2023 US Open Djokovic d Shelton. How It Went Down.
Saturday, 09 September 2023
To Read The Match Preview, Click HERE 2023 US OPEN: MATCH REVIEW N. Djokovic def. B. Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(4) This match promised so much but, unfortunately, didn’t deliver on the hype. I watched it courtside and spent most of the match underwhelmed with the one-sided nature of the contest. I thought Ben played strategically
- Published in Ben Shelton, Novak Djokovic, US Open
2023 US Open Semi Djokovic v Shelton. The Only 5 Things That Matter
Friday, 08 September 2023
Let’s say for a moment that Ben Shelton somehow finds a way to defeat Novak Djokovic in their US Open semi-final this afternoon (3:00 pm start). How would it happen? How in the world would he pull it off? There are five distinct pathways to victory that all need to merge to spawn such a
- Published in Ben Shelton, Novak Djokovic, Rally Length
The First Point Of The Match Was An Ambush
Wednesday, 06 September 2023
G’day From New York, It was the first point of the match. Frances Tiafoe hit his first serve wide, and Ben Shelton took up a regular return position for the 2nd serve. It was your average, standard, run-of-the-mill start of the match. Until it wasn’t. Shelton waited until the toss went up so Tiafoe couldn’t
- Published in Ben Shelton, Strategy Courses, Strategy Products, US Open
Ben Shelton’s Super Power Is?
Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Gday from New York. UPDATE: BOTTOM OF THE PAGE QUARTER-FINAL – SHELTON DEF. TIAFOE 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 Ben Shelton has blasted his way to the quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open and plays Frances Tiafoe tonight on Arthur Ashe. The 20-year-old is the youngest American player to reach the quarters since Andy Roddick in
- Published in 0-4 Shots, Ben Shelton, US Open
2023 US Open Round: 16 Men. Who Is Crushing So Far?
Sunday, 03 September 2023
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
Can You Slow-Ball Novak Djokovic?
Saturday, 02 September 2023
G’day From New York On one hand, you could say that Novak Djokovic came out passive. On the other hand, you can certainly identify that it was Djere’s intention to play a passive game style to blunt Djokovic’s aggression. For two sets, Djere’s counter-intuitive plan worked perfectly. And then he got a little fatigued and
- Published in Novak Djokovic, US Open
Carlos Alcaraz Has A Hole In His Game
Monday, 28 August 2023
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
The Best Way To Improve – And It’s Not How You Think.
Monday, 24 July 2023
G’day, Improvement is an elusive dynamic. In all areas of our life, we look to get better day by day. We seek to elevate our best and reach new heights. But making your best better is not always the optimal way. What about eliminating the lowest-performing areas you are trying to improve? Improving your best
- Published in Improvement, Webinars
2023 Wimbledon Final – Alcaraz First Serve Lesson
Sunday, 23 July 2023
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
2023 Wimbledon: Where Djokovic Serves On Break Points
Sunday, 16 July 2023
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
2023 Wimbledon: Men’s Semi-Finalists Rally Length
Thursday, 13 July 2023
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