Sunday, 26 August 2018 / Published in ATP Tour

G’day, Diego!

For a deeper analysis of the massive impact rally length has on winning a match, I highly recommend THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. Click HERE for more information about this tennis strategy course, focused on the importance of the start of the rally.

The First 4 Shots – Video

How long can you sustain excellence?

G’day from New York,

It was a pleasure to catch up with Diego Schwartzman and Marin Cilic at the Fila US Open party on Friday evening.

I started talking to Diego about the Infosys story I wrote on him late last year that focused on his prowess returning. Since 2008, the best returner in the world at the end of each season has either been Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, but Diego took the honors last season.

Here are the Top 5 performers with Return Games Won in 2017.

34.76% = Diego Schwartzman (276/794)
32.71% = Rafael Nadal (297/908)
30.43% = Roberto Bautista Agut (248/815)
30.43% = Damir Dzumhur (220/723)
27.95% = Hyeon Chung (147/526)

It’s an incredible achievement, especially considering Diego is 5’7″ (170cm) and 141lbs (64kg).

Diego is currently ranked No. 13 in the world and boasts a career-high of No. 11 that he maintained for four weeks in June and July this year.

Our conversation then turned to his 2018 Roland Garros quarter-final. He lost to Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Diego talked about how he got off to a great start and was attacking like crazy, and then around the middle of Set 2 he simply could not sustain that level anymore. The gas tank ran empty. I told him I was actually at the match and was super impressed with how he started the match, but I also saw the energy level drop, which then spilled over to court position and errors replacing winners.

GREAT LESSON!

Too often against a hot opponent (such as Diego at the start of this match), we think the opponent is playing currently playing outstanding tennis – and they will continue to play out of their minds for the rest of the match.

That’s very tough to do! When you are down in a match, like Nadal was, sometimes you just need to ride out the storm.

Here’s the cold, hard reality of a tennis match.

ADVERSITY IS GOING TO COME AT SOME STAGE!

When you step on to a court to compete, things are not always going to go your way. Adversity is coming – you just don’t know when.

In my Brain Game Tennis course, Between The Points, one of the pages is called Storm Cloud. On that page, I reference a quote from Nadal’s best-selling book, “Rafa”. Here it is.

Rafael Nadal’s Book – RAFA

On the 2008 Wimbledon Final v Roger Federer.

When Federer has these patches of utter brilliance, the only thing you can do is try and stay calm, wait for the storm to pass. You can’t let yourself be demoralized; you have to remember – or you have to convince yourself – that he cannot possibly sustain that level of play game after game, that if you stay cool and stick to your game plan and keep trying to wear him down and make him uncomfortable, he’ll leave the zone sooner or later. His mental intensity will slacken, and you’ll have your chance.Rafael Nadal

Well, there you have it in a nutshell. A great quote that directly applies to Nadal’s 2008 Wimbledon final against Roger, and also Rafa’s 2018 Roland Garros quarter-final against Diego. Look for this dynamic to again play out at the 2018 US Open.

For more great insights into the mental and emotional aspects in the course, Between The Points, click HERE.

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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