G’day,
Very excited about the launch of Getting Tight in just three days! You will be able to purchase it Monday morning at 8:00 am US Central time.
A key theme that runs right through the 27 video chapters and 325 “Mini-Lessons” is a real-life case study of Jeff’s semi-final match of the US National 40’s against Francisco Clavet in December 2019. Francisco won 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 and we discuss the many layers of mental, emotional and strategic lessons that a match of this nature produces.
In this three-minute video excerpt below, we have something so unique and insightful that you normally can’t obtain – an in-depth review of the match by your opponent.
A huge Thank You to Francisco Clavet for providing this analysis, which is a great example of the hidden mental, emotional, and strategic elements of a match. Watch this fun video and learn. This is just a taste of what to expect from this new tennis course.
Getting Tight Video: Francisco Clavet Review
Mini-Lessons
Jeff and I expand on the key focus points in the video to provide more depth and understanding of what we talked about.
-
When is the last time your opponent gave you their honest opinion about how they beat you?
-
Well, this is exactly what Francisco did when Jeff asked him for his thoughts about the match.
-
Why did Jeff do this? He is an insatiable learner and is willing to put himself on the block so you, too, can take the lessons he learned in this match.
-
Pay close attention to this analysis and see if you can find yourself in situations that resonate with your mindset and strategy.
-
It’s pretty common to give opponents more credit than they deserve.
-
More often than not, they probably don’t know your strengths or weaknesses either.
-
Opponents are typically also focusing on themselves including their nerves, worrying about the outcome, expectations, instead of really knowing what strategy will win them the match.
-
Remember to humanize your opponent, recognize that they have their own fears and the match is really yours to create as you strike the balance between taking care of you (your mental/emotional state) and implementing your strengths against their weaknesses.
- This is where lefties have a clear advantage playing against righties.
- A right-handed player (Jeff) is used to attacking through the Ad court against his right-handed opponent’s backhand wing. But against a lefty (Francisco), that’s his forehand.
- Remember that Jeff didn’t hit enough backhands down the line to Francsico’s backhand. He hit them cross to Francisco’s forehand, and Francisco then “loaded the game on your backhand.”
- Advantage Francisco with this key pattern of play.
-
Jeff admits that he did not account for the fact that Francisco would likely prefer longer rallies.
-
Jeff typically has a high tolerance for extended rallies as well, but advantage the Spaniard in this area.
-
The takeaway here is that Jeff was more focused on what he wanted to do, committed to his intentions and he did not work out a plan B beforehand.
-
At the very least, you will want to recognize what your opponent likes to do early in the match, which shot he prefers to hit, shots he might be a little more tentative on, and exploit these as much as possible.
All the best,
Craig