Tuesday, 25 July 2017 / Published in ATP Tour

Roger Federer exposes the biggest lie in tennis (Part 2/5)

For a deeper analysis of the massive impact the length of the rally has on winning a match, I highly recommend THE FIRST 4 SHOTS.

The First 4 Shots Video

Part 1. Click HERE

Serve & Volley. Dead & buried?

Roger Federer point-blank called out fellow players at Wimbledon last Monday during an interview that was all about celebrating his record eighth singles title at SW19. The interview covered a lot of angles, but Roger also spoke pointedly about the strategy, or lack thereof, of other players in the men’s draw – particularly the younger generation who have unsuccessfully knocked him off the top of the mountain.

“It’s frightening to see at this level,” Federer said of the lack of serve and volley at The Championships.

But is Roger right? Do younger players have a huge hole in their game by not employing serve and volley with any real conviction?

Roger is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

The following analysis focuses on all the younger players in the draw, aged between 18-23 years old.

2017 Wimbledon Men

Tournament Averages: Serve & Volley

7.2% (1894/26,375) Overall
2.2% (103/4638) Players Aged 18-23

Below is exactly what Roger was talking about…

Male Players: Age 18-23

Age	Player	S&V Points Played	Total Serve Points
20	Jared Donaldson	0	229
22	Kyle Edmund	0	181
21	Thanasi Kokkinakis	0	124
21	Ernesto Escobedo	0	121
19	Taylor Fritz	0	77
22	Nick Kyrgios	0	56
21	Karen Khachanov	1	382
19	Andrey Rublev	1	315
21	Sebastian Ofner	1	287
18	Denis Shapovalov	1	107
20	Borna Coric	1	105
21	Cameron Norrie	1	85
19	Frances Tiafoe	2	199
23	Adam Pavlasek	2	178
21	Nicholas Jarry	2	119
21	Christian Garin	2	109
21	Daniil Medvedev	5	251
18	Stefanos Tsitsipas	5	88
23	Jordan Thompson	8	99
20	Alexander Bublik	9	83
23	Thiago Monteiro	10	291
23	Andrew Whittington	10	130
23	Lucas Pouille	11	252
23	Dominic Thiem	15	398
20	Alexander Zverev	16	372
20.9	TOTAL / AVERAGE	103 (2.2%)	4638

Here’s a powerful snapshot from the youth of our game (all players aged 18-23).

SIX players combined for ZERO serve & volley points from 788 serve points.
TWELVE players combined for just SIX serve & volley points from 2069 serve points. That’s one out of every 344 serve points.
EIGHTEEN players did not serve & volley over 5 times for the tournament.
Of the 25 players, only five served and volleyed in double digits.

We are clearly breeding a new global generation of players that literally shun the front of the court. Roger also said if you can’t volley, then you are far less likely to venture forward to the net. That’s definitely in play here. In fact, it’s a combination of three elements.

There is no awareness of the outstanding win percentages at the front of the court.
Therefore young players don’t bother to venture forward and develop that part of their game early on.
Then when they reach the big stage, they revert to what they know best. Grinding at the baseline.

Roger’s Seven Matches

Roger played seven matches to win Wimbledon. Here’s the opponent’s by round, and how much they served and volleyed against him.

Rd 1 def Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 3-0 Ret. Dolgopolov served & volleyed 0/46 serves.
Rd 2 def. Dusan Lajovic 7-6(0), 6-3, 6-2. Lajovic served & volleyed 0/84 serves.
Rd 3 def. Misha Zverev 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4. Zverev served & volleyed 89/98 serves.
Rd 4 def. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Dimitrov served & volleyed 0/84 serves.
Qtr def Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(4). Raonic served & volleyed 23/96 serves.
Semi def. Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4. Berdych served & volleyed 9/101 serves.
Final def. Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. Cilic served & volleyed 15/90 serves.

In the 3rd round, Federer played a true serve and volleyer in Misha Zverev. Apart from that match, Roger faced 47 serve and volley points in 6 matches (18 sets). That’s just an average of 2.6 / set.

Where Players Win v Roger

Did opponents do better serving and volleying, approaching, or staying at the baseline against Roger at The Championships this year? Glad you asked…

Opponent Points WON vs. Roger Federer (excluding Dolgopolov retirement).

37% Baseline
59% Net
64% Serve & Volley

Knock, knock…

In SIX matches against Roger at Wimbledon, the highest winning percentage of the three strategies (baseline, net, serve & volley) was… SERVE & VOLLEY!!!!

In his post-match interview, Roger is literally telling the entire world the best way to beat him. That’s how nice of a guy he is! His interview is a candid assessment of the limitations young players have in their game, AND it’s also a free coaching lesson from one of the all-time greats of our sport.

TOMORROW…

We are going to take a look back at the history of serve and volley at The Championships.

Serve & Volley first started being recorded at Wimbledon in 1997. We are going to cover TWO topic points.

The total number of serve & volley points each year. (massive decline since 1997).
Win percentages (this is the secret sauce).

Tomorrow’s topic provides the opportunity to really validate Roger’s comments.

If Roger thinks players (especially younger players) should serve and volley more, then his opinion needs to be backed up with solid, irrefutable, undeniable win percentages. If serve and volley delivers a better bang for your buck than baseline play, then Roger’s opinion will be grounded in fact.

The world thinks serve and volley sucks. We will find out tomorrow if the world is right or not…

Cheers,

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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