Monday, 12 January 2015 / Published in ATP Tour

Watching Roger Federer Make History

It’s a big number.

Roger reaches a massive milestone…

I was on Pat Rafter Arena last night to witness Roger win his 1000th match on tour – only the third player ever to do it. I want to share 10 things from the match with you.

1. It’s amazing how much Federer is loved by every crowd he ever plays in front of. I also watch him live at Indian Wells, Miami, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, New York and London last year, and at every venue, in every corner of the world, he is a total rock star. We are so lucky to have him as one of the guiding lights in our sport. He really does so much to keep interest levels up when there is much going in the world competing for our attention. When he walked out for the final, the Brisbane crowd went ape-droppings…

2. I sat on the side of the court, low, and really got to see the action Federer puts on the ball, and see how much he prowled the baseline – much more than Raonic was wanting to do. Federer puts a lot of work on his forehand, but the power takes over first and then the spin makes it dip late. So much whipping racket head speed – more noticeable when you watch him live.

3. Breaking early. There are basically four opponents in a tennis match:

The opponent
Yourself
The scoreboard
The crowd

Roger is a master at using the scoreboard in the match by breaking you early. He broke Milos at 1-1 in the first set, and then again in the very first game of the second set. It’s such a constant uphill battle from there. The best players in the world break early in sets. They have a much greater hunger for this tactic than the general crowd.

4. Milos loves his run-around forehand, and I love the tactic, but in general (especially early) he tried to hit it hard and flat like a hammer and missed too much. He would be far better off focusing on depth, spin and direction, than just a speed gun measurement. It did get a lot better in the third set.

5. Roger served wide a lot to stretch Milos initially to open up holes in the court. To the Canadian’s credit, he did scorch a couple of forehand return winners from wide in the deuce court. Frozen ropes.

6. I tweeted (@braingametennis) late in the first set that it felt like a Sampras match. There was a small period of tension when Federer broke early, and the rest of the games were very straight forward. Federer tried to remove the drama out of the match that could hurt him.

7. Raonic double faulted to lose serve in the opening game of the second set. That’s applied pressure from Federer stepping into a lot of second serves and even chipping and charging as well. It all adds up and explodes when the pressure meter is at it’s highest (break point).

8. Milos was down a set and a break and played very solid, smart tennis to get back into it. Sometimes you just have to hang around and wait for your opportunities. It was really good that he didn’t go away.

9. Most of the break point chances for both players came early in the 3rd set. This was the most important part of the match. Federer came up with big serves to targets when it mattered the most.

10. I also went to the post-match interview. Federer said he never put any value in winning other important matches tied to wins, such as 250 or 500, but he said this really, really meant a lot to him. He knows the history of the game, and now joins Connors and Lendl as the only ones with over 1000 wins.

It’s great to be courtside for matches like this because there is always so much to learn – lots of little things to pay attention to that really matter in a tennis match.

It’s off to Melbourne tomorrow, where I am speaking at the Australian Open Coaches Conference on Thursday. My presentation is called Pro Patterns and Percentages. Going to be a blast!

Cheers from the Gold Coast,

Craig

BUY BRAIN GAME STRATEGY

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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Watching Roger Federer Make History

It’s a big number.

Roger reaches a massive milestone…

BUY BRAIN GAME STRATEGY