G’day from Wimbledon! 🍓
It’s amazing to be back at The Championships!
Typically I am busy at my desk researching tournament data and patterns of play. Not this morning. I wanted to start Day 1 by consuming a lot of tennis, so I went to Court 8 to watch Jan Lennard Struff (GER) play Fabian Marozsan (HUN). Jan won a tight one  6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3. It was an excellent first-round encounter that was played at an extremely high level. I sat with Jan’s coach, Carsten Arriens, and we continually talked about how well both players were constructing points.
I wish you were there to listen to our conversation so that you could copy and paste specific strategies for your own game. Here are seven mental notes I took during the match that you can weave into your own game to help take it to the next level.
1: FOREHAND BODY SERVES
Learn -> Webinar 37: 25 Underrated Tactics
It’s one of the least-used shots in tennis. We love to serve wide and bomb down the T, but serving at the forehand jam seems counterintuitive! It doesn’t need to be. Going at the forehand body location gets the ball in on the returner and compromises their spacing. The ball gets in, and it’s tough to even get it back over the net.
Jan and Fabian hit excellent forehand jam serves in pressure moments to win the point. When your opponent has two targets (wide and T) they are trying to cover, it’s clever to go to the third option.
This is one of the most straightforward strategies to copy and paste from Wimbledon to your club courts. Target the forehand jam serve with first and second serves and watch how tough it is to get back in the court.
2: HITTING THROUGH RETURNS
Learn -> Webinar 38: Aggressive Returns
I have worked with Carsten and Jan before and after COVID-19, and improving Jan’s return of serve has been a primary focus. At all levels of our sport, we tend to brush too steeply up the back of the ball to try and lift it over the net. The problem is that the racket does not get through the ball enough and the ball ends up in the net more often than not.
This was the best I have seen Jan hit “through” his return of serve. He had a short backswing and got the racket through the point of contact well.
This is a “must” at the club level. Don’t try to lift the ball on the return. Hit through it and use the server’s power right back at them. The result will be a solid return deep in the court.
3: SERVE & VOLLEY
Learn -> Webinar 21: Serve & Volley. Return & Volley
Serving and volleying is a magnificent strategy for a variety of different reasons. Today, it helped Jan get out of some sticky situations. Fabian would go through moments in the match when he was crushing returns and putting a lot of pressure on Jan’s serve +1 groundstrokes. To avoid that pressure, Jan served and volleyed 12 times in the match and won nine of those points. A couple of them that he won were behind his second serve.
Serve and volley can be a great tool to change the complexion of the point, especially when you are looking to avoid a baseline rally. It also changed the flavour of the game as Jan was now the aggressor at the net and not the defender at the baseline.
Serving and volleying typically win you two out of every three points. It’s a great tactic to throw a monkey wrench into the match at the club level. A lot of times, the returner freaks out and misses the return entirely.
4: BACKHAND SLICE
Learn -> Webinar 47: Backhand Slice Situations
Both players hit some scintillating backhand slices for the following reasons.
- To lower the rally and get the ball down below the opponent’s knees to make it hard to drive.
- To slow the rally down and not give the opponent power to use back against them.
- To be stronger defensively. It is much easier to put the ball in with a slice than topspin when under extreme pressure.
- To open up new, shorter angles in the rally.
All club players would benefit from having a serviceable backhand slice. It helps get you out of trouble and helps keep the ball out of the opponent’s strike zone.
5: WIDE SERVES IN THE DEUCE COURT
Learn -> Â Webinar 3: Serve Strategy, Patterns, Percentages & Drills
Below are Jan’s serve patterns in the Deuce Court.
1st Serves Deuce Court
- Wide = 20
- Body = 2
- T = 16
The wide slider worked well in this match. Fabian was returning brilliantly for almost the entirety of the game, sometimes ramming 1st serves back at Jan deep down the middle. Other times, he would chip the first serve return and float it deep, giving Jan no power to work with. To counter the high quality of returns, Jan often went to a 3/4 speed heavy slider out wide in the Deuce court, which he had a high percentage of making, and sliced away from Fabian. This helped Jan win several vital points that were key to victory.
2nd Serves Deuce Court
- Wide = 13
- Body = 6
- T = 5
Fabian’s backhand return was on fire for almost the entire match. It was eye-opening how well he hit it. Jan was smart to surprise wide to the forehand to stop him stepping forward to punish the return. Fabian either had to slice the return or get it back in play.
Amateur players would be wise to mix more wide to the right-hander’s forehand return in the Deuce court. The surprise often leads to a return error.
6: BREAK POINTS
Learn -> Webinar 11: Tie-Breaks & Break Points
One of the best things you can do when facing a break point is to make your first serve. Both players did an outstanding job in this area.
Struff Break Points
- Jan faced six break points.
- He made five first serves (83%).
- He hit three aces on first serves and hit a 2nd serve ace on another.
Marozsan Break Points
- Fabian faced 14 break points.
- He made 10 first serves (71%).
- He hit one ace and one double fault.
Jan only made 55% of first serves in the match but made 83% on break point. Fabian only made 58% of first serves in the match but made 71% on break point.
These are excellent percentages for both players. When break point inevitably rolls around, do all you can to get your first serve in the court to relieve some pressure.
7: ALWAYS LOOK TO FINISH AT NET
Learn -> Webinar 30: Volley & Overhead Technique
Net Points Won
- Struff = 24/32 (75%)
- Marozsan = 8/12 (67%)
This tight match had some pivotal moments where the match hung in the balance. A big key for Jan was that he was more willing to go to the net when these moments arrived than Fabian was. Jan went to the net 32 times, which was almost three times that of Fabian at 12.
Going to the net to finish points brings pressure. It makes the player at the back of the court have to hit passing shots to win the match  – which is no easy feat.
Be the player that goes to the net more than your opponent. Embrace the front of the court and constantly bring pressure by coming forward.
SUMMARY
Matches at all levels of our game always offer something to learn. It’s also very important to understand that amateur players can improve their game by studying the professionals.
Learn from Jan and Fabian and drip-feed your game with these crucial elements from Wimbledon. Enjoy the process and commit to getting a little bit better every day.
Best,
Craig