How To Turn Your Unforcing Shots Into Your Opponent's Forced Errors

--- PACIFIC COAST SENIORS TOURNAMENT UPDATE ---

Well, it certainly wasn't a beauty contest out there the past several days at the 2009 Pacific Coast Seniors tournament (National Category 2) at the Berkeley Tennis Club, Berkeley, CA.

Lots of rain, lots of interrupted matches, lots of sitting around for days, the doubles events eventually got cancelled, etc., ...

And then came the referee's decision to make all the singles matches use the No-Ad scoring system with a 10 point Super Tie-Breaker for any matches that went into a 3rd set.

Talk about tense...  It really unsettled me.  And even though I eventually won the 60s singles, I never really felt comfortable with the No-Ad scoring system knowing that at any moment if I played a couple of loose point s I could be in a world of hurt.

No-Ad is such a different mindset.  The perception is that every point becomes so important that it's really, really easy to go into a much slower and less free swing mode with your strokes in hopes that you don't miss.

It wasn't necessarily a sense of pushing, but swing freedom wasn't happening all that much.

But what finally worked for me was the realization that my opponent was feeling the same thing and that I simply had to stay true to moving forward, getting up to net, and make him play passing shot after passing shot.

It worked.  That combination of putting that pressure on your opponent where they know they can't miss AND they now have to hit a perfect passing shot can result in a lot of unforced errors (missed passing shot attempts).

And let's add one more element of pressure on your opponent for upcoming points.

If you have shown that you can frequently approach the net and force a passing shot attempt, guess what, for future points your opponent is going to make sure they don't play shots to 

you where you can approach.

Their attempts to keep the ball away from you, even just trying keep their shots deep to keep you back on your baseline, can lead to more unforced errors from them.

There's lots of residual benefits in future points from playing approach shots now.

And really, let's define an unforced error in this situation.

Usually we define an unforced error where your opponent plays a shot to you where you have the ability to get set up within a reasonable amount of time to where you should be able to play a simple high percentage shot back to your opponent.

And yet, we find a way to miss that shot.  That's a classic unforced error, almost like a gift to your opponent.

So what if you add one more dimension to that situation.

You play a simple approach shot that doesn't "force" your opponent to run, isn't a particualrly deep shot that requires your opponent to have to perfectly time "picking up" your shot right after the bounce, but almost just sits there waiting for him/her to execute their forehand or backhand groundstroke.

But the added element is that you're now up at net, inside the service line, basically saying, "here I am, pass me, AGAIN...".

And that added element of your court position can create lots of "forced" errors despite the fact that your approach shot wasn't what anyone might define as a really great forcing type of shot.

If you play that shot as an approach shot, and actually come into the net area, then you're forcing your opponent into a possible error simply because of where you are on the court.

You can apply lots of perceived pressure onto your opponent with where you are on the court as they have to play their shot.

Practice your approach shots, practice your volleys, practice your overheads, and practice thinking that if you do get passed from time to time that you haven't failed.

This is a pure numbers game.  The more pressure you apply with court positioning, the less you'll get passed.

So if you approach a couple of times, get passed, think that you've failed, and then stop coming in to net, then you're right, you have failed.

Lots of players fear getting passed.  I don't.  I believe that my opponent realistically in any given match has only so many clean passing shot winners available to them on that day.

Everyone has a finite number of passing shot winners in their bag for any match.

My job (your job too) is to empty their bag as soon as possible...

I've got two new lessons being videotaped this week that will help 

you with your ability to approach the net and take charge of that point and the match.  

Approach shots and drop shots...

If you can add a drop volley to your selection oif available shots when you're up at net, you'll be armed and dangerous!

Look for those new lessons by the end of this week or the start of next week.

In the meantime, if you haven't already done so, claim your copy of my detailed lessons on the forehand & backhand volleys, the overhead, and the forehand & backhand half volleys.

- Forehand & Backhand Volleys - Click here

- Overhead - Click here

- Forehand & Backhand Half Volleys (Comes with a bonus lesson - The Return of Serve) - Click Here

Claim all 3 lessons and get a 30% discount - Click here

Brent

Tennis Doubles - When The Middle Isn't Open - Part 2

This is a followup to the last court diagram video we did on when not to play your 1st volley back into the middle of the court in doubles.

There are time when you get a high volley where you think you can hit that volley back down to that net player's feet.

Be careful, if you're even slightly out of position when you play that volley, the risk / reward just may not be there.

What's your biggest challenge in doubles lately?  Is is a stroke, strategy, poaching, mental...?

Just reply by adding a comment at the bottom of this post.

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Tennis Doubles - When The Middle Isn't Open

One of the biggest mistakes I see in doubles is when players perceive that the middle of the court, the area between the two opponents, is open, when trying to play a volley from the "outside" of the court.

What's your biggest challenge in doubles lately?  Is is a stroke, strategy, poaching, mental...?

Just reply by adding a comment at the bottom of this post.

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2009 Australian Open - Random Rants

A few randon thoughts and rants about this year's Australian Open...

And some of these you can copy and model for your own game's improvement.

1. Andy Roddick...

I'm impresssed. For the past few years I've felt this guy was just going through the motions content to be somewhere in the world's Top 10 and enjoying the good life without really putting in the hard training miles off the court.

Here's what Andy has recently done and what he's now doing that you can copy and model and it'll improve your overall game.

Mental - From what I've seen so far in his matches, he rarely if ever shows any immediate demonstrative reaction after the finish of a point.

It's head down, check the strings, and walk over to get the towel no matter what just happened, positive or negative.

I've always believed that this fist pumping crap and yelling out "come on" (as Roddick used to do and so many of the players still do) does two really bad things. It drains you physically and it also tells your brain that that's exactly how every point should be played.

Every following point that doesn't live up to what just happenend is almost considered a failure.

Practice what we're seeing Roddick do between points. No immediate high or low emotional responses. This takes practice and it's not something you can just turn on whenever you want.

If you haven't already done so, go over right now and pick up a copy of my recently released complete lesson on the mental skills required for competitive tennis players.

Click here http://www.webtennis.net/tennis-mental-skills.htm .

2. Fitness

Roddick, Safina, Zvonareva, Dokic, and other players look physically different. Lighter and obviously in great fitness condition.

You can do the same if you want to. And there's the rub, most of us can find a reason to not put in a couple of extra hours each week of off court training.

There are a million and one reasons and we've all heard them. And the weakest one I hear is from those folks who say they're simply waiting around for the right program to be presented to them. They're just unsure of what to do.

Gimme a break...

Think about this. Do any kind of training that will help you better visually track a moving tennis ball while you're also on the move.

Long distance running? Not really. That will only break down those muscles that help you move smoothly and absorb the stops and starts so you can visually track a ball. Long distance running can get you in great shape, no question about that, but it won't help your tennis.

Sprints, steps, short bursts up hills, etc.

And the reality is this, if you put in some focused off court training time into your schedule, and even if you don't work on your strokes, you're going to become a better player.

If you're not right now doing any off court training, then start today.

Don't feel like you have to justify it to anyone but yourself. There are going to be friends or family who are going to give you some crap, but believe me, in 3 weeks when you're all of a sudden setting up for that wide forehand and then unloading on it, you won't care what anyone says to you.

I'm in the process of putting together a fitness specific program for tennis to help you improve what we're talking about here, so until it's ready to be released, get into the gym twice a week if not more often. I wouldn't do your off court stuff two days in a row, space it out, but get it going today.

Again, what can you do to improve your ability to visually track a moving ball while you're also on the move?

3. Approach Shots

I've seen it enough in this year's Australian to be given hope that some of the men are finally figuring out why they're getting passed so often when they play their approach shots.

And we've all been saying for a long time that the topspin approach just sits up there nice and pretty.

The guys now have the ability to hit these amazing passing shots because of their extraordinary speed that helps them get set up but also because of the spin and power generated from the racket and string technology.

And some of the guys now seem to have figured out that a short sliced angled approach that stays down low and forces their opponent well inside the baseline works a whole lot better.

And geometrically it makes perfect sense.

You force your opponent to have to hit up to you from a short distance from possibly one of the alleys where it's almost impossible for them to top their shot and get that nasty "dip" that makes the ball fall below the top of the net.

And unless they do hit an outright winner, you've got a ball up above the net with a wide open court.

And if you show your opponent this type of approach a few times early in the match (yes, that's right, you can easily copy this strategy), guess what, you'll force them to play closer if not inside their baseline where they don't want to be, and any future approach shot you then hit deep will be a much tougher "short hop" / on the rise passing shot for them.

4. Women's Loss of Opportunities...

The women are just hitting monster groundstrokes these days. Combined with their fitness to get around the baseline to have enough time to step forward, turn the shoulders, and recover on balance, the gals' groundies are really amazing.

But...

What I'm not seeing often enough, if ever, is them taking advantage of a well hit groundstroke to one of their opponent's corners that really stretches out that opponent, and then moving forward well inside the court to immediately cut off whatever comes back with a volley or 1/2 volley.

They get their opponent stretched out wide behind an alley reaching for the ball and they just sit back behind their own baseline waiting to see what comes back.

Huge opportunity just flushed down the drain...

Learn how to play a simple approach volley where you make contact somewhere around 1/2 way between your baseline and service line.

Just redirect the incoming pace into the open court and get set up for the next shot.

Once your opponent gets stretched out because of your good groundie, and they are then thinking you're probably moving forward, believe me, you'll put a ton of pressure on their shot where they now feel they can't simply just float it back to you and take their time to recover to the middle of their court.

That pressure will translate into them feeling they have to go for a winner which most likely end up being an unforced error or a ball you can handle.

Yep, that's right, you're going to get passed from time to time, but the numbers are way, way in your favor over the long haul.

And for future points, your opponent is not going to want to give you a ball in the rally where you might be able to hit it deep to one of their corners and then have you move in, so guess what, that perceived pressure just turned into some more unforced errors by them trying to do too much in hopes of not giving you a ball you can drive deep to a corner.

Get out there and practice moving forward from the baseline where you have to receive a ball from one of your opponent's corners, take your time, and calmly play an approach volley to the open court. We're not talking about having to hit winners, but simply playing a simple transitional volley into the open court and then setting up for what will most likely be a lob from your opponent.

OK, guess you'll also have to work on that overhead a bit too!

Pick up either lesson on the volleys or the overhead or both over at:

http://www.WebTennis.net/Tennis-Lessons.htm

5. Martina...

I don't know about you, but if you get the Tennis Channel, you've been subjected to having to listen to Martina Navratilova's never ending irritiating color commentating.

I mean, it just goes on and on and on and eventually I've got to turn down the sound.

The holier than thou stuff that she spews is one thing, but the voice, oh my gosh, it's driving me nuts.

Hey, what a great player, arguably the best woman of all-time, but this announcing stuff is not her forte...

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OK, enough ranting for this morning. Hope you're enjoying the Australian. Mai and I are determined to get down there for the 2010 edition.
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Thanks, Brent