N°22 - December 2014
Tennis World Swiss Brilliance Or French Failure?
Japan’s New Favorite Sport
A New Generation Rises
Djokovic,s quest for a kingdom
Swiss Brilliance Or French Failure? by Giorgio Giannaccini
The defeat suffered by the French team in the Davis Cup final was not taken well in France.
The defeat suffered by the French team in the Davis Cup final was not taken well in France. And while it was the players who ultimately failed on the court, the blame was placed squarely on one man’s shoulders: team captain Arnaud Clement. Clement is, of course, a former player himself, and while he was not exactly a Yannick Noah or Cédric Pioline, he did enjoy a relatively distinguished career. He reached the Top 10 in the singles rankings, and won the Wimbledon doubles event in 2007. Though he is relatively short by modern standards, he had a powerful game off the ground and could hit serves in excess of 200 km/h. He reached the final of the Australian Open in
2001 and the quarters at Wimbledon in 2008. In short, he does not have too many regrets about his own career, though as a touch player he would have done much better a few decades earlier. Indeed, this seems to be a curse for French players, such as Michael Llodra, who would have certainly won several Slams had he played in the 1960s. But in today’s baseline-focused game he has had only limited success in singles (though he did win three Slam titles in doubles). Despite coaching a team that made it to the finals of the Davis Cup, there are already calls for Clement to be fired. This strikes us as being a bit unfair, and will likely not come to pass. He had many things working against him going
It seems a little absurd for the French to be so unhappy about the loss, given that they were considered massive underdogs. into the tie, including an incredibly strong opposing team. Indeed, it seems a little absurd for the French to be so unhappy about the loss, given that they were considered massive underdogs. France is, along with Spain, be one of the strongest tennis countries in the world, boasting several Top 100 players each and every year, including some Top 10 ones. However, in Davis Cup play the tie can come down to just two players, and if those two happen to be superior, you have very little chance. And that is exactly what Switzerland had: two vastly superior players enjoying terrific form when they needed it most. Roger Federer was coming off a terrific year, and his compatriot arguably even more so, having won the Australian Open in January.
The sudden injury to Federer’s back at the ATP World Tour Finals certainly gave the French an extra boost of hope. If he couldn’t play at 100%, the Swiss has little chance of winning, especially since Federer would likely have to play doubles and singles in order to carry the day. The French boasted some very strong doubles players, like and Julien Benneteau, and fully expected to win Saturday’s match if Federer couldn’t play. The first match was between Wawrinka and JoWilfried Tsonga. Wawrinka was widely favored, given that the Frenchman was not particularly comfortable on clay, and the Swiss easily won in the end. Federer, on the other hand, was feeling his back injury in a big way during his match against Gael Monfils.
The doubles match, then, was crucial, and most pundits believed the winner of the doubles would win the tie. he contest was surprisingly one-sided, and Monfils’ victory gave the French team a real hope of lifting the trophy. Tsonga was reportedly also injured in his match, though this would not be revealed until after the tie was completed. It would appear that his injury was not as severe as Federer’s, and he still managed to put up somewhat of a fight against Wawrinka. The doubles match, then, was crucial, and most pundits believed the winner of the doubles would win the tie. It was at in the consideration for the doubles that Clement perhaps made a tactical error. In theory, he had at his disposal the proven doubles team of Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Julien Benneteau, who had just a week before played at the ATP World Tour Finals. Michael Llodra could also have been made available for the team, being perhaps the best doubles players France has had over the past 20 years. Instead of going with a specialist doubles combination in the team, Clement opted to go for the combination of Benneteau and Richard Gasquet. The latter has not had a very good season, and is not particularly well known for his doubles prowess. It was a major gamble against an opposing duo who has won an Olympic gold medal together. Unfortunately for the French team, it was a gamble that backfired spectacularly. Wawrinka was on fire from the start, hitting the ball with such power that his opponents, and even the crowd, looked dumbstruck. Federer was also majestic, dicing the Frenchmen with precise groundstrokes and accurate serves.
The result was a straight sets win for the Swiss.
The result was a straight sets win for the Swiss, and it seemed like the tie was, for all intents and purposes, over. It was hard to contemplate a scenario where both Swiss men would lose their matches, especially given Tsonga’s injury and Gasquet’s poor form. The decision to put Gasquet in against Federer was a long shot to begin with, even with the Swiss’ injury. The Frenchman has almost never beaten Federer even at the best of times, and recent times have been far from the best for Gasquet. Someone like Gilles Simon, against who Federer has often struggled, might have been a better option for the French team, but even that might not have helped. By Sunday Federer had recovered from his injury, or at least was so filled with adrenalin that he didn’t feel its effects anymore.
He put on a clinic against Gasquet, never putting a foot wrong in a complete dismantling of his opponent’s game. In the end, it’s hard to blame Arnaud Clement for the failure of his players to deliver. His team consisted, in terms of rankings, of some of the best players in the world. Any captain would rightfully expect them to put up more of a fight than they did. He can only do so much for the team since, after all, he is on the sidelines, not on the court. The main story then is of Switzerland’s triumph more than France’s failure. There is certainly no shame in losing to two Top 5 players.
As sin comnis by Marco Avena This year, I went to the WTA event at the Ariake Tennis Center, and also paid a visit to the Uniqlo Megastore in the Ginza district.
This year, I went to the WTA event at the Ariake Tennis Center, and also paid a visit to the Uniqlo Megastore in the Ginza district. It was quite an experience, not only to see the tournament itself, but also how Uniqlo has made a name for itself in tennis. Indeed, it is quite surprising that both tennis and the brand’s association with the sport have become so popular in Japan. After all, the game is not traditionally big in the country, but recent developments have changed that very quickly. The biggest reason for the sudden change, of course, is Kei Nishikori, who is currently number five in the world, and in 2014 became the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam final.
Though he lost the US Open final to Marin Cilic, his already massive popularity in his native country skyrocketed even further. He is not the only Japanese player making waves either, as the country boasts two others in the Top 100: number 93 Tatsuma Ito and number 100 Go Soeda. On the women’s side, Kurumi Nara is ranked number 44 and the 43-year old veteran Kimiko DateKrumm is ranked number 89. That being said, Nishikori overshadows all of them. In a country that has traditionally been more interested in baseball and Sumo than any other sports, he has almost single-handedly made tennis a national interest. And in a place takes great pride in its ability to organize and train
youngsters, the future of the sport seems very bright indeed. Anyone wanting to see how seriously they are taking the sport need only attend the National Finals, where tomorrow’s champions vie for today’s trophies. The stands have plenty of spectators and the quality of the play is extremely high, and from the first day to the last it is clear that everyone is looking for the next Nishikori, who won the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships at the same venue just a few months ago. The National Finals are a real Japanese sports Olympiad, held in Tokyo and at the same time for all disciplines. Tokyo is teeming with young athletes in uniform arrived from all parts on
the country using the Shinkansen (speed trains). It is not just a big occasion for the participants, but for sports fans all over the country. Many of the events are broadcast on national television as if they are of the same importance of professional sports events. The formula for producing top tennis talent has always been a much-discussed topic, with everyone from France to Spain to the United States convinced that their system is the best. But looking at how the Japanese are going about things, you’d be hardpressed to believe that it isn’t going to work in the long run. Children are encouraged to play and practice in school from a young age, and the facilities and equipment are of a quality that many other tennis programs around the world could only dream of. Most of the courts they practice on are hard courts, as clay and grass are not really an option, though with so much of the pro Tours now taking place on concrete, it’s not much of an issue. Popular tennis brands include Yonex and Asics. Mizuno, which famously made its way into the sport by sponsoring Ivan Lendl towards the end of his career, also still has somewhat of a presence. But though these brands still have a place in the hearts of consumers, Uniqlo is quickly taking over the sport. Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori are perhaps the best brand ambassadors you can hope for, and they are spearheading the effort
Uniqlo manufactures just about anything an athlete needs, and much more beyond that as well. Everything from underwear to duvets, pants, sweaters, T-shirts and shoes can be found at the company’s outlets. They are priced attractively as well, which has played no small part in the brand’s popularity. The Ginza Megastore has 12 floors, and you can easily lose an entire day there. But because tennis is growing so quickly in Japan, there is plenty of room for others to make money as well. Srixon recently became Kevin Anderson’s sponsor, and is also making a name for itself in the sport. In short, things are moving fast in Japan, as they always do.
Kei Nishikori seems to be only now entering the prime of his career, meaning that tennis is likely to have a long honeymoon ahead of it in the country. Just imagine how crazy things will get if – and many people believe it is only a matter of time – he wins a Grand Slam.
Michael Chang by David Cox
‘Helping Kei was a unique opportunity’
Deep in the bowels of the O2 Arena, the grand venue for tennis’ end of season ATP World Tour Finals, Michael Chang is trying to explain the combination of factors which drew him back to the circuit, a decade after he retired from the game. Chang’s influence has been a revelation, leading Kei Nishikori to a first Grand Slam final and a place in the world’s top five after just ten months together. “It was really a unique opportunity,” he said. “Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have considered it. Coaching isn’t really something I’d planned to commit to. But there haven’t been that many successful Asian players in the men’s game, and I felt Kei really had a good chance of making that next step.” Chang has been repeatedly besieged by young players, both in the States and Asia, requesting him to become their permanent coach but with a young family, he says he wasn’t prepared to commit to further travelling unless it was something he really couldn’t refuse. Coaching doesn’t quite satisfy Chang’s burning competitive instinct but he says he has derived
a great amount of satisfaction through working with young players at coaching clinics in the States and helping his family learn the game. “I do enjoy coaching in general,” he explains. “It’s fun to be able to improve and I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing people smile on a tennis court, enjoying themselves and seeing their eyes lighting up and being like, ‘Oh wow, that really helped me. That feels so much better.’ That’s the case even if it’s just periodically helping my dad with his game or just getting in an encouraging word to people that I’m in contact with.” “At the highest level, it’s certainly satisfying to be able to see Kei improve and to be able to see that he’s feeling satisfied and feeling that, ‘Hey, I’m getting better. I’m improving and results are showing.’ I think that’s really the positive thing for me.” But there have still been challenges for Chang, in particular developing the levels of patience needed for the job. “The most challenging thing is knowing that some things are going to take time,” he said. “You’d like to be able to tell someone, ‘Hey step into the ball a little more’ and all of the sudden they do it and from then on you never have to tell them again.
Unfortunately, as every coach and every teacher will tell you, repetition is part of it. And it takes time. When you’re continuing to repeat things and trying to get them instilled in a person’s game, it takes time in order for those things to be ingrained.” For Nishikori, Chang realised that in order to be able to challenge the uber-resilient Novak Djokovic over best of five sets, he needed to develop a few more options. Chang himself thrived in an era of some of the most formidable ball strikers of all time. But he held his own against the likes of Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and others through a mixture of quick wits, phenomenal speed and variety.
“We’ve been tweaking things with his game and the technical side,” Chang says. “It’s about flexibility. Men’s tennis is quite varied, so he needed to get to the point where he was comfortable coming forward and putting away a volley. You need options so you can switch between styles of play rather than just playing the same way. By freeing your style up, you become a tougher opponent. People can’t work you out. I wanted to help him so that he could be patient if he needed to, but he could also be aggressive or mix up the play.” Nishikori has already got to a stage where he’s now seen as one of the favourites for the bigger tournaments. Few were surprised when he reached the last four of the World Tour Finals last month, beating Andy Murray and David Ferrer before becoming the only player to take a set off eventual champion Novak Djokovic. However Chang would still like to see his charge develop a little more consistency over the entire calendar year, across all four surfaces, to match the relentless of Novak Djokovic. “I would really like to see his results become more consistent,” he said. “He's had some good ones here and there but they haven’t really been consistent throughout the year, and I’d love to build a habit of consistent results with the opportunities to win more tournaments and notching up wins over more of the top guys.”
Working with Nishikori has opened Chang’s eyes to how much the game - and in particular the technology – has moved on over the past two decades. He admits to feeling a mix of envy when he sees what the game’s best are capable of. “If I was playing with my old equipment against these guys now, it just wouldn’t fly,” he said. “Certainly wouldn’t be able to do it. With the rackets and strings now, the guys are hitting the ball with so much more pace and spin, and the rackets allow them to do that. Even on the Champions Tour now, no one uses the old technology. We can do so many more things now which we couldn’t do when we were at our peak.”
A New Generation Rises by Valerio Carriero
The 2014 tennis season will be remembered for many things.
The 2014 tennis season will be remembered for many things. The Grand Slam victories of Marin Cilic and Stanislas Wawrinka certainly ranks up there as some memorable moments, and Federer’s revival which led to a Davis Cup trophy for Switzerland is also important. Nadal’s ninth French Open title, Djokovic’s continued dominance and Serena Williams’ closing in on Evert and Navratilova round out a pretty eventful year in tennis. Li Na’s retirement, which leaves a big void in terms of Asian representation in the WTA, along with many other retirements, have emphasized a generational shift on both Tours. Today, we will look at the players born in the 1990s, and how they are increasingly making their mark on the professional game. The Men
On the ATP Tour, there are 18 youngsters who were born in the 1990s in the Top 100, though only one ended the season in the Top 10. That player is Milos Raonic, the first player of this generation to manage the feat, and also the
first to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals. His appearance at that event was cut short due to injury, but the fact that he qualified is significant in of itself. In addition to reaching such a milestone, he also managed to get to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the semis at Wimbledon. Though he only won one title this year, he did reach the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris. Following Raonic in terms of young success is the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who was born in 1991 and also briefly entered the Top 10 in 2014. He won three titles but failed to perform consistently well enough in the bigger events to earn a year-end position in the prestigious Top 10. Going down slightly, we find David Goffin, who had a 44-4 record after Wimbledon, winning four Challenger and two Tour titles. Dominic Thiem also made waves this year, jumping 100 ranking positions from 2013. Their fates have crossed this summer in Kitzbuhel, creating the first ATP-level final between children of the 90s. Curiously, it was quickly followed on the same day by a final between Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, which also featured two 90s-born players.
Scrolling still further down the list we find Jack Sock, one of the few Americans in the Top 100. Ryan Harrison, once believed to be the future of the sport in that country, has dropped to 190 in the rankings. Jerzy Janowicz had a disappointing 2014 campaign after a stellar 2013 season, largely due to injury troubles. Just outside the top 50 there is Pablo Carreno, who had a tough year in the shadow of his better-known Spanish compatriots. After the aforementioned Pospisil we find Nick Kyrgios, who burst onto the scene with a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon, where he ousted Rafael Nadal. A little lower (ranked 56), is another young Australian, Bernard Tomic.
Though talented, his off-court problems have caused his ranking to drop significantly, and his promise some time ago of competing for a Slam “within two years� is looking more and more unlikely. After Jan-Lennard Struff (59), Federico Delbonis (60), Diego Schwartzman (61), Jiri Vesely (66), Blaz Rola (80) and Ricardas Berankis (86), we find the 17 year-old Croatian Borna Coric (91), who is the first player his age to reach to reach such heights since Nadal and Gasquet. For him, it was a season to remember, winning a Challenger and reaching the semi-finals of the ATP 250 event in Umag and the ATP 500 event in Beijing. He even beat Rafael Nadal and Ernests Gulbis during that stretch, though the former was in severe pain from his appendix. Closing out the Top 100 is Andrey Kuznetsov (93), though outside of this bracket there is plenty of talent that might make it to the Top 100 next year. Lucas Pouille, Jason Kubler and especially Alexander Zverev are all players to watch. Zverev in particular, at 17 years of age, looks very promising. He surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg. The rest of his season was not spectacular, but his ceiling is extremely high. A little further down is another interesting Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis, not to mention the 16 year-old Stefan Kozlov, who has already reached the final of a Challenger event.
The women While the youngsters on the ATP Tour are struggling to assert themselves, on the WTA they are already ruling the roost. In the Top 10 alone there are four players born in the 1990s: Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Eugenie Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki. All of them played in a Grand Slam final in 2014, with the Wimbledon final between Kvitova and Bouchard being the first such match between players of that generation. Halep contested the final at the French Open in addition to reaching number two in the rankings, while Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title by beating Bouchard. Wozniacki was a surprise this year, having disappeared in the wilderness after enjoying a period of dominance some years ago. More aggressive play has seemingly resurrected her career. Moving on from the Top 10, we find Alize Cornet (19), Garbine Muguruza (20), Karolina Pliskova (23), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (24), Elina Svitolina (28) and Madison Keys (30), all of whom won at least one tournament in 2014.
It does not end here, with Belinda Bencic, born in 1997 and already number 32 in the world, reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open and a final in Tianjin. Close behind at 32 and 33 are Zarina Diyas and Camila Giorgi, both of whom were one step away from their first title. Sloane Stephens, on the other hand, had a very disappointing year, dropping to 36. Immediately behind her we find Caroline Garcia, a Frenchwoman with enormous potential, albeit with a lot of inconsistency. She defeated Jelena Jankovic in Bogota to win the title there, surprising tennis pundits everywhere. The list continues with Coco Vandeweghe (39, won a title at 's-Hertogenbosch), Irina-Carmelia Begu (41, reached the final in Moscow),
Mona Barthel (42, victorious in Bastad), Alison Riske (43, champion in Tianjin), Kurumi Nara (44, winner in Rio). Heather Watson comes in at 49, and will attempt to regain some ground after a bout of mononucleosis. Christina McHale, number 52 and a finalist in Acapulco, Annika Beck, 53 and triumphant in Luxembourg follow her, along with Lauren Davis (55), Jana Cepelova (56 and finalist in Charleston), Bojana Jovanovski (57 and twice a finalist in 2014), Monica Puig (59 and winner in Strasbourg), Ajla Tomljanovic (62, defeated Radwanska at Roland Garros), Kristina Mladenovic (67), Kiki Bertens (68), Tereza Smitkovรก (69), Vitalia Diatchenko (71),
Shelby Rogers (73, finalist in Bad Gastein), Anna Karolína Schmiedlová (74) and Stefanie Voegele (80). Then there's Donna Vekic, born in 1996 but already a winner in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, she fell away towards the second half of the year, changing coach and ending ranked 82. Lower down we find Katerina Siniakova (84), followed by Ana-Lena Friedsam (87), Spanish Arrabuarrena Lara (88) and Maria Teresa TorroFlor. At 92 we find Ana Konjuh, with Sorana Cirstea, who had a very poor season, coming in just after her. The American Madison Brengle and Nicole Gibbs, along with Polona Hercog (96), Timea Babos (98), Saisai Zheng (99) and An-Sophie Mestach (100), round out the list.
In total, there are 48 names in the Top 100 who were born in the 1990s. The average age of a Top 10 player on the women’s circuit is 25.4, whereas it jumps to 27.8 for the men. This not only points to a major difference in the way the two Tours compete internally, but also to a change in the overall way tennis is played in the modern era.
Out Of The Shadows by Laura Saggio
The past season was certainly one to remember for Stanislas Wawrinka.
The past season was certainly one to remember for Stanislas Wawrinka. Not only did he finally overtake his great friend and rival Roger Federer, at least for a while, he recorded two massive milestones – one personal and one patriotic. The two victories provided perfect bookends for an historic year. It all started, of course, in Australia, where Wawrinka stunned the tennis world by winning the Australian Open, beating none other than Rafael Nadal in the final. He displayed some incredible technical prowess throughout the fortnight, and deservedly took home the title at the end. The final was slightly controversial, since a
debilitating injury to Rafael Nadal reduced him to a shell of himself for much of the latter half of the contest. But that is the nature of the sport, and Wawrinka had dominated his opponent even before the injury occurred. Even so, Nadal did manage to sneak the third set in his favor, when a visibly shaken Wawrinka seemed unsure of how to proceed with this strange situation. He quickly composed himself in the fourth set, however, and finished off the match with relative ease. Unlike so many other players, who struggle to cope with the fame and success in the first few months after their first Grand Slam, Wawrinka kept playing at a very high level through the first
The Swiss had been displaying an increased maturity for years, not only physically but mentally. For most of his career he had been considered a talented but volatile player, who often sabotaged his own chances at success. At the US Open in 2007, for example, he had his fourth round match against Juan Ignacio Chela all but won, only to lose his temper, composure and eventually the match. For the next few years there would be slow growth in his game and mental approach, with great successes (such as reaching the final in Rome in 2008) often followed by weeks of poor play. He floated around the Top 30 for a long time, usually between 15 and 30 the in the rankings. But all of his hard working started paying off in a big way in 2013, no doubt thanks in large part to the influence of his new coach Magnus Norman. All of the shots that had been so good in the past suddenly became great. His legendary backhand was joined by a consistently powerful forehand, and his serve also became a huge weapon.
His defense, on-court tactics and composure likewise all saw major improvement. The defensive improvement was particularly important, since it allowed him to stay in the long rallies that so many of the top players – like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal – like to employ. He also became much more comfortable at the net, much like his friend Roger Federer, which added yet another dimension to his game. He found, as Federer did, that approaching the net often confused opponents, who have grown so use to baseline-only rallies. Recent improvements in technology have allowed just about everyone on Tour to avoid the net like a plague, but Wawrinka’s inclusion of this weapon in his arsenal has made all the difference.
The Davis Cup trophy, which Wawrinka had so long sought, finally came at the end of the season. He had always wanted Federer to join him in Davis Cup play, but his countryman often opted to focus on his singles career instead. This year, however, the two teamed up to form one of the fiercest combinations the Davis Cup has seen in recent editions. Not only did they have the singles credentials, both being in the Top 5, but they also had the doubles prowess, having won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, to make the tie an almost foregone conclusion in their favor. There had been some concerns that the two would not be able to play doubles at a high level together in this instance.
After all, they had failed to defend their gold medal in 2012, largely due to the fact that they rarely played together and experienced a number of miscommunications common to a doubles pair out of practice. Such fears were put to bed almost immediately on the Saturday though, as the two men played some of the best tennis of the year from the start. Much has been said that the French made a mistake by not playing the proven doubles pair of Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin, instead opting to replace the latter with Gasquet. But even had they done so, it seems unlikely that they would have been able to put a stop to the Swiss juggernaut.
Even the back injury that Federer suffered at the ATP World Tour Finals could not save the French. Aware that his countryman might not win his first match, Wawrinka played like a man possessed in his first rubber, easily overcoming Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to put his team ahead. Though Federer lost to Gael Monfils on the first day, he was in fine form on the Sunday, easily taking care of Richard Gasquet seal the historic victory for Switzerland. It seems fitting that the man who was lacking just this one major trophy in his over-filled cabinet would be the one to secure the win for his country.
Nole’s Best Season? by Marco Di Nardo
There was much talk of Novak Djokovic in 2014.
There was much talk of Novak Djokovic in 2014. The relationship with his new coach, Boris Becker, his marriage to longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic and the birth of his first son were just a couple of the topics that kept pundits busy throughout the season. In addition to all of these events, he also finished the year at number one in the world for a third time. According to many fans and analysts, this was perhaps the best year the Serbian has seen so far in his career. But from an objective point of view, was it really his finest hour? If you end the year on top of the world rankings, there is no doubt that you played at a very high level throughout the year.
But for a player like Djokovic, used to winning almost everywhere, before saying it is his most successful year we must carefully analyze the results. Let's start from the beginning. Djokovic opened the season in the last days of 2013, when he participated in an exhibition event in 2009 in Abu Dhabi. For the third year in a row he won the event, beating JoWilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals and David Ferrer in the final. So far, nothing new. He then flew to Melbourne to officially open his pro season. The Australian Open did not go the way the Serb had planned, and his three-year reign as champion came to an end in the quarter-finals,
where he was defeated by eventual winner Stanislas Wawrinka. Criticism of both his game and his new coach came thick and fast. He then lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals in Dubai, before bouncing back to win the first two Masters 1000 events of the year, Indian Wells and Miami. He lost again to Federer in the semi-finals of Monte Carlo, though he did injure himself during the match. Because of that injury, he was forced to skip the tournament in Madrid. He returned to the court in Rome, beating Nadal soundly in a highly touted final. The win made him the main favorite heading into Roland Garros. In Paris, things went very well until the last act, when he ran out of steam against Nadal in a physical slugfest. But he did not let that defeat get under his skin, and bounced back strongly at Wimbledon. After an epic final, he finally managed to record his first Slam final win over Roger Federer, beating the Swiss in five tough sets. The following months represented a bit of a lull for Nole, as he put up two poor performances at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati. He lost to Tsonga and Robredo respectively, both times in straight sets. Despite his dipping form, he entered the US Open as the hot favorite. The world was shocked when he lost to rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals. Hitting the Asian hard courts, he found some success again, winning the ATP 500 event in Beijing and reaching the semi-finals in Shanghai, where he again lost to Federer.
That loss suddenly made the prospect of surrendering the top spot of the rankings very real indeed. But a win in Paris and the ATP World Tour finals quickly put an end to any worries about the year-end ranking. So how does 2014 compare to previous years? As far as successes at the Masters 1000 level is concerned, he won four tournaments. This is good, but not as good as the five he won in 2011. He did win only three in 2012 and 2013 though, so it is a step up from those years. His Slam results were also mixed. In the two Majors where he usually plays his best, the Australian and US Opens, he performed rather poorly, but excelled in the other two.
Overall, it was his worst recent season from this point of view, with 4280 points against 5120 in 2012 and 2013, and 6720 in 2011. At the Australian Open and US Open, Djokovic had his worst results in many years, not reaching a final at either event. In 2010, he reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne and in New York, in 2011 he won both tournaments, while in 2012 and 2013 he won in Australia while reaching the final in New York. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, conversely, Novak achieved the best results of his career. For the first ever he played in the final in Paris and London, losing the first and winning the second. He won Wimbledon in 2011 as well, but in that year reached only the semi-finals at the French Open. To close the discussion, let's compare the total points earned in 2014, which were 11 360, with those achieved in previous years. In 2011 he racked up 13 630, compared to 12 920 in 2012 and 12 260 in 2013. This also confirms that his season was good, but not his best. In conclusion, 2014 was a fantastic year for Novak Djokovic, both on and off the court. However, talk that it was his best year ever does not quite match up with the statistics of the season.
Number One Once Again by Laura Saggio
The numbers and the words of the undisputed champion of 2014.
2014 was definitely the year of Novak Djokovic. Once again, he finished the year as world number one, clinching the top spot at the ATP World Tour Finals, an event which he also won. He became a father as well, and will soon be the star of a series of short documentary films. The clips, which were largely filmed in his native Belgrade, will be released just before the Australian Open in January. The films seek to show not only the Serb’s professional trials and triumphs, but also his relationship with his first coach, Jelena Gencic, and his life as a boy in a war-torn country. We certainly expect the films to show a man we already know relatively well.
Djokovic has always been an inspiration both on and off the court, engaging in various philanthropic activities in-between winning major competitions. But though he is proud of all his accomplishments, at the moment the only thing he cares about is his son. "Everything revolves around my son," he said recently. "I love traveling, seeing new places and in my free time to play other sports. “But in my second life there is a child, and I am focusing on helping my wife Jelena, who has had to do everything on her own these past few months.” After the break, Djokovic will start the arduous task of defending his number one position.
47 - Tournament wins in his career. Six of these came in 2014 (Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Wimbledon, Beijing and Paris Bercy). He not only faces stiff challenges from a number of fearless youngsters, but also from established veterans who have shown they can beat him on any surface. It certainly won’t be an easy journey, but it is one that he is well prepared for. His career numbers certainly show that he is capable of ending as world number one once again: 600- career matches won by Novak Djokovic. 20 - Masters 1000 titles won. 3 Indian Wells (2008, 2011 and 2014), 4 Miami (2007, 2011, 2012 and 2014), 1 Monte Carlo (2013), 1 Madrid (2011), 3 Rome (2008, 2011 and 2014), 3 Canadian Open (2007, 2011 and 2012), 2 Shanghai (2012 and 2013) and 3Paris Bercy (2009, 2013 and 2014). 1585- Points ahead of Roger Federer in the ATP rankings.
Djokovic,s quest for a kingdom by Princy James
Fast-forward to 2014 -- Djokovic is a happy man.
When Roger Federer looked invincible on the court in the noughties, along came Rafael Nadal, proving false all the convictions; together, the duo redefined rivalry, thereby setting the standards of the game even higher for their predecessors.With those two monopolising the game, the scene looked pretty taxing for every player out there. For Novak Djokovic, it wasn’t easy either. The 20-year-old who made history by becoming the first Serbian to win a Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open in 2008 soon thought about quitting, frustrated by his many losses to Federer and Nadal. Luckily, he didn’t give up. He was determined to change his fate. Fast-forward to 2014 -- Djokovic is a happy man. He won a second Wimbledon crown, taking his Grand Slam tally to 7; tied the knot with his long-term love Jelena Ristic the same month; became
a father to baby Stefan in October; won four Masters titles; above all, he finished the year-end as No: 1 for a third time in four years! Quite an achievement for someone who mulled over retirement in 2010. However, when it comes to Grand Slam stats, the Serbinator is way behind the Swiss maestro and the Spanish matador. While 10 majors separate him and Federer, he has won only half of that of Nadal, who is older to him only by a year. But when it comes to particulars, Djokovic is the most-feared player on the tour right now. He may not take over Nadal or Federer, but he is the one responsible for slowing down their Grand Slam haul. A few days back, Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni Nadal was all praise for Djokovic, saying he is slightly above his nephew, and is as close one can get to Federer. Toni had his reasons to make such a comment, considering the Serb’s clinical baseline precision and mental acumen. His head-to-head stats with Nadal stands at 19-23 and with Federer, it is 17-19, something which he has been closing in on in the recent years. There is a likelihood of him overtaking the two in the near future.
Djokovic has proved that he is the best player in the circuit as of now Yes, Djokovic has proved that he is the best player in the circuit as of now. He has high hopes for 2015, and will be looking at reclaiming the Aussie Open, the Grand Slam event he has excelled most. But more than that, he will have to break his French Open jinx. Like Federer, on red dirt, he still hasn’t been able to topple Nadal, his real nemesis. Djokovic had been to the finals twice - 2012 and 2014 - losing to Nadal on both the occasions. Apart from that, Nadal had crushed him in the semi-finals thrice -- 2007, 2008 and 2013. For the Serb, it takes a win in Roland Garros to be considered on a par with Nadal, regardless of what Toni Nadal thinks. Djokovic might have a better technique, but what really matters is the stats.
The numero uno should be focussing on adding more majors next year, so that he will be considered among the all-time greats of the game. Nadal is the ‘King of Clay’, Federer is the ‘King of Grass’ and Melbourne is where Djokovic can also build his kingdom. Two more Australian Open wins will place him alongside Roy Emerson, who holds the all-time record of six. This season, Djokovic had seven titles out of the eight finals he played. Considering his present form, we can say that the 27-year-old is quite likely to duplicate that success in the forthcoming season too, if not better. With Nadal recovering from his injuries and no sign of retirement from Federer, 2015 offers ample hopes for many more riveting matches between the amazing trio.
Rafael’s Return by Marco Di Nardo
It has become almost expected.
It has become almost expected. Rafael Nadal builds up huge momentum and wins just about every tournament he enters, only to sustain a serious injury and be forced out of the sport for months. He then returns to build up momentum again and restart the cycle from scratch. It has happened to often that people are starting to assume that the will be able to produce great results after an injury every single time. As he returns from various physical ailments in the new year, will he be able to pick up where he left off? The past year was, of course, a tale of two halves for Rafael Nadal. The first part of the season was tremendous, but the second was a disaster, with a wrist injury forcing him to miss the entire North American hard court swing, and appendicitis taking care of the remainder of the season. Since Wimbledon, Nadal has been able to play just seven matches, which has of course had a disastrous effect on his ranking, though thanks to a strong start to 2013 he is still in at number 3.
But that quick start to last season might come back to haunt the Spaniard in 2015. He has a ton of points to defend in the first few months, including a win at the ATP 250 event in Doha and a final appearance at the Australian Open. Even repeating at Doha, which would seem relatively straightforward on paper, is infinitely complicated by the fact that world number one Novak Djokovic will also be playing at the tournament. Indeed, it will be very difficult for Nadal to regain his number one ranking in 2015. That being said, he made it look so easy the last few times he returned from injury, will it really be any different in the coming year? The first major injury layoff Nadal suffered was in 2009, when problems with his knees put a stop to a historic run of dominance in the preceding months. He lost his first (and so far only) match at Roland Garros, and was forced to skip Wimbledon as well. Thanks to his absence and a resurgence in his own form, Roger Federer returned to the number one spot and won the French Open for the first time. Nadal eventually returned to the court at the Masters 1000 event in Canada, though his form was much diminished.
Time will tell if he can defy the odds once again.
He would not win a title at all that year, and was destroyed in the round robin stage of the ATP World Tour Finals. The 2010 season also started slowly, but once he hit the clay Nadal started playing some of the best tennis of his career. He went on to win three straight Slam titles (Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open), becoming the first player to win three Slams on three different surfaces in the same year. That string of victories returned him to the top of the ATP rankings. The second period of extended downtime due to injury was in 2012. He was again forced to miss much of the latter half of the season due to knee issues, and further physical troubles saw him sit out the Australian Open in 2013. After nearly seven months out of action, he hit the clay in Vina del Mar and immediately reached the final.
From that point on, he saw an impressive series of victories, totaling ten titles, four finals and two semifinals. His only major failure was a first round exit at Wimbledon. Despite the fact that he missed a Grand Slam, he managed to reach the top spot once again. Nadal thus became the first tennis player to return to the number one spot twice after losing it. So what of 2015? As always, Nadal is downplaying expectations, but given that this is his go-to tactic, we can’t put too much stock in his doubts. Taking into consideration his past results, it is certainly possible that he plays near his best next season, and even wins some Slams. However, the field looks much different now than it did two years ago, with young talent constantly making great strides.
How Andre Agassi mastered preparation for the Australian Open by David Cox During a career which spanned three decades at the top of the game, Andre Agassi became a master of fine-tuning his off-season preparations, resulting in four Australian Open titles.
Andre Agassi has gone down in Australian Open history as one of the greatest champions ever to grace the hard courts of Melbourne Park. Despite boycotting the tournament at the start of his career, Agassi rapidly fell in love with the event, winning it on his first appearance in 1995 and dominating in the first part of the noughties, claiming three titles between 2000 and 2003. In the eyes of Agassi and Reyes, such sustained success was no accident. While many players were still shaking off the ringrust in the first few weeks of January, Agassi was seldom far from his best.. From the age of 24, he began to realise that the off season was critical to his chances of lifting the world’s biggest prizes, and from then onwards the pair took a clinically scientific approach to ensuring he was in peak condition by the start of the year. “Andre actually refused to call it the off season,” Reyes recalls. “He called it pre season. The second his last match of the year was over, he would be already talking to me about what we were going to do
over the next 6 weeks, and that was his way of telling me he was ready to go to work.” They prepared for the sheer brutality of the Australian summer heatwaves by dividing the off season into multiple phases, with the first and most important stage being detailed conversations with Agassi about everything ranging from his diet to his confidence levels and his state of mind. “You can’t just dive in straight away, saying ‘Ok, this is going to be the toughest training camp ever’,” Reyes explains. “First of all, you somehow have to take stock of everything that’s happened over the past year. For most weeks, you’re guaranteed to leave with a loss and you kind of sum up your year that way for the most part. You go through the personal satisfactions and then the things which need improving and need to change. And also, do they just need a few days off? Sometimes the answer’s yes but sometimes no. It may seem surprising but sometimes with Andre that would have been a mistake because too much rest did not fit well in his mindset. You have to be in tune with your athlete.” By the time November rolls around, every player is physically drained after ten months of competition, but it’s often the mental beating that tennis inflicts which can require the most healing.
Apart from a rare few, most players lose every single week they compete and the accumulative effect can take its toll psychologically. But there’s a danger with stepping away from the sport for too long. US Open champion Marin Cilic says that you can’t switch off completely from tennis, even for ten days as your body is used to doing something every day and if you take two weeks off, you’ve already started to lose muscle memory. Reyes agrees. “The game is so physical now and I’m fairly certain that the athleticism is just constantly on the rise and at a level now which has probably never been seen before. The speed, the power of the game, the beating which you administer to your body, and the amount of time you need to recover are all increasing. So you can’t just turn it on and turn it off.” For Agassi, an athlete who wore his heart on his sleeve, it was the mind which needed the most rest and so rather than taking a holiday, he preferred to put the rackets away and retreat to the solitude of the gym.
Just like professional cyclists, he was obsessive about keeping his legs in good condition, remarking ‘The harder I hit the ball, the harder it’s coming back so I need my legs and I can’t afford to lose that.’ “Andre always felt it was a mistake to let yourself get out of physical shape to any extent,” Reyes says. “He used to compare the fatigue at the end of the season to a lingering cold. The cold lingers so long because you don’t feel like eating and so when the virus has passed through your system, you feel terrible because you haven’t eaten for four days. If you don’t keep up the gym work while you’re tired, once you’re fresh again you’re going to struggle.
So instead we would take mental breaks where the workouts would be a little more bearable. Even on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day he was still in the gym and running Magic Mountain (a 320 yard hill near their base in Las Vegas).” “We had a war cry in the gym where we said, ‘Push yourself beyond tired. The best things are on the other side of tired.’ And he would say to me, ‘Get me there. Let me relate to who I am when I am past my point of fatigue. Who am I when I am past my point of exhaustion? What can we count on from me when I’m being pushed and pushed physically or mentally in a match?”
But when it came to teeing it up on the court again, Agassi also had to strike a balance between repeatedly pummelling his body into the condition he would need for the months to come, and being able to give his all when working on his game. “We would arrive in Australia and he would sometimes point to another player and say ‘Look at that guy, he looks a little tired. Please be mindful of that with me. We need to manage things so I look fresh.’ It damages your state of mind if your body is so tired that you can’t give your all in practise. That’s especially important as it gets closer to the start of the season because you need to be able to gauge your level.
So you do the intense gym work earlier on in the off season and as it gets closer to tournament time, you’re getting more of the cardio workouts through your court sessions.” Agassi was notoriously wary of off-court distractions, particularly in the latter stages of his career as he strived to remain a force at the top of the game well into his thirties. But tennis in 2014 is a world of ever-abundant distractions, even for the most dedicated top ten pro. There are foundations to promote, sponsors to satisfy and lucrative exhibition opportunities. The International Tennis Premier League kicks off this month, a brainchild of former doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi which aims to do for tennis what the IPL has done for cricket. And with million dollar contracts being offered just to show up, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have all taken the bait, despite a schedule stretching across multiple continents. Pete Sampras quipped earlier this year, ‘If someone’s gonna be stupid enough to give you a million dollars, you’ve gotta be stupid not to take it’ but Reyes cautions that extensive travel during this crucial part of the year does run the risk of injuries. “Sometimes an exhibition can simply be a lucrative practise session and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says. “But if you’ve lost 3-4 days through all the travel, media and everything which comes with it, you have to seriously think about whether it’s a smart decision in terms of your preparation.
Navratilova Returns To The Court by Laura Saggio
Martina Navratilova has always been around tennis.
Martina Navratilova has always been around tennis. Even after she retired, she was constantly involved, in one way or another, with the sport she dedicated her life to. Now, a new phase of that involvement will see her step up as a coach. “I am very excited, although getting back in game mode with all the stress of competition will not be easy,” she said of the move. “The thought alone makes me lose sleep!" She will be taking over coaching duties for Agnieszka Radwanska, the Polish sensation who has been near the top of the women’s game for some years. This is also another example of the current trend of hiring former top players to be coaches.
Stefan Edberg is currently working with Roger Federer, while Boris Becker is on Djokovic’s staff. Michael Chang has teamed up with Kei Nishikori, as has Goran Ivanisevic and Marin Cilic. The challenge before her is, of course significant, largely because expectations will be great. Her student is also coming off the back of an underwhelming year, with her ranking having dropped to six in the world. But the enthusiasm is there for both, which is a good starting point. I cannot wait to start this new phase of my life," she said. Navratilova will be supported in her work by Radwanska’s current coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski.
They will start working together just after Christmas. Radwanska, a finalist at Wimbledon in 2012, chose Navratilova in order to win a Grand Slam trophy. “Her triumphs speak for themselves,” she said recently. “I hope I can learn something from her immense experience, I am sure that Martina will be good for my career". Certainly, if they can enjoy even a fraction of the success together that Navratilova enjoyed as a player in her own right, the next few years will prove very fruitful indeed.
Doping And Reputation di Adriano S.
These days, nobody is safe.
These days, nobody is safe. If you win at any level, especially at the very highest level, a great many people will automatically wonder if you are doping. It is simply the new reality of professional sports. The trend of always assuming the worst has lately even fallen on the cleanest of the clean, namely Roger Federer. How, cynical critics ask, is Federer able to compete against such strong (and young) competition at the age of 33? It is impossible, they say, without chemical assistance of some sort. They are even applying this new cynical view retrospectively, loudly wondering how the Swiss managed to cope with his bout of Mononucleosis five years ago. He seemed to recover a little too quickly, or so they claim. Reactions have been relatively muted to these accusations.
The Swiss are, naturally, horrified at the prospect and dismiss it out of hand. Some of the more partisan Spanish fans have loudly applauded the fact that talk of doping is shifting to another top player, and away from Rafael Nadal. Indeed, while Federer has never been mentioned as a doper before, there have always been whispers about the Mallorcan’s physical capabilities, and whether they are all natural. His muscle mass and inexhaustible stamina are legendary, so much so that many have wondered whether he does it without any help. But although the topic has been much discussed, there has never been a shred of evidence, and most mainstream news outlets have never even run stories on the subject. Yet there is no doubt that when Nadal returns next year fully fit, as he is sure to be, the whispers will start again as soon as he wins his first event. Nadal’s fans will defend him to the hilt, of course, as they have done before. When Novak Djokovic started to win just about every tournament he entered, they accused the Serb of nefarious activity. A simple change in diet, they said, cannot explain the kind of physical changes he underwent.
But as with Nadal, no evidence has ever been put forward that Djokovic earns his results with anything other than talent and hard work. But as with Nadal, no evidence has ever been put forward that Djokovic earns his results with anything other than talent and hard work. The biggest recent storm was prompted by Marin Cilic winning the US Open. Unlike the other players, there has been evidence put forward that he uses banned substances. Indeed, he was even banned from tennis for several months for failing a drug test, though he maintains that it was because he unintentionally took a glucose tablet that contained a questionable chemical. But the fact that he won the US Open, truly out of the blue, has caused several pundits to wonder if he is not doping now. The overpowering way in which he won the tournament, barely losing games in many matches, is seen as suspicious in some corners.
The debate will, of course, continue. But it is important to remember that we must give athletes the benefit of the doubt. Though many big names in sports have been caught doping, it does not mean that everyone is. By believing that we are completely negating the importance of hard work and talent, which lies at the very heart of sports. If that becomes our attitude, sport itself becomes pointless. More about doping: http://federerisdoping.blogspot.it/2010/11/federerlinked-to-epo-and-other-peds.html http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Stop-throwingstones-at-Rafael-Nadal-articolo21384.html
Goal Setting by Laura Saggio
Setting goals for yourself means laying out achievable objectives for the near (and far) future. Through the technique of goal-setting you can plan not only generic objectives, but more specific and decisive ones. There are two different types of goals: OBJECTIVE: These are measurable, such as reaching a certain ranking position. SUBJECTIVE: These are not measurable, such as the amount of fun had and perceptions of technique.
Before the start of each season, the player and coach should set out a number of objectives to be achieved in the various tournaments during the upcoming year. Of course, these plans might be dashed for a number of reasons, such as injuries or other personal or professional issues. Such issues might cause a noticeable drop in performance that can not only derail the plans laid out for a season, but an entire career. For these reasons it is necessary to formulate goals that are flexible and adaptable during the span of the season. These goals should be divided into three groups: short, medium and long-term. This helps the player keep more accurate track of his progress, and achieve slow but sustainable improvements. There is a definite link between a player’s level of motivation, determination, commitment and perseverance, and the type of goals he sets for himself. Goals serve as focal points for attention, generating better concentration and higher motivation in the player.
Once a goal is formulated, the player needs to focus on: -Obtaining results based on that goal. -Better performance as a result of the goal. -Better overall physical and mental conditioning. Goals also need to be: -Specific: Explain exactly what you want to achieve. -Realistic: You must be able to realistically achieve the goals you set for yourself. -Measurable: You must have some way of knowing if you are reaching your goals. -Timely: You need to have a timetable for each goal. -Strategic: Each goal must serve a purpose for your overall performance.
The Tactical/Technical Connection by Wayne Elderton
You may not have noticed, but technique is the favourite topic of most people involved in tennis.
You may not have noticed, but technique is the favourite topic of most people involved in tennis. Players talk about it (just listen to any post match conversation), coaches talk about it, parents, TV commentators…the list goes on. The majority of lessons people take emphasize technique. Just look at tennis videos, magazines and websites, and see what’s talked about most. Technique seems to be the big fixation. The reason is that tennis is a complex motor sport. The coordination, agility and balance required is challenging even for the best athlete. You could take an athletic phenom who has exceptional mental toughness (like Michael Jordan, for example) and, if he had no previous tennis training, most 4.0+ club players would take him apart on the court. Their technical superiority would win the day. Learning technique is a critical aspect of tennis. Any way to improve and speed up the process of learning technique would be invaluable for every player and coach. That process is now here.
A New World Order It is obvious that the game has changed in the last 30 years. Has coaching kept up and continued to evolve as well? Although the “stuff” that is coached has, for the most part, modernised (see all the emphasis on the modern game technique in the last few years), the process used to coach has remained basically the same. One of the key initiatives addressing this issue to emerge in the last several years is the Games Based Approach (GBA). It has gained popularity in coaching circles and the term is used frequently without coaches really understanding its powerful premise. The premise for the GBA is simple: tennis is a game. Every game needs to be played, and playing is a tactical endeavour. Success in any game requires clear intentions, decision making and problem solving. In regard to technique, tennis is not figure skating. No judges are at the side saying, “Your follow-through was much better than your opponent’s, 15-0 for you!” Technique is second (behind tactics), but not secondary. Don’t misread this! I am not saying technique is not important. It is critical for tennis success.
However, if you really want to set the stage for meaningful technical stroke development, the key is tactics (no, this is not a typo). This tactical priority can be a stumbling block for coaches. Especially since the majority of their coaching diet consists of technical material. Before a coach can integrate tactics and move from mere technical coaching to Tactical-Technical coaching, there are some fundamental questions that need to be asked: • What is the relationship between tactics and technique when coaching? • How can coaching flow from tactical to technical? • How does a coach deal with both tactics and technique in a systematic way?
Most players and coaches are unaware of the debate going on in coaching circles surrounding the GBA. Detractors mistakenly think that technique is mishandled or ignored in a GBA. That is only true if a GBA is applied incorrectly. If we understand what the current motor learning and brain function research is telling us, the Games Based Approach is the best and most effective way to learn technique. One of the most effective ways to utilize a GBA is to use what I call "Situation Training" (ST). The goal in ST is to identify the situations players encounter in match play and improve their performance in those situations. Sounds simple enough, however, the typical technical coaching employed by coaches doesn't give them the necessary tools. Two Become One For the majority of coaches, technique and tactics are two distinct and separate categories. Nothing could be further from the truth. In today’s world of biomechanical analysis and high speed digital imaging, the tactical/technical link gets lost all too often. This false separation causes players to spend thousands of dollars on technical lessons that improve the appearance of their strokes, but don’t improve their play much at all. Ask any group of park or club players, “How many of you lose to opponents who are technically worse than you?”, and almost everyone will raise their hand. Everybody can tell you about the latest techniques, but few know how to play well.
This shouldn’t be the case. The tactical/technical connection is simple. Technique is only a means to perform a tactic. Technical skill by itself is useless in a game if it is not used in the right way, at the right time and in the right location. The fact is, without tactics, good technical strokes are simply an exercise in looking stylish. Imagine a soccer player who kicks the ball with impeccable skill. His shot on net beat the goalie easily. Although he kicked with great technique, his team was furious. Why? Under pressure he put the ball in his own net. Good technique, wrong tactic. This may be an extreme example, yet in tennis, players execute really bad ideas with nice strokes all the time. Learning a stroke without a tactical intention is bad. How many players have had a coach feed them baskets of balls to “groove” a stroke that they were unable to use in a match? If the coach doesn’t spend a lot of time integrating the skill into tactical play, the likelihood of the player using it in real match play is little to none. The reason? The stroke was learned isolated from reality.
In real match play, every stroke requires decision making. Tactics are about decision making. It is the choice a player makes of what technique to use, when, where and against whom. No one can play well without tactics, and no tactic can be executed without some form of decision making The Tactic Determines What Technique is “Proper” As an example, let’s look at the follow-through of a world class player. Observe the follow-through in the three photos. Remember, all are forehands, and all of them occur in a baseline exchange. Which one is “proper”? Let’s explore the tactics behind the techniques. In Photo 1, the follow-through is down and around
the left hip. This would be considered “wrong” by many coaches. However, it is excellent technique when the tactic is an attacking ball received high (especially if the intent is to follow it to the net). This follow-through is the natural result of the racquet accelerating level through the ball from a chest height impact coupled with a full body rotation. Any other follow through wouldn’t allow her body and racquet to do what it needed to accomplish the tactic. In Photo 2, the follow-through is a more “classical” over-the-shoulder finish. This was the result of hitting a deep penetrating shot with some topspin in order to neutralise an opponent in a rally.
In the third photo, the follow-through ends up circling the back of the head. This has been called, the “inverted finish,” the “bender” and the “flip.” I will sometimes describe it as a “lasso” finish. Whatever it is called, this strange finish has become common for all pros. The tactic is that the opponent has hit a shot with pace that has moved her to the side. To respond, she counters with a high arcing topspin to gain time. The compact preparation needed to receive the harder shot, the impact at the side (an out front impact would not allow the required vertical path) and the quick low-to-high action resulted in this follow-through. These are not isolated cases. Just watch any pro tournament and you can see these follow-throughs constantly. Are Photos 1 and 3 wrong? If so, those pros should give back their millions of dollars! Obviously, they are all “proper” (perfectly fitted to the situation encountered). Technically, it is not only the follow-through that varies when the tactic changes, but the size of the preparation, speed and rhythm of the swing, racquet path, body rotation, impact point and
footwork as well. These are not the expression of players’ styles, but the application of situationspecific technique. Every pro player knows (consciously or unconsciously) that there is a direct connection between tactic and technique. It is only coaches who don’t get it. This association may seem complex at first, but in my experience training hundreds and hundreds of coaches, it is one of the most important concepts one needs to master in advanced coaching (not coaching advanced players, but advanced coaching). The connection moves from tactical to technical (or from technical to tactical) through these steps: 1. Tactics First define the Tactic the player
needs to perform (e.g. a forehand crosscourt rally shot to neutralise the opponent). The Tactics include the intentions, decisions and problem solving in which a player must engage to win more points (or lose fewer). 2. Ball Control Next, determine the key Ball Control characteristics needed for the tactic to be effective. This includes receiving the different Ball Controls, as well as sending them. Ball Control is a critical bridge between tactics and technique.
The 5 Ball Controls are: • Height • Direction • Distance • Speed • Spin In our forehand example, the ball must be higher, with an arc trajectory and topspin, to the crosscourt corner. How the ball is controlled is directly determined by what the racquet does to the ball on impact. These are called the P.A.S. Principles (racquet Path, Angle and Speed). For our example, the racquet path would be low to high (approximately 40 degrees), the angle would be vertical with the strings facing toward the crosscourt corner, and the speed would be medium pace but accelerating through the impact for topspin. Remember, body mechanics don't directly determine what the ball does, the PAS Principles do!
3. Technique Finally, the mechanics needed to perform the shot consistently, at higher speeds, without wasting energy (economy) and minimising injury (efficiency) would be applied (e.g. appropriate linkage of body segments from the ground up). In our Canadian methodology, we actually include Ball Control in the technical category. It is called “the twofold definition of technique” (what the ball does and what the player’s body does). The key point is that technique is only “proper” if it accomplishes the task for which it was meant. As a young, inexperienced coach, I spent way too many hours fixing the “shape” and “look” of
players’ strokes (unfortunately, not improving their match performance much). A coach will often see (and comment to the player) a number of technical issues. However, only the one that helps the player’s performance should be focused on. Technical instruction should be to control the ball in order to execute a tactic (not just because a coach wants a player to look a certain way). Learning Proper Technique So which technique do you teach? Is there such a thing as a “basic” one that everyone should learn? Think about all the hours coaches spend basketfeeding thousands of “forehands.”
The questions they should be asking are, “Which forehand is being learned?”, “Is it the one that is most useful?” and “What about the others required for successful play?” In a GBA, learning the game starts with the rally shots (since the main goal of starter players is a consistent exchange). On the serve and volleys, the same principle applies (shots that allow a player to remain neutral are the best place to start). However, having said that, even for a beginner, as soon as the situation changes, the technique must change as well. Every shot in tennis is like a move in chess. The player sees what’s going on with the opponent, their location, and the ball received, decides what tactic to use, and applies situationspecific technique.
If the technique doesn’t fit the situation, a poor shot will result. Trying to use the “one size fits all” forehand they paid hundreds of dollars to “groove” won’t work. No adaptation = no effectiveness. After the neutral shots, it would be good to add defensive actions (to maintain consistency when challenged more). Then attacking actions could be added to increase pressure on opponents, and finally countering actions to handle higher speed play, and to turn the table on opponents. No matter what technique is learned, it is important for coaches to keep the connection between their Tactics, Ball Control and Technique. The greater the disconnect, the more disservice is done to the player learning the techniques. Conclusion For example, you see your opponent wide on his forehand side and he sends a mediocre rally ball crosscourt to your forehand. Which forehand technique do you apply? The sharp angled crosscourt topspin? The looping arc deep topspin to the centre? Or, do you redirect the ball with a drive down the line? Every shot in tennis presents choices, and each one requires very different technique. Your selection is every bit as important as your form. Learning strokes in isolated repetition (disconnected from play) doesn’t fully equip players to play successfully. Tennis was not created so players can follow through!
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