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Showing posts with the label tennis strategy

BECOME A MORE DIFFICULT OPPONENT

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, You may have been looking at competition all wrong. Maybe competition should not only be about throwing the "kitchen sink" at your opponent to try and beat them down. Even if your strategy leans towards all-out offence: relying on a big serve and a dominating forehand, introducing some subtlety to your game might produce surprising results. After all, why would you want to play an opponent at full strength? Wouldn't it be better to neutralise their strengths first before playing them?  While that may seem overly simplistic to most, reducing your opponent's effectiveness is possible and entirely necessary if you want to reach the top.  STRATEGICALLY SMART "The first job of any army is to  make  themselves  unbeatable first" You must have a plan before every match that addresses your opponent's strengths and weaknesses; otherwise, you're inviting trouble. Without a plan, every match could be a battle because you could be allowing for the best version

BEWARE "THE GAP" DURING MATCH-PLAY

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All competitive players strive to perform at their very best. They hope for consistency of performance and believe  that playing to the best of their ability should be enough to win matches. However, while trying to achieve your highest level might seem like a good goal, I feel there is a better mindset for you to adopt when you compete.  PICKING WINNERS Have you noticed how difficult it is to confidently pick who will win at tournaments? That's because players throughout the draw all play at a very similar level. Even players who seem to have all the strokes and look like world-beaters often lose in the early rounds. Yet often, players who end up winning the event don't look special at all. I have a theory for this. It's often difficult distinguishing why some players win, and others lose.  During matches, all players experience highs and lows. There will be periods of struggle and periods of comfort.  I BELIEVE CONTROLLING THE "GAP" BETWEEN THE HIGHS  AND LOWS D

NOT ALL POINTS ARE EQUAL

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Within a match, winning a point can be achieved in two ways: hitting a winner or capitalising on your opponent's errors. While hitting winners may give you an immediate sense of satisfaction, strategically drawing errors from your opponent can greatly impact the match.  1. The Psychology of Errors: When your opponent makes an error, it not only adds a point to your score but also creates a sense of frustration and self-doubt in their mind. You can disrupt their rhythm and confidence by consistently putting pressure on them and forcing them into making shot-selection mistakes or rushing them into technical errors. 2. Building Pressure: Drawing errors from your opponent requires you to analyse their game and give them the speed, width, height and placement they least enjoy.  Combining these factors means you constantly force your opponent to make difficult decisions and never allow them to feel comfortable. When building pressure in a match, the ultimate goal is to make your opponent

DON'T FORGET THE 3RD TARGET

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If you're an advanced competitive player, you must constantly seek an advantage, continually improving your game. Just one strategy or technical change can make all the difference to your results. One area to work on is your shot selection, When, why and where to hit the ball. Great shot selection can compensate for a lack of power and help you attack and defend the point better. Many players focus primarily on two basic targets: hitting the ball wide to the baseline corners during ground-stroke rallies and serving wide or "big" down the "T." However, a third target often goes unnoticed and can be a game-changer – the "body target." There are significant benefits when you target the body and adding this dimension to your game can make you a more versatile and unpredictable player, The Body Target: A Game-Changing Strategy Hitting the ball wide to your opponent's baseline forehand and backhand corners is a well-established tactic. It forces your opp

IMPROVING YOUR GAME MANAGEMENT IN MATCHES

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Many coaches believe that all points are the same, but in reality, there are normal and "Big" points. Your ability to distinguish normal points from the big points and take the necessary steps to win the big points more often than your opponent makes you much tougher to beat. The significance of a point can vary depending on the context of the game, match or set. For example, a point at 40-15 in a game may be less crucial than a deuce point, which can determine the outcome of a game. This ability to understand what is "normal" and what are Big points is called good Game Management. A player who understands Game management constantly adapts their shot selection choices throughout the match. Game Management has nothing to do with age, but everything to do with maturity Game Management also involves the score, match stage and a point's psychological impact on the opponent. If you're facing a Break Point near the end of a set, serving an ace to bring the score b

BEWARE THE TENNIS WOUNDED DUCK

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Gael Monfils, his tennis shirt stained with clay from numerous falls during this nearly 3-hour match, is bent over his racket, looking like he can't go on. Will he continue? Can he even run to another ball? You bet he can! During his long career, Gael Monfils has been involved in many matches like this. Gael Monfils employs the classic " wounded duck " strategy often and successfully. Imagine that you've worked your way back into a match after losing the first set and have continued to control the momentum by dominating the 2nd set.  At the start of the third set, everything feels under control. Your opponent is making uncharacteristic errors and physically and mentally looking like a beaten player. You have established momentum in the match but is everything as it seems? During a match, momentum can be with you, with your opponent, or in a neutral state whereby both players are trying to wrestle control of it. Players who adopt the wounded duck strategy are ultimatel

CURE MISTAKES

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MISTAKES IN TRAINING During matches, all players face repercussions for their errors from the first point. There's no "play it again" or "continue the rally" in real match-play so don't allow for it into your practice session. Players must face repercussions for any mistakes they make in  practice , otherwise, they'll get lazy. I detest when players want to continue playing if the ball goes a little out during practice drills or points. Their reasoning is that continuing the rally or the point makes for a better practice. That's the wrong way to look at it. An important goal of any practice session should also be to create a stronger mentality for upcoming matches. That means adding pressure, decision-making, and unpredictability to your sessions. Look for any way you can to achieve this, it's really important! Reproducing the mentality of real match-play during practice sessions is one of the most important ingredients of my training   I like