Back to Focusing On Our Own Games

Well, the Australian Open is over and , man, there was some spectacular tennis. Now we can all go about working on our games while we wait for the French Open.



Played in a provincial(state) tournament on the weekend . Top players -great competition!



In the first round I played an aggressive lefty. I noticed in the warmup that his slice backhand was hit with too much slice so that it floated in the air and that he was inconsistent with his topspin backhand. Also noticed that his backhand volley was weaker than his forehand volley.



So before the match had even started I had a good idea of what I intended to do. I served topspin slice high into his backhand and followed up by coming to net. Didn't go for big flat serves because I wanted him to have to contact the ball high .



Worked like a charm and I had very little trouble holding.



He had a good serve and volley game himself so I'll talk about my approach to breaking him next time.



Until Then,



Glenn -- Author Of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES the tennis Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter player and take your game to the next level.

Clips of Roger Federer in Slow Motion

A few video clips to illustrate the genius of Roger Federer. These videos were taken during Wimbledon 2004 with cutting-edge 1000 frames/sec super slow-motion camera. [courtesy of the british govt funding and shown on BBC.]

Federer's "Screaming" Forehand [.mpg 12.7MB Download]



Yet another shot of the lethal Forehand. [.avi 8.1MB Download]


Ever improving one-handed backhand. [.avi 8.4MB Download]


Entire credit to JustMeUK [aka AndyC] for the clips. His website.

If the video wont play in windows media player due to missing codecs, I suggest you to install the open-source codec finder: fffshow (it is totally free). Just install it and play the .avi file. I have ffdshow installed too. Let me know if you get any problems.

Do see the two video files of the Federer's Forehand [front, rear] in .mov format. (thanks peace)

Also check out the Wikipedia entry for Roger Federer.

Agassi vs Johannson -- Agassi's Superior Mind

What a match last night! Agassi could do nothing but stand and watch ace after ace whiz by. By the end of the night the tall Swede Johannson had aced the world's greatest returner 51 times -- a new record!



But, if you watched the match you might have observed a few interesting things.



First, Agassi never panicked .



Agassi knew that he was holding serve as easily as Johannson was , just in less spectacular fashion. And, as long as he was holding, he knew he just needed a couple of returns or mistakes by Johansson to win the set.



Secondly, as commented on by Patrick McEnroe, Agassi varied his return position. His regular inside the baseline position for returning serve just wasn't working so he moved way back to see if his percentages would improve.



Agassi did what all smart players do --he changed a losing pattern . After all , if the new pattern doesn't work you're no worse off but at least there's a chance the new pattern will be far more productive.



Can't wait to see Agassi vs. Federer.



Until then,



Glenn --- author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES the Ebook on tennis tactics and strategies that is guaranteed to take your game to the next level.

WATCHING THE AUSSIE OPEN ON TV

You got to love Brad Gilbert.



In addition to writing Winning Ugly , and coaching Andre and Andy to the top, he's now providing commentary on tv for the Australian Open.



Listen to ever word he says. He can't help analyzing, evaluating, looking for holes in player's games as he forecasts for ESPN.



The guy is a tennis mental giant.



If you can begin to understand how he's aproaching his evaluations and apply it to your game you'll be on your way to taking your game up a notch for sure.



Until next time,



Glenn --author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES

the Ebook guaranteed to make you a a better and smarter tennis player fast.

ATP Tsunami Charity Auction

ATP Tsunami Charity Auction website is up.

Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, all of whom have held the year-end No. 1 ranking the past four years, have donated autographed match rackets to benefit UNICEF's tsunami relief effort. The Wilson, Babolat and Yonex rackets used and autographed by Federer, Roddick and Hewitt respectively will be mounted together in one framed presentation case and accompanied by an ATP letter of authenticity.

Bidding closes on Friday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. EDT in Australia, 6 a.m. GMT in Europe and 1 a.m. ET in the USA.

See the All Star Rally Video here

Roger's First Coach & Hometown Club

Roger's first coach is Seppli Kacovsky, who he met at the Old Boys' Tennis Club in Federer's home town of Basel in northern Switzerland.














He joined Old Boys' when he was eight years old and was coached by Kacovsky until '94. And here's a picture of Roger in '92 with his club-mates at Old Boys'.

[click the above picture
for a bigger better one
from OBTC]

Seppli describing Roger winning Wimbledon '03 experience as, "Roger showed some tears at the prize ceremony and I must say that I have tears too.. I think it's fantastic not just for Roger but for the Old Boys' Club and tennis as a whole in Switzerland..This is unique what he has done. I thought he could win it from the quarter-finals and I am so pleased.."

All about Gear !!

An insider peak into Roger Federer's gear.

Racquets

• Wilson nSix-One Tour 90
• Grip size: 4 3/8 [L3]
• Look alike or for real is debatable

Strings

• 1.3 mm Babolat VS Natural ThermoGut 16 Touch [main]
• 1.25mm Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L [cross]
• 24 - 28 kg (50-60 lbs) tension [depends on court conditions]
• Each strung racquet had a total of 10 string savers inserted, in a crisscross pattern across the five center main strings and the fourth and sixth cross strings. more
  

Over Grips - Wilson Pro Overgrip White
String Savers - Babolat ElastoCross 2

Tennis Bags - Wilson Tour 4 Red
Duffle Bags - Nike Tennis

Shoes - Nike Air Zoom Vapor Speed (46 Euro or 12 US )
Clothing - Nike
Watch - Maurice Lacroix
Headband - Nike Swoosh Bandana
Wristband - Nike 2 Swoosh Double-Wide Wristband Wh/Bk
_______

Detailed picture of Federer's gear [from Vogue Magazine for Men; Thanks mirkaland].

Click for a bigger picture.

Getting Nervous Against Better Players

We've all been there.



You get a chance to play someone who's a level or two above you. You're excited to show everybody how much you've improved and how you're going to provide tough competition.



What happens? You're so tight that you don't play as well as you can and it turns into a disaster.



What can you do?



Well I think the first thing is to expect it to happen. It usually happens in the beginning of the match and often the first set goes by very quickly.



Don't panic. Instead tell yourself after the first set that you've got nothing to lose now so just get loose and go for your shots.



Remember , you're not going to win this match anyway. What you want is to get a feel for how your best shots will hold up at this new level. So, if nerves cost you the first set , just tell yourself that there's nothing left to lose and really let go in the second set.



Until next time,



Glenn --author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES the Ebook that is guaranteed to make you a better and smarter tennis player fast.

Why The Top Players Are The Top Players

Why?



One reason is that they have no huge weaknesses. Nothing that's so vulnerable that they can be eaten alive.



A lot of decent club players have some good weapons but also have pretty big holes. Now , up to a certain level you can hide your holes or at least minimize them.



That's the beauty of playing in tournaments even if you're outclassed by the top seeds. If you get a chance to play the top seeds you might lose badly but you'll learn 2 critical things:



1. What parts of your game work at that higher level;



2. What parts of your game don't stand up .



If you're smart you'll realize this is one of the best free lessons you can ever get.



More later,



Until Then,



Glenn - the author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES the ebook on tennis strategies and tactics that will help you become a smarter player fast.

Roger Federer in 2005

Biggest question right now in the minds of federer fans (or any curious tennis fan) is,

Will 2005 bring federer the revered grand slam?

Ever since he won 3 out of the 4 grand slams in '04, it has become an inevitable question. Here's a look back in the history of the champions who won 3 or more...

		Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open
Rod Laver	1969	W	W	W	W
	1970	-	-	4r	4r
Jimmy Connors	1974	W	-	W	W
	1975	F	-	F	F
Mats Wilander	1988	W	W	QF	W
	1989	2r	QF	QF	2r
Roger Federer	2004	W	3r	W	W
	2005	SF	SF	W	W

Unfortunately, none of them has won a grand slam after their stellar year. Let's see what '05 might bring to Roger Federer. Anyways, we atleast know, he's up against history to buck this trend. Go Roger !!!

Update:
Now that he gone down bravely against M. Safin in a five-setter, all the pressure of completing of a grand slam is over. This should considerably ease-up the public expectations, to allow Federer to play his natural game. He has already won 2 titles [Doha, Rotterdam]. A fine start, i would say. Won't you agree?

Update2:
Wow. After going down against Rafa, federer worked his magic for a tripeat at Wimby!!

Update3:
Roger wooed his magic to beat Andre Agassi at the Final. Wow.

History of Grand Slams and The Champions List

An extract from Wikipedia.

The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1926, a group of American tennis players established a professional tennis circuit, playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. For 40 years professional and amateur tennis remained strictly separate. In 1968 however, commercial pressures led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players made their living from tennis.

Thus Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open (since 1891) and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge).

Winning the Grand Slam, by capturing these four titles in one calendar year, is the highest ambition of most tennis players.

Also, a handy-dandy list of the Champions of all-time.

Pre-Open Era Champions

Year	Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open
1877	-	-	Spencer Gore	-
1878	-	-	Frank Hadlow	-
1879	-	-	John Hartley	-
1880	-	-	John Hartley	-
1881	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1882	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1883	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1884	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1885	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1886	-	-	William Renshaw	Richard Sears
1887	-	-	Herbert Lawford	Richard Sears
1888	-	-	Ernest Renshaw	Henry Slocum Jr
1889	-	-	William Renshaw	Henry Slocum Jr
1890	-	-	Willoughby Hamilton	Oliver Campbell
1891	-	-	Wilfred Baddeley	Oliver Campbell
1892	-	-	Wilfred Baddeley	Oliver Campbell
1893	-	-	Joshua Pim	Robert Wrenn
1894	-	-	Joshua Pim	Robert Wrenn
1895	-	-	Wilfred Baddeley	Fred Hovey
1896	-	-	Harold Mahoney	Robert Wrenn
1897	-	-	Reginald Doherty	Robert Wrenn
1898	-	-	Reginald Doherty	Malcolm Whitman
1899	-	-	Reginald Doherty	Malcolm Whitman
1900	-	-	Reginald Doherty	Malcolm Whitman
1901	-	-	Arthur Gore	William Larned
1902	-	-	Lawrence Doherty	William Larned
1903	-	-	Lawrence Doherty	Lawrence Doherty
1904	-	-	Lawrence Doherty	Holcombe Ward
1905	Rodney Heath	-	Lawrence Doherty	Beals Wright
1906	Anthony Wilding	-	Lawrence Doherty	William Clothier
1907	Horace Rice	-	Norman Brookes	William Larned
1908	Fred Alexander	-	Arthur Gore	William Larned
1909	Anthony Wilding	-	Arthur Gore	William Larned
1910	Rodney Heath	-	Anthony Wilding	William Larned
1911	Norman Brookes	-	Anthony Wilding	William Larned
1912	Cecil Parke	-	Anthony Wilding	Maurice McLoughlin
1913	E F Parker	-	Anthony Wilding	Maurice McLoughlin
1914	Pat O'Hara Wood	-	Norman Brookes	Norris Williams
1915	Francis Lowe	-	-	Bill Johnston
1916	-	-	-	Norris Williams
1917	-	-	-	Lindley Murray
1918	-	-	-	Lindley Murray
1919	A R F Kingscote	-	Gerald Patterson	Bill Johnston
1920	Pat O'Hara Wood	-	Bill Tilden	Bill Tilden
1921	Rhys Gemmell	-	Bill Tilden	Bill Tilden
1922	James Anderson	-	Gerald Patterson	Bill Tilden
1923	Pat O'Hara Wood	-	Bill Johnston	Bill Tilden
1924	James Anderson	-	Jean Borotra	Bill Tilden
1925	James Anderson	René Lacoste	René Lacoste	Bill Tilden
1926	John Hawkes	Henri Cochet	Jean Borotra	René Lacoste
1927	Gerald Patterson	René Lacoste	Henri Cochet	René Lacoste
1928	Jean Borotra	Henri Cochet	René Lacoste	Henri Cochet
1929	John Gregory	René Lacoste	Henri Cochet	Bill Tilden
1930	Gar Moon	Henri Cochet	Bill Tilden	John Doeg
1931	Jack Crawford	Jean Borotra	Sid Wood	Ellsworth Vines
1932	Jack Crawford	Henri Cochet	Ellsworth Vines	Ellsworth Vines
1933	Jack Crawford	Jack Crawford	Jack Crawford	Fred Perry
1934	Fred Perry	Gottfried von Cramm	Fred Perry	Fred Perry
1935	Jack Crawford	Fred Perry	Fred Perry	Wilmer Allison
1936	Adrian Quist	Gottfried von Cramm	Fred Perry	Fred Perry
1937	V B McGrath	Henner Henkel	Don Budge	Don Budge
1938	Don Budge	Don Budge	Don Budge	Don Budge
1939	John Bromwich	Donald McNeil	Bobby Riggs	Bobby Riggs
1940	Adrian Quist	-	-	Donald McNeil
1941	-	-	-	Bobby Riggs
1942	-	-	-	Ted Schroeder
1943	-	-	-	Joe Hunt
1944	-	-	-	Frank Parker
1945	-	-	-	Frank Parker
1946	John Bromwich	Marcel Bernard	Yvon Petra	Jack Kramer
1947	Dinny Pails	Jozsef Asboth	Jack Kramer	Jack Kramer
1948	Adrian Quist	Frank Parker	Bob Falkenburg	Pancho Gonzales
1949	Frank Sedgman	Frank Parker	Ted Schroeder	Pancho Gonzales
1950	Frank Sedgman	Budge Patty	Budge Patty	Art Larsen
1951	Dick Savitt	Jaroslav Drobny	Dick Savitt	Frank Sedgman
1952	Ken McGregor	Jaroslav Drobny	Frank Sedgman	Frank Sedgman
1953	Ken Rosewall	Ken Rosewall	Vic Seixas	Tony Trabert
1954	Mervyn Rose	Tony Trabert	Jaroslav Drobny	Vic Seixas
1955	Ken Rosewall	Tony Trabert	Tony Trabert	Tony Trabert
1956	Lew Hoad	Lew Hoad	Lew Hoad	Ken Rosewall
1957	Ashley Cooper	Sven Davidson	Lew Hoad	Mal Anderson
1958	Ashley Cooper	Mervyn Rose	Ashley Cooper	Ashley Cooper
1959	Alex Olmedo	Nicola Pietrangeli	Alex Olmedo	Neale Fraser
1960	Rod Laver	Nicola Pietrangeli	Neale Fraser	Neale Fraser
1961	Roy Emerson	Manuel Santana	Rod Laver	Roy Emerson
1962	Rod Laver	Rod Laver	Rod Laver	Rod Laver
1963	Roy Emerson	Roy Emerson	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna
1964	Roy Emerson	Manuel Santana	Roy Emerson	Roy Emerson
1965	Roy Emerson	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson	Manuel Santana
1966	Roy Emerson	Tony Roche	Manuel Santana	Fred Stolle
1967	Roy Emerson	Roy Emerson	John Newcombe	John Newcombe

Open Era Champions

Year	Australian Open	French Open	Wimbledon	US Open
1968	Bill Bowrey	Ken Rosewall	Rod Laver	Arthur Ashe
1969	Rod Laver	Rod Laver	Rod Laver	Rod Laver
1970	Arthur Ashe	Jan Kodes	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall
1971	Ken Rosewall	Jan Kodes	John Newcombe	Stan Smith
1972	Ken Rosewall	Andrés Gimeno	Stan Smith	Ilie Nastase
1973	John Newcombe	Ilie Nastase	Jan Kodes	John Newcombe
1974	Jimmy Connors	Björn Borg	Jimmy Connors	Jimmy Connors
1975	John Newcombe	Björn Borg	Arthur Ashe	Manuel Orantes
1976	Mark Edmondson	Adriano Panatta	Björn Borg	Jimmy Connors
1977	Roscoe Tanner	Guillermo Vilas	Björn Borg	Guillermo Vilas
	Vitas Gerulaitis
1978	Guillermo Vilas	Björn Borg	Björn Borg	Jimmy Connors
1979	Guillermo Vilas	Björn Borg	Björn Borg	John McEnroe
1980	Brian Teacher	Björn Borg	Björn Borg	John McEnroe
1981	Johan Kriek	Björn Borg	John McEnroe	John McEnroe
1982	Johan Kriek	Mats Wilander	Jimmy Connors	Jimmy Connors
1983	Mats Wilander	Yannick Noah	John McEnroe	Jimmy Connors
1984	Mats Wilander	Ivan Lendl	John McEnroe	John McEnroe
1985	Stefan Edberg	Mats Wilander	Boris Becker	Ivan Lendl
1986	-	Ivan Lendl	Boris Becker	Ivan Lendl
1987	Stefan Edberg	Ivan Lendl	Pat Cash	Ivan Lendl
1988	Mats Wilander	Mats Wilander	Stefan Edberg	Mats Wilander
1989	Ivan Lendl	Michael Chang	Boris Becker	Boris Becker
1990	Ivan Lendl	Andrés Gómez	Stefan Edberg	Pete Sampras
1991	Boris Becker	Jim Courier	Michael Stich	Stefan Edberg
1992	Jim Courier	Jim Courier	Andre Agassi	Stefan Edberg
1993	Jim Courier	Sergi Bruguera	Pete Sampras	Pete Sampras
1994	Pete Sampras	Sergi Bruguera	Pete Sampras	Andre Agassi
1995	Andre Agassi	Thomas Muster	Pete Sampras	Pete Sampras
1996	Boris Becker	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Richard Krajicek	Pete Sampras
1997	Pete Sampras	Gustavo Kuerten	Pete Sampras	Patrick Rafter
1998	Petr Korda	Carlos Moya	Pete Sampras	Patrick Rafter
1999	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Andre Agassi	Pete Sampras	Andre Agassi
2000	Andre Agassi	Gustavo Kuerten	Pete Sampras	Marat Safin
2001	Andre Agassi	Gustavo Kuerten	Goran Ivanisevic	Lleyton Hewitt
2002	Thomas Johansson	Albert Costa	Lleyton Hewitt	Pete Sampras
2003	Andre Agassi	Juan Carlos Ferrero	Roger Federer	Andy Roddick
2004	Roger Federer	Gastón Gaudio	Roger Federer	Roger Federer

More Tennis Tactics Talk

Just to continue on from my last blog.



To recap, I was playing a top player. I was hitting inside-out forehands into his backhand and he was responding by hitting perfectly placed slice backhands up the line.



Now, if you recall, Pete Sampras used to set up in the backhand corner on groundstroke rallies, hit inside-out forehands and almost lure his opponent into hitting up the line backhands. Pete would then run over and absolutely crack a crosscourt forehand, often for an outright winner.



Now , I can't do this as well as Pete obviously and I was getting hurt by my opponent's up the line backhands slices. So, as the match went on I tried to make 2 adjustments.



The first was that I tried to hit more balls to his forehand to change the patterns . And secondly, I tried to position myself more towards the center of the court and less in the backhand corner so that I wouldn't have to run as far to cover his down the line backhand.



So, as I always say, think, think, think when you're on the court and always try to change a losing pattern.



Until next time,



Glenn

The author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES-the Ebook

on tennis strategies and tactics that will help you become a

smarter player fast..

More On Playing Against A Super-Quick Tennis Player

I want to continue to talk about some of the tactical considerations in my match against a top-ranked super-quick player.



I think it's important when you play somemone to try and figure out if opening the court up will be to your advantage or not.



What do I mean by opening the court up?



I mean hitting angled shots that will pull an opponent wide. This is great if your opponent is slow or doesn't hit well on the run. But if your opponent actually is quicker than you and hits well on the run then by opening up the court you are allowing your opponent to turn the match into a quickness game.



If you're the slower one then you should think about hitting a lot of balls down the center to cut down the angles.



So, quick opponent consider rallying down the center. Slow opponent consider opening up the court with angles.



Until next time,



Glenn

The author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES --the Ebook

on tennis strategies and tactics that will help you become a

smarter player fast.

Playing A Super-Quick Ranked Player

Played a practice match with a friend of mine today who is ranked in the top 6 in the province of Ontario in our age category in the vets.



I lost a tight one ( 7-5 ,6-4) but there were so many interesting tactical considerations that I'm going to examine them over the next week.



The first thing was that this guy was one of the quickest guys that I've played in a long time. Also very steady and very smart, so you can imagine that it was a tough match.



My favourite baseline pattern is to hit inside-out forehands to my opponent's backhand. Then I'll either come in on a short ball or hit an inside -in forehand and attack on that.



This guy defended brilliantly by slicing his backhand up the line with tremendous accuracy. This not only made me run way over to my forehand side but it opened up the court and allowed him to use his quickness as he returned my next shot.



Moral of the story -- If you're being attacked by a player with a big inside -out forehand develop an up- the- line backhand to add to your arsenal and don't automatically go crosscourt.



Until next time,



Glenn

Author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES -- the Ebook on

tennis strategies and tactics that will help you become a smarter player fast.