Listen Carefully To What Darren Cahill Says

This year's coverage of Wimbledon includes Darren Cahill in the commentator's booth.

Cahill is one of the top coaches on the tour and has worked with players such as Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi in the past.

His observations are those of a professional coach and not just a fan like a lot of the others in the booth.

He'll remark on what grip a player is returning with and how this should affect where a server goes. He'll lay out tactical plans for players to follow.

In other words, you get a glimpse of the way a top tactical tennis mind works.

How many of you out there notice what grips your opponents are playing with and adjust your strategy accordingly.

So, keep listening to Darren Cahill and learning.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Change Your Tennis Tactics To Win More Matches guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Nadal Looks Good So Far On the Grass

Not every tennis expert on TV thinks that Rafael Nadal can repeat his success this year at Wimbledon.

Remember, Nadal shocked the tennis world by reaching the final last year and giving Roger Federer a tough match in the final.

Nadal started this year's tournament by having to face Mardy Fish,a hard-serving American who should give Nadal trouble on grass.

I have to admit I only saw the first set but I was impressed at some of the changes Nadal has made to his game to improve on grass.

Nadal's backhand is a much better shot than it was in years past. He can now really drive it and take control of points with it. He knows that all the other guys are going to try to make him play backhands so he's really worked on improving it.

His return of serve is also much more agressive. He seems to be standing in closer and taking the ball earlier. I don't think you'll see Nadal standing way back to return like he does on clay.

Nadal is also serving with different patterns on grass. As I noted last year, Nadal will vary his serve placement much more on grass. Specifically, in the ad court, he will go down the the T on grass whetreas on clay he almost always just sticks with the slice serve wide.

In the deuce court, he still likes to go mainly down the T on both grass and clay. In fact, I think this is an area for him to work on. If he could hit a consistent serve wide in the deuce court, I think he would be almost unbeatable on hard court and maybe even grass.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Different Tennis Tactics For Different Opponents guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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How Bjorn Borg Got So Good On Grass

Today is the first day of Wimbledon.

For 2 weeks the tennis world gets to watch the game of tennis played on a unique tennis surface. And, as we all know, the transformation from the clay courts of Paris to the grass at Wimbledon is no walk in the park.

I've just finished reading a book called Borg Versus McEnroe. This book is a delightful recollection of the world of tennis circa 1979-1981.

The author describes how Borg prepared for Wimbledon after his customary win at the French Open.

Instead of playing warmup tournaments like many players do, Borg worked out at a private club in London called The Cumberland Club. Apparently, Borg was so bad the first few days, that many members joked that they thought they could beat him!

It was here on the private courts that Borg got his grass court timing down and beefed up his serve to the point that it was considered quite a weapon.

Working out with his coach Lennart Bergelin and some practice partners, Borg hit ball after ball spurred on by his incredible work ethic. And, at the end of the day, Borg could often be found in the clubhouse with the other members having a snack.

Today's great champion Roger Federer has a game well suited to grass so it's no great transformation for him. But for the modern day Borg, Rafael Nadal, the 2 weeks in betwen the French Open and Wimbledon are his only opportunity all year to change his clay court game for the grass courts.

So, let the grass court games begin.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Different Tennis Tactics Work On Grass Than On Clay guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Ok, It's Time For Wimbledon

It always takes me a few weeks after the French Open finishes to get ready for Wimbledon.

My first emotion is that Wimbledon is not part of the real tennis season. After watching the grueling rallies at Roland Garros, the quick points at Wimbledon and the emphasis on the serve seems unathletic.

Certain guys come out of the woodwork to become formidable opponents at Wimbledon.
Big servers like Ivo Karlovic can be a nightmare on the grass.

But as the fortnight approaches, I start to get excited about the subtlety of the grass game. This year in particular, I can't wait to see how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal do on the grass.

My gut feeling is that both Federer and Nadal are going to run into trouble. I don't know why but it's a feeling I have.

And, one of these years I feel that Andy Roddick is going to win. He's been close in the past but hasn't been able to come up with a brilliant match at the right time. And, with his serve, he'll be dangerous for at least the next 5 years.

Federer skipped the warmup grass tournament this year and I always feel that that strategy makes a player vulnerable in the early rounds.

Similarly, Nadal got knocked out mid-week. I think he too could be upset early.

Now, in the spirit of Wimbledon, I'm about to indulge in a little strawberries and cream.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Smarter Tennis Tactics Might Have Helped Federer In The French Open Final guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Final Comments On The French Open Final

The French Open final was no great surprise to me.

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I consider Nadal an extremely difficult matchup for Federer.

And, I predicted that Hamburg was an aberration. I felt that as soon as Nadal got to Paris and got serious at Roland Garros, he'd mow people down. Especially using his inside out and down the line forehands to a righthander's forehand.

And, that's what happened. Federer was actually hitting his backhand beautifully in the first set. But, if your backhand is on, then Nadal starts to punish you on the other side. Eventually, the legs go and you see a beaten player as you saw in Federer in the last 2 sets.

What was particularly striking to me though was that Nadal hardly varied his service placement at all. He hit almost every serve to the Federer backhand. And, he won 18 out of his last 20 service points.

This to me points out Federer's unwillingness to go outside the box in his tactical choice.

What could Federer have tried?

Well, he could have returned from way back and favoring the backhand side. This is typically how clay courters return. You get the ball in play but are vulnerable to the serve and volley and a big first shot.

This is how Nadal returns against Federer and you can see that Federer was often able to serve and volley easily to the open court.

Here's the key though. Nadal gets every return in play and says - "Beat me if you can with a second shot."

Federer wasn't even getting returns in play on the big points.

I'll say it again -- Federer should hire a clay court coach for the next French Open. Then maybe we'll see a different result in the French Open Final.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Smarter Tennis Tactics Might Have Helped Federer In The French Open Final guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Nadal Versus Federer - How Great is That?

Another Great Nadal Versus Federer Match

Ask anyone in the tennis world what two players they want to see, and you'll almost unaminously receive the response of Federer versus Nadal.

And, now we've got the matchup we want.

All the talk of Federer's down the line backhand, and Nadal's lefty topspin forehand can quiet down as we prepare for the great Final -- Federer/Nadal.

I've been really impressed with both guys as they've mowed down their competition.

Nadal has been overpowering of the ground --brutalizing guys into submission with his heavy groundstrokes.

Federer has been more Sampras-like, getting out of trouble often with his superb serve which he can seemingly place on the line at the biggest points.

For the record, I'm going with the Nadal but I can't wait for the action to start in the latest chapter of the Nadal versus Federer rivalry.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Here's A Tennis Ebook Guaranteed To Improve Your Tennis Results guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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