Training With The Number One Guy In Canada

Sorry for the recent gap in posting. Sometimes, life just gets so busy that something has to give.

In the fall, I had the opportunity to train with the number one player in Canada in the 45's. The whole experience was very educational.

As always, there are technical as well as tactical issues. Since this blog focuses on tactical aspects, the only thing I will say about technique is that this guy has simplified takebacks as compared to most well-known pros, and uses less wrist action on his groundies.

The main difference I noticed was the consistent depth of shot. While at a certain level, most shots have reasonable depth, there is usually quite a bit of variation in the depth. So, a top player can just be patient when playing a lower player because he knows that sooner or later, he will get a short ball or an error.

The next thing I noticed was much better footwork when moving. Many players are strong hitting their strokes when stationary, but their strokes break down when they are forced to move. Again, better players can win relatively easily by hitting safe shots that require their opponents to move.

The surprising thing was that power wasn't really an issue.

So, when you're practicing focus on consistent depth, especially when you're forced to move.
Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How Top Tennis Players Win Big 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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Trails you leave behind....(aka Celebration of Champions)

Statistics - I have long abhorred in tennis. For it simplifies the great intricacies of the game and masks the glory. Those numbers with absolute accuracy and so less precision. Numbers that betray the magic. Numbers that give away so little and hold back the spontaneity. Numbers that say so little and yet make one cling to them more tenaciously.. Numbers don't tell history and very few, if any, can be viewed with any high esteem in tennis.

In an eagerness to rewrite history and put things in orderly boxes, history has been untold and retold with much ambiguity and propriety. All has been said and mulled over about Open era, French open not open to foreigners in early years, distinction between amateur and professional tennis, scope and impact of Australian open till 1990s, impact of non-wooden rackets and 14 as the magic number of slams and so on... Numerous tricks have been pulled. History rewritten, forgotten and the glorious past, all but nothing more than shoved away.

However, one can still use a such number to highlight events that can take us away, back to the time, when things were not so simple. Tennis, as everything else on this world, evolves. These grand slams did not spur out of no where. They evolved, changed, and over a long run moved forward.. Let us explore the three such slams with distinguished history, those of the kind that weather two world wars, great depression, tyranny, birth of world leaders and so on..

Wimbledon - The birth place of modern tennis. Undeterred by changing times, where tradition takes front seat to change. Whites all around and the great grass courts. And held in the same place since 1877, the years gone by.

US Open - In the New world of 1900s, USA with its frontiers being tested, US Open stood the test of time with vociferous crowds and leading the way on change with professional tennis. This slam and its conquest marks uniquely.

French Open - As an antidote to the Anglophone world order, this terre bautte has been rightfully a jewel in tennis history. Though admonished for not opening up to the world for a while, this slam with its gruelling stakes is highly worthy.

And who can forget the tribulations and ecstasy of nations competing on tennis grounds. The unique Davis cup that brings patriotic spirit to this individualistic sport. The passion and all those that this event seeks out from the fan.

There were four or so watershed events in the history of tennis, which in it's modern form is about 130 years old. Those that can help define an era. Those moments that looking back gives a clear picture on the events that unfold.. With it origin in 1870s as an elite sport, tennis has spread its wings to millions and millions of fans across nations that vast horizons.

The early one was the World War I that united tennis across the pond. Millions with new found hope started playing tennis as it moved away from amateur regionalistic slams. Till then, mostly the slams were competed by national players and foreign-born who settled in those countries. Much were lost about those in this Era, say Amateur Era, between 1877-WW1. With prominent clubs nationally taking the scene, it is hard to pinpoint on players who dominated across the slams.

In the aftermath of world war, tennis became more of an international sport with the slams gaining in recognition and prestige. It was also a time of expansion with local clubs spurting everywhere. Still, tennis was fairly un-commercialized and elite privileged few competed. Great Britain, France and US shared the spoils of Davis Cup. Bill Tilden, Four Musketeers and Fred Perry were the most distinguished among those in this Expansion Era that overlapped two world wars.

With the memory of brutal World War 2 behind, the Professional Era reigned in nations that survived to exhibit a sense of optimism, peace and progress. With the advent of professional tennis along with prizes, tennis had taken growth from Down Under. The amateur and pro split is now firmly seated with grand slam equivalents for professionals - Wembley, US Pro and French Pro. In an era predominately contested between Australia and US, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall from Down-under and Pancho Gonzalez were most distinguished among these elite champions. It was during this era from WW2 till 1968, that professional tennis has taken over from its amateurish roots and firmly seated itself as a professional sport.

With the clash of old and new, comes the fondly called Open Era, where everyone can compete in slams. With strongholds of slams allowing professionals, it was time of change, conflict and confusion. Professional tours and their competing players meant that there were only a few times when the world's best were all present for the three big slams. Tennis had its champions come from many different nations with Sweden a force to reckon with. The most distinguished among those were Bjorn Borg and American duo - Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. With a lot of feudal fighting among tours, organizations and everything, it truly was a time that put Tennis firmly in its seat as professional sport and was heavily commercialized with the advent of mass TV.

And from those turmoil gives birth to today's Modern Era of stability with the advent of Australian Open as the fourth slam and finally getting its recognition and prestige in late 1980s. Tours were unified, tournaments expanded and commercialization to its tilt, tennis exploded world wide. Champions from vast different countries and Davis cup winners all around the world. Put to the test, tennis is now shown around the world with supreme athletic and coordination skills. With competition intensified, the most distinguished of this Modern Era includes Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

As we see, the history of tennis is long and storied with changes being thought of and inspired as times rolls by. It is truly a trivial pursuit to crown someone the greatest of them all, as you see, great men respond to changing times and champions do it both on and off-the-court.

Hope you have enjoyed this journey. I have put together a detailed spreadsheet of past champions in tennis history. It is freely available and editable by you.

Lessons From The Canadian Nationals

At the end of the summer, I watched some of the Canadian Seniors Tennis Mens Championships.

These are the annual summer championships in age groups 35-75.

And, although Canada isn't known as the strongest tennis country in the world, the Canadian champion has also been the world champion in a number of age categories in the past few years.

The final in the 35's was a brilliant example of strategic tennis.

The match pitted a very talented, old school, continental grip player against a modern, fit, semi-western grip, heavy baseliner. To make it even more interesting, the old school player is left-handed, a former satellite pro, and somewhat out of shape. To get a sense of his game think McEnroe or Laver.

The first set was fairly standard tennis with each player trying to see if their basic game was going to be enough to win. And, as the set went on, it became apparent that the more fit, topspinning, modern player was controlling baseline rallies.

The match was on clay, so it was quite difficult for the lefty to attack the net successfully. The first set went by pretty quickly, 6-2 to the baseliner.

Many observers, including an- ex Davis Cupper, left thinking the match was over.
Some of us hung in there to see what new tactics the talented lefty would try in the second set.

Lefty started to hit heavy, short slice landing somewhere around the service line.
This forced the modern player to move and to have to hit up from the service line with his semi-western grip.

Immediately, it became apparent that the modern player didn't know what to do with this ball. He certainly couldn't dominate rallies from here, didn't want to attack himself, and actually missed many shots into the net.

The savvy lefty smelled blood. He kept at it and added in some incredible drop shot returns off of first serves.

The rest of the match went smoothly with a 6-2 win in the third for the old school lefty.

For those of us watching, it was a brilliant example of changing tactics in the middle of a match to turn a losing situation into a winning one.

The key is to realize what grip you're opponent is using and what advantages and disadvantages that grip leads to. Semi-western or western forehand grips are excellent on high balls but weak on low balls.

So, try slicing to the forehand of your next opponent who's killing you with his semi-western forehand.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies How Top Tennis Players Win Big 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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A Clever Tactical Pattern

As you improve your tennis game, the tactics that you use in your matches will probably change.

I write a lot about patterns in my book INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES but here is a general observation from playing club players up to national level players and ex-Davis Cup players.

I would say that the basis of 3.5 -4.5 club tennis is attacking your opponent's backhand. I think it is relatively rare that a player at this level has a better backhand than forehand. So, often the play is to serve to the backhand, approach to the backhand even if it's a crosscourt approach, etc.

But, my observation has been that at the higher levels, the backhands of many players are more consistent than the forehands. Many top players in the over 45 categories play with a one-handed backhand. Although they probably won't return with a topspin backhand, they often have a very compact slice return which is very reliable.

On the other hand, most players return with a full swing on the forehand. This requires more time and timing, often leading to more errors.

The other thing to notice is that most top players position themselves to hit inside-out forehands. They stand towards the backhand corner, enabling themselves to run around many backhands to hit forehands.

They leave the forehand corner exposed because most players can't hit down-the-line backhands well.

As a result many top players have poor footwork going to their forehand corner. Believe it or not, I even think Federer has a problem with his balance going to the forehand corner. Remember, if you can get your opponent of balance, you may not beat him or her with the first shot, but may win the point with the next shot.

So, work on your crosscourt forehand and your down-the-line backhand and don't be afraid to use them if you run into a player with a good backhand who is beating you.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics AND Coaching Lessons 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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What's Wrong With Federer

What's wrong with Roger Federer? This is the question bouncing around the tennis world these days with just as many theories being put forward to answer that $64,000 question.

I think everyone would agree that Federer's confidence is shot. But, how exactly does that effect his play?

I had the opportunity to watch Federer on the practice courts the day after his loss last week to Gilles Simon in the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was hitting with a hitting partner who was just there to keep the ball in play.

What struck me was how erratic Federer was, especially off the forehand.

It made me think about the construction of Federer's tactical game.

Roger has never been a player who is content to hit 15-20 balls every point and outwork his opponent. At his essence, he's a shotmaker, unlike his main adversary Rafael Nadal, who is essentially a defensive player content to outwork his opponents and tire them physically.

And, when your confidence goes it is hard to attack well.

So Federer really has 2 choices as far as I can see. He can reaffirm that he's an attack player and improve his approach shots and his volleys. Or, he can say that he needs more tactical margin and gets into the mindset of grinding out some points at certain important times in matches.

Personally, I think Federer is better off attacking because there are too many young, quick guys with 2 handed backhands who can rally and run all day long.

Plus, Federer is not getting any younger and the grinding style is very hard on the body.

So, I say let Fed attack and let the chips fall where they may.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics AND Coaching Lessons 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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Comparing Nadal Versus Djokovic On Hard Courts

The professional tennis tour , at least the men's side of things, has landed in Toronto, Canada for the upcoming Rogers Cup scheduled to begin tomorrow.

As is my tradition, I like to go up the weekend before the tournament starts to catch some of the practice court action.

Yesterday, I saw a little of Andy Murray, Feliciano Lopez, and Radek Stepanek but the highlights of the day included the hour long session between Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo and the session pitting Novak Djokovic versus Thomas Berdych.

Obviously, the crowd was bonkers for both Nadal and Djokovic as they are huge crowd favourites.

I was out there looking for general impressions of their form.

My overall impression is that Djokvic looks more solid than Nadal on the hard court.

Djokovic takes almost every ball on the rise or at the peak of the bounce. This gives his game a metronomic feel and minimizes his need to cover court.

Rafa, on the other hand, relies on his brute power and great speed. He seems to take balls at different heights at times and is much more of a shot maker than the Djokester.

I think the regularity of the bounce on hard court will really play into the strength
of Djokovic and would not be surprised to see him have another great hard court season like last year.

The one obvious improvement that I saw in Nadal's game compared to 2 years ago is his serve. It is much bigger and better placed. This is the one unknown for Nadal going into the hard court season.

We all saw how effective his serve was at Wimbledon. If he can hold easily on hard court as well, then he becomes a lethal opponent on this surface as well.

Now, I didn't get a chance to see Federer so I can't comment on his form.

Let the games begin.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics AND Coaching Lessons 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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Clay Then Grass Now Back To Clay

The French Open is a distant memory while the Wimbledon Final still creates a warm glow.

For tennis fans, the big questions are how will Nadal's knees hold up on the hard courts this summer and who will win the US Open later this summer.

So, what does the tour do post Wimbledon?

Well, they've scheduled a couple of clay court events including one in Stuttgart and the Swedish Open.

For players this has to be a bit of yo-yo feeling. First clay for a few months, then grass for 3 weeks, then back to clay for a week, then onto hard courts in North America.

Can't wait to see Nadal on hard courts.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Top Tennis Tactics AND Coaching Lessons 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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What Can We Take Away From Wimbledon 2008

What a glorious Sunday this was for tennis fans.

The final of Wimbledon 2008 is already being talked about in reverential tones. Phrases like " the greatest tennis match of all-time" are being tossed around with the frequency of rain delays at Wimbledon.

It's obvious to anyone who has watched tennis closely the past 3 years, that Rafael Nadal has improved his game to an extent that is almost never seen on the pro tour. Players may work on some parts of their game and show improvement but Nadal has turbo-charged his game.

His backhand which was a liability everywhere but on clay 3 years ago is now a lethal weapon.
He can hit heavy topspin to neutralize his opponents, he can drive flat balls with rocket speed, and he can hit both a vicious slice or a floating slice to change the pace of the point.

Not to mention that he has added speed and variety to his serve and gained considerable expertise in volleying.

Who could have imagined that Nadal would serve and volley down love 15 in the biggest game of his life?

All credit has to go to Nadal and his coaches.

Now, notice that Nadal is not a product of a high-level tennis academy with a pedigreed coach who has directed other players to the pinnacle of the game.

So, Uncle Toni as he's known must know a hell of a lot about tennis. It's also been said that Carlos Moya, the fellow Majorcan, has been a major influence on the younger Rafa.

Nadal started with a warrior's heart, a sprinter's speed, and a boxer's knockout topspin forehand. But, now he is becoming a complete player.

I can't wait to see him play at the next 2 hard court slams.

Don't be surprised if you see him holding up a trophy either in New York or Melbourne or both.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Tips AND coaching Lessons 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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Wimbledon 2008 --Almost Sad To See Roddick Lose

I have mixed emotions about Andy Roddick.

On the one hand, as a tennis purist, I find his game unidimensional. He has the big serve, which probably isn't as big as it used to be, but the rest of his game is disappointing. The forehand is good, the backhand horrific, return of serve poor, and volleys almost non-existant.

On the other hand, I admire his competitive grit and his desire to try and improve by doing things like hiring Jimmy Connors to coach him and help his backhand.

But, in the final analysis, he has a poorly designed game given his skills.

It's a pity that none of his coaches recognized that his foot speed would not allow him to be a successful baseliner at the pro level and that he would need a great volley to finish points.

Think Max Mirnyi instead of Rafael Nadal.

I was cringing watching the final set tiebreak today against Tipsarevic. Roddick could do nothing but push his backhand and you don't win in the pros by pushing. His unforced backhand error at 4-5 in the tiebreak was just so sad and reflective of where he's at as a player now.

Maybe Andy should play doubles to work on his return and volleys?


Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Strategy Tactics And Tips To Guarantee You Improve Your Tennis Ranking. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Wimbledon 2008 Heats Up

The 2008 Wimbledon Tennis Championship are underway.

Day 3 and a huge dose of shock in the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.

Marat Safin has just taken out the number 3 seed Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer, in my opinion, is breathing a little bit easier.

Although Djokovic played poorly today, he still is third best player in the world and capable of insanely good tennis.

Are the Wimbledon gods taking care of Rog?

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Tips AND Lessons To Win More Tennis 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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2008 Wimbledon Draw Could Be Critical

The 2008 Wimbledon Tennis Championship is just around the corner.

And, in the past year a new, critical pre-tournament variable has popped up --Who has to play Djokovic in the semifinals?

On clay, it was an issue but not that much of one. Nadal has never lost to the djoker on clay.

On grass, it's potentially a whole different story.

Nadal beat Djokovic last weekend for his first grass court title but it was an extremely close match that could have gone either way.

On the other hand, Djokovic beat Federer in the Australian final and also last summer in Montreal. Granted, these victories were on hard court but, if I'm Federer, I don't want to risk playing Djokovic in the semis.

The luck of the draw recently has favored Federer. I think it's about time Nadal got a little lucky draw of his own.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Tennis Strategy Tactics And Ideas To Help You Improve Your Game 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 Totally Dominated Federer In The 2008 French Final

It wasn't even close!

Actually, it was beautiful to watch if you're a Nadal supporter and probably very painful to sit through if you consider yourself a Fed fan.

But, for all tennis fans it may have been the most impressive performance we've ever seen on clay from the world's greatest all-time clay court player.

Yes, I'm coming to that conclusion. I think that Nadal is the greatest clay-courter of all time!

Only Borg enters into the discussion for me. I think that Borg had the speed, mental toughness, and stamina to hang with Nadal. I wonder though if Borg's two handed backhand could have stood up the the relentless assault of the Nadal forehand.

Of course, we'll never know. And, until Nadal wins 6 French Open titles, there will always be those who say he can't be as good because he hasn't won as many titles.

So, let's wait two more years before we crown Nadal as the greatest on clay.

Now, Let's see what Rafa can do this year on grass.


Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Tips AND Lessons To Win More Tennis 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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Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are Cruising

I can't recall a recent grand slam tournament with such a lack of excitement in the first week and a half. Granted, I'm only talking about the men's side and I apologize to all fans of the women's tour.

Nadal has absolutely dominated on the way to the semis. Federer hasn't been challenged, and Djokovic has cruised as well although his sets have been a little bit tighter than the others. I didn't see his match with Gulbis this morning but the scores were close.

Whoever the fourth player to reach the semis ( probably David Ferrer) will be a long, long shot to reach the finals.

So, now it's time for the real tournament to begin.

Bring on Djokovic and Nadal.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Strategies To Win More Tennis 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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Does Nadal Worry About The French Open Draw?

As I write this, Rafael Nadal is about to close out his first round match in the 2008 French Open.

The real drama of the tournament so far was the release of the draw late last week.
Everybody wanted to know what half of the draw Novak Djokovic was going to be in.

And, as anybody who has looked at the draw knows, Roger Federer is smiling. The question is does Nadal even care?

Federer is smiling because he should cruise into the semifinals where he should meet either Nikolay Davydenko or David Ferrer.

Federer's record against Davydenko is a pristine 12-0 including 3 wins on clay.

Against Ferrer, Federer is 8-0 with 3 wins on clay.

I would say not much to worry about if I'm Federer.

Nadal on the other hand should have to play David Nalbandian in the quarters and Djokovic in the semis.

Nadal is 0-2 against Nalbandian --both on hard courts. And, Nalbandian has crushed him, not having lost a single set!

Against Djokovic, Nadal is 7-3 and 4-0 on clay.

Of course, this begs the question-- does Nadal worry about anybody on clay?

I suspect he would have preferred it Djokovic had ended up in the Federer half of the draw. Whoever plays Djokovic is going to have to expend tremendous energy and this could affect what's left for the final.

Let the games begin.
Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Strategies To Win More Tennis 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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Federer's New Coach - Will It Make A Difference?

After 4 years of failing to come up with a way to beat Rafael Nadal consistently on clay (we all know about Hamburg last year), Roger Federer recently hired Jose Higueras as his new coach.

The real question is what can Higueras, or any coach really, bring to the Federer game?

I don't think that there's much technically that Higueras can change in the Federer game. Federer has a fairly conservative grip for his backhand topspin which tends to be his main liability against Nadal. Fed doesn't have the more extreme backhand grip of a Gustavo Kuerton or a Richard Gasquet -- grips that would probably make it a little easier to handle Nadal's high topspin shots.

So, we're left with tactical changes.

Tennis students were watching Federer's matches in Barcelona very carefully to see what changes if any they could pick up.

I myself watched the final in which Federer blew a 4-0 lead in the second set.

Here's what I saw.

I think Higueras is trying to get Federer to open up the court more against Nadal so as to create better opportunities to attack.

Higueras correctly recognizes that Federer cannot rally with Nadal and expect to win a long match.

The first thing I noticed was a greater tendency on Federer's part to run around the Nadal second serve and rip a forehand. We saw some of this at Wimbledon and I think it's a very effective technique.

The next thing I saw was that it looked like that Federer was trying to hit his crosscourt forehand shorter and wider. Instead of playing power tennis and ripping crosscourt forehands deep into the corner, it looked like Federer was taking some pace off and trying to hit a sharper angle so that the ball would land a few feet up the sideline and pull Nadal further wide.

And, one more thing I noticed, was a tactic of hitting a drop shot off of a backhand.

Let's look at this last pattern in more detail.

Over the past few years, Federer has tried various patterns to counter the Nadal forehand to the Federer backhand. He has tried ripping crosscourt topspin back -- to no avail --, he has tried slicing crosscourt --to no avail, he has tried hitting up the line --with limited success.

So, in an effort to try a new pattern, Fed looks like he's trying to hit the drop shot up the line. Since Nadal is cheating to his (Nadal's) forehand corner, Nadal has a long way to go to get the Federer drop shot. And, Federer has a chance to attack the net behind the drop shot.

So, as always, tennis remains a beautiful chess match.

Can't wait for the French Open.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Strategies To Win More Tennis 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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Federer Versus Sampras --What The Club Player Can Learn

Roger Federer took on Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden this past Monday night.

The score was 7-6 for Federer in the third set -- by all measures a very, very close match.

But, for many tennis observers, the match wasn't quite as close as the score.

Roger severely outclassed Pete in the first set and was up a break early in the second.

Pete looked a step or two slow compared to Roger. But, Pete came on after being down a break in the second. But, to my eyes, Roger kept Pete in the match by hitting back to Pete when Roger had open courts.

John McCEnroe was doing the color commentary on Tv. Each time Roger would subtly hit back to Pete instead of hitting a winner to the open court, Mac would say that Pete guessed right. I don't think so!

Still, it was a fascinating match to me. If you've ever doubted the value of a great serve, just watch this match over and over again.

Pete may have lost a great deal of foot speed and some of his reflexes, but his serve remains world class. And, on the speedy court that was specially installed at the Garden, Sampras' huge serve was a weapon.

So, lesson 1 for the club player ---keep working and working on your serve. Work on hitting both corners of the service boxes while using the same toss. This is what makes Pete's serve so great -- he has incredible disguise.

Lesson #2 -- if you have a speed advantage it's a lethal advantage. Get into shape and know when you walk on the court that you're the better mover. It's subtle but huge.

Lesson #3 -- learn how to attack and close. When Pete got hot with his serve he was able to follow it to the net and hit first volleys ( when he didn't have an outright winner on the serve). So, in your practice matches, get to the net at times and work on your closing game.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Great Tennis Tactics To Win Tennis 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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Winning The Club Doubles Championship

My partner and I won a club championship in doubles last week. It was a terrific win, an upset according to most.

But I knew that we had a good chance going in. I had played the other 2 players before and had a read on some of the tendencies and weaknesses of my opponents.

As I write about in my book on tennis tactics, tennis is a game of patterns. If you can get the game to winning patterns, then you should win.

In this case, our opponent in the deuce court had a strong forehand return but a much weaker backhand return. Paying extra attention to the placement of the serve in the deuce court, and making sure it got to the backhand, payed huge dividends.

And even though both our opponents had big first serves, each tended to serve fairly predictably which took away some of the effectiveness. In addition, both hit slow slice/kick as second serves to our forehands, allowing us to rip forehands and charge the net.

We won 6-1 in the third.

A lot of times you really can't tell what's going on in match unless you're really paying attention to the match within a match.

Good luck in your club tournaments.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Change Your Tennis Tactics To Win Your Club Championship 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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Federer's Serve - Difficult To Read

Listen to what Janko Tipsarevic said after losing a classic tennis match to Roger Federer the other night -- "I couldn't read his serve".

In all of tennis instruction, shot disguise is the least discussed part of tennis technique.

What is disguise as it applies to tennis shots?

Basically, a shot is well disguised if the receiver doesn't pick up any cues early on that will tip the receiver as to where the ball is going.

Cues that tip off the direction of the shot include the setup of the feet, the position of the shoulders, the timing of the rotation, and different locations for the service toss.

The great servers toss the ball in the same location for all the different serves. Less skillful servers tip off what type of serve is going to be hit by the toss. The toss may be to the left and over the head for a kick serve, to the right for a slice serve, and in betweeen for a flat serve.

There's a story floating around as to how Pete Sampras used to practice as he was developing his serve.

Pete would toss the ball to the same location each time without knowing where he was going to hit the ball. At the last second, his coach would yell out where the serve was supposed to go and Pete would make a last millisecond adjustment of his hand to change the direction of the ball.

From a returner's point of view, it is very frustrating to play a player with great disguise on the serve. You have to wait until after the ball is hit to know where it's going and that's usually too late if the serve is well placed.

That's probably why Andy Rodick's serve at 140 mph seems to be less effective than Federer's serve at 120. Roddick probably cues the direction where Federer doesn't.

As you try to work on your game try to swing the same way for different shots and change the direction of the ball by slighty varying the contact point.

Ask your practice partners if they can tell where your shots are going and when they can tell. If your partners can read where your shots are going before the ball is actually hit, then you are probably giving something away.

So, the moral of the story is to keep working on that disguise.

Until next time,

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies Insider 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
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Tennis -- Australian Open Time

It's time for the 2008 Australian Open Tennis Championships.

What this means is that serious tennis is about to start for 2008. After all, if Roger Federer can continue to play otherwordly tennis at the Australian Open, he can climb a little closer to the all-time record of 14 slams held by Pete Sampras.

This year's tourney will feature a new court surface. For the past 20 years the tennis at the Aussie Open has been played on a surface called Rebound Ace.

Rebound Ace has not been a popular surface for a number of reasons. First of all, players have complained that the surface gets sticky when it gets hot (and it gets very hot at the Australian Tennis Open Championships) and players say that there is a real risk of suffering ankle sprains on the synthetic surface.

Secondly, the top Australian Tennis player Lleyton Hewitt has complained bitterly over the years that Rebound Ace is too slow and doesn't give him a good chance to compete for the championship. Note that the concept of a national tennis organization trying to use a surface to favor homegrown players isn't so foreign. It's commonly believed that the US Open surface is kept very fast to favor hard-hitting Americans who grew up on the fast hard courts of California and Florida.

So, this year a faster synthetic surface called Plexicushion is being rolled out.
If you're watching the tennis at the Australian Open on TV this year, the most obvious change that you'll notice is the color of the new Plexicushion surface.

So, the let the games begin and let's see what the tennis looks like.

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
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Tennis Footwork, Speed and Movement

Speed, quickness, and overall movement skills on the tennis court are killer weapons.

Everybody knows that being in good shape is important in tennis but great tennis movement and overall tennis court quickness changes the game in other subtle ways.

I just played a sanctioned tournament in my age group. Won my first round 6-0, 6-3 against a good player. Then had to go against the #1 seed in the next round.

I asked around and found out that he was a very solid player in superb condition. What they didn't say was that he moved like a cat on the tennis court. He had great tennis quickness, movement, footwork, and balance. He utilized the split step technique well but had sprinter's speed when he was pulled wide or short.

I can't tell you how this changed the game.

I probably had about 10 -15 points in the match where I played a great point and hit the ball into a position that most players wouldn't reach, let alone return with a good defensive shot.

It became almost impossible for me to finish this guy off in a point. Eventually , I subconsciously starting going for too much which is rarely a good strategy.

At the end of the match we had a chance to chat. I asked him what he thought of my game and where he would tell me to improve.

He told me my serve was excellent and my strokes were fine. But, then he said I should work on quickness. He told me about his tennis quickness and movement training routine.

At the top levels of tennis you have to deal with two great skill sets --three actually.

The top players usually are great technically with their strokes, great athletes with great court coverage, quickness, speed, and balance on the tennis court, and strong tactically.

If you're only strong in 1 or 2 of these areas you may struggle when you play the #1 guy or gal in the country.

Next time we'll talk about training routines.

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
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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