Serena Williams

I got up at 3:30 am here in Charleston, SC to see THE match from down under.  My roommate was asleep, they wouldn’t let me access the TV in the bar – afraid I would drink them dry I guess.  Little did they know I don’t drink.  I went to the fitness center to watch the Ladies play on TV there – convenient, I also got to work out and watch at the same time.

The “Hour Glass of Momentum” continued its turbulent run again.  Serena came out strong, but Justine with her “new” game in her admitted second career was hitting away on everything.

Serena has such strength to muscle the shots, stay so low and handle a variety of shots from any opponent. Justine has such amazing timing and agility that she can almost match Serena’s power.  Serena starts off the match serving well and would eventually finish that way as well.

Justine, with her new approach to tennis is in the games but she chooses to no longer play defense and is developing the game she feels she needs to win the one she wants — Wimbledon.  Justine has 5 or more break chances in the first set on Serena’s serve. She moves inside the baseline and goes big on the 2nd serves and did not make most of them.

Serena wins the first set and looks like she will win the match in straight sets – but wait, momentum is about to switch again.  Justine runs off 15 straight points to win the second set.  She continues to go for winners on second shots after hitting up the middle on first balls to neutralize Serena’s angles.  She is laser sharp on her shots.

Bathroom break for Serena and out they go for the 1st 3 set final in a major in several years.  Serena comes out still a little flat and falls behind on her serve.  Justine is still going for the big returns and fails to break – mistake.  Serena holds but Justine will break the next game with glimpses of her second set tenacity.

Unfortunately, she gets a little tight and the toss gets too low and she is broken by Serena.  She will go on to be broken 2 more times as Serena takes momentum away from her and serves for the match with 2 aces and a final point that pulls Justine off the court and Serena hits into the open court to win her 5th major down under to tie with Margaret Court and bring her total Grand Slam titles to 12 and tie Billie Jean King in that category.

Serena plays 12 matches in the 2 week event and wins the singles and doubles titles.  Pretty amazing – not since John McEnroe have we seen a player be so strong in both events – or even play both events.

Justine — off for 20 months and in just her second tournament has reached the finals of the first two tournaments she plays — playing a new style of tennis.  She won the hearts of the fans and is more gracious and collected in her acceptance speech to the crowd than Serena.

What can we take away from this event?

1. The hour glass of momentum will always be there – it is just who can recognize it  & control it at the right time.  Be aware of it as you play your matches.
2. Your will to win is stronger than you game to win in most cases.  It is OK to want to win strongly!!
3. How many of us will work to improve our game (you are never too old to add to your game – at 62 I have continued to improve my game)?
4. How many of us will risk losing to make the changes permanent in our game – Justine?
5. Get in shape to play the game – you can win with fitness (see Al Juodikis for his fitness program for you).

Love to play and you will always be a winner – play only to win and you will only be a score keeper.

See Serena Williams narrate her win against Justine Henin.

It snowed here in Charleston this morning.  I am off to attend another session on Quick Start Tennis for kids and adults – more ideas for you when I return to SJSRC on Sunday.

Photo Credits: Bas Van Uyen

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Rafael Nadal

This (UDF) Unusual Doubles Receiving Formation puts the receiver and partner on the same side of the court.  The receiver (let’s say – deuce court) is in regular receiving position.  The receiver’s partner is positioned directly behind him so that both players are lined up in the deuce court.

Options:

1. If the serve is out wide to the deuce court, the front receiver will move to their right to return the serve. The partner behind them will move over and up toward the ad court to defend that part of the court. This helps put both players in motion.
2. If the serve is up the “T”, the front receiver will move to their left to return the serve and continue to move to the ad court following the return.  The partner behind them will move up to defend the now vacated deuce court.  This will put both players in motion.

Reasons for the receiving team to use this “I” Formation-Both Back:

1. The receiving team can create confusion for the serving team
2. The receiving team can put themselves in motion if they have become too stagnate with their receiving play.
3. The receiving team wants to intimidate the serving team and get inside their head regarding options instead of focusing on the ball.
4. To protect a weak playing net player against a strong serve and volley team or a team that attacks the net player on the first ball.
5. Helps the receiving team change momentum in a match, set or game.

How to play teams that play the “I” Receiving Formation-Both Back:

1. Make a decision as to where you want to serve and don’t change your mind.  Call time and make a plan with your net player.
2. Decide who you want to move to the ad court by serving wide to force that player to play deuce or up the “T” to force the back player to play the deuce court.
3. Serve at the receiver’s body to make the decision to move left or right by the receiving team more difficult to determine.
4. Following the serve, return shots deep down the middle.
5. Practice against this formation in practice match to recognize the options of the receiving team. Play it so you can feel how it is to be in that position.

What not to do:

1. Avoid getting sucked into their style of play. Call time out and make a game plan with your net player – have a plan.
2. Avoid trying to serve too hard and have to hit a lot of second serves or double fault.
3. Avoid returning too short on their return of serves so they might dominate play with their ground strokes.
4. Adjust your serving formation if they are bothering your service games.

Photo Credits: mirsasha

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1. Just the thought of hitting “hard” will make you tense up and grip the racquet tightly. This does the exact opposite or what you are trying to achieve – it takes away your power.

2. Tension (level 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-5) in the hand can cause the feet to not move appropriately.

3. Inappropriate footwork will not allow you to get into the correct position.  This in turn will not let your hands be in the correct place to use your natural “kinetic” chain that creates a powerful and effortless flow.

4. In turn, these factors can make you grip the racquet even tighter and lead to a tenser swing and faster frustration.

Little kids hit the ball hard even when they have little or no muscle. Because they cannot “muscle” the ball, they find a relaxed grip tension and rely on their natural timing to swing the racquet so the momentum of the swing generates the power. They also use the speed of the incoming ball to reflect the opponents power right back at them.

Your ability to swing easily and naturally begins with the “eyes”.   Seeing the ball well (see the rotation of the ball) helps you to accomplishes this:

1. Keeping the mind and eyes on the ball not the opponent is primary.

2. Once you see the ball well, you will understand “where” the ball is coming and “how” fast it is coming.

3. This will allow you to positioning your feet correctly for the direction you want to redirect it and help you know when to prepare your swing toward the ball.

4. Grip tension is about a #2 on a scale of 1-5 which keeps the tension out of the swing. This tension will allow you to “naturally” use your powerful “kinetic” chain to meet the ball without fear and create the best speed “you” can generate.

5. It is difficult to judge the speed of your own shots.  Most players assume their ball is slower that their opponents – this is not always true.

The eyes are the timing device for the body’s coordination. Most stroke errors and footwork errors are a product of the “disconnecting” thoughts experienced prior to the ball getting to the point of contact. Those thoughts influence your ability to get your feet into proper position and your hands to move the racquet to the point on contact.

Here are some simple techniques to help with tracking skills:

1. See the spin on the ball as it comes over the net.
2. See the “shadow” on the ball. The light, natural or artificial will cause a shadow on the ball.  Seeing the sunlight and the shadow creates a balance in the mind.
3. Count as you contact the ball by saying “one” then count “two” as you contact the ball to develop better tracking and focus skills.

Want to discover more power?  Ease you grip tension, track the ball early and to the contact zone and use your kinetic chain to produce a natural power.

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The person who is winning has a wealth of information available to them represented by all the grains of sand in the top half of the glass. However, while all that information is available to them they are only using a few pieces of that knowledge at a time.

This small flow of information is represented by the few gains of sand that pass through the tiny filter or the middle of the hour glass. This is like playing in the zone where you are not thinking too much but allowing the flow of the match to occur naturally.

On the bottom is all the sand that has fallen and continues to fall like rain, coming down on the player who is losing – can’t hit, playing poorly, never lost to this person before, he is playing so lucky and etc. Nothing seems to be going well for them and they can’t seem to manage all that is coming down on them.

At some point the player who is losing can feel desperate or frustrated by not being able to control what is happening. They realize that time is about to run out. Now instead of all the disconnecting thoughts they decide upon a strategy – go to the net, lob every ball, hit every ball down the middle and etc.

The point being that they quit worrying about their circumstance and focus on one tactic to solve their situation. Perhaps it is to rise above all the sand that has fallen and use it as a platform to stand taller and block the middle where all the sand is flowing from. They decide upon one specific tactic instead of being over whelmed by their situation. At least now they have a specific purpose – a plan of action instead of being the victim.

The player on top suddenly realize that time is about to expire and he is on top, they are winning. Gradually or even suddenly, thoughts begin to distract them. They have never beaten you, they can’t wait to tell his friends, they will now be in the next round of play and etc.

Suddenly the hour glass will have turned upside down. The player on the bottom has forgotten all the disconnecting thoughts about how desperate their situation is and begins to have only one thought or purpose. The player who was on top is now aware of all their options and opportunities. No longer is there a natural flow to what is happening. The player who was on top now experiences all the disconnecting thoughts.

This is how a match will normally flow. When I realize I am about out of time and ready to lose the match, my focus will change to one thought or purpose. Having accepted that I could lose I begin to focus on a singular plan to salvage my situation. Winning or losing is no longer my focus, my fear is not my driving force. My fear has pushed me to a point where I must make a decision

As I mentioned, the eyes are the key. If you can see the ball rotating as it comes to you, your mind will become quiet and things will slow down in your mind. A good game to play with yourself at this point is “yes” or “no”. After you have contacted the ball, say “yes” if you were able to pick up the rotation of the ball before contact and you had previously selected a target for you shot before the ball bounced on your side of the court.

We call this, “paying attention to attention”. If you could evaluate your attention level after a shot and it was at 8-9 or 10 on a scale of 10 you would have excellent “attention” and a relaxed focus of mind.

You can also focus on “paying attention to tension” or how tight you are gripping your racquet and the tension level of your body. This should be about level 2 or 3 on a scale of 5.

Some of the unique aspects of tennis are that there are no time limits, it is one of the only sports where the opponent calls your lines, and one of the few sports that makes you start at 0 or even at half time. All the success you had in the first set goes back to zero for the second set and you must start from scratch to win the next set.

This is one of the many “treasures” you will learn and re-learn as you play the game of Tennis.

Photo Credits: 1

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