Use Acccumulative Pressure to Win Tennis Matches

by The Team on June 25, 2009

Accumulative Pressure. Firstly what is it?

Accumulative Pressure is the pressure that should build up on your opponent in a match. This pressure is accumulated piece by piece throughout the match. By slowly chipping away at breaking down on your opponent you will have successfully built pressure on their shot or shots. The plan is that this shot will break down later, at the critical time of the match.

Let’s work with an example. Throughout the match you will be given short balls by your opponent. If you approach the net on 80% of those short balls you will be putting pressure on your opponent to trying keep the ball deeper. When it is early in the match your opponent may be feeling comfortable and hitting freely therefore, you may get passed at the net a fair few times. However it will pay off.

The idea of accumulative pressure is that even if you lose the point you have still added pressure to your opponent which will pay off later in the match. Do not stop approaching the net just because you are getting passed. Keep following in short balls and adding pressure to ground strokes and passing shots.

Payback time is later in the match, say 4-4. Can your opponent make those shots when the pressure is on? Will your opponent to feel the pressure to hit the ball deeper and deeper to keep you away from the net? Eventually your opponent will feel extra pressure to make passing shots at such a critical time of the match? Even if they are making most of them at the start of the match, they will start to make errors.

The great part about accumulative pressure is that every point contributes to you winning (even a lost point). As long as you did not just give the point to your opponent with an easy error you have added a cumulative pressure. This pressure will work in your favor at the most critical part of the match.

Things to put into practice:

  • make your opponent play a lot of shots
  • reduce the number of errors you make
  • try your hardest to make any drop shot even if you are unsuccessful
  • scramble for the ball if you have two, make your opponent hit one more shot
  • get into the net on in the short ball

Let me know how you go with that. What other ways can you think of to build up a cumulative pressure on your opponent?

Talk to you all soon

Michael

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Tennis Confidence, Body Language and Control

by The Team on June 22, 2009

4816_90718004940_64760994940_1816886_6858040_nBeating your opponent in tennis sometimes begins before the match even starts. What do I mean? Like any battle opponents subconsciously size each other up.

Examples of this can be

  • the clothes they are wearing
  • do they look like tennis players?
  • do they look fit?
  • how many racquets do they have in their bag?
  • Etc

At tournaments I believe it starts when you will match is ready to go on the court. I suggest that you be ready and prepared for your match. Encourage the tournament organiser to run on time and appear eager to start your match.

When your match is called try and be the first to the desk and take the scorecard and balls. Find out which court your playing on and try and get their first. Decide where you want to sit and place your gear.

By doing these things you have already started to control the match. Your opponent is already playing to your rhythm. You are already driving the train and they are a passenger.

Offer to toss a coin or your racquet straightaway. Be the first out on the to the court ready to warm up.

In one of my other articles are talk about winning the warm up. Winning the warmup is also very important to taking control of the match.

Click Here To Read That Article

These are traits of champions. I remember one particular match when all of these were done against me. The players name was Bernard Tomic. Even at the age of 11 he was already doing exactly what I’ve just mentioned. He was confident and taking control of the match. He knew back then, it is just as important to beat your opponent off the court.

Rafael Nadal also does this all the time. We’ve seen him many times on TV with his racket in his hand, ready to come out onto centre court. He jumps around like a boxer like he is ready to fight. He is always is the first one to get out onto the court. He must be the first person down the hallway leading out to centre court. The way he sprints back to the baseline after the coin toss is another example of being ready warmed up and intimidating his opponent.

As I write this Wimbledon is about to start for 2009. The pictures I have included in this article are of Roger Federers clothing for this event. Just by looking at the photos you can feel the intimidation and authority that Roger Federer has. Calm and in the control and ready to do a job.

I think Roger Federer and Tiger Woods both have the same ora while doing their job. Both are very calm and show little emotion both when their winning and when they’re losing. The only time they show emotion is when the last point has been finished or the last putt has been sunk.

Let me know your thoughts and other examples you can think of.

Michael

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On Court Routines of Tennis Champions

by Michael on June 21, 2009

Developing your own habits out on the tennis court is a great way to feel comfortable in any situation. They also assist you to produce the same result over and over. They almost are your personality :)

Some examples are:

  • the number of times you bounce a ball before a serve
  • stepping over lines between points
  • adjusting your hat before serving
  • wiping sweat from your eyebrows
  • adjusting your strings
  • tucking your hair behind your ears
  • setting up your water bottles next your chair
  • deciding which balls to use before every serve - selecting two from three
  • adjusting your socks

Some tennis players habits are so obvious and repeatable that you could pick them up straightaway. Invisible habits are going on inside their mind. For example saying to themselves ‘relax- breathe out- decide on what you are going to do- visualize the serve or return- look up at the opponent - etc.

In some cases players will play the same serve if they are break point down.

Examples of Routines:

Lendal - Sprinkle sawdust on his grip, rubbing and pulling at his eyebrows

[click here to read the full article]

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Does What You Drink And Eat Effect Concentration In Tennis?

by The Team on June 20, 2009

brain1Recently I found myself very distracted in a match. Every car that drove past annoyed me, I would see every person walking around the tennis Centre, people talking on the next court were also annoying me.

Games were slipping away because I could not concentrate on the task at hand. I was using all of my pre-serving routines, pre-return routines and focusing hard on the ball as a way of concentrating.

Nothing was working, my mind was on overdrive. My mind was so alert to every single piece of stimulus that was going on around me. I wanted to ignore everything so I could just focus on beating my opponent.

It happened at 5-5 in the first set. I lost five-game straight then eventually started scraping together a few games. The final score was 7-5 6-3.

When I got home I reflected on the match and was disappointed that I was so distracted during such a critical time. I wondered why my mind was on overdrive. Why I couldn’t concentrate on tennis. I didn’t want to be listening to the people talking next to me but it felt so loud in my mind that I could not ignore it.

Then I had a massive ‘a-ha’ moment. 

[click here to read the full article]

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Learn from Soderling beating Rafael Nadal French Open

by The Team on June 1, 2009

Although nearly everyone would put their house on Nadal to win his 5th straight French Open title, Robin Soderling is one of the dark horses that he should be wary of.

Nadal beat him so convincingly a few weeks ago in Rome 6-1, 6-0 and is 3 and 0 in head to head results against Soderling but there has been some fierce rivalry between these two which started at this very tournament in the first round of 2006 in which Nadal clinically won in straight sets.

The tension between these two esculated at Wimbledon 2007 in a match that was played out over 3 days due to the weather. There was alot of niggling going on from Soderling in response to the time Nadal took between points and also some of his mannerisms. There was no love lost here between the two and Nadal went on to win 6-4 6-4 6-7(7) 4-6 7-5. This to me proved there was enough fire inside the belly of Soderling to take revenge and upset the world number one on what could be described as his very own court having never lost a match on it and over the course of the last four years only losing 7 sets from 31 matches.

The key to this victory could be put down to many things like Nadal not at his best or Nadal had peaked too soon this year winning so many titles already on the red surface, but the two things that really stood out for me in this match was (1) Soderling believed in himself and his game plan and (2) he went out there to make Nadal work and put him more on the defensive by hitting more to the strength of Nadal (forehand) and then exposing more of his weaker side in the backhand.

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Welcome

by The Team on April 27, 2009

Welcome to Tennis Assist

We have a very exciting web site currently in production. Every day we are polishing our information which will assist tennis players to become more competitive and win more matches. GUARANTEED !

That is a bold and powerful statement - however we have first hand - world class knowledge - from players who have been to the top and know what it takes to win.

Yes, our team interviews and analyze information from previous world number 1 players, up and coming players, previous tour players to bring our readers a UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY to get into the actual thoughts and processes champions perform to be THE BEST.

Sign up on the left to be a part of our PRE RELEASE list.

Join our list for FREE now - to be the first to be notified.

PS Leave comments on this blog post about anything tennis related. We will read them all.

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Attack The Win

by Michael on November 12, 2008

Scoreboard Lead

We worked very hard, played very well and we won the first set. We then went out and worked very hard for the first four games in the second set. We are up 3-1. suddenly the end of the match is in sight.

This usually is a dangerous time for most players.

What do we do what we find ourselves in a winning position in a match?

We tend to start to think about the outcome - winning the match. We start to think about how good it would be to beat this person. There are many examples, even at an elite level when players admit they started thinking of winning the match. If it is a major final, some players start thinking about the speech and who they should thank. Some players think about the trophy, maybe photos with the trophy.

These thoughts are the worst thoughts you can have at this time.

There are actually two things going on at this time.

* you are focusing on an outcome

* you start to defend your win

Let’s look at the both in more detail

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Error 1 - Focusing on an outcome

Fact: You cannot act on an outcome. You can only act on the process to achieve that outcome.

What do I mean by this? If all you have in your mind is of the outcome you are no longer thinking about how to achieve that outcome. You may be only three games away from winning the match, all three points for that matter. However, you must concentrate playing those points and games to achieve the outcome.

Therefore, you must focus on process oriented goals, not outcome oriented goals.

Examples of process oriented goals are:

* Make this return

* Look for the short ball

* Win next point at the net

Error 2 - Defending the lead

Suddenly, the a win in your grasp. Many players at this point start to defend their lead. Players start to wait for the match to be given to them. They wait for their opponent to make unforced errors, they hope the opponent serves double faults. Often the player in the lead will play more conservatively, they will take the pace off the ball and play closer to the middle of the court to allow more room for error.

There are so many reasons why this is the wrong thing to do.

Firstly you should never change a winning game. Playing like this is not the strategy that got you in the lead therefore, it will not keep you in the lead.

Second. Your opponent has very little to lose and everything to gain. Therefore, they usually start playing more relaxed and going to their shots. It only takes them a few points, a game or two and their spirits could be lifted. They might think they have a chance of winning this match. (Refer to my article about momentum for a more in-depth discussion about this)

Thirdly. Playing negatively is a recipe for disaster. If you need to remember the words from that Midnight Oil song “it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees”. keep your chin up and play positively.

So, what do you do?

ATTACK THE WIN

Play positively and go after the match.

Do not wait for the match to be given to you.

Go and take what you deserve.

Think about think you can act on like

- on match point win the point at the net

- make every return for the rest of the match

- hit every volley crosscourt

Anything to keep your mind on the PROCESS of winning not the OUTCOME of winning.

Enjoy and let me know your thoughts !!

Play Tennis To Win !

Michael

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You Are Only As Good As Your Second Serve

by Michael on October 2, 2008

Okay, firstly, the strength to winning matches is the ability to hold your serve. Usually, a set is won by holding every service game, then breaking your opponent serve. When this is the case  wind the set 6-4.

If you serve the first game, you must to break at 5-4. If you serve the setting game you must break at 4-4.

Therefore, holding serve is the most important thing in a match. If you do loose your serve work VERY hard to break them straight back. You must put in 120% effort to break them immediately otherwise the whole match can change around in a few games.

Therefore your second serve is the anchor for the match. Potentially the second serve will be one of the major influences in the outcome of your matches.

You need to work hard to develop a solid second serve you can rely on in ANY situation.

We often ignore serving practice. However we are guaranteed to need to hit that shot and hit it well !

There are many serving drills which will improve your consistency. The biggest issue to overcome is confidence. You need to practice enough to build your confidence for a match situation. Technique is only part of the Winning formula. Therefore, in practice try and stressful situations.

Here are a few examples:

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* You must get 17 out of the next 20 serves in

* Convince yourself the score is 3-3 15-40

* You must serve 15 balls in a row before you are allowed to leave the court

The better you get the higher you can push these numbers. Imagine being able to say ok the next 30 serves are going in. If not I am going to go and give that person over there $50. That would be confidence !!

Enjoy ! Michael

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Even Kids Need a Strategy

by Michael on September 26, 2008

Even kids need a strategy. This is something I see all the time. People learning to play tennis are so focused on the technical aspect they have very little direction in a match. Children, in particular are focused on technique AND VERY vulnerable to distractions.

So, parents, here is a great tip to tell your children, just before they go out on the tennis court to play match.

* win the first two points of every game.

* hit two balls to the backhand, then one to the forehand.

By telling children to focus on just these two simple things, they now have a plan. When times get tough in the match they have a friend. Their plan.

People learning to play tennis do not have distinct strengths and weaknesses, therefore your opponent of equal ability really has no massive strength or no massive weakness. Therefore a basic plan really focussing on yourself will be the most effective.

Let’s talk about the two tips in more detail.

Win the first two points of every game. This actually applies to players at every level however it is very important to beginners who need to understand the importance of getting in front in an individual game. Beginners in particular are more likely to have a negative reaction to losing the first two points. They are more likely to throw the towel in, have a tantrum, drop their bundle. Especially kids.

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Therefore if you can focus on winning the first two points they may be handed the rest of the game with easy points.

Hit two balls to their backhand, then one to their forehand. the goal of this tip is to basically have some direction with every shot that they hit. So many kids just hit the ball aimlessly. Everybody needs direction with every shot. In actual fact, it doesn’t matter where the ball ended up, just as long as you have a plan. I have chosen to to the backhand won to the forehand because usually players backhands are weaker than their forehands. If there is an obvious weakness, play two shots to that side and one to the strong side.

Recently I saw a great example of this work. The standard of the two young players was very similar. Before the match I told his father, to tell his son, to concentrate on those two tips. During the match, the opponent became very annoying on court. He was screaming “come on” on a double fault. For an innocent ten-year old this is very distracting. By having the basic plan - this gave him direction during hard times. He was able to focus during a very distracting match and beat this opponent.

Let me know what you think !! Enjoy, Michael

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Go Forward After Every Volley

by Michael on September 23, 2008

Here is a challenge to everyone. The next time you are out on the tennis court try to take a step forward after you hit every volley.

Why? There are two reasons.

The first reason is that it gets you going forward while you are hitting your volley. It forces you to go out after the ball rather than waiting for the ball to come to you.

The second reason, is that your opponent will feel you getting closer to the net. Therefore, every single volley will put more and more pressure on your opponent.

You will also gain volley angle options to finish the point from the net.

This both applies to singles as well as doubles. When you are watching the elite level doubles watch how each player moves closer and closer to the net.

When warming up at the start of the match many people stand too close to the net. Start on the service line and practice your volleys there. In reality that will be where you will be hitting most of your volleys.

After each volley in the same rally move slightly closer and closer to the net. Start back on the service line on every practice rally.

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This is obviously a good drill to do in practice and the warm up before the match. Practice ‘making’ alot of volleys while standing on the service line. You will be forced to hit the ball below the net height and get down to the ball.

Look out for better players OR your opposition doing this.. Now you know why !!

Try this and let me know how it goes!

Michael

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