Monday, 06 October 2025 / Published in Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serve And Volley, Shanghai Masters 1000

2014 Shanghai Semi: Federer Stuns Djokovic 64 64 – 48 Times At Net

Roger Federer has once again got the ball on a string.

Federer is back to his magical best, moving through to the Shanghai Masters 1000 final with a scintillating 6-4, 6-4 victory over world number one, Novak Djokovic.

The reason for the Renaissance is simple. Federer is attacking the net at will, making opponents have to constantly react to his mayhem. He has also found a way out of the “backhand cage” at the baseline by taking far more backhands down the line. This strategy adjustment worked a charm as it perplexed Djokovic and also helped to feed Federer’s stronger forehand when the ball came back cross-court.

Nothing in the sport is as feared as the front-running, net rushing, avalanche of pressure that the Swiss superstar created in his prime. Federer definitely moved the clock back in time with this vintage semi-final performance. “It’s just that he played everything he wanted to play,” Djokovic said post-match. “He played the perfect match.”

Finishing points at the net is now firmly back on the front page of the Federer strategy book, as he combined to come forward a staggering 48 times with a well-organized mix of serve and volley, approaching, and chip-and-charge off second serves. Federer also cleverly broke down Djokovic’s forehand (22 errors) while at the same time protecting his own backhand, which stood tall with only 10 errors.

The bigger the point, the more you were going to find the Swiss maestro swarming the net.

2014 Shanghai Masters Final. Federer at net vs. Djokovic

Serve and Volley

Federer won 71% (12/17) serving and volleying, which provided several key benefits in the overall game plan. Federer upgraded from a backhand groundstroke to a backhand volley, which is one of the best our sport has ever seen. This ultra-aggressive tactic prevented Djokovic from creating rhythm in the match with his feared, constricting baseline rallies. Even when Federer lost a point at the front of the court, he still didn’t provide Djokovic with momentum by having a strategy to consistently execute.

IMPROVE YOUR NET GAME!

Course: Short Ball Hunter

Webinar 6: Net Strategy & Patterns

Webinar 21: Serve & Volley / Return & Volley

Webinar 30: Volley & Overhead Technique

Webinar 58: Serve +1 Approach

Chip and Charge

Federer employed this classic, old-school strategy eight times, winning three, but once again, the benefits are not only just seen on the scoreboard. It keeps points very short and is played on his terms. Once again, he naturally protects his backhand from relentless pounding. The match was only four points old when Federer hit a slice backhand return and followed it to the net. He won the point, and you could feel the pressure meter of the match skyrocket for the Serb. It’s not easy hitting backhand passing shots for a living.

Approaching

Federer’s excellent court position around the baseline helped him jump on short balls to finish at the net. Interestingly, Federer had more success approaching closer to the middle of the court, giving up less angle for Djokovic’s backhand passing shot. Djokovic had five backhand passing shot winners, with most coming from out wide near the singles line.

The Serb hit one of these spectacular short-angled backhand passing shot winners to save break point, trailing 6-4, 3-1, 30-40. It was the 19^th shot of the rally and hit wide from the Ad Court alley. Federer clinched match point with a slice backhand approach right down the middle of the court and followed it up with a backhand volley winner two shots later to seal victory. Federer would hit 10 volley winners (six backhand / four forehand), as well as five overhead winners.

Attacking Djokovic’s Forehand

This was a masterful counter-move from the back of the court that both removed Djokovic’s primary weapon (backhand) and also covered Federer’s own weakness on the backhand wing. Federer took many more backhands down the line to Djokovic’s forehand, which boomeranged the ball much more back to Federer’s dominant forehand and forced 22 forehand errors from the Serb.

The tactic started on the second point of the match as Federer ripped his first rally backhand down the line and got a short forehand as a result, which he hit for a winner. Federer also hit a backhand down the line to force a forehand error on game point to get to 1-1 in the opening set. With Federer serving at 1-2, 15-15, another backhand down the line immediately set up another forehand winner.

Spectacular Serving

Federer put up career numbers, making 70 percent first serves, winning 68 percent of them, and most importantly, won 61 percent (13/21) of his second serves. He only faced one break point for the match, at 3-2, Ad out in the first set. Federer hit a 143kpm second serve that Djokovic returned weakly to the service line, and Federer dispatched a run-around forehand winner behind Djokovic through the Ad court.

Roger Federer is now well and truly back to being, well, Roger Federer.

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.