Craig O'Shannessy, Author at Brain Game Tennis

Rome Tennis Channel Interview: Part 1 = Daniel Medvedev

Friday, 16 May 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Roma, It was a lot of fun to chat with Geoff, Genie, Mark & Nick earlier this week on Tennis Channel’s 2nd Serve. We started discussing Daniil Medvedev, who has dropped out of the Top 10 to No. 11. The last time Medvedev was outside the Top 10 was in February of 2023

Published in Daniil Medvedev, Rome

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Novak’s Bullseye = 2nd Serve Returns

Wednesday, 16 April 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

The bullseye was second serve returns. 🎯 If you seek to understand the myriad of possibilities in a tennis match just like a dartboard, it will quickly become clear that second serve returns live dead in the middle. Novak Djokovic defeated Milos Raonic 7-6(6), 7-6(5) at the 2016 ATP Finals by playing even in almost

Published in 0-4 Shots, ATP Finals, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic

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Should you serve ONLY to the backhand?

Tuesday, 15 April 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

Lorenzo Musetti reached his maiden Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo last week, and his ATP ranking jumped five spots up to #11 in the world. Let’s examine Musetti’s first-serve location during his six matches and see if we can uncover patterns for our own game. RD1: MUSETTI def. BU 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Deuce Ct

Published in Alex De Minaur, Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini, Monte Carlo, Serving, Stefanos Tsitsipas

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Roger d Novak. How One Bizarre Point Mattered Most

Thursday, 03 April 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

Roger Federer hunts the short ball as well as anyone on the planet. Federer came within a point of being down a set and a break, then roared back to defeat Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the 2014 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Federer’s stunning comeback was built around attacking the

Published in Dubai, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer

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How Federer Only Had To Cover Half His Court

Monday, 03 March 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

You never exactly know when your chance will arrive, if at all, to beat Roger Federer in an ATP Tour final. John Isner’s opportunity came only six minutes into the 2012 Indian Wells final when he held three break points in Federer’s second service game. Isner went 0/3, and he would not see another break

Published in Indian Wells, John Isner, Roger Federer

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10 Things To Learn From Daniil Medvedev

Thursday, 20 February 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

Daniil Medvedev’s mastery of a tennis match is mesmerizing. Medvedev defeated Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the 2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters, with Zverev saying post-match that “Daniil is somebody that plays a way that we have never seen before.” You can’t beat what you can’t understand. Learn #1 – Answer this question.

Published in 0-4 Shots, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Shanghai Masters 1000

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My Top 7 Takeaways From 2025 Aussie Open

Friday, 31 January 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, The 2025 Australian Open smashed attendance records day after day, highlighting just how popular the sport is Down Under. You actually can’t qualify the Aussie Open as just a tennis tournament anymore. It’s morphing into a festival with so much to see and do for the whole family. It’s the most fan-friendly tournament on

Published in Australian Open, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner

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2024 US Open Serve Analysis. Which Is Better? Foot Back Or Foot Up?

Tuesday, 01 October 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Is it better to keep your foot back or bring it up in your service motion? On the surface, both seem to work just fine. It really depends on what feels right for you and what you were taught when you were younger. It feels like players get to load more and explode upward

Published in Ben Shelton, Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Matteo Berrettini, Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Serving, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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Alert! The All-Court Player Is Almost Extinct.

Wednesday, 25 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Several different game styles dominate our sport. Almost all of them are variations of baseline play. Power baseliner. Aggressive baseliner. Defensive baseliner. Counter-puncher. Grinder. Pusher. Playing heavy from the back of the court. You get the picture… And then there is that rare breed of player that used to roam the Earth way back

Published in Karolina Muchova, US Open

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The Hidden Force In the US Open Men’s Final

Tuesday, 10 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Jannik Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday’s US Open men’s singles final. Sinner was the better player. He won 96 points to 79, 60 baseline points to 32, and only committed 26 forehand errors to Fritz’s 39. I was in the stadium paying particular attention to the shape of the ball, court

Published in Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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Sinner v Fritz = Baseline Armageddon In The US Open Final

Sunday, 08 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York, 🗽 It will be baseline armageddon on Arthur Ashe tonight for the US Open men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz. It will feel like two guys with sledgehammers repeatedly going at each other across the net. Throwing haymakers. Throwing the kitchen sink. Throwing everything they can possibly throw to

Published in Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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Fifty Nine Return Lobs In One US Open Doubles Match

Saturday, 07 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York. 🗽 While walking around the US Open grounds last Sunday, I found a really interesting doubles match on Court 5. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz defeated Simone Bolelli and Andre Vavassori 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(10-4). What caught my eye was the unusually high number of return lobs they were hitting. So, I

Published in Doubles, US Open

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2024 US Open Men’s Semi-Finals. How Fast Should You Hit Your 2nd Serve?

Friday, 06 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York, 🗽 How hard should your 2nd serve be relative to your 1st serve? How much speed do the best players in the world take off their 1st serve to create an ideal 2nd serve speed? We have answers for that… Let’s take a look at the four men in the semis

Published in Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Jannik Sinner, Serving, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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2024 Men’s Semi-Final Analysis. The First Point Serving.

Thursday, 05 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York, 🗽 The men’s semi-finals are set at Flushing Meadows. (1) Jannik Sinner vs. (25) Jack Draper (12) Taylor Fritz vs. (20) Frances Tiafoe Tennis is a game of getting ahead. Putting scoreboard pressure on your opponent is crucial to winning on the biggest stage. I analyzed the four semi-finalists and their

Published in Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Jannik Sinner, Serving, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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2024 US Open Average Rally Length. It Will Blow Your Mind.

Wednesday, 04 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York. 🗽 Who plays more long rallies at the 2024 US Open? The men or women? The quick answer is always the women. Less power on the serve and groundstrokes for the women means forcing errors or putting the ball away is more challenging. We have always had the global paradigm that

Published in ATP Tour, US Open, WTA

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US Open Men’s Quarter-Finals. Rally Length Analysis.

Tuesday, 03 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York. 🗽 We are now getting to the pointy end of the tournament. Here’s the quarter-final match-ups in the men’s draw. Jannik Sinner vs. Daniil Medvedev Jack Draper v Alex De Minaur Taylor Fritz v Alexander Zverev Grigor Dimitrov v Frances Tiafoe Let’s take a slightly different viewpoint of the eight players

Published in Alex De Minaur, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Jannik Sinner, Rally Length, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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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.

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