Craig O'Shannessy, Author at Brain Game Tennis

Match Preparation: Novak Djokovic 2018 US Open

Friday, 27 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

2018 US Open Interview with Luca Baldissera. This was a really fun 12-minute interview I did with Luca onsite at the US Open on the day of Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final battle with Aussie John Millman. The topics we discussed are broken down into specific segments further down the page below the video, and as you

Published in ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic

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Hi Brayden Schnur! The Entourage Tennis Interview

Wednesday, 25 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Just over a year ago I was in Long Island, NY, coaching at a Tennis Congress event. Devin Nerenberg and Gustavo Sanchez, from Entourage Tennis, were also coaching there as well. The Tennis Congress was organized in conjunction with the New York Open, and the players were able to be on court all day

Published in Uncategorized

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Interview with No. 1 Doubles Player Barbora Strycova

Sunday, 22 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! 33-year-old Czech, Barbora Strycova, is hitting her prime. Last year at Wimbledon, she reached the semi-finals. Her career-high singles ranking of No. 16 came in 2017, and she just finished 2019 on the No. 1 doubles team in the world along with Su-Wei Hsieh. Round of applause, please! ???????? I interviewed Barbora on The

Published in Wimbledon

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Baseline = Statistical Nightmare. Here’s Your Best Pattern.

Saturday, 21 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! You love the baseline. You love to go back there and hit forehands and backhands until your brain explodes with endorphins. You think the baseline is your happy place. You spend all your time there in practice, and unfortunately, you overdose on this part of the court in matches as well. Here’s the reality

Published in Wimbledon

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Upgrade, Double & Freeze.

Friday, 20 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! There are three types of shots you can hit from the back of the court, and one of them is vastly superior to the others. Which one do you think it is? Normal Forehand Run-Around Forehand Backhand If you picked No. 2, you are on the money! ???? Run-around forehands produce more winners, force more

Published in Wimbledon Channel

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Your best strategy serving at 30-30

Thursday, 19 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

30-30 is a crossroads between pleasure and pain. Win the point, and the percentages are overwhelmingly in your favor to hold serve. Lose the point, and the odds now say you are more likely to get broken. So… how much risk should you take on board when serving at 30-30? Is it a good time to

Published in 25 Golden Rules of Singles Strategy, Return Of Serve, Roger Federer, Serving, Strategy Courses, Strategy Products

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Serve technique: Craig analyzes Novak, Roger, Rafa & Kevin

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, We all want to hit a better serve, right? What better way to improve your toss & motion than from the top four seeds at Wimbledon in 2019. Those players were: Novak Djokovic Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Kevin Anderson My Wimbledon Channel analysis focuses on things that the players do well, and also some

Published in Wimbledon, Wimbledon Channel

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Strategy On Match Point At Wimbledon: 2007 – 2012

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Just imagine for a moment what it’s like to finally arrive at match point in a Wimbledon final. It’s quite simply the biggest moment & biggest point of your life! This was the focus of my Wimbledon Channel analysis in 2019 to kick off The Championships. Watch the video below to see the successful

Published in Wimbledon Channel

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Indian Wells 2020. Let me analyze your match video in a Centre Court Suite!

Saturday, 29 February 2020 by Craig O'Shannessy

A unique tennis experience. Video analysis of your matches + analysis of Centre Court matches. G’day from Austin, How would you like to spend two days working on YOUR game with me at Indian Wells this year? The tournament is fast approaching, but there are still some spots left for this really cool package that will

Published in ATP Tour

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New Video Tagging Partner = Tennis Analytics

Friday, 20 September 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Your eyes lie to you… I learnt this over a decade ago when I would sit and watch tennis matches and thought I had a good understanding of what I was watching. Then I “tagged” the video of the match, and uncovered that there was a lot that I had missed. The main reason

Published in ATP Tour

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New AI Strategic Partner = RightChain

Monday, 16 September 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, The future of strategic coaching in tennis is squarely focused on uncovering new match analytics that succinctly explains who won the match and why. It’s about creating powerful (and simple) match intelligence reports that cut straight to the heart of the matter, and guide players and coaches to the right video playlists to “see”

Published in ATP Tour

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2019 Wimbledon Countdown: Learn Doubles From A Wimbledon Champion

Sunday, 30 June 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! Just 1️⃣ more sleep until The Championships – 2019 edition! ???? I have had so much fun the past couple of weeks bringing you highlights from my work at the Wimbledon Channel. We finish up the series today with a doubles interview with the 2012 Wimbledon Doubles champion, Frederik Nielsen. Frederik partnered with Jonathan

Published in Uncategorized

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2019 Wimbledon Countdown: The Trophies

Saturday, 29 June 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! I was lucky enough to be out on Centre Court today when the trophies came out on display. ???????? Here are some pictures I took of two of the most amazing trophies in the world!

Published in Wimbledon

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2019 Wimbledon Countdown: Dustin Brown at Roehampton

Saturday, 29 June 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! Just ✌️more days to Wimbledon! ???????? It’s sooo good to be back onsite at SW19. The days right before the tournament begins are magical, with so much energy and buzz from players and coaches. They get the whole place to themselves as they practice and prepare for the greatest tournament in the world. I

Published in ATP Tour

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2019 Wimbledon Countdown: Anderson’s Epic Semi Final Victory

Friday, 28 June 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from London, Only 3️⃣ sleeps until Wimbledon begins! ???????? I arrived into London this morning and went to watch good mate, Dustin Brown, play an exhibtion match at The Roehampton Club against Christian Garin. I will post some pics and video of that for you tomorrow. Today’s video focuses on the thrilling 7-6(6), 6-7(5),

Published in Uncategorized

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2019 Wimbledon Countdown: 5 Layers Of Match Strategy

Thursday, 27 June 2019 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! Four more sleeps. That’s it! Then the greatest show on Earth begins! ????????☘️ Today’s video brings you five different aspects of match strategy from the 2018 Wimebledon Women’s Quarter-Final between Julie Goerges & Kiki Bertens. I want to identify these layers for you, so that you can better understand match strategy at Wimbledon this

Published in Uncategorized

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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.