ATP Tour Archives - Page 5 of 8

GAMEPLAN: Launching Monday August 28, 2017

Wednesday, 09 August 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

The learning pathway just got repaved… You are a 12-year-old boy in Barcelona. You push the ball & you win matches. Will it last? You win today, but with that game, will you also win tomorrow? You are a 14-year-old girl in Buenos Aires. You are winning matches without ever coming to the net. Do you really

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Hi Roger. Meet Terry. You helped him improve!

Wednesday, 02 August 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Can serve & volley possibly work for YOU? What would happen if you took your pre-conceived ideas about serving and volleying and just put them to the side for a little while? What would happen if you have never really served and volleyed, but actually gave it a fighting chance? Well, you would be Terry, from

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Roger Federer exposes the biggest lie in tennis (Part 2/5)

Tuesday, 25 July 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

For a deeper analysis of the massive impact the length of the rally has on winning a match, I highly recommend THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The First 4 Shots Video Part 1. Click HERE Serve & Volley. Dead & buried? Roger Federer point-blank called out fellow players at Wimbledon last Monday during an interview that

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40% = Wimbledon Qualifier Success

Saturday, 01 July 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Qualifiers are the real deal. They win more than you think they do. G’day from Wimbledon! There are 16 qualifiers in the main draw of The Championships. They earned that right winning three rounds in the qualifying tournament at Roehampton this week. Do they really have a chance to win a round or two? Oh,

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Win 1.8% more than lose = Top 20 in the World.

Saturday, 24 June 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Pablo’s Pathway. Follow his footsteps to the promised land. 25-year-old Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, is having the best season of his life. He currently has his career-best ranking of No. 17 in the world. It’s an outstanding achievement to break into the coveted Top 20 and don’t be surprised to see him crack the Top

Published in ATP Tour, Pablo Carreno Busta

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Winning ONE points helps you win a SECOND point…

Friday, 23 June 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Winning a little helps you win a little more. All points in tennis are not created equal. Some actually mean very little to the final outcome. They are just building blocks. You need a minimum of 24 points to win a set, with some being a lot more influential to the final outcome than others.

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Rafael Nadal. Pole Position for year-end No. 1

Friday, 16 June 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Is 2017 Rafa’s year… already? The stats are overwhelmingly in his favor. Firstly, let’s understand the two separate rankings in men’s tennis. Singles Ranking (best 18 tournament results from past 52 weeks). Emirates ATP Race To London: year-end No. 1 (only 2017 results). What we are focused on here is the second one – the

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Rafael Nadal’s Phenomenal Forehand

Friday, 09 June 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

It’s a sledgehammer / French = marteau de forgery G’day from Roland Garros! Rafael Nadal is blasting his way through the 2017 French Open draw. He is now in the semi-finals and will battle No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem for a spot in the final. The beating heart of Nadal’s dominance is his forehand. The

Published in ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros

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Rafael Nadal – From 5 Rows Back At Roland Garros

Sunday, 04 June 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Dirtballer Video Dirtballer is a singles strategy course focused only on clay-court tennis. To learn more and purchase, click HERE. The Train Is Rolling. Rafael Nadal is an absolute joke right now… G’day from Roland Garros! I want to share with you what it was like watching Rafael Nadal from five rows back on Court

Published in ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros

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Can 15 Matches Paint A True Picture?

Monday, 29 May 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Roland Garros 2017 Sunday Fun Day! G’day from Paris, The French Open is the only Grand Slam to start main draw matches on a Sunday. It provides the opportunity for people to come on the weekend and see the best players in the world. Good idea all round! There were 16 matches scheduled in both

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Percentage Tennis: The Most Important Number In Tennis

Wednesday, 24 May 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

THE FORMULA TO BE #1 IN THE WORLD I like to reverse-engineer tennis coaching. I like to start at the end to know all that I can about the destination I am trying to get to. I want to start with a thorough investigation of the final result. It helps you sail your ship in

Published in Andy Murray, ATP Tour, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka

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Top 10 Slower Off The Mark In 2017

Thursday, 04 May 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

We play a “front runner” sport. G’day from Munich, We play a sport that is so much easier to succeed at when you get ahead on the scoreboard. Coming from behind is tough. Really tough. For example, nobody in the history of tennis has a winning record after losing the 1st set. Below are several

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The Difference Between 30-30 & Deuce

Thursday, 27 April 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

They look the same, they smell the same… G’day from Austin, On the surface, there are a lot of similarities between the score lines of 30-30 and deuce. Both point scores see the players even in the game, and both point scores are just two points from the end of the game. I just did

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Knocking Down The Door

Thursday, 06 April 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Austin! Trends in tennis are similar to waves in the ocean. The tide can go out for a while, often years, but can change directions without you realizing it. The tide changes in two main ways: Players evolve new tactics to defeat opponents ahead of them. New players arrive on the scene. The tide

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Roger def. Rafa. You are going to LOVE this tactic…

Monday, 03 April 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Copy This. Roger That. Roger defeated Rafa for the FOURTH straight time with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the 2017 Miami Open final. There is so much to learn from this match, and how Roger has once again taken the tennis world by storm. Let’s focus on just ONE thing that contributed heavily to the

Published in ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serve And Volley, Serving

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2nd Serves: The New Rules

Wednesday, 29 March 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Your second serve is a beast. You just didn’t know it… G’day from Miami! Last night Nick Kyrgios defeated David Goffin 7-5(5), 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals. Kyrgios fell behind 0-2 in the tiebreaker after he hit a backhand return in the net, and Goffin ripped a backhand winner down the line. Serving at

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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.