Jannik Sinner Archives - Brain Game Tennis

2026 Wimbledon Final. Zverev Wins Just 35% Baseline Points. Game Over.

Monday, 13 July 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

TENNIS , AUSTRALIAN OPEN, MELBOURNE PARK, MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, GRAND SLAM, HARD COURT, OUTDOOR, ITF, ATP, WTA, 2023, © TENNIS PHOTO NETWORK

Gday from Wimbledon, Winners minus errors is by far the best way to evaluate baseline performance. And to be crystal clear, it’s winners minus all errors, which is forced and unforced errors combined. When you analyze a match this way (which I always do), you quickly zero in on the real reason Jannick Sinner won

Published in Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon

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2026 Wimbledon: Players hold 91% doing just this ONE thing.

Tuesday, 07 July 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Wimbledon, Imagine doing just one thing that bolsters your chance of holding serve all the way to 91%. That’s exactly what is happening in the men’s draw at Wimbledon this year. What’s the one thing that has this much influence in the game? The very first point of the service game. Let’s dig

Published in Alexander Zverev, Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Wimbledon

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2026 Wimbledon – One Bad Service Game

Tuesday, 30 June 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Wimbledon! You know it’s coming. Your opponent knows it’s coming. It’s just a matter of when. One of the most common, yet under-the-radar, ways players lose matches at all levels of our sport is simply dropping one bad service game. One bad service game can undo a dozen good ones. It may be

Published in Jannik Sinner, Miomir Kecmanovic, Wimbledon

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Indian Wells 2026: Surviving The First 4 Shots

Saturday, 14 March 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Indian Wells, When we think about the first four shots of the point, we imagine offense in our minds. We talk about “first strike” and how to pressure opponents with superior court position, taking away their time. But not when returning serve. Our goal here is to SURVIVE the first four shots. It’s

Published in Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner

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Indian Wells – Fonseca v Sinner Tonight. Five Things To Look For.

Tuesday, 10 March 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Just how good is Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca? We are going to find out in the desert tonight when he takes on world No. 2, Jannik Sinner, in the round of 16 at Indian Wells. Here are five things to look for in today’s heavyweight battle, which is scheduled not before 6.00 pm local

Published in Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner, Joao Fonseca

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Sinner’s Wide 1st Serves Vanished In The US Open Final vs. Alcaraz

Monday, 08 September 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Several fascinating storylines percolated in importance as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battled it out in the 2025 US Open men’s final yesterday. The Spaniard won 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, dominating in all facets of the game. Was it all about the forehands? Or the serve? Or the lack of first serves? Or simply

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, US Open

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Five Stats That Pinpoint Novak’s Decline

Saturday, 06 September 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Novak Djokovic is currently the third-best player on the planet. Father time has caught up with him, and by his own admission, the brutal physicality of battling Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner over five sets has become an overwhelming obstacle. Here are five key stats that Djokovic used to dominate his opponents. Now, they

Published in 0-4 Shots, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, US Open

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2025 Wimbledon Men’s Final. Five Keys To The Final

Sunday, 13 July 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner. This feels like a Djokovic/Federer/Nadal heavyweight fight all over again. Here are five things to consider when watching the final. 1) HEAD-TO-HEAD Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 8-4 and has won five straight in 2024 and 2025. Sinner has not beaten Alcaraz since September 2023. This is the

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon

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The Wimbledon Baseline Hides A Dark Secret

Friday, 11 July 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Wimbledon, When you step onto any tennis court, you automatically walk to the baseline and start trading shots back and forth with the person on the other side of the net. The baseline is your happy place. It’s where you feel comfortable on the court, having more preparation time than at the net

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Court Position, Jannik Sinner, Jenson Brooksby, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon

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2025 Roland Garros Final Alcaraz vs. Sinner. Five Things To Look For.

Sunday, 08 June 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Paris, Borg vs. McEnroe. Sampras vs. Agassi. Edberg vs. Lendl. Djokovic vs. Federer. Nadal vs. Federer. Alcaraz vs. Sinner. This is the next iteration of the heavyweights in our sport. The top two seeds will be crushing the ball on the crushed red earth at Roland Garros this afternoon. Overall, Alcaraz leads the

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Roland Garros

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Roland Garros 2025. Sinner’s Forehand Has Gone Berserk

Tuesday, 03 June 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Paris, Forehand and backhand performance is always a key ingredient in reaching week two at Roland Garros. One way I like to evaluate groundstrokes is to subtract errors (forced & unforced combined) from winners. It’s almost always going to give you a “negative” result. For example, Carlos Alcaraz has hit 78 forehand winners

Published in Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper, Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros

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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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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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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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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.