Saturday, 07 September 2024 / Published in Doubles, US Open

Fifty Nine Return Lobs In One US Open Doubles Match

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 investigated.

Krawietz and Puetz will play Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the doubles final today at noon Eastern.

Here’s a breakdown of the Krawietz/Puetz vs. Bolelli/Vavassori third-round encounter.

How Many Return Lobs?

Krawietz/Puetz = 37
Bolelli/Vavassori = 22
Total = 59

The German pair used it considerably more than the Italians. To have almost 60 lob returns in three sets seems a lot. It certainly felt like that, watching from the side of the court.

It also begs the initial question, “Why were both teams lobbing so much?” The latest iteration of doubles strategy is to put the server’s partner in the I formation as close as possible to the net. They then pop up once the serve is hit and can get an incredible amount of balls. The volleys are nearly always very short angled shots that the returning team cannot run down.

Simone Bolelli I Formation Right At The Net vs. Krawietz/Puetz (2024 US Open Rd 3)

So, as the server’s partner is basically right on top of the net, and it’s so easy to clean up with volley winners, the return lob is the natural counter.

Did The Return Lob Bounce, Or Was It Taken Out Of The Air?

This is the beating heart of being successful with the return lob.

Getting The Return Lob To Bounce (Made Returns)

Krawietz/Puetz = 14/34 (41%)
Bolelli/Vavassori = 6/16 (38%)
Total = 20/50 (40%)

This is a very important stat once you factor in the win percentages below.

Win Percentage After Getting Return Lob To Bounce

Krawietz/Puetz = Won 9/14 (64%)
Bolelli/Vavassori = Won 4/6 (67%)
Total = 13/20 (65%)

This is HUGE! Krawietz/Puetz won 38% (42/112) of their return points, with lob returns included. But when you filter out only the lob returns, they won 64% (9/14).

This is the most significant statistic from this data set. If you are lobbing the return of serve, do everything you can to make it bounce on the other side of the net.

A low lob over the net player works well. It also pushes the server back to near the baseline to hit it.
A very high lob that lands close to the baseline also works. Force the server to have to let it bounce.

Both options give the returning team time to rush the net and take immediate control of the front of the court.

Jackpot.

Return Lob Errors

Krawietz/Puetz = 3/37
Bolelli/Vavassori = 6/22
Total = 9/59

A considerable benefit of the return lob is that you make so many of them. Krawietz/Puetz only missed 3 out of 37. For the match, Krawietz/Puetz made 72% of their returns (76/105), winning 31% against 1st serves and 47% against 2nd serves. Bolelli/Vavassori made 63% of their returns.

The return lob helps build pressure on the opponent’s serve. Bolelli/Vavassori committed seven double faults, while Krawietz/Puetz only committed two. Everything is intertwined.

Return Lob – Who Hits The Next Shot?

I also looked at whether the server or the server’s partner hit the next shot – and the win percentages. As it turns out, it’s a very big deal.

Krawietz/Puetz Returning

Server hits the next shot = won 10/21 (48%)
Server’s partner hits the next shot = won 2/13 (15%)

Bolelli/Vavassori Returning

Server hits the next shot = won 6/12/ (50%)
Server’s partner hits the next shot = 0/4won (0%)

The results are night and day. When you hit a return lob, it’s so important to first make it bounce and, secondly, not let the server’s partner get immediately involved.

SUMMARY

Look for these specific patterns of play in today’s doubles final at noon. I also watched Purcell and Thompson play a few matches leading into the final, and they tend to play more traditional doubles, primarily hitting their returns and looking for opportunities to get to the net. Expect them to mix in some lob returns as well.

It will be fun to update this page with lob return data after the final.

Have a great match, gentlemen!

Craig

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.

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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!

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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.

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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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Fifty Nine Return Lobs In One US Open Doubles Match