Thursday, 15 March 2012 / Published in Forehands, Indian Wells, John Isner, Roger Federer

Indian Wells Rewind. Federer Finding Forehands

You never exactly know when your chances are going to come, if at all, to have a chance 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 failed to convert any of them, and he would not see another break point for the entire match, losing 7-6 (7), 6-3 in cool, blustery conditions.

In Federer’s second service game, Isner worked his way to a 40-15 lead after Federer netted a drop shot and then sprayed regulation forehand and backhand groundstrokes. Here’s how Federer dug his way out of the hole.

15-40. Federer bombed a first serve down the T. Isner blocked it deep back to Federer’s backhand corner & the Swiss ran all the way outside the alley in the Ad court to upgrade a backhand to a forehand, hitting cross-court deep back to Isner’s backhand. Isner saw an open court down the line and went for it. The backhand found the net.
30-40. Federer made his first serve down the T and then hit five straight forehands standing in the Ad court to force another backhand error from Isner.
Ad Out. Isner’s third break again saw Federer making a first serve, then dominating the Ad court with his forehand. He finished the point at the net with an overhead winner.

Three break points gone in a flash.

An analysis of the three break points reveals the brilliance of Federer and how he plays the big points on his terms.

Federer hit seven forehands & an overhead on the three break points. He didn’t hit a single backhand.
Isner, on the other hand, hit six backhands and four forehands (including returns), and all were from deep in the court and under pressure.

IMPROVE YOUR GAME IN THE BIG MOMENTS

Webinar 11: Break Points And Tie-Breaks

Webinar 13: How Not to Lose

Webinar 22: Run-Around Forehands

Webinar 29: Match Rituals

Webinar 54: First Point Of The Game

Federer’s determination to turn backhands into forehands is a hidden strength of his game and enables him to essentially only play half the court (Ad court) while his opponent has to respect and play the entire court. The main reason is the dominance of Federer’s Ad court forehands. The quality of the shot makes it virtually impossible for an opponent to go down the line with their backhand to hurt him because they are pushed too far back behind the baseline.

If the backhand down the line is not hit perfectly, opponents now leave the Deuce court angle wide open for Federer’s forehand on the next shot. It’s a no-win situation that very few players know how to diffuse. Federer’s forehand was the most dominant shot in the match, with 14 winners (Isner had five), and helped him win around two out of three of all baseline rallies.

Federer made 15 forehand errors (Isner had 16), but his forehand got better as the match developed – only making 5 errors in the second set.

The tiebreak in the opening set provided mini breaks for both players, but Isner would not see a set point. Isner’s main opportunity to win the breaker slipped through his hands when serving at 7-7. He received the short ball he wanted from Federer’s backhand slice return of serve. The ball barely made it over the net, and Isner was quick to move forward and hit a solid approach deep to Federer’s backhand in the Ad court.

Federer stretched for his backhand passing shot but did not hit it cleanly as it floated high to Isner’s backhand volley. Isner could have hit it, but decided to let the knuckleball go, hoping it would sail long with the wind. It landed dead in the middle of the baseline.

Federer would convert his fourth set point when Isner missed his backhand return long off a tough, wide serve in the Ad court. Federer’s first serve was almost perfect for the match as he won 33/35 (94%), including 13/13 (100%) in the second set. In fact, Federer only dropped one point total on serve for the entire second set.

Isner will build confidence by making his first Masters 1000 final and being ranked in the top 10 in the world for the first time this week. He missed his opportunities against Federer, but it’s not going to take long before more come his way.

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.