Friday, 18 March 2022 / Published in ATP Tour, Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve

Nadal def. Kyrgios. Returning & Rallying. What Were Their Targets?

Rafael Nadal def. Nick Kyrgios 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-4

Where you return serve and where you rally are not the exact locations.

The 2022 Indian Wells quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios offers a prime example of players’ different targets when returning a serve and developing a rally.

Return Of Serve

Players generally have a defensive mindset when returning first serves. The immediate goal is to return the ball back into the court and avoid an error. The highest percentage place to aim is right down the middle of the court, taking the singles sidelines out of the equation. Returning second serves is a more offensive situation, in which you can still attack deep down the middle and have greater confidence going wider.

2022 Indian Wells: Nadal v Kyrgios Return Location (Hawk-Eye)

As you can see from the Hawk-Eye graphics above, both Nadal and Kyrgios targeted the middle third of the court the most when returning serve.

Nadal hit 50% of his returns right down the middle of the court, while Kyrgios hit 53%. The explicit goal is to get the ball in the court and land it in the middle of a big target. This strategy also yields a strong secondary element, as it does not automatically provide an angle for the server to attack with.

The second-highest location for each returner was the backhand third of the court. Nadal hit 29% of his returns to the wide third of the court to Kyrgios’ backhand, while Kyrgios directed 34% to Nadal’s backhand third of the court.

Middle first. Backhand second. Forehand last.

Both players employed this strategy. Solid logic.

Once the return was put back in play, hitting down the middle third of the court was no longer the preferred option, as you will see from the Hawk-Eye graphics below.

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2022 Indian Wells: Nadal v Kyrgios Rally Location

Nadal only hit 14% of his rally balls down the middle third of the court, while Kyrgios was a little higher at 21%. The primary target for both players was their opponent’s backhand. Nadal hit 49% of all groundstrokes at the wide third of the court to Kyrgios’ backhand, while Kyrgios hit 44% of his shots to out wide to Nadal’s backhand.

There is clear logic for this change in strategy between returning and rallying.

In the 25 Golden Rules of Singles Strategy, the role of the forehand and backhand are explained with a sword and shield metaphor. The forehand is the sword you attack with the most, and the backhand is the shield you generally defend with.

Two different shots. Two different roles.

What Nadal and Kyrgios were both trying to do was match up their sword with the opponent’s shield. That’s the optimal way to attack.

Here’s the average forehand and backhand speed for the match.

Average Forehand Speed

Nadal = 71 mph
Kyrgios = 73 mph

Average Backhand Speed

Nadal = 66 mph
Kyrgios = 68 mph

Both players averaged hitting forehands harder than backhands, and both players hit more total forehands than backhands.

Nadal Groundstrokes

Forehands = 138
Backhands = 119

Kyrgios Groundstrokes

Forehands = 168
Backhands = 93

The No. 1 goal of the forehand is to force an error. The No. 1 goal of the backhand is not to miss.

Does the return and groundstroke strategy from Nadal and Kyrgios wash down to the amateur level? You bet it does! Returning middle is an effective way to put more balls in the court and cut down angles. Taking your forehand to your opponent’s backhand will also give you a strategic edge from the back of the court as well.

Best,

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
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Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

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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.