Wednesday, 08 May 2024 / Published in Rafael Nadal, Rome

Rafael Nadal Rome Strategy Lesson: How To Open The Court

G’day From Rome,

I watched Rafael Nadal and Francisco Cerundolo play a couple of practice sets two days ago and really enjoyed watching Rafa working to elevate his game for one last push on the Roman clay in 2024.

The following point exemplifies how smart Rafa is with his strategy. He played a very simple pattern and dominated it while taking on almost no risk.

This point represents a highly repeatable pattern that players at all levels of our game can run. Yes, please copy and paste at home!!

This one point also serves as a lesson on taking advantage of small errors that your opponent may make. It’s all about opponent awareness, court position, climbing the ladder, and finishing at the front of the court.

Let’s get to it!

SHOT 1: FRANCISCO’S RETURN POSITION

Look at where Francisco is standing to return serve in the picture below. It’s the beginning of the end.

His left foot is in the middle of the alley, but his right foot is on the other side of the extended singles line, still in singles court.

Rafa sees this. Rafa sees everything.

Francisco should be standing with two feet in the alley AT LEAST! Possibly even his left foot outside the extended doubles line to counter Rafa’s extreme slice.

Here’s the KEY. You can’t cover everything, so the default is to cover the server’s primary pattern, which, for Rafa, is absolutely, positively out wide in the Ad court. Francisco is hedging his bets with this court position. He is a little wide but will still have to move to his left if the serve is good. He is trying to cover everything, which will ultimately come back to hurt him.

MAKE MATCH STRATEGY A STRENGTH OF YOUR GAME

Webinar 1: Winning Singles Strategy

Webinar 45: How To Build A Point

Webinar 16: Serve +1 Strategy

Webinar 13: How Not To Lose

Webinar 29: Match Rituals

SHOT 2: RAFA’S CAN OPENER

Francisco’s court position is begging to be compromised – on his first shot of the rally.

Look where he is making contact: with two feet standing in the extended alley. That’s where he is going to make contact with the serve almost all the time against Rafa returning in the Ad court.

It begs the question of why he didn’t stand here in the first place?

Now, Francsico has his weight and balance leaning out of the court instead of into it, which is going to take away precious tenths of seconds as he tries to recover for his Return +1 shot. It’s also not going to allow him to put his full weight behind the ball and hit a penetrating return. It’s not an ideal way to start the point against The King Of Clay.

Francisco’s solution is to stand wider to begin the point. That way, his energy will go forward to the ball, his return will have more purchase, and he can easily flow back into the middle of the court for his next shot.

SHOT 3: RAFA’S SERVE +1 FOREHAND

Francisco is now poorly positioned and balanced to counter this brutal Serve +1 forehand from Rafa.

Francsico’s return is far from ideal. It’s right down the middle of the court but is not hurting Rafa with depth, time, or power.

Rafa will have his way with this shot, and Francisco will slip further behind in the point. Look at Francisco’s balance and energy. He should have his body facing completely forward and his feet wide to quickly push off to his left or right. Instead, his feet are too close together, and he is not executing shuffle steps, which would enable him to be as fast as possible for the next shot.

SHOT 4: FRANCISCO’S DEFENSIVE FOREHAND

Trouble has landed right in Francisco’s lap.

Because he gambled and didn’t stand wide enough, Francisco had to move to his left to hit the ball. Therefore, he wasn’t able to do much with it, and Rafa immediately made him pay.

Now, look at Francisco deep in Deuce court. He is on the run, sliding, and forced to hit a defensive forehand slice. And he also feels Rafa charging the net like a Spanish bull. The world is closing in fast on Francsico and he has very few options to climb out of this immediate hole.

SHOT 5: RAFA’S EASY BACKHAND VOLLEY

Francisco’s goose is cooked.

Francisco is about as far back as you can be, and Rafa is slightly inside the service box with a gift of a backhand volley.

You can see that it will be a miracle for Francisco to turn the tables and win the point. Rafa has “climbed the ladder” successfully to this moment in time, but Francisco dug his own hole by not standing wide enough in the Ad court so he could move forward to the return instead of just sideways.

SHOT 6: FRANCISCO’S BACKHAND ERROR

Francisco ran hard, barely got to the ball, and missed his backhand well wide cross court. He really had no chance to get it back in the court.

Rafa hit a normal serve, a powerful Serve +1 forehand, and a simple volley to win the point. EVERYTHING was high percentage. Everything was repeatable. Everything was about “climbing the ladder” and slightly increasing the win percentages instead of attempting an all-or-nothing shot at any stage during the point.

SUMMARY

Court position matters.

I am also a lefty and love to see my opponent not stand wide enough in the Ad court to cover my slider. And to add to that – when an opponent DOES stand very wide and visually takes it away, it affects my serve locations. I tend to serve more down the T and miss more first serves as a result. I give my opponent too many looks at second serves in the Ad court, which is really putting me in a hole.

Here are the five big takeaways.

Where you stand matters; you can visually get into the opponent’s head and make them switch to their secondary serve locations.
You can’t cover everything. Look to take away the opponent’s strengths first.
Getting pulled off the court can really hurt for the next shot. It opens up holes on the other side of the court and also behind you as you run hard to cover your earlier mistake.
Once you fall behind in the point, it’s tough to get back to even. Do everything you can to avoid falling behind in the first place.
Once you are standing closer to the fence than the baseline when defending, your chance of winning the point is incredibly low. Once you yield court position, it’s often best to throw up a lob as high as you can to buy time to get back into the court and into the point. Trying to hit a “regular” ball from the back fence is not going to end well.

All the best from Rome!

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.

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.