Tennis Evolution

Show Notes Hi, it’s Jeff here, and I want to talk to you about Novak Djokovic, probably having, arguably, the best year ever in pro tennis, and has kind of done so quietly. I mean here’s a guy that won 3 Grand Slams, he didn’t play great during the hardcore season, but he ended up winning the U.S. Open just by, really, shear heart and battling, beating Federer in the final, and then, he just cleaned up in the indoors season, like he always does, when people aren’t really noticing as much. But here’s a guy who, week-in and week-out, continues to stay motivated. And there are 2 things that I want to point out today. Number 1: here’s a guy who is number 1 in the world, and he’s always being hunted. He’s never the hunter. He’s always the favorite. He always has players coming after him, playing their best, doing whatever they can to frustrate him, get him off his game, and they simply can’t do it. He’s just too good, and I have so much admiration for this, because there were times, in my career, when I was the favorite, and I can tell you that I felt the pressure. I played tight. I played not to lose, and here he is, week-in and week-out, able to do it. It just shows me that he has the mindpower. He has the mindset. He has disciplined his mind to not be affected by pressure the way that most athletes are at different times. He’s simply the most mentally sound player on the tour, which is a bit ironic, because we know him from several years ago being kind of a basket case. So, he’s really developed that skill, and it is a skill. It’s not like he was born with this. He developed this skill to be the toughest, mentally, to be the player that has the strongest mindset, that does not choke under pressure. Even if he does get a little tight, he always seems to find a way. So, I’m so impressed with that. The second concept I want to talk about is, how does he keep that motivation to win week-in and week-out? I mean I played on the pro tour, I won challenges, I won college events, and inevitably, the week after winning a tournament, you have a natural let-down. Your ego gets the best of you, you kind of think “Hey, I won a tournament. I can let down my guard. I’ve earned it,” but what’s so impressive with Djokovic is this guy keeps winning week-in and week-out. I mean 10 titles this year, I mean numerous titles every year, multiple Grand Slams, and he’s able to come back the following week and win again, or a couple weeks later and win again. And, I just think he is so focused on breaking Roger Federer’s record, that nothing’s going to stop him. Even some devastating losses that he’s had over the years, nothing is going to stop him. And what’s even bigger than him having that mindset that he wants to be the b

Show Notes Hey, it’s Jeff here, and today, I want to talk to you about a certain aspect of tennis that is very misunderstood, and it’s something that I’m very passionate about changing for the better. And that’s transition footwork. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I was asked to teach 3 transition footwork classes at the U.S Tennis Congress in Tucson, and TJ Simers asked me to teach these classes because he knew that I’m very passionate about teaching footwork, and I feel very comfortable teaching it. And what I realized in teaching these recreational players, where there were 4 players on the court for these 75 classes, is that almost every recreational player doesn’t understand how to move from the baseline to the net. There are many misconceptions out there. There are many coaches teaching players to move forward the incorrect way. It’s really sad, because it doesn’t have to be this difficult. You can understand transition footwork. You can implement it. I don’t care if you’re a beginner, an intermediate, advanced player, I don’t care if you’re 10 years old, 30 years old, 50 years old, 80 years old. You can learn how to do this. Now, you might not be able to do all of the footwork patterns that I teach when it comes to transition footwork, but you certainly can do 1 or 2 of them that can make a tremendous difference. It’s all about becoming more rhythmic, more dynamic, improving your balance, being able to flow through the ball. All of these aspects that I don’t hear people teaching, or I don’t hear players understanding, I don’t see them understanding when I watch them move, there’s a disconnect. There’s something off with the way that we perceive how tennis is taught the way it is actually taught, the way it’s implemented. And, of course, I am on this mission to change it, because I just see so much misinformation out there. So, if you have questions about transition footwork, how to move forward efficiently, gracefully, how to move with rhythm, you can reply to this email where you’re listening to this audio, and you can ask me questions. I’ll steer you in the right direction. But, just know that sometimes, the difference between winning or losing, or sometimes, the difference between jumping in other levels, it might not have to do with your forehand, or your backhand, or your serve. It could have to do with your footwork, and specifically, learning how to play more attacking tennis, going from the baseline to the net. So, hopefully, you enjoyed today’s audio, and I look forward to seeing you at the next email, or at the next audio. Continue to send me feedback. Let me know how I can help you on what questions or comments you have. I’m super passionate about helping you all out there. So, I will see you or talk to you soon.    

Show Notes After the State Finals in Pueblo last week, I got a text message from one of the players that I was watching, that happened to lose his State Final match, and his singles position. Of course, he was upset about the loss, coming in 2nd place, he wanted to be a state champion, right? He’s a competitor. But I was interested to hear that after the match, he said in his text: “I was so nervous, Jeff. I didn’t know what to do.” …and that brings up a couple of things that I want to talk about today. Number 1, you have to accept. You have to have acceptance around the fact that you are going to be nervous, especially in a big match. Oftentimes, the bigger the match, the more nervous you’re going to be. So, acceptance is huge, not shying away from it, not being upset that you’re nervous, and also not treating nervousness as a bad thing. Embrace the nervousness. Know that that nervousness is getting your adrenaline flowing, getting you ready to play, getting you in position to actually play your best tennis, if you look at nervousness as a positive instead of a negative. Now, knowing that you’re going to be nervous, you have to have a plan, and too often, players are surprised when they get nervous, and then they panic, and this is what happened in this particular case, and I don’t want it to happen to you going forward. So, you have to have a plan. So, what do I mean by that? Well, I like to have a strategic plan, and I like to have a technical plan on the technical side. For example, if I didn’t know that I’m going to be nervous, there’s a good chance I could pull off the ball or I could hit the ball short. So, for me, when I’m nervous, I commit to catching the racket on my forehand side, and to finishing high over my shoulder, so that way, I know I’m going to have a stable finish, and I’m going to hit the ball deeper when I finish higher, instead of finishing across my body. That’s something that works for me. So, I know before the match starts that that’s going to be a focal point in my game from a technical standpoint. A very simple tip: just finish high, catch the racket on the forehand. Now, if you don’t plan ahead, and then you notice you’re hitting the ball short on your forehand, then you can actually, hopefully, remember to do that during the match. Now, strategically, you want to find out what your opponent’s weaker side is: forehand or backhand? It’s very simple. By the time you play 15, 20, 30 minutes, you should know, even if you’ve never seen this player before, which side is weaker. In this particular match, the opponent’s forehand was weaker, but yet, I saw my

Show Notes Hey there, it’s Jeff, and I hope you’re having a great week so far. I’ve been having a great week myself; doing a lot of filming, a lot of writing, and it’s been a ton of fun. But, today, I want to talk about Eugenie Bouchard. This young lady is a very, very gifted tennis player: broke the top 10 in the world last year with her coach Nick Saviano, and then, they parted ways at the end of 2014. And, she started working with a new coach, and it didn’t work out. And then, she went to the U.S. Open, and she actually was playing really well with a little bit of mentorship from Jimmy Connors, kind of putting that fire and that belief back inside her. And she was on her way, and then, she had an unfortunate accident. She fell in the locker room at the U.S. Open, and hit her head, and had a concussion, and, gosh. What a sad thing to see for someone who is trying to get back, is working so hard to be the best player that she can be, and this week, she was over in Asia, playing in a WTA event, and she had to stop, because she got dizzy out in the court. And, a couple things I thought about there: number 1, clearly, this was a significant concussion at the U.S. Open, which was in the first week of September. We’re only 4 weeks after that event, and she’s already in Asia, trying to compete. I think that’s a big mistake. It’s one thing to play in Quebec City or Montreal, because she’s from Canada. And it’s another thing to get on a plane and fly to Chicago and play an event. But to fly halfway around the world when you’re still not sure if you feel right? I really question the decision-making there, either from the doctors, or from her coaches, or her trainers, or even from her. I mean, she’s young, so, she’s probably not equipped to make a decision like that. So, I really have to look at her handlers, and her team, and wonder: gosh. Why make that decision? Why put her on a plane and have her fly halfway around the world? Put her on a small tournament in the U.S. or in Canada, even if it’s a 50,000-dollar event. See how she feels, because, competing at such a high level requires you to be at a hundred percent, and when you have a closed-head injury, that’s very significant. So, that was kind of… at front of mind, this week, when I saw that result over in Asia, and I just really felt for her, because I think some different decision should have been made in that case. So, anyway, I just wanted to share my perspective on that, and I hope you have a great rest of the week, a great weekend, and get out on the court, keep working on your game. And, as always, feel free to send me emails, comments, let me know how I can best serve you. Alright, we’ll see you at the next email, or at the next audio lesson.    

Show Notes Hi, it’s Jeff here, and today, I want to talk about a fatal serve return mistake that Roger Federer made in the 2015 U.S. Open against Novak Djokovic. Now, in this match, Roger Federer was returning second serves from on the baseline, or just inside the baseline. Now, that’s an aggressive stance, and that’s a position that we saw Roger in most of the summer. And from this position, he was very aggressive on his return of serve: in Cincinnati, and all throughout the U.S. Open. He was taking solid cuts at his backhand, he was being aggressive on his forehand, dictating, looking to move forward either to come in behind the return or to come in early in the point, to knock off winning volleys, or—not winning approach, but in this match, Roger got tentative. Yes, Roger Federer is human. He got nervous, and as he stood on the baseline, or just inside the baseline, he was much more tentative with his swings, and when he did that, the ball sat up more. He wasn’t putting Novak Djokovic on the defensive right away, and Novak, such a good player—of course, the best player in the world, he could take those more tentative returns and start to dictate. So, the moral of the story is that if you’re going to stand on the baseline, or inside the baseline, to hit your opponent’s second serve, you’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to think that you’re going to have that aggressive mindset and take control of the point early. It doesn’t do any good for you to stand just inside the baseline and to be passive with the return, because what will happen is your opponent will take that next shot and start running you or hit the ball behind you, and also getting you to back pedal or to move backwards, because if you’re returning from inside the baseline, you have to retreat on the next shot to get back into position. I used to see Andy Roddick do this all the time. He would stand inside the baseline, and then, he really wouldn’t go after his backhand or even his forehand, and then, he was scrambling on the next ball. I feel that returners, if they’re going to take a big cut at the ball, if they’re a little bit nervous, they should actually move back a few feet behind the baseline and take a full cut at the ball. Don’t get jammed on those returns in your body when you’re standing just inside the baseline. Give yourself more space, especially if you’re feeling tentative. Now, there is one point, in particular, in this match, in the deuce court, where Djokovic served to Federer’s backhand closer to the tee, and Federer actually tried to move around his backhand and hit a forehand. He got so jammed, he looked terrible on that return. I mean he looked like a rec player that really struggled with the returns. And you just don’t see that from a guy like Roger, and I

Show Notes Hey, it’s Jeff here, and I wanted to circle back, and talk about the U.S. Open again. It’s been a couple of weeks, and I didn’t really have a chance to summarize a few of my thoughts and observations, and I actually want to talk about the women’s side of things today. I want to talk about Serena Williams in her semifinal match against Roberta Vinci. Now, Roberta Vinci is a Grand Slam champion, actually, in doubles, and has tremendous variety, and that’s what I want to talk about today in terms of strategy, and how she took down, arguably, one of—if not, the greatest woman player of all time, Serena Williams. And, Roberta used variety, she used her slice backhand, she’s a little more of an old-school player, and what I loved about that match in the semifinals is that she did use her slice backhand, she did bring Serena up to the net with shorter balls, or at least—not to the net, necessarily, but made her move forward into the court, and Serena does not like playing against slice. And so, many female players, now, do not use the slice, do not use off-speed low balls: the type of balls that give a lot of players fits, including Serena Williams, who’s number 1 in the world. So, it just goes to show you that just by adding in the slice, by making a player move forward, it’s a wonderful strategy used at all levels. It’s something that I used as a young junior player, and even as a college player, and sometimes as a pro, it’s being able to slice low and short, or, at least, be able to use the slice off-speed to throw off your opponent, can work really well. We saw that in the semifinals of that match. So, the next time you get on the court, see if you can slice a little bit more. Think of using more variety against your opponent. Do different things. One more thing I wanted to mention: Roberta Vinci also came to the net. She snuck into the net, she knocked off a volley, she was aggressive in that way, and that’s because she plays a lot of doubles. So, if you’re not playing a lot of doubles right now, play more, because it will round out your net game, it will help you with your transition. So, those are just a couple of observations that I had from the U.S. Open, particularly the women’s in the semifinals match between Vinci and Serena Williams. Slice that backhand more, use a variety, take pace off the ball to frustrate those hard hitters, and then, find ways to sneak in to the net. So, I really enjoyed sharing this with you today, and we will see you at the next email.    

Show Notes Hey, it’s Jeff here, and, wow. What a Friday. Freaky Friday in the tennis world, as Serena Williams was going for that elusive Grand Slam. So, many years have passed, and Steffi Graf did it in 1988. She’s playing little-known Roberta Vinci from Italy, ranked 43 in the world. Everyone said that this woman had no chance whatsoever to win today on the big stage in New York City, and she pulled off one of the biggest upsets, probably, in sports history. I mean, it really has to be right up there when you think about the magnitude of everything that was on the line. And Serena, I’ve been watching her the last couple of weeks. She’s been getting through her matches, but, in my opinion, she’s been playing scared. She’s been playing with fear. She’s been playing afraid, and not the type of tennis that you would want to be playing to finish out that Grand Slam. And then, to counter that to Roger Federer—and even Novak Djokovic, but Roger Federer, in particular, I mean this guy is playing loose and fancy free. He’s going for his shots, he’s playing aggressively, he’s serving better than ever, moving better than ever, and it’s a star contrast to these 2 great champions: Serena Williams, aged 33, soon to be 34, and Roger Federer at 34, both playing at the late stages of their career, but you’re seeing Federer trending upwards, because he’s got that joy. I see that love in the way that he plays. You can see it in his game: the way that he feels, the way that he interacts with the crowd, and the announcers, and his family, he’s just in a really good place. And with Serena, I’m not seeing that. So, it is a shame that Serena wasn’t able to pull off the Grand Slam, but some records aren’t meant to be broken, or some achievements aren’t meant to happen, and she still has had a wonderful career. and will probably continue to win and win more Grand Slam titles. But Federer, on the other hand, I’ve never been so jazzed about a player. I mean, it is a joy to watch a 34-year-old athlete, probably playing as well—if not better than he was playing when he was 24, which, no one would have said a couple of years ago. So, kudos to him for making the adjustments necessary to play the best tennis, probably, the best tennis of his life. I predict he’s going to beat Djokovic on Sunday in 4, maybe 5 sets. He’s got the movement, he’s got the confidence, and he’s got the serving. He’s moving forward really well, he’s hitting his one-handed backhand so much be

Show Notes Hey, it’s Jeff here, and I just finished watching the Quarter Final Match-Up between Serena and Venus Williams. Serena took it 6-3 in the third, she had a little hiccup in the second set: her level drops significantly, but I thought she played very solid in the first and third sets. She was much more composed tonight than I had seen in her previous matches. Actually, she was pretty good in her 4th round match against Madison Keys. but you just get the sense, now, that Serena has gotten over the hump when it comes to the anxiety and the nerves. Yes, she still has her moments, but she’s really settled in, and interestingly enough, playing her sister, she was probably more focused than she had been throughout the entire 2 weeks so far—the last week and a half. So, congratulations to Serena. She’s in the semifinals. And how about Venus Williams? Just came out swinging tonight, gave Serena all that she could handle, played loose, played free, but in the end, Serena was the better player. She is the better player, and she just has that will to win. I mean, there really isn’t anyone out there that can match her when it comes to wanting to win, and you match that with her—coupled with her amazing tennis ability, and it’s just almost too much to handle. So, she should have an easy match in the second round—excuse me. In the semifinals, against Vinci, and then, it’ll be the finals for her to win the coveted Grand Slam. She’s probably going to do it now. She has gotten through probably her toughest test tonight, and in the finals, she’ll probably come out swinging, playing very, very well. So, amazing night in tennis history. The Williams sisters have done so much for the sport of tennis, and it was an honor to just watch it and admire how much they’ve done for this great sport. I know that many of you are probably watching, enjoying the tennis, and we’ve got much more tennis ahead at the U.S. Open. So, ‘til the next audio. We’ll talk to you soon!    

Show Notes Isn’t this interesting? On Tuesday night, Serena Williams will continue to chase history. At 33 years of age, when most athletes are sliding downwards, Serena is playing some of her best tennis, and gunning for that elusive Grand Slam. Now, the last time the Grand Slam was won by a woman occurred in 1988, when Steffi Graf was 19 years old. Serena happened to be 6 at the time, and was just getting started playing tennis. Now, Steffi actually won the Golden Slam that year, because she won the Olympics as well. And now, Serena is just 3 matches away. She’s in the second week of the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the year. But, ironically, in her next encounter on Tuesday night, she must face her beloved sister Venus. Can you imagine the pressure, the awkwardness, that both of them must be feeling now? And when they end up playing on Tuesday night, under the lights in Arthur Ash Stadium, I mean, imagine: your big sister, that you’ve always looked up to, that you love dearly, will be trying to stop your chance, and your place in history? I would not wish that experience on any family. And, speaking of families, do you think Oracene and Richard Williams, the parents of Serena and Venus, were trailblazers? I mean, they defy the odds. They got there to Hudders, out of gang-infested Compton, California, and created an out-of-the-box environment for them to become champions. Say what you will about their approach, but their game plan more than worked. They raised 2 champion tennis players that have transformed the sport of tennis. Now, even though the careers of Serena and Venus have taken different paths, as Serena has elevated her game, and Venus has declined the last 5 years, they’re both to be acknowledged for their contribution to the game of tennis. And now, they play again on the world stage with history on the line. So, what do I think will happen on Tuesday night? I think, consciously or unconsciously, it will be very difficult for Venus to win this match, even if she is in position to come out with a victory. Venus seems to be such a kind-hearted soul, that I think deep down, she will want Serena to win the Grand Slam more than she’ll want to beat her little sister. Serena will win on Tuesday night, and will, most likely, go on to take the U.S. Open title to grab even a bigger piece of history in the sport of tennis. You can be sure I’ll be following the drama on Tuesday night, and there’s so much more to come in this historic week in the U.S. Open tennis.    

Show Notes Mardy Fish, you turned pro when you were 18 years old, and I have to admit that I doubted that decision. You clearly used something that I didn’t. I played you in the Bronx challenger right before the U.S. Open a few years into your pro career, and I actually beat you. I’m grateful I got you then, because our careers went in different directions, and I don’t think I would have beaten you later in your career. You broke the top 100 within a few years after turning pro, and you had a decent career, with some really flashy wins, some flashy, amazing performances, but you weren’t consistent enough. That talent wasn’t quite maximized, but in your late twenties, you had an epiphany. You met a woman that you ended up marrying, you moved to L.A., and you got serious about your career. You created a new structure, a new approach. You decided to give it everything you had. You dropped 30 pounds; you used to be over 200 pounds, now, you’re a hundred and 75, soaking wet. And all of this started happening around 2007, when I was coming off the tour and transitioning into coaching. So, I was watching you from afar, but I was noticing. You moved better. You could last longer in matches. You started winning a lot more. You broke the top 100 in the later stages of your career, and you kept getting better. You were the number-1-ranked American, surpassing Andy Roddick, your long-time friend and rival on point. Things were really looking up for you. Things were looking solid with your ability level, your big serve, your world-class backhand, your improved forehand, your core instincts, your volleys, your hands, your more-professional approach, your fitness level. You look like you were going to be a premier top contender for years to come. But then, something happened. You started feeling edgy, on and off the court. Your heart started to raise. You felt anxious, and everything you worked so hard to accomplish in the later stages of your career came crumbling down. You had so much anxiety at one point that you could not play anymore, even defaulting from a 4th round match against Roger Federer at the U.S. Open on Ashe stadium. You didn’t even take the court because of how anxious you felt on your way to that match. But, you did spend more time at home with your family, but this time, you really couldn’t do it alone. You had to have people around you. You spent more time with your family. You played more golf. In fact, you were so amazingly talented that you even tried to play a few pro golf events. I can’t imagine how all of this must have felt for you: the fear, the worry, the frustration, the p

Show Notes Hi, it’s Jeff here, and today, first day of the U.S. Open, it’s Monday, it’s really exciting to watch all the action in New York. Makes me remember all the good times I had playing there, and even last year, coaching James McGee to qualify and get to the first round of the U.S. Open. But I was watching a match today between 2 up and coming young American women: Sloane Stephens and Coco Vandeweghe. 2 young Americans, and I really had an interest in this match. I watched for about 20 to 30 minutes, and it was very clear to me early on that Coco Vandeweghe was the better player. She was playing at another level. Now, I know Sloane Stephens has really stabilized this year, with Nick Saviano running her ship, coaching her. They go back a long way. They took a break for a few years, and they got back together this year, and she’s really done a great job. She’s back. She’s into the top 30, and she looks like she’s moving forward. But Coco, today, she looked like she owned the court. I watched for about 20 or 30 minutes, as I mentioned, and she just looks solid. She looked aggressive. She was playing powerful tennis, and her serve and her groundstrokes were huge, and she was moving well. I mean, the key for her is if she feels like she’s moving well, if she is moving well, she is going to have some great results, and it was interesting to see. To my knowledge, the first on-air interview in the middle of a match, she won the first set, and they started asking her questions, and she was very poised, very confident, very focused. So, it was good for me to see, because I knew that she had made a quarter-final run at Wimbledon this year, but I hadn’t seen much of her, say, for a few points in a match against Maria Sharapova. It just so happened that last week, I read an article about how she made a big shift in her training in 2014. She had lost a match early in 2014, and she realized she should not have lost that match. She was very frustrated. She came home. She called her trainer and she said “Listen. I’ve got to stop focusing on my skills and my technique. I’ve got to focus more on my off-court trainer. I’ve got to get fitter. I’ve got to get more focused.” And so, she started training twice a day in a gym, focusing on improving her explosiveness, her footwork, her cardiovascular conditioning, her mobility, and her flexibility, among other things, and she also got much more disciplined with her diet, with her nutrition plan, and took that more seriously. She started sleeping more, and focusing more on her recovery. And out of that, she developed these routines that helped her create a more-strict schedule, if you will. Work-outs, tennis practice, and naps, recovery meals, ice baths, massages, you name it, she’s focusing on it. And, well, such a life as a pro tennis player. It’s n

Show Notes Hi, it’s Jeff here, and did you have a chance to see Roger Federer this past week in Cincinnati? Was that just one of the most inspiring displays of tennis that you’ve seen in a long time? If you didn’t see it, you’ve got to get on YouTube, and just YouTube-search “Federer Cincinnati 2015. You’re going to see a spectacular play from him. And, one tip that I want to give you today is that Roger Federer is getting out of his comfort zone, and that’s something that I want to ask you today: are you getting out of your comfort zone? And where he is getting out of his comfort zone, in particular, is with his return of serve. So, for so many years, he has been, in my opinion, passive with his return of serves. He’s been content with just getting the ball in play, starting the point, and then winning points in longer rallies. And now, he’s doing something very different. He’s actually attacking second serves, which I’ve been calling for for years. So, way to go, Roger, for committing to getting out of your comfort zone and attacking the second serve. And, one play that he’s using is what I call the “Short-Hop Return Play,” which, to be quite honest, I’ve never seen before. I’ve never seen a pro take a big second serve from the opponent, and almost short-hop it at the service line. He is literally moving forward several feet from the baseline, right up to the service line, short-hopping the return, and then coming to the net, and, it’s surprising his opponents. It’s throwing them off. A lot of times, he doesn’t even hit a great return, and he almost kind of bluffs by coming to the net, and his opponent is actually completely surprised and misses that first shot. So, there’s that surprise element, where the server is not ready for what you’re going to do, and when you return serve and do something different, it throws them off, or it throws her off. And so, what’s going to happen is not only are you going to get errors on that point where you surprise them but, you might start to get them to double-fault more, to lose more points with their serve, and to press more. And the other benefit is you actually might get your opponent to take pace off of the first serve. So, by taking pace off of the first serve, you have a better chance of getting more returns back into place. So, not only could you start getting more double-faults, but you don’t have to deal with big first serves. So, the whole idea is to get inside the opponent’s head when you’re returning, to do something different: Can you take the return earlier? Can you move back? Can you run around your backhand and hit forehands when you do this?