TennisOne Lessons
Smart and Not-So-Smart Shots at Wimbledon Paul Fein “The difference between a great player and a good one is that the great player misses fewer easy shots.” –
Djokovic was prudent enough not to divulge strategy or tactics. However, just as his technique, fitness and mental game have improved, so has his shot selection. That’s crucial in a grueling, fast-paced sport where players must make split-second decisions on almost every shot, except the serve. Djokovic and ladies’ champion Petra Kvitova, among others, excelled at making the right shot at the right time, while some players suffered “brain cramps” and made dreadful, costly decisions. Let’s take a look at smart and stupid shots from the memorable Wimbledon Championships and what we can learn from them. Djokovic vs. Nadal (final) Even though Djokovic had beaten Nadal twice on hard courts and twice on clay without a loss this season, he acknowledged in a Grand Slam event, “it’s totally different, it’s best of five sets.” True enough. Not only had Nadal led 5-0 in their personal rivalry in Grand Slam matches, but he also led 2-0 on grass. So, as superbly as Djokovic had performed for three of the four sets in the Wimbledon final, closing the deal against Nadal, renowned for his physical and mental strength, could have proved difficult with the pressure and stakes so high. When Djokovic served at 5-3, 30-all in the fourth set, he did something for only the third time in the entire match: he served and volleyed! Why did Djokovic, who had played smart, high-percentage tennis throughout the final–aside from two drop shots that backfired–use this ploy? First, he wanted to use one of his strengths, his first serve, against Nadal’s biggest weakness, his backhand service return against swerving, slice serves in the deuce court. Second, he knew–based on past experience–that Nadal, another high-percentage player, would almost certainly slice his backhand serve return rather than risk going for a big shot. Third, he wanted to surprise Nadal, which he did. The stratagem worked to perfection. His slice serve struck the corner of the service box and pulled a lunging Nadal outside the alley where he was so stretched out he could only float a tame return. Djokovic stung a sharp backhand volley crosscourt for an easy winner. Rather pleased with his cleverness, the extroverted Djokovic pointed to his head several times. On championship point, the 24-year-old Djokovic sensibly stuck with his winning strategy of controlled aggression. He served again to Nadal’s backhand and pummeled the short return into Nadal’s backhand corner and raced to the net. When Nadal’s passing shot landed far beyond the baseline, the new No. 1 seized what McEnroe called “by far the biggest match in Novak Djokovic’s life.”
Kvitova vs. Sharapova (final)
To serve or return serve, that is the question when a player wins the coin toss. Consider the cogent comments of 39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King. “I almost always served first, probably 85 percent of the time. In my day – especially when we had so many matches on grass – it was better that way. Today I would receive much, much more,” says King, former captain of the U.S. Fed Cup and Olympic teams. “The equipment has changed so much that in many situations there are advantages to receiving and trying to get an early break. Also, surface plays a very important role in today’s game. Given those two elements, I would have to evaluate the serve/receive choice more carefully before the match. Maria Sharapova, who has parlayed her brains as well as her looks to garner $25 million in endorsements annually, did exactly that and elected to receive against big-serving Petra Kvitova. She did that for three reasons, two objective and one subjective. First, in winning six matches, all in straight sets, Sharapova, one of the game’s best serve returners, broke her opponents’ serves an astonishing 60 percent of the time. Second, she struggled on her own serve, committing 32 doubles faults, low-lighted by 13 in the semifinals against Sabine Lisicki. Third, she thought 21-year-old Kvitova might falter nervously in the first game of her maiden Grand Slam final. Kvitova committed an unforced forehand error to fall behind love-15, and then the more experienced Sharapova forced her into three more errors to break serve. Smart move for the Russian blonde. Kvitova capitalized on her powerful and accurate first serve to register 35 aces and lose serve only four times en route to the final. The effectiveness of her lefty serve, though, was enhanced by its variety, particularly in the ad court. Positioned about eight feet away from the center strip, the 6’ Czech swerved wicked slice serves that pulled Sharapova into the alley or even beyond it. With Sharapova, not known for her speed or agility, out of position, Kvitova dictated many points. Forced to guard against that serve, Sharapova stood almost in the alley. That allowed Kvitova to belt aces and service winners up the middle. Kvitova confounded her long-armed opponent even more by hitting a few slice serves into Sharapova’s body to handcuff her. Not surprisingly, smart-serving Kvitova won 72 percent of her first serve points against Sharapova and 73 percent against Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals.
Djokovic vs. Tsonga (semifinals) TV analysts and journalists love to quote Terence’s maxim, “Fortune favors the brave.” More than ever, tennis does reward aggressive shotmaking. It doesn’t reward the reckless, though, as flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga found out. What was Tsonga possibly thinking at 5-4, deuce in the opening set when he blasted a second serve 133 miles per hour and double-faulted? To complete his self-destruction, Tsonga broke his own serve when he went for a forehand winner on the next point and over-hit that, too. A respected New York Times scribe, Geoff MacDonald, defended Tsonga: “The decision by Tsonga was not as much of a gamble as one might think” and “is part of Tsonga’s determination to play tennis on his own terms.” MacDonald contrasts Tsonga with Djokovic and Nadal, and inaccurately labels the Wimbledon finalists “two supreme grinders.” MacDonald also wrongly asserts “a player needs to use a style that suits his personality.” In fact, players often possess games that differ from or are even opposite from their personalities. For example, all-time greats Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg had reserved personalities but highly aggressive games. The same is true for Kvitova. While personality can play a role, often physique, athletic ability, strokes and coaching assume a much bigger role in the creation of a player’s game. In the crucial third-set tiebreaker of Djokovic’s 7-6, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory, Tsonga tried a foolish (and mediocre) drop shot approach that the speedy Serb anticipated and easily put away. Later in the tiebreaker, the flashy Tsonga hit a mediocre drop volley that also ended badly – with a Djokovic backhand passing shot winner. Tsonga managed to win the tiebreaker 11-9 despite the poor shot selection. “Tsonga at his best is danger personified,” asserts MacDonald. By definition, every power player is dangerous. But no one can flout “percentage tennis” regularly without being more of an error-plagued danger to themselves than to opponents. Tsonga, who upset the declining Federer in the quarters, should look in the mirror and ask himself if he would rather indulge himself and please crowds with dazzling but erratic shots, or win more matches.
Venus Williams vs. Date-Krumm (second round) What chance did Kimiko Date-Krumm, a 5’4”, 40-year-old who played her first Wimbledon way back in 1989, have against 6’ 1 ½” Venus Williams, a five-time singles champion? On paper, almost none, even though Venus had played only one tournament since being sidelined with a hip injury incurred at the Australian Open in January. Venus eventually prevailed 6-7, 6-3, 8-6, but the match should serve as a blueprint for outgunned, undersized underdogs to study and follow. The first lesson underdogs can learn is to start fast. Date-Krumm broke Venus at love to go ahead 1-0, then held serve at 30 for a 2-0 lead, and, shockingly, again broke Venus at 15 to lead 3-0. Second, the Japanese veteran positioned herself on or just behind the baseline during rallies. That forced Venus to react quickly to Date-Krumm’s shots even though Venus hit harder. Third, Date-Krumm did that by blocking back Venus’ explosive first serve and shortening her backswing against Venus’s powerful groundstrokes. Fourth, Date-Krumm was a consummate counter-puncher, which rushed Venus even more. She ran around her backhand to hit inside-out forehand winners. She mixed things up by attacking short balls and volleying. She also kept Venus, whose open-stance backhand and flawed forehand are error-prone, off-balance with low-bouncing slice backhands. Surprisingly fit and fast, the ageless Date-Krumm also played scrambling, skillful defense to make Venus hit that extra shot or two. Fifth, even Date-Krumm’s lightweight first serve, averaging only 89 miles per hour (compared to Venus’ 104), became a weapon when she served wide and quickly stroked the Venus return down the other sideline. Sixth, she surprised Venus by wrong-footing her on volleys and also by occasionally serving and volleying, even when she was down break point while leading 5-2 in the first set. “She’s a tricky player, she has great touch, and she sneaks into the net when you don’t expect it, and she places the ball beautifully,” praised 18-time major winner Chris Evert, an ESPN analyst. “She’s a smart, smart player.” Three impressive Date-Krumm statistics were as surprising as they were revealing. She won 63 percent (34 of 54) of her net approaches, which was better than Venus’ 59 percent (24 of 41). She won an incredible 61 percent (22 of 36) of her second serve points, despite averaging only 80 miles per hour. And she whacked 46 winners, one more than Venus. “It’s unbelievable high-quality for a second-round match,” praised Evert. Equally impressed, Venus said, “She doesn’t play anywhere near her age.” More Smart and Not-So-Smart Shots
On-court coaching is not allowed for women at Grand Slam events (unlike WTA Tour events), but Sabine Lisicki showed her self-reliance and tactical smarts, especially late in the deciding set of her 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 second round upset over third-seeded Li Na. When French Open champion Li, a streaky player, often erred on her aggressive forehand, her less consistent side, Lisicki kept directing her shots there to elicit errors. Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion and runner-up this year, normally capitalizes on opponents’ vulnerabilities, but she failed to do that against less-versatile Austrian Tamira Paszek and was upset 3-6, 6-4, 11-9. As Evert pointed out, “Schiavone should have pressured Paszek more on her second serve and not let her get away with an 82 miles an hour second serve, and in a lot of cases, a lot less.” Ryan Harrison, a fiery, 19-year-old American, wasn’t experienced or complete enough to beat seventh-seeded David Ferrer, but he extended the veteran Spaniard to 6-7, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. He also out-smarted Ferrer on set point in the opening set tiebreaker. Harrison smacked a second serve wide in the ad court to pull Ferrer way off the court, and then he hit a crisp backhand volley winner into the open court. The tactic was doubly clever because it completely surprised Ferrer and it capitalized on Harrison’s strong second serve, which had been averaging 107 mph. Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion who is rarely a factor at major tournaments now, nearly upset fifth-seeded Robin Soderling, going down 6-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Hewitt employed two smart shots in particular. His down-the-line backhand kept the less-agile Soderling off-balance and running and sometimes set up an approach shot to Soderling’s vulnerable backhand. Hewitt also served into the 6’4”, long-armed and heavy-footed Soderling’s body, which produced frequent return errors.
Grigor Dimitrov, a 20-year-old Bulgarian so talented his style is often likened to Federer’s, had played sensibly for nearly four hours against 12th-seeded Tsonga in a second-round duel filled with sensational exchanges. At 8-all in the fourth-set tiebreaker, Tsonga lofted a backhand lob over Dimitrov’s backhand side. Dimitrov foolishly tried a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs trick shot that landed in the middle of the net. Since he had a 100-to-1 chance of winning the point that way, he should have stroked a high, defensive lob. Tsonga took the next point and the match 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6. As ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe said, “That was no time for show-time.” Can you name the player ESPN analyst Cliff Drydale lavished this praise on? “He’s really a tennis player’s tennis player, because if you watch him, you don’t quite understand his genius.” He’s Australia’s Great New Hope, Bernard Tomic. The youngest player in the main draw at 18, 6’5” qualifier Tomic upset 29th-seed Nicolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, 5th-seeded Robin Soderling and Xavier Malisse before Djokovic struggled to stop him in an intriguing, four-set quarterfinal. “It’s bizarre to play him. He has a game that’s a bit like Murray,” explained Malisse. “He kind of lulls you to sleep, and then suddenly he hits a big backhand down the line.” Wimbledon demonstrated once again that even world-class players suffer mental lapses from lack of concentration, poise and confidence or from misguided showmanship. The great ones like Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, though, learn from their shot selection mistakes and rarely commit them when sets and matches hang in the balance. In fact, as Jack Kramer pointed out, their smart, calculated decision-making ranks among their greatest assets. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Paul Fein's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.
Paul Fein Paul Fein has received more than 30 writing awards and authored three books, Tennis Confidential: Today’s Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies, You Can Quote Me on That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights, and Zingers, and Tennis Confidential II: More of Today’s Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies. Fein is also a USPTA-certified teaching pro and coach with a Pro-1 rating, former director of the Springfield (Mass.) Satellite Tournament, a former top 10-ranked men’s open New England tournament player, and currently a No. 1-ranked Super Senior player in New England. |
