The Flat Track Bully Goes Down

I have a confession to make, I didn’t see all of the Federer v Tsonga match. But, I did manage to watch the fifth set and considering the result, this was all one really needed to see.

Yes, Tsonga was all kinds of awesome for the last three sets but this match was all about Federer. Whether you are a Federer fan/admirer/part of his inner circle whom he forces to wear his bat signal type hats like they are off to invade another planet or not, you either took one of two views at the end of the match:

Thoughts on Manic Monday

Unless you are from Australia or New Zealand then there is a very good chance you have no idea who ‘the twelth man’ is.

To cut a long story short, Billy Birmingham is ‘the 12th man’ (seriously, just wikipedia, google him … problem solved ) and is the Federer/Nadal equivalent of taking the mickey out of people and doing dead-on impressions. In one particular ’12th man’ CD, Billy plays the role of former Australian cricketer turned commentator, Bill Lawry, as Bill openly admits his love for Aussie fast bowler (once again, no idea what a fast bowler is … wikipedia, google) Merv Hughes.

Murray Watch

Since my wife left for a weekend in Vienna on Friday night and my work got rained out, I invited a few buddies and strippers over and had one of those Vince Vaughn in ‘The Break Up’ type nights.

Well, six years ago I would’ve done this but since I could find Andy Murray’s match against Ivan Ljubicic somewhere on the internet, I figured I’d chart the first set of the match before calling the strippers.

All you hear about Murray is that the reason he hasn’t won a major is because he is not aggressive enough. I was determined to find out whether this was true.

Wimbledon Running Diary Part #1

Since it’s a public holiday here and there’s a village parade and a torrential downpour taking place outside, I thought I’d put together a little Wimbledon buffet for you.

I get to drink the wine, but you get an inane two hour running diary as well as a few thoughts on some men’s matches of interest.

You definitely lost that fight.

13.00 – Events occur in real time or at least they are supposed to because as of …

In Tennis Trust Your Instinct and Your Soul

Tennis players in search of excellence encounter a paradox: there is an obvious time lapse or delay between the intention to execute a move and the muscle activation thereof, thus necessitating to execute earlier in time. On the contrary, delay in execution maximizes firing on all cylinders, with all muscles acting in a concerted effort and a carefully orchestrated unison.

The most powerful and efficient resolution to such a quandary is quite interesting. Similar to propositions from Bruce Lee in Martial Arts, all you want to do is the simplest, purest and most dramatic strike of all, that which fires in all cylinders in a most rapid way. How do you achieve such a sudden effect, when the beauty of the sport has been defined as graceful, long moves, thereby necessitating a much elaborate response?

A Little Tennis … Finally

My internet connection issues have been solved which means you are about to read a cutting edge piece of analysis on day 3 of Wimbledon.

Wrong.

Of course, this would be the case if I didn’t have to work for a living and could just do things like pay for food and rent with rocks and sticks and hunt animals without any consequences, but the modern world dictates I must work and as a result you must suffer.

MTM Tennis – There is a Better Way

At MTM, short for Modern Tennis Methodology Coaches Association, we are not saying everyone else is wrong. We know coaches are well intended. They want to help kids and adults play a better game.

So do we ourselves at MTM, showing a better way to learn a better game…

Wimbledon – Not in my house

If you’re expecting brilliantly thought out crafted pieces on Wimbledon over the next two weeks, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Normally, I spend around 6-8 hours a day on court and when I’m not on court I’m stuck in a gym. Oh, did I also mention I work almost exclusively with kids? I didn’t think so. Therefore, when you combine hot weather with kids – for those of you that don’t know, when you work with kids for at least 6 hours a day then you become approximately 1.2% dumber every day – and what I’m about to tell you then this equals my equivalent of Chernobyl.

Wimbledon Preview – Mens Draw Analyzed

The Wimbledon draws give us a glimpse of the ensuing drama for the fortnight.

The first week on the men’s side is basically perfunctory, with the highest drama reserved for the ending week.

Today’s top male players have markedly separated their performances from the rest. Only a sometimes moody Andy Murray lets his game sink below his fighting norm. He’s got the talent, but he doesn’t always produce.

Wimbledon 2011 – Don’t mess with history

Before I start my Scotland Yard like analysis of Wimbledon 2011, I’d just like to put out an inter agency alert for a possible … well, let’s just say that somewhere in Wimbledon, the dudes who did the draw are doing to Rafa what Zed the cop and his hick store owning buddy did to Butch and Marcellus down in the basement on ‘Pulp Fiction’.

First round Observations and Awards:

Why only first round observations? Because this is tennis and upsets happen. It’s pointless saying things like, well X is going to meet Q in round three or four especially when X could be David Nalbandian and Q could be Gael Monfils.

Wimbledon 2011: A Made for Federer Event

Roger Federer has been dominant at Wimbledon. 6 titles out of the last 8 runs proclaim him still the King. The 2008 loss to Rafa Nadal was an epic and last year’s loss to Tomas Berdych, with Roger’s bad leg and suspect back, just a hitch…

Kids Tennis Hits the Road

Last weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the USTA’s SmashZone roadshow event at the San Diego County Fair. I joined several local coaches in volunteering to supervise play on the new “10 And Under Tennis” portable courts, and the kids loved it!

On May 25th the USTA announced the launch of SmashZone Mobile, a new interactive, 15-city tour that includes a 53-foot trailer which anchors kid-sized tennis courts for youth play, stopping at fairs and festivals along with some retail environments and downtown locations in markets across the country. The trailer, which is handicap accessible, features activities for visitors, including a Tennis Magazine Green Screen Cover Shoot, Wii Tennis and Touch Screen Kiosks. I tried the Wii version of tennis, only to get aced by by the computer! The kids, however, enjoy this physically interactive game, and it does help them learn rules and scoring in tennis….

The Curious Case of Andy Murray

Since you’re about to be bombarded like Muammar Gaddafi with Andy Murray stories until he loses at Wimbledon, I thought … why the hell not me.

(Quick tangent here: seriously, you don’t actually think he’ll win the tournament do you? There’s too much pressure that’s been going on for too many years and if gambling history has taught us something, it’s never bet against a streak and never bet on a rugby game in which David Holwell is prominently involved …

Mark’s Mailbag

Important tennis and other people have questions that need to be answered and they’re asking me?

The following are actual questions from real people … sort of.

We were supposed to be the big four along with Roger, Marat Safin and Marat Safin’s distractable mind, and since the grasscourt season is our annual time to shine/maybe shine, we just want to know what’s going on with us?

Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick…

The Forehand and Your Non-Dominant Hand

There is a remarkable forehand difference between the use of the non-playing hand in top pros and weekend players use of it (left hand for right-handers).

While tennis pros keep the left hand on the racquet during the tracking stages, sometimes well beyond the bounce, amateurs tend to separate the left arm early, either releasing the racquet or completely avoiding to rest it on their left hand. Furthermore, the two arms could be somewhat disjointed from the total effort.

These are the results from a study by David Stanisic, a teaching pro in Sonoma County, California:

Player Percent of Total Time Hands Shoulder-Width or Less…

An Interesting 2011 French Open

During the French Open, my Dad and I would regularly exchange e-mails over the previous day’s tennis, the next day’s tennis, who we now thought would win the tournament and why I was trying to convert everyone over to the Novak Djokovic dark-side.

Apart from Rafa’s crisis of confidence and a three-legged Andy Murray, you didn’t need a tennis PHD to figure out the leading horses.

The women’s … well that was a different story.

QuickStart, 10 and Under Tennis, and the Future

My response to a TalkTennis discussion at http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=5733130&posted=1#post5733130

I commend this fantastic discussion. I believe you all have very valid concerns. Let me share a bit from my experience (I have been coaching since 1968). I have been lately helping the USTA 10 and under program here in San Diego, and in the last two weeks we have been in six schools, teaching an average of about 200 kids per school day. With four stations of different activity,

A Great French Open Despite the New Ball

The new, lighter Babolat balls used at the French open, which originally caused problems to the top players, ceased to be a problem after the players got used to it. The lighter balls actually improved play, enabling spectacular performances like the Djokovic-Feder match, the Li Na level of play during the whole tournament and the Nadal-Federer final. Overall, this new ball diminishes the impact force and stress on the player’s arm.

Webinar Questions & Answers

Here are the questions and answers in full written form from the Live Webinar on Saturday, June 4th:

Q: Hi Oscar! I’m a local pro and I teach many youngsters and HS kids. What I’m finding is that many kids these days just don’t play many “ball games” and as a result they are unable to judge how the ball will bounce, etc. Any recommendations on how to help these kids track the ball better?

A: Have the whole group, using the big sponge balls toss the ball up and let it bounce, take their time, and catch it WHEN IT STARTS GOING DOWN AGAIN. The second drill is toss it up a bit higher than their head, turn around, and catch it after the bounce, similarly taking up their time.

Then pair them up and tdo the same drills with one kid tossing, the other kid catching

Ball Wreaking Havoc at the French

Pro tennis: from hard to clay, to slippery grass, and then hard courts again.

Never mind the challenge of changing surfaces. Altitude, as Madrid’s 2100 ft, Europe’s highest capital, rain, wind and then more: a changing ball.

The French Open has just unveiled the Babolat ball, lighter, faster, higher bouncing, and according to players, favoring the harder servers and the riskier ones. Other championships had compromised on the Dunlop ball so as to provide at least one consistency. The French went on a league of their own.

Kudos to the French Federation for changing to a faster ball and solving the trying slowness of the red clay surface? Not quite. I would venture that for a “Major” players deserve more preparation time.