June 8, 2011
Intro to Drop Shot
Check out part 1 on our website Tennis Warehouse – New Products – Men's Apparel/Shoes - Yonex Paris/London Crew, Nike Lunar Vapor 8 (Roger's shoe); Nike Air Court Ballistic (Rafa' shoe)
Lessons from the French Open Paul Fein In this year of records, streaks, firsts, and surprises, the French Open did its part in both ending and creating some of them. Roger Federer, who hadn’t won a major in 16 months, played the unusual role of spoiler as he stopped Novak Djokovic’s sensational 43-match winning streak in the semifinals. Meanwhile, slumping Rafael Nadal, whose bid for four consecutive Grand Slam titles was squelched at the Australian Open, rebounded resoundingly with his sixth title at Roland Garros to tie the record of legendary Bjorn Borg. And Li Na proved her run to final in Melbourne was no fluke when in Paris, she became the first Chinese and Asian player to capture a major singles crown.
Let’s take a look at how these champions achieved their feats and how others fell short in their quests for glory, as well as the many lessons we can learn from both. Adapt to the Surface Li Na had not advanced past the fourth round at Roland Garros in four previous appearances and lost decisively (6-4, 6-2) to defending champion Francesca Schiavone last year. Her background on clay was limited. “When I grew up, there was no tennis on TV and no clay courts,” recalled Li. Her mediocre results on clay ended as soon as she fired her husband as coach in May, hired Michael Mortensen, the Danish Fed Cup captain, and went on to make the semis in Madrid and Rome. With her confidence growing, she whipped No. 4 Victoria Azarenka, No. 9 Petra Kvitova and No. 7 Maria Sharapova to reach the final in Paris. These powerful, but flat and unimaginative hitters lacked assets the new and improved Li possesses. How did Australian Open finalist Li, who excelled on hard courts, suddenly master the specialized surface of clay which she recently confided she didn't like? Most importantly, Li added topspin to her once-flat groundstrokes. Topspin increased her net clearance and helped the ball work far better with gravity to keep her aggressive groundstrokes in the court. It also enabled Li to hit sharp crosscourts and dipping passing shots. Known for her big wins and bad losses, she sharply reduced her unforced errors. Second, Li had the speed and determination to retrieve many of her slower opponents’ best shots, while they often couldn’t return hers. Third, her tactics were spot on. She relied on deep crosscourts to push these slower opponents deep behind the baseline corners, where their formidable weapons could do the least damage. “So many people think I’m not so good on clay courts. Now I think they should change their opinion,” Li crowed after beating Azarenka.
People sure did! However, Li faced a far different stylist in speedy 30-year-old Schiavone in the toss-up final. Lacking the extreme power of the new “Big Babe” generation, the 5’5 ½” (1.66 m) Italian relied on topspin and slice groundstrokes, touch shots, occasional winners, net approaches to use her first-rate volley, and guile. Her one-handed backhand—she will likely be the last female, one-handed Grand Slam champion—was clearly attackable. While displaying meticulous footwork and neither over-hitting or under-hitting, more crucial on clay than any other surface, Li kept the pressure on against Schiavone, who had to do more defending than in the 2010 final against Samantha Stosur. Three Li statistics told the story: a dazzling 77 first serve percentage, 31 winners (compared to only 12 for Schiavone), and a terrific 83 percent (10 of 12) of net approaches won, which demonstrated her versatility. That sustained offense eventually broke down the lighter-hitting Schiavone, and Li won the last nine points, highlighted by a stunning 7-0 tiebreaker, to prevail 6-4, 7-6. Ditch the Drop Shot During the middle of his career, Roger Federer lamented he didn’t have a drop shot. The Swiss maestro soon developed one, but he would lament an injudicious drop shot that cost him the crucial first set of the final against Rafael Nadal. Afterward, Federer said, “I think I played fantastic all the way through.” Indeed he did while racing to a 5-2 first set lead. On set point with Nadal serving, a perhaps overconfident Federer chose to hit a feathery backhand drop shot with a touch of sidespin added to the backspin. It landed near the net but barely outside the sideline.
Federer’s shot selection was terrible for several reasons. First, it was much too important a point in much too important a match. Instead, he should have attacked with a safer, conventional approach shot down the line. As it turned out, Federer won 73 percent (30 of 41) of his net approaches during the match. Second, the fast and new Babolat balls (after the first ball change) bounced higher—which increased the risk. Third, the clay was playing fast because there hadn’t been any rain. Fourth, Nadal is the best defensive player in tennis history, and his speed, groundstroke improvisation and volleying enable him to pounce on and put away most drop shots. Instead of winning the set, Federer lost that game and the next six games. Serving at 5-all, deuce, he self-destructed again with yet another unwise drop shot. Nadal sprinted forward and returned it to create a volley duel which forced Federer to retreat and hit a lunging forehand that Nadal volleyed for a winner. In the key opening game of the second set when Federer desperately needed to reverse Nadal’s momentum, he was down 15-40. He inexplicably played the drop shot card again and lost when Rafa pounced and belted a forehand winner. Drop shots require considerable skill and touch. If you possess that, be advised that while drop shots work best on slow clay and low-bouncing grass, they can also backfire. Don’t use drop shots on big points, unless you possess the skill and set them up so effectively that the odds are heavily in your favor. Hit High-Percentage Approaches Federer boasts so many artful shots in his repertoire that he’s tempted to show them off. Most of the time, he succeeds because of his enormous talent and racket skills, which often resemble a magic wand. He typically uses a low-bouncing, sharply angled backhand slice to bring opponents to net—on his terms, so they find themselves dealing awkwardly with a difficult shot near the sideline. However, serving at 5-5, love−15 in the first set just after Nadal reversed the momentum, Federer made the tactical and positional mistake of coming to net behind this shot. The crosscourt approach left a big opening that Nadal easily exploited with a forehand passing shot winner. Federer did not recover from the love-30 hole as Nadal broke his serve.
Low-percentage shots can occasionally fool opponents, but don’t use them in important games or unless you have a 40-love lead. In this case, Federer should have selected a sensible down-the-line approach shot that would have put him in a much better position to volley the passing shot. Approach net with a crosscourt shot only if you can hit a winner or near-winner. Know Your Limitations Federer boasts so many artful shots in his repertoire that he’s tempted to show them off. Most of the time, he succeeds because of his enormous talent and racket skills, which often resemble a magic wand. He typically uses a low-bouncing, sharply angled backhand slice to bring opponents to net—on his terms, so they find themselves dealing awkwardly with a difficult shot near the sideline. While experts pointed out the vulnerabilities in his one-handed backhand, The Mighty Fed, winner of a record 16 majors, thought otherwise. Early in the French Open, he chirped, “I can’t believe how good my backhand has become.” Indeed, during many rallies for three very close and exciting sets against Nadal, his backhand held its own and occasionally set up or even won points.
“This is the best Federer has played in their five matches at Roland Garros without question, and he’s still two sets down,” NBC analyst John McEnroe astutely pointed out. The question then became: Should Federer have changed a losing game if he was playing quite well? Yes and no is the answer. He should have tempered some of his backhands when he was out of position during rallies to avoid forced errors. More importantly, though, he should have swallowed his pride and sliced backhand service returns instead of frequently making errors off Nadal’s first serve which averaged only 107 mph. I’m the one who’s playing with smaller margins, so obviously I’m always going to go through a bit more ups and downs. Whereas Rafa is content doing the one thing the entire time. So it’s always me who’s going to dictate play and decide how the outcome is going to be. If I play well, I will most likely beat him. If I’m not playing so well, that’s when he wins.” In truth, Nadal certainly has dictated his share of points during their 25-match rivalry, which he now leads 17-8. He also belted 39 winners against Federer (who had 53, including 11 aces) in the French final. The importance of defense, physical fitness and mental toughness — During the final between Nadal and Federer, two of the fastest and most talented athletes in tennis history, NBC analyst Mary Carillo rightly asserted, “The women have no defense or counter-attacking ability the way these guys have.” Past champions Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, along with 21st century stars Serena and Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have possessed the speed and athleticism to turn defense into offense. So does Caroline Garcia, an intriguing 17-year-old from France, who led Sharapova 6-3, 4-1 before bowing. “Tennis has often been described as a game of incessant emergencies because with every shot the opponent hits, not only can a ball have a different velocity, a different type and rate of spin but can also be placed in varied parts of the court,” wrote Indian sports physiotherapists and research scholars Maman Paul, Sandeep Kumar Biswas, Gaurang Shukla and Jaspal Singh Sandhu in their article, “Effect of Agility Training on Tennis Performance.” “This complexity requires tennis athletes to have fast reaction times and explosive ‘first step’ speed. Tennis players therefore need to be exceptional lateral and multi-directional movers in addition to linear movers…. It would seem imperative to provide training that mimics these demands for change of direction, speed and agility,” wrote the co-authors. But how many women are willing to train rigorously and diligently? Several current Top 25 women are overweight, which hampers their speed, agility and stamina. No. 14-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a gifted 19-year-old Russian, had Schiavone on the ropes with her bludgeoning groundstrokes at Roland Garros. But she lacked the quickness to defend because she’s 10-15 pounds too heavy, and she predictably lost against the faster and fitter Schiavone in a grueling 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 quarterfinal. No. 9 Marion Bartoli and No. 24 Alisa Kleybanova are more than 15 pounds overweight, while No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 3 Vera Zvonareva and No. 9 Petra Kvitova would also improve their court coverage if they lost some weight.
“I envy the men’s side of this sport because so many of them are so willing to work hard and are so hungry to create these major moments in their lives,” noted Carillo. “And we just don’t have that on the women’s side, and it’s a great, great pity.” While American players are justifiably criticized for being too soft and spoiled, an unseeded 17-year-old of Italian ancestry and Pittsburgh native with an odd and ironic forename is a refreshing exception. Bjorn Fratangelo—given that name by his father who admired Bjorn Borg—surprised everyone when he became the first American since John McEnroe in 1977 to win the French Open boys title. Listen to these words of wisdom from Fratangelo after he defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 in the final. “I learned how to slide, how to move well on the surface. It taught me to construct points. Coming from indoor tennis, they just slap the ball one, two, three, point’s over. But on clay ... it’s mental toughness. You really have to grind out the points long and hard, and you have to find other ways instead of just first-strike tennis,” said Fratangelo.
As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
TennisOne Writers Store One of your many new benefits as a TennisOne membership is your ability to purchase selected instructional DVDs at 20% off ($7.50 off each) in our new TennisOne Writers Store (login in first to access members links):
Copyright Notice: The contents of the TennisONE web site and contents forwarded to you by TennisONE are intended for your personal, noncommercial use. Republishing of TennisONE content in any way, including framing or posting of these materials on other Web sites, is strictly prohibited. See our full copyright statement If you wish to be removed from our newsletter list, please click "reply" to the newsletter email, and for the subject line, write "unsubscribe." Or you can email us directly at: t1staff@tennisone.com |
||||||||
