She Sliced and Diced and Mentally Overpowered A Champion

Novak and Roger may play tonight, but the real story at this year's US Open is Roberta Vinci and her defeat of Serena Williams. Williams lost in the semi-final to Vinci, known more as an Italian doubles player, and fell short of a calendar grand slam.


Roberta Vinci. Unseeded. Ranked outside the top 40 in the world. Vinci may have lost in the final, but she showed how you beat a champion and a bully. She held her hand up and asked the champion to wait. She turned her back to the vocal shouting. She didn't break down when Serena yelled across the net. The Italian doubles specialist was first to her chair on the changeovers covering her head with her towel. And she hits a slice, one-handed backhand with very little pace and proved that slicing and dicing takes no prisoners.

Rarely in her career have we seen Serena hit a slice backhand, or a forehand for that matter, but this world number one doubles player from Italy forced one of the greatest players of all time to change her game. There wasn't much pace coming from Vinci's side of the court. Brad Gilbert calls her "DaVinci" and she lived up to that name as she sliced, diced, angled and artistically stroked her way to a victory ending a Grand Slam run - a feat only completed by three women previously and just one in the Open Era.

But Vinci changed the mental game as well for the first time ever on this American champion. She won over the New York crowd. Vinci stayed the course. As the match hit two hours, Serena tired but grew vocally louder. Every winner with punctuated with a screaming exclamation point. Vinci took no notice. She's 32 years old - no intimidation here. She's seen it all before. Vinci tossed and served and didn't take note of Serena showing her Nike's dress back straps as she tried to hold up Vinci's march to dominance. Vinci held her hand up when the Champion was ready to serve saying: "Just wait a moment - you make me wait on my serve? I'm gonna make you wait on yours." This Italian was not going to cower. She owned the court. She owned the crowd. And, she won.

The tennis was not stellar. Vinci took Williams out of her comfort zone, with drop shots, sliced backhands and approach shots, volleys and dozens upon dozens of lobs. Serena rarely sees a one-handed backhand - there are only 2 one-handed backhands in the top 100 women in the world. But what we forget is that a one-handed backhand hits the ball much earlier than a two-handed backhand. Serena wasn't prepared for the earlier contact of the ball - the Champion was on her back foot continually even on her masterful forehand. Serena hasn't seen slice like this in years. And she hasn't seen an opponent mentally as strong as Vinci was on this day since Sam Stosur defeated her on the same court in 2011.

Roberta Vinci may have ended a Grand Slam run, but she probably brought tennis back to a reality with a win reminiscent of a McEnroe, Edberg or even a Nastase. Let's see if Roger moves up to the service line on Novak's serve and plays more like a doubles player, reminiscent  of a Bob Lutz or a Stan Smith... or even an Italian doubles player named Roberta Vinci.

A Changing of the Guard at the US Open

Mark it down in your history calendar in our wonderful sport of tennis. Saturday, September 6th, 2014. The day the reign of the Big 4 ended.

The Big 4 alludes to men's tennis and to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and lastly, Roger Federer with his 17 Grand Slam single titles. These four players have won 36 of the 38 most recent Grand Slam titles. On Monday, that stat will be 36 of the last 39. None of the above is in the US Open final.

And yesterday, two of the Big 4 were just plain beaten. Djokovic was simply outplayed on a day where he may have not been at his best wilting in the heat of 90 degrees plus on Arthur Ashe stadium court. Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese player to ever reach a Grand Slam final, with an added day of rest wore Djokovic down over four sets.

Federer couldn't deal with Marin Cilic's serve. In fact, the last game provided the epitaph to the grave: Three aces and a backhand winner down the line. Done.We are left wondering how long Roger will stave off the desire to retire.

So we are left with a final in which CBS Sports loses its coverage of the US Open after 40 plus years and in which, I am sure, ratings will falter without one of the Big 4 playing. But, this is the Open Era, and anything can happen. ESPN takes over coverage of both Wimbledon and the US Open in a tumultuous time in Men's Tennis in which are there are no clear rivalries to market to the public or elder statesmen to revere. It could hinder the growth and popularity of the sport.

That being said, it will be great to see new faces in the final and to see how Nishikori deals with Marin Cilic's serve will be interesting. Nishikori has won his last three matches against top 6 rated players in the world. He is the real deal. Coached by one of the greatest returners of all time, Michael Chang, Nishikori will undoubtedly find a way through the Cilic serve.

Cilic, at 25, is coached by the big server Goran Ivanisevic, himself a Wimbledon champion who also won on a Monday in front of a raucous crowd against a confident Patrick Rafter in the final. Cilic, suspended from the tour last year for a positive test to a banned substance, has returned mentally stronger and playing some of his best tennis.

Back to regularly scheduled programming with Serena Williams today in the women's final. And, Monday night should be a wonderful match between two upstarts who have been waiting a few years on the bench.

30 Years On And We Still Miss Him: John McEnroe & The Complete Player

I was having dinner with my sister last week and she was asking for events that had happened exactly 30 years ago in the tennis and golf sphere as we are both employed in the country club industry. So, where else to start but type into Google: Wimbledon winners, 1983

John McEnroe defeated New Zealander Chris Lewis. Remember Chris? I didn't. He beat one of my favorite players South African Kevin Curren in the semi final. Lewis was only the second New Zealander to ever make a final and was unseeded. McEnroe ended Ivan Lendl's tournament in straight sets in the other semi-final. Tougher match for sure.

It was a good year at Wimbledon. But what I noted was who won the doubles: John McEnroe and Peter Fleming defeated the American brothers Gullikson. Guess what? Big Mac did the same thing in 1984 taking home the singles title after beating Jimmy Connors in the final. McEnroe and Fleming again won the doubles against Australians Pat Cash and Paul McNamee. That's four Wimbledon titles in 2 years. I didn't look at mixed. The story was there. On the men's side McEnroe and Fleming were just complete players. At the same time, Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver were doing similar things on the women's side. They just don't make tennis players this complete anymore. When was the last time, I asked, that the men's singles player also won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon? You guessed it. John McEnroe.

Perhaps it's me looking back at the history of the game I love with rose-tinted glasses - I actually wear contacts now for those high school friends who read my ramblings. Perhaps I am not giving enough credit to the players of today - Serena and Venus play the singles and doubles at most of the major events. But they just don't play that many events.

Fleming and McEnroe won four doubles titles at Wimbledon and three at the US Open. All the while Fleming maintained a top-ten singles ranking and McEnroe stayed either at the top of the rankings or in the top three. We wonder why McEnroe is such a great commentator - he was not only a fantastic player, but perhaps one of the most complete players we have ever seen.

If you look back at his time on the tour, McEnroe may be remembered for his behavior, but in reality we should remember him for his fabulous, yet unconventional serve, his simple and effective groundstrokes and his amazing hands while volleying at the net.

To look closely at his forehand, it's so simple and relies on his great eye-hand coordination rather than power. He forfeits any type of a loop backswing, taking the racquet directly back to the low position before he comes up to meet the ball rather flatly, using the pace of his opponent in most cases to hit back with speed. Have a look here:
Perhaps you could out finesse the Big Mac and not allow him to use his power? Only one player was able to do this: Guillermo Vilas who won more matches then he lost against the Big Mac.Vilas was another great who is largely overlooked. He won seven, yes seven, consecutive titles, following Wimbledon right through and past the US Open. Most players today don't play seven tournaments in a similar 8 to 9-week period. Oh, Vilas played doubles too. This was the era of the complete player - on any surface and in singles and doubles and at the baseline and at the net.

This match, against Stefan Edberg, perhaps proves the finesse and yet, the power too with picking winners cross court and down the line by both players. Look at how both exploited the weakness of their opponent and used their own strengths to create and build a point.


The legacy of McEnroe is enormous as we think of his serve and volley game combined with fabulously simple ground strokes. McEnroe remains perhaps the leading example of the complete player and perhaps that is why we either love him or despise him as a commentator. He is perhaps the greatest tennis commentator of our time for the BBC in Britain and back here in the USA with insightful tips and great understanding of the minutiae of a match or point.

When asked to perform an impersonation, Novak Djokovic often mimics Johnny Mac and his unorthodox serve. Djokovic's imitation alone proves just what an icon McEnroe was in his time because in 1983, thirty years ago, Djokovic wasn't even around yet.

A Fitting Finale in London: Djokovic versus Federer

It's a bit like how the season has gone for these two - close and closer and closest. It may not be a year for either Djokovic or Federer to remember and put at the top of their resumes, but the two giants of the ATP Tour really treated us to a finale yesterday in London's O2 Center which was tennis at its best. Each had won a Grand Slam this year, Djokovic winning in Australia and Federer taking another title at Wimbledon. So this match was going to settle the score at the end of the season.

Think about this: Federer didn't lose a point to the Number One player in the world until the third game. And that said, Federer was already 25% of the way to the final destination, a win, within 9 minutes and up 3-0. But like a horserace, there is no clock and Djokovic started to chip away and get the older Federer into longer and longer rallies, which favored the 25 year-old Djokovic. Before you could blink, Djokovic was winning the first set in a tiebreak and went on to win the match in two straight sets.

This was the second time in two days that Djokovic had come back from what looked like a losing proposition. The previous day, Juan Martin Del Potro had Djokovic on the ropes yet again. Djokovic, losing the tempo on his serve, was watching the 6 foot 6 inch Del Potro move well within the baseline and take the second serve waist high. Djokovic lost the first set without much of a whimper. It looked again like Djokovic was going to be beaten badly... and yet, he came through the 3-set match a winner.

It really showed here at the end of the season what we knew at the beginning of the season when Djokovic beat Nadal in that 5 hour 53 minute epic in The Australian Open final: No one can actually outhit Djokovic over an entire match. There might be spells and games where one can push him back, but over the course of three or five sets, Djokovic's groundstrokes will outlast his opponents if his mental state remains sober and focussed.

Federer, Djokovic and Nadal - They All Tap The Dog

Good Doggie!

So, what is it that all three of the top players in the world have in common on their forehand? They all "tap the dog."

In learning from one of the leading teachers and academy owners, Rick Macci, here in Florida, he took me through how similar the stroke of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are. He calls it "tapping the dog" and I will explain what he means by that.

If you look at the forehand video of Roger Federer in the previous post below, the "tap the dog" position comes at 11 seconds into the video - racquet strings closed to the ground and his elbow creating space between his elbow and rib cage. Imagine if he dropped his racquet, opened his palm, and tapped a dog on the forehead - that's the position.

This position is quite interesting in fact. The elbow is away from the body. Many students of mine ask if the elbow should be in tight or away from the body as the racquet comes down out of the higher part of the loop. Away from the body is the answer for these three players - Nadal possessing the most compact swing his elbow does not leave much space until he starts his forward progression.

Big Players Don't Push... They Pull!

But what is even more interesting to note is that each player literally pulls his racquet hand forward - think of a pulling action forward across the middle of the body. This action pushes the racquet "inward" from the "outward" position where it lies when they "tap the dog". So these three players are not laying the racquet back inside and back to where it points to the back screen - the racquet is pushed there by the force from the "pull" forward of the racquet hand toward the ball. Their motion forward is a lot earlier than us mere mortals and because of that the racquet moves backward and inward even as their hitting hand is moving forward toward the ball.

This pulling action is quite evident between seconds 4 and 5 (0.04 to 0.05) on the Djokovic forehand video and at 0.10 on the Nadal video. In fact Nadal's racquet is already quite close to perpendicular to the back screen and it moves way inside behind him prior to moving forward toward the ball, even though he has pulled his hand quite forward already.

But in my book, Roger Federer has the most classic forehand in this regard. His "tapping the dog" position is nicely away from his body and the strings are almost fully closed. As he comes through the swing, he pulls his hand through around 0.14 to 0.15 and you can see how the racquet head reacts and comes back inside toward the back screen and bit toward his back hip prior to moving forward. Look at how early his hand is in comparison to his racquet. His hips are already rotating at 0.15 and not until 0.19 does he make contact.

I know it's slow motion, but he's so early and the racquet speed at contact is so fast, the racquet comes and catches the hand to be parallel with his hitting hand at contact. The hand had been leading the swing the entire time! But the racquet's speed at the end of the swing is too fast and catches up with the hand and then bypasses the hand into the follow through.Guess that's one of the reason he's won more Grand Slams than anyone else alive.

The Roger Federer Forehand... is also the Novak Djokovic forehand...

It's also the Rafael Nadal forehand... It's the loop topspin forehand.

Time and time again, my students on the tennis court ask me why I teach the loop forehand method. I point them to the best in the game. It's not always right to assume that a student of mine, or any amatuer, for that matter, should mimic a professional the likes of Federer or Djokovic, but, in this case, it works. Let's look at the reasons for bringing the racquet back high and in a loop on a forehand.

The Top Five - All Time - Reasons For A Loop Backswing On The Forehand

Firstly, what is the loop method? It is the bringing of the racquet back higher (racquet head comes back at eye level) and creating a loop, or drawing a 'C',with your racquet through the preparation and into the contact point or hitting area.

1. The loop creates racquet speed without having to swing harder. The power of gravity helps to generate racquet head speed from the top of the loop downward and then forward through the contact point. Racquet acceleration through the swing is imperative.

2. The loop helps turn the shoulders and hips. Your swing starts in the heels and the kinetic energy follows up through the hips and shoulders. Holding the non-dominant hand at the gooseneck of the racquet and bringing the racquet head back eye-level will force a turn of shoulders and core, essential for a good, powerful forehand.

3. The loop allows the backswing to follow the ball. If the ball is played lower than waist height, the loop allows the racquet head to drop easily below the ball to enhance topspin. If the ball is played higher - shoulder height - you can stop the loop just below the ball's level and still maintain a strong, topsping enhancing swing.

4. If the strings remain "closed" or facing on an angle toward the ground through the preparation and first half of the loop, the wrist is allowed to remain stationary through the backswing and stay firm through the the preparation phase of the swing and into the contact point, which allows the shoulders to guide the racquet rather than the forearm or wrist.

5. The loop allows the racquet preparation to occur even while moving laterally to the ball. If one were to drop the racquet head on the way back, it would impede movement to a wide forehand.

The Big Three Forehands - Federer, Djokovic, Nadal

I have loaded below slow-motion videos of all three professional players. What one should look at is the backswing. All quite similar with the racquet head coming back eye-level. We pick up the Federer and Djokovic forehands as the racquet head has just passed the head on its way back.

Notice the wrist keeps the racquet strings closed - Nadal's tends to be the most upright with his racquet on edge, but again he closes the strings toward the ground just as the racquet gets above the bottom point of the loop behind him.

 


The next blog will discuss how at one point in these three swings, exactly the same racquet position and racquet movement are within a few degrees of each other. Amazing. 3 swings. Almost identical. Can you figure out where the swings are identical?

Here's a hint: Tap The Dog.

The Roman Amphitheatre in Queens - Gladiator

Andy Murray holding the US Open Men's Singles Trophy last night in New York.

Watching Novak Djokovic play in solid blue shorts and shirt, matching his demeanor in this fifth set, I am trying to imagine what Andy Murray is experiencing on the blue New York court where true champions, or shall I say gladiators, survive.

Forget that Andy is the first Briton to win a Grand Slam title since 1936. Forget that he won Olympic Gold earlier in the summer. Andy has been at the door beckoning for a Grand Slam title just as golfer Phil Mickelson waited long and hard for his first title. It becomes a gladiatorial battle within one's self to achieve survival and victory.

I doubt Andy is thinking about Fred Perry and the last Briton winning the US Open at Forest Hills over 7 decades ago. Murray is thinking about each and every point and how he can win it. He says, after the match, he was thinking how he "can get through this match" as a victor. 

Fred Perry with the only grip of the day: Continental

Tennis is broken down to the minutiae of each point, each stroke, each tape-touching ball. We look to Chase Review for the slightest one-hundredth of an inch that the naked eye of a lines-person can't discern...for the final say on a Murray serve in the final game that catches the very corner of the ad court's srvice box.

The swords of each gladiator bear the logo of a world-wide brand, Head. And yet, surely,  tennis is really a mental game aimed at the head of your opponent when there is so little to differentiate a forehand, backhand, or serve between these two players.

Murray serves the 6th game with ease, putting the pressure on Djokovic in the crucial 7th game. In the heat of the 5th hour, this truly remarkable sporting achievement must be something worthy of Nero and the Roman Empire. And Djokovic, starting to suffer physically under the watchful eyes of those in the Coliseum in Queens, loses the game easily leaving Murray to close out the match on serve.

It's over and Murray looks as if he doesn't know what to do with no further play necessary. Since childhood Murray has been pretending, creating and replaying this moment and this scenario in his head. His mind's eye has him hitting a winner, but in reality it's an unforced error by Djokovic. However, in his time working toward this sole objective, there has always been another point, another match, another ball to be struck.

But before the crowd's applause, there is that moment of silence after the last bounce. A stillness.

There are no more points to be played. Survival, success, and victory are odd when finally they are achieved. How strange is it that they leave us all, in sport and in life, a bit bewildered and in awe of ourselves and, perhaps, a bit empty inside.