Tennis is a game of inches—fractions of which determine whether points are won or lost. A fraction of an inch difference as to where the ball is hit on your racket as well as on the court (be it the baseline, sidelines, service boxes or net tape) can be the difference of winning or losing points, games, sets and matches. Also, if you hit the ball one inch farther from your body, it reaches your opponent sooner. On the other hand, if you hit the ball one inch closer to your body, it reaches your opponent later.
The tennis conundrum is that seemingly insignificant moments can and will decide a match, and minor or subtle adjustments in your game can and will determine either victory or defeat.
Not only is tennis a game of inches physically, it also is a game of inches mentally. Make a small decision such as to forget your mistakes or to keep fighting even though the chips are down, and you will likely win the match. Make another small decision such as to show your frustration with the game or to give up when the chips are down, and you will most likely lose the match.
Do you own these extra physical and mental inches? You should.
World-class competitors have an intense desire to own that extra inch, which often catapults their game to championship level. Top competitors own that extra inch even during what appears to be insignificant times, while most other players brush off such moments as nonessential.
Knowing that tennis is a game of inches is the beginning of your owning that extra inch. And to capitalize on this advantage, you must think in terms of subtleties. In other words, if you are losing a match, make subtle rather than major changes to your game and strategy.
Subtle Changes at All Levels of the Game
As a novice, you are hitting a number of balls over the net; however, you are hitting the net too many times and losing points. You should make the subtle change of hitting the ball a few feet higher over the net. This will decrease the number of balls hit into the net as well as increase your consistency. When you increase your consistency your opponent will have to hit more tennis balls and increase his or her chances of making an error.
As an intermediate player, you are under pressure as a result of hitting too many shots to your opponent’s forehand. The subtle change, of course, is to hit more balls to your opponent’s backhand. It’s a simple, subtle—but often overlooked—strategy change that could completely devastate your opponent. And you could easily turn a losing 0–6 first set into a winning 6–0 second set.
As an advanced player, you are hitting approach shots 10 feet from the baseline and your opponent is whizzing the ball past you at the net. You could tell yourself, “I’m never coming up to the net again” or “I guess I better go for the baseline on my approach shots.” Instead, you should just increase the ball’s depth by a few feet and subtly change the distance between you and your opponent. Test these results and voilà: the balls your opponent hits, which were landing a few inches in, could now begin be landing a few inches out.
Take a lesson from a world-class player such as Michael Chang, who played the great serve-and-volley specialist Stefan Edberg in the 1989 French Open final. In his book Holding Serve, Chang explained his strategy against Edberg, which clearly gave him a winning edge.
Stefan didn’t serve hard, choosing instead to take a little off his serve and kick it in with topspin deep into my backhand corner. While his kick serve moved through the air, he moved with catlike quickness. Stefan closed to the net faster than anyone in the game; he seemed to be a step quicker than any other player I had confronted before. To counteract his quickness, I had to return serve a split second earlier and have him volley from his ankles instead of waist-high. Matches were won and lost by such a small difference.
Michael won that match 6–2 in the fifth set to become the youngest player ever to win a Grand Slam tournament in the history of men’s tennis. He was just 17 years old. Chang also was the youngest player ever to rank in the top 5 and the youngest male—at age 15—to ever win a match at the US Open. As great a player as Michael Chang was, he still had to concentrate on making simple, subtle changes to win the history-making French Open title.
From novice to professional player, the axiom remains the same: Physically and mentally, tennis is a game of inches. Not one of the changes I mentioned in this instructional article is earth-shattering, sophisticated or complicated. On the contrary, the changes are simple and subtle, yet significantly and sensationally successful.
So why not own that extra inch during your competitive matches?
|
|
