Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Strategy

A Strategy that is quite important for match play and not adapted by enough players and can be used at all levels is called SHOT TOLERANCE.
It is simply designating a number that you decide upon yourself in which you will hit that many balls into the court every single point played. Now, obviously the higher the number the better.
So lets say you decide to hit 6 balls into play every single point. That's a great strategy. You have a shot tolerance of 6. Keep in mind that tennis is a game of unknown factors. Control ONLY what you can control. If your opponent hits a winner, then accept that and go to the next point. If you have an easy ball on the second shot, put it away, that's that. Shot Tolerance is only a basis for you to have an overall strategy when you play. Your opponents will likely miss within a rally of 4 balls in most matches you play.
what do you think nadankey's shot tolerance is? dd

DOC'S COMMENTS ON FEDERER'S 6TH WORLD TITLE

I am not surprised that Federer has won his 6th end of season world title, and maybe neither are you. I believe it is because of these three main reasons:
1. The other top 3 players are physically worn out and hurt due to the longevity of the ATP season and their styles of play and emotions. (Murray, Nadal, and Djokavic.)
2. Federer is the best player on indoor hard courts.
3. Federer's style of play, technique, movement, and emotional acuity all help him continue to win and stay healthy like the EVERYREADY battery bunny.
Federer can hit more total winners with all his shots than the others, his emotions and expressions are less taxing than the others, his movement is more efficient I believe especially indoors, and physically he hits the ball with a minimal of energy which allows him to conserve energy over a longer season.
Note that Djokavic had a historic season and was completely tapped out mentally and physically after the U.S.Open. fdd

DOC'S TIP OF THE DAY -- ONE HANDED BH

If you have a difficult time hitting through your one handed backhand you must make sure you are throwing, extending or reaching back with your non-dominant arm when you contact the ball. Hitting through the ball basically means are you able to hit the ball deep into the court.
Try to straighten your non dominant arm behind you as you hit the ball. Throw it back quickly when contacting the ball. dd

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Ball Movement at Surface Contact

Did you know that a tennis ball will slide across the surface of the court at impact when it is hit with a lot of underspin?
As the incoming rate of underspin decreases, a point will be reached where the ball begins to roll across the surface at the END of impact.
With an increasing rate of incoming topspin the ball will impact with a mixture of sliding and rolling.
At higher rates of topspin the ball will tend to roll more than slide.
Note that the ball will never fully roll upon impacting the surface of the court as today's players are not capable of generating fast enough spin rates. dd

DOC'S TIP OF THE EVENING -- PRACTICING

If you are in the learning stages of maturing into a good tennis player you must practice and play with many different levels and ages of players.
This simply means that it does not matter what level or how old or what gender you practice with.
You must understand that every time you walk out onto the court to practice you have something you can improve whether you play against someone a lot better than you or someone considerably weaker than you. In fact, it is often more productive to practice with weaker opponents as it is easier to control game situations where you can practice shots you need to improve. However, this implies that when you practice you have a purpose or a goal or goals you want to accomplish.
I do know this is true because when I was a youngster at the tennis club where I learned, I would go up to the club every day after school and on weekends and play with anybody that wanted to play. I did not care who I played with and neither should you. I became the best player in my state as a junior, one of top two juniors in the country, one of the top college players in the country and achieved a pro ranking of 125 in the world in men's singles.

DOC'S TIP OF THE DAY -- STRING TENSION

Remember these key adages that relate to strings in a tennis racquet:

a. tighter strings give you less power and more control.
b. looser strings give you more power and less control
c. string gauge does not affect power. (15g,16g,17g)
d. string tension has little effect on ball spin. dd

DOC'S TIP OF THE DAY -- WIDE FOREHAND

Remember these points when playing a wide forehand safely back into the court.

1. run at an angle behind the bounce of the ball. this will give you time to take a fuller swing at the ball.
2. try to contact around the outside of the ball.
3. try to aim back down the middle of the court and higher over the net IF your opponent is NOT approaching the net. (If your opponent is approaching you have two choices, one is to go for the heroic winner and really buggy whip it or hit a HIGH LOB.)
4. recover quickly. dd

Doc's Tip of the Day -- Hydration

Drink 6 - 12 oz of water or electrolyte enhanced carbohydrate fluid every 15 - 20 minutes as tolerated DURING practice or matchplay.
Drink 14 - 22 oz of water or electrolyte enhanced sports drink TWO HOURS BEFORE practice or matchplay.
Drink approximately 20 oz of electrolyte enhanced sport drink PER POUND OF BODY WEIGHT LOST within a two hour period AFTER practice or a match.

DOC'S TIP OF THE EVENING: SERVE SWING

When in the loaded position prior to extending the arm and elbow straight up to contact, you must first externally rotate the shoulder and drop the racquet down behind your back before you start to extend up to contact the ball. dd

Doc's Tip of the Day -- FH Volley

It is generally a good benchmark when preparing or moving the racquet into position for the forehand volley to not let the racquet go past your shoulder.
So remember, if the ball is hit to you, pivot your feet and body for good balance and simultaneously keep the racquet face open but don't take it past your shoulder. ay

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Serve

Always have a starting point on your service motion. There are two distinct start styles in regards to the tossing arm when serving.
The two start styles are the upwards and then the downwards then upwards.
The upwards refers to the tossing arm/hand starting low (should be on your front leg) then ascending straight up to toss and then the downwards then upwards where you start at approximately waist level then the tossing arm drops to your front leg then ascends straight up.
Please know which style you use. I often see hybrid styles, which can greatly affect the timing and rhythm of one's service motion. hvs

Doc's Tip of the Day -- BH

Whether you have a one handed or two handed backhand, the key to a deep shot is the follow through! Always extend your arm and feel the shoulder stretch through after you hit the ball.
If you have a one handed backhand, your racket arm should extend completely straight out on the follow through until you feel the shoulder stretch.
If you have a two handed backhand, the non dominant arm would do the straight arm extension on the follow through and then the non dominant shoulder would stretch. ay

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Serve (toss)

If you are having difficulty maintaining proper balance with your body on your serve it might well be initially addressed by letting your tossing arm extend straight up after releasing the ball. Most of the time I see the arm stop too soon after releasing the ball toss. By continuing to let the tossing arm extend straight upward it will keep your front shoulder high. Also, it will help keep too much weight shifting forward onto the front foot prior to loading. ho

Doc's Tip of the Night -- Return of Serve

When establishing your stance on the return of serve, you want to angle your stance where the outside foot is higher than the inside foot. This is true for both sides of the court when returning. The angle of stance should be approximately 12 degrees +/- 5 to the baseline in the duece court to approximately 168 degrees +/- 5 to the baseline in the ad court.
The purpose of this angled stance is so you will move at an angle to the ball on the wide serves. Also, since your stance turns your shoulders to the inside of the service box you will have an advantage in turning early if the serve is hit down the center or 'T'. hd

DOC'S TIP OF THE DAY -- GROUNDSTROKE TECHNIQUE

As a general tenet, if you hit a groundstroke when the ball is above the top of the net (ie, at the top of the bounce), try to limit the amount of travel the racquet moves upward on the follow through. It is imperative you stay on on the same plane on the follow through and wrap around. AND you can actually follow through slightly downwards, the higher the contact point is above the net. ay

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- FH Volley

Whenever you hit a forehand volley try to keep the elbow close to the side of your body for the most effective leverage when hitting the shot.
Of course, there will be times when this is not possible, but try to move your feet into the best position to make it possible.
High balls and fast wide balls will preclude you from keeping the elbow in but try to position your feet so you can do it for all other forehand volleys.
And always try to keep a firm wrist on all your volleys. oi

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Technical / FH BH

When preparing for either a forehand or backhand ground stroke, remember to reach away from you with your hand/hands. So, when preparing on a forehand, try to keep your racket hand on the side of your body and away from your hip when turning and taking the racket back.
On the backhand, reach away from you with the non dominant hand and reach straight back with the racket hand. goy

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Doubles Tips

Remember these tips in doubles:
- always communicate with your partner and know where they are going to hit the first serve.
- learn to lob the return of serve.
- get to the net when the ball is hit to your partner and you are in the backcourt.
- always call the overhead if you have the stronger shot.
- hit the return right at the net player if that person is crossing a lot.
- play the aussie formation when one of your opponents is returning extremely well.
- hit the ball at the weaker volleyer at net. (know which one it is)
- move well inside the service line when your partner is returning a second serve. (halfway)
- OK to stay back when your partner is returning serve, especially the first serve. goy

Doc's Tip of the Evening -- Return of Serve

When returning serve, try to maintain your balance after split stepping. Once you have adjusted your feet to get behind the ball, try not to lean forward with your body or lunge forward to hit the return of serve. It is OK to wait for the ball to come to you as long as you have judged the ball to still be close to the top of the bounce or just below the top of the bounce.
Again, after split stepping, the next movement should be to turn your body in preparation in conjunction with footwork adjustment. ay