Don't Assume...

I have played a few men in the last 2-3 weeks that are around 5'6" or 5'7". The assumption I have when playing someone a few inches shorter than I am is to stand closer to the baseline for a service return because hey, they aren't going to overpower me. WRONG DUNLOP BREATH! In the latest match with a smaller server I was continually late in swinging and couldn't switch my grip or make the adjustment until I went back to my usual return position, 6+ feet beyond the baseline.

This allowed me to "swing away" unless I wanted on occasion to creep inside the baseline to chip back a return to vary the pace.

So remember, don't assume and underestimate your opponent, they just might surprise you and surprises on the court by your opponent are not usually going to be in your favor.

Viva Roger!!

You gotta be happy for the guy... he's got the monkey off his back. Is his victory diminished because he did't beat Nadal in the final? Nah, not unless you such a Nadal fan that you are considering naming your firstborn Rafa.

Federer overcame many serious contenders and deficits. He was behind in sets won against 3 different opponents, and went 5 sets twice.

As good as he was he has to rethink the backhand slice service return. Many, many of these balls are just making it 2-3 feet beyond his opponents service box and that is a short ball. It's hard to break serve when you are continually getting winners hit off of your returns or making forced errors over your opponents 2nd shots.

Yet, the men's game generally comes down to a few break chances that decides the match. In the case of the Fed's semi-final against Del Potro, in the first 4 sets the person that won the set was the one that was the first to break the opponents serve. In the 5th set, the pattern only differed slightly - they went break-break-break, with Roger getting broken on his serve in the middle of those three games.

You are only as good as your weakest shot-- whether it be your 2nd serve, your backhand return, your overhead, volley, etc. And under pressure, the weakest shot breaks down even further.

A few years ago I rallied with a boy who was going to be on the tennis team the next year. In the 10 minutes of rallying, he ran around his backhand and hit maybe 8-10 inside-out forehands cross court. He loved it so much he probably would have married it. Sure, practice your favorite strokes, but it's MORE important to practice your weakest ones. That's where improvement occurs, for you, me, Roger and anybody else that plays this great game.

Socrates once said, the unexamined life is not worth living. I say the unexamined tennis game is not worth playing. We can all improve leading to more enjoyment but the first step is identifying an area (or two) to start that improvement.