On Court: Roger Federer in the World Tour Finals

Following the win over Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Roger Federer moves to the world number three behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Winning 6-3 6-7 6-3 in a tough three setter, the match was not as close as the score suggests. Overall I felt that Roger Federer was very dominate with his serve and forehand, allowing him to close and finish points at the net. Although Tsonga was able to pounce on Fed's second serve on occasion and produce winners of his own, Tsonga just didn't have enough firepower or mental fortitude to combat Fed.

However, there is much to be said about Fed's style of play in this match. The variety of his style of play threw Tsonga off in many ways, mainly because although Fed is able to rally behind the baseline he does not hesitate to come in behind approach shots. This gives Fed the edge because Tsonga is typically a player who likes to dominate from behind the baseline and come into the net on his own terms. Although Tsonga is good defensively during baseline rallies, Fed's net play takes away the time Tsonga needs to reply with a formidable shot; this forced Tsonga to go for an all-or-nothing pass which ultimately was not enough to garner the win.

Concerning 2012, I'd say definitely look out for Roger Federer. He is now coming into his own with his new style of play, coming over more backhands and looking to finish points early at the net. This allows him to be a more efficient player while still being aggressive and playing within himself. With 17 consecutive match wins as well as wins in Paris, Basil and now the WTF, Federer is gaining momentum going into the 2012 tennis season.

Highlights:

On Court Coaching: Strings

Everyone is always looking for new ways to give themselves an advantage on the court. This is seen by professional players such as Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick, who lost weight to improve mobility; Novak Djokovic, who switched to a gluten-free diet; and Andy Murray who hired multiple coaches so he can excel on different surfaces. Although these are all important, the role of strings that players use have become a greater factor as the game of tennis evolves.

The use of  polyester strings has definitely changed the way that tennis is played. Players are now moving from a more traditional serve and volley style to counterpunching behind the baseline. This is not intentional. Because the polyester strings give players more margin more error with increased spin, players are able to hit harder without having traditional technique. A modern example is, of course, Rafael Nadal who uses Babolat RPM Blast. This augments his heavy topspin on his forehand, giving him more margin for error even though he is hitting the ball harder than the players who played in the 70s and 80s. The latter players used more of a gut string which gives players more feel and finesse, skills conducive to serve-and-volley play. However, a combination of both of these strings is ideal, exemplified by legend Roger Federer who uses both poly and gut. This helps him with his all court game, characterized by initial baseline play and a finish at the net.

Although the type of strings can help a player's game, the tension at which the racquet is strung is also very crucial. The higher the tension the more control that a player has over the ball.This gives the player more accuracy and consistency. However, this comes at the cost of power which comes from lower tensions. The key to string tensions is finding a tension that is conducive to your game. For example, a counter puncher might want higher tensions so that he is able to control the ball as he moves around the baseline; however, a more aggressive player might want a lower tension so that he is able to gain more power and hit through the opponent.

This brings up another factor: conditions and the environment. The hotter the temperature is and the higher the altitude of the court, the more the ball flies through the air. This makes it harder to control the ball. Thus, a player might have to increase the tension he normally has in order to control the ball like he wants to. Conversely, if the environment is colder he might have to decrease the tension in order to get the same amount of sting that he normally does.

On Court Coaching: Andy Murray's Forehand

First of all, let me apologise for the long period without posting...Truth is, I forgot my email to the blog and I didn't remember it until now! Things happen right?

Now to the topic...

Okay, so there's been all of this skepticism about Andy Murray's forehand. People are saying that his forehand is weak and that he's not aggressive enough, doesn't take enough chances etc. However, there is much to say about his backhand in the sense that it is easily one of the best returns; furthermore, he can create angles, drive through the ball, loop or slice the ball, not forgetting that he can change the direction from cross court to down the line and crank a winner out of nowhere. So the question is, why all of this disparity? Let's analyze the two strokes:

Backhand:

Notice that even before the winner he always makes sure that his shoulders are turned and that his stances he uses are primarily closed stances. This is the opposite of the popular open stances that are taught in today's contemporary game. Another thing is that he takes the racquet back independently of his head, meaning that he keeps his head still while he turns his body instead of turning his head first and then turning his body. This allows for a solid follow through. Finally, the extension through the ball in addition to good core rotation allows him to hit the cross court winner as seen in the video (at about 10 seconds in).

Now for the forehand:

Alright...In this video Andy Murray is still dominating by hitting the forehand winner, so all is fair in this analysis. However, there are minute disparities that make a huge difference between the backhand and forehand shots. A major thing is his stance. An open stance is fine for being stretched off of the court or when moving to a shot, but five seconds into the video where he gets the ball that is directly to him that stances needs to be closed. This allows for a better and easier drive through the ball since your body is not prone to opening as it is with a open stance. Another thing is that he slightly opens his body before hitting the shot. This is evident at 25 seconds in the video. In this particular case he is clearly at the advantageous part of the point. However, this lack of footwork and the slight flaw in the forehand can produce errors under pressure. Also, the footwork issue can be a problem towards the center of the court where you usually try to end the point. This causes the slight self doubt that comes with Andy Murray's forehand.

Here's on of my favourite videos...Andy Murray practicing the forehand and backhand while recovering from a wrist injury:

Fyi, I do not own these videos...Just using them for example and for your entertainment

On Court Coaching: Tennis Footwork Drills

This is a video I found that really helps tennis players develop footwork and also understand court positioning...Complements of Fuzzy Yellow Balls!

On Court: Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic

The Montreal tournament final featured Djokovic and Fish, surprisingly going to three sets. Not to say Fish isn't a formidable opponent but Djokovic has only lost one match all freaking year. The guy is on a hot streak and it seemed Fish wasn't about to be that guy to end the tirade.

To be honest the quality of the tennis played in the first set was pretty sub-par given what you would expect from Djokovic, two time major champion of the year. However, with all of the matches he's accrued throughout the year it's no wonder that he would be a little bit tired. After being on serve for the first four games, Djoker was able to take the upper hand and close out the set. Once again, he was definitely not at his best but did manage to win. What a champion.

The second set was able to be garnered by Mardy Fish, who more than doubled his first serve percentage compared to the first. That, and employing serve and volley tactics evoked a change in pace for the match when serving. Being aggressive on the serve return and coming in also proved to pay dividends, gaining a break and winning the second set 6-3.This time, Fish was able to exploit Djoker's slow start.

By the third set, it seemed that Djokovic was able to find his form and took advantage of the opportunities given to him, winning the match in three sets. Honestly, it was pretty interesting to watch because it's not a match that one encounters everyday. It was pretty much not a matter of playing tennis but a matter of winning and losing in the sense that there were many times where both players seemed to be struggling, whether it be on serve, tactically or moving. There was even a man in the crowd who started to choke on food, stalling play for five minutes. Awkward as hell to say the least. Even so, Djokovic is the first player since Pete Sampras to win the first tournament he's played after gaining the number one position.

Everyone on the men's and women's side is moving to Cincinnati for the prestigious 1000 event. Peep the early round coverage on Tennis Channel from 11am to 7 pm eastern. It's gonna be sickkk.

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On Court: Montreal and Toronto

This is the time where Canada gets the tennis spotlight with the top players on the men's side meeting in Montreal and the women meeting in Toronto. Yesterday and Monday saw some sick match ups and some unexpected but well earned defeats.

On the women's side Serena is experiencing a dominating comeback beating Bondarenko 0 and 3 in the first round and just now winning her second match 1 and 6. I feel like she's definitely a favourite for this tournament as well as the US Open which begins Aug 29.

However, on the men's side, there doesn't seem to be any particular favourite for the title. Number four seed Andy Murray was completely blown away by Kevin Anderson. The South African was too overpowering and expressed intent to come forward, preventing Murray from getting into any sort of rhythm. Although a good win for Anderson, it'll be interesting to see if he can maintain this excellent form. He has been known to have off days, but if he can execute the attacking style with margin he should be able to get deep.

Gilles Simon was also ousted early by Phillipp Petzschner, a doubles specialist. Watching the match was a delight as Petzschner was able to maneuver Simon around and open the court with his backhand slice, using the forehand to attack and close the net off. This also prevented Simon from getting into a rhythm. Although I did not see the match, Youzhny was also beaten early.

Tsonga was able to beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets by using his attacking style to end points quickly. Other wins included Del Potro, Gasquet and Verdasco.

Rafa is supposed to be playing Ivan Dogic tonight, followed by Mardy Fish and Feliciano Lopez...But, with the rain delays who knows.

Follow on Twitter.com/alleytoalley for more updates!

A2A Commercial: Does Reason Solve Everything?

Does Reason Solve Everything?:

Changeover: Vitas Gerulaitis

One of the most exciting and prominent players in the Connors and McEnroe era, Vitas Gerulaitis is one of the many players in the eighties who brought tennis into the limelight for America. Although he was a one slam wonder, winning the Australian Open in 1977, many regard Gerulaitis as one of the all time greats of tennis.

What is interesting to me is that he grew up along with John McEnroe at the same academy, Port Washington Tennis Academy. Many say that he was not only a skilled player growing up, but also had the ability to draw and captivate crowds with his charisma. With the long blond locks and charismatic playing style, it is argued that Vitas was a precursor to the legend Andre Agassi, who also sported similar flamboyant attire. However, it was his net play, not baseline game, that Vitas was known for; this is similar to John McEnroe who was a paragon for serve and volley tennis at that time.

Despite being popular both amongst fans and players, Gerulaitis developed many bad habits which inhibited him from play. A major one of these habits was the drug crack/cocaine, a popular drug that gained notoriety during the eighties. This caused major slumps in his career, similar to Andre Agassi's meth use. However, after cleaning up his act, Vitas returned to the tour and became a commentator for the US Open after retiring. It seemed like things could have only gotten better until he was found dead in his hotel room due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

A clip of Vitas playing:




This week's US Open Series continues on the men's side at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. Coverage and analysis of the quarterfinal matches will be done on Friday

A2A Commercial: Slow Motion and Contagious Emotions

First commericals are finally up...Hope you guys enjoy!

Contagious Emotions:

Everything Better In Slow Motion:

On Court: Atlanta Tennis Championships

To kick off the US Open series, the Atlanta Tennis Championships (ATC) have been moved to Racquet Club of the South(RCS). If you remember, Melanie Oudin who made her famous quarterfinal run in 2009 came from there so its good to see the club gaining more notoriety.

Day one was yesterday, and I have to say my emotions oscillated between interested and disgust. The first match I saw was Rajeev Ram win his match to qualify for the main draw (nobody remembers the loser people). You all might remember Ram as the Indian pseudo-Pete Sampras, seeing as how he emulates not only Sampras' playing style serving and volleying, but also copies technique on the serve, forehand and backhand. I found this match interesting to watch because I saw not only a lot of serving and volleying but a mixture of approaches from hard forehands to even slice approach shots. I'm glad Ram was able to get the W because it keeps the draw interesting with his classical style of play.

On the other hand, Donald Young got completely demolished yesterday by Michael Russell getting bageled in the first set (losing 6-0) and losing the second set 6-3. Overall I feel like Young simply didn't bring the quality of play needed for that of an ATP level player. That compounded with the experience of veteran Michael Russell sealed Young's fate. However, Young has had notable wins this year, beating world number four Andy Murray at Indian Wells which gives him a ray of hope in some sense.

What's interesting but not surprising about the ATC is that there is a LOT of American play with exactly 11 being entered in the main draw. With this in mind, I'm gonna need the USA to bring something home for once. This,however, is a plausible endeavour. Number one seeded Mardy Fish has had an outstanding year, making it to the second week of Wimbledon and losing to eventual finalist Rafael Nadal. James Blake has secured a spot in the second round beating Ernest Gublis in three sets. He will face John Isner in the second round, the number three seed. Honestly, he's probably going to lose but we can't disregard the fact that he is a former top 5 player, giving him some intangibles. 

Despite the notables faces, who I am most interested in is my boy Ryan Harrison. Harrison is definitely making strides on the tour so far, with wins over Ivan Ljubicic in the US Open and taking the indefatigable David Ferrer to five sets. However, he does have a difficult draw. If he wins today's match, he'll face Xavier Malisse in the second round. If he wins that he could possibily face Lleyton Hewitt, a two time grand slam champion or Grigor Dimitrov, a prodigy like himself who is often compared to the legend Roger Federer. Assuming he wins those two rounds, he could possibly face Fish in the semis. Overall, I'm saying his draw is horrible and extremely unlucky but he has done worse. Furthermore, we cannot ignore the fact that the crowd is American and he has played at this venue before in the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff which he won ( and I was there!).

With these factors in mind, the Atlanta Tennis Championships will definitely be characterized by high quality of play from both familiar faces and those who are attempting to re-emerge on the scene and for newcomers. Other play features Harrison vs. Sugita and Hewitt playing Simmonds.Tomorrow's play features veterans Tommy Haas vs. Robby Ginepri  and James Blake teaming up with John Isner in doubles.

The Off Season: Tennis is Life

Why do you play tennis? I play tennis because Tennis is Life.

Points are life.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the scoring system, every point starts at love. Love is the beginning. And like our life cycle, love is from which we all  come. This love, however, can come through and  in different forms. It can come through sadness, as seen from marriage (haha... I'm funny); happiness, seen through spontaneous acts of intercourse; and even anger, seen through violent acts of rape and assault. Even so, no matter how we begin the point we are playing. We are alive. We are a clean slate of nothingness that can advance forward no matter what circumstance brings us to the court. Like anything in life the points played are crucial in the development stages proceeding to the subsequent points in the scoring system 15, 30, 40 and then game. Let these points represent age, with each game counting as an experience at that particular age.

However, it is not the points themselves but it how the points are played. The methodology behind playing points represents not only obstacles but how we choose to overcome them. Each one of us has our own method of playing points with some serving and volleying, rallying behind the baseline, pushing, or implementing an all court game, allowing for adaptation to any stage. This is analogous to somebody choosing to be direct, waiting to see how things turn out, beating around the bush or choosing to implement any of the aforementioned depending on the situation.

It's crazy to think about this, but there are actually obstacles within obstacles of points. What most people fail to realise is that tennis a dynamic sport, meaning that there is constant movement, transfers of energy, emotional fluctuation and much more. A major dynamic component is that the rules within a point are constantly changing. For example, a forehand is not merely a forehand but it is forehand 3-5 feet over the net at the baseline, 18-24 inches in the middle of the court, and a simple punch at the ball when you're about 3 feet away from the net. This might be hard to take in initially, but think about the various situations where points are played: a high school crush, a first job, graduating from school, getting married, having kids...The list goes on. Let each of these situations not only represent a point(age) in the game (life) but think about situations within these situations that arise. For example, you have a kid but you learn he or she will be born with a fatal disease. Which forehand (decision) are you going to hit (make) and how will it affect you (and your family )later on in the match(life)? Allow the child to be born and let it live with the disease(push), give it treatment(rally) or even go far as to abort it(serve and volley)? We're only human. We have choices. With every choice comes a consequence. Before you know it, however, the game is over and experiences have been had. 

But wait...The match is not over.

How can it be after all? Every tennis match has a minimum of 12 games (6 games needed to win a set with two sets needed to win a match). This allows us as humans to relive each point in a sense that we can learn from the previous experiences that have occurred in the same stage. For example, you make an unwise tactical decision at 15-0 in the first game, but you make sure not to do the same at that same stage in the second game, allowing you to garner the point. The chance to learn from experience and make changes accordingly is a true gift from God(s) and/or the balance of good and evil (respectively...Whatever you choose to believe in). It's a beautiful thing. However, at critical games we are more likely to falter. It is harder to hit an ace when you have 5 games instead of 2 because of the benefits that can be gained and more importantly the liabilities that can show up. For example, isn't it easier to make an A on an arithmetic exam than it is to do so on a Calculus exam? (The answer is yes hell yes). However, at latter stages we can always recall on experiences that cannot be taken away from us no matter what. Maybe you've seen all throughout the match that the opponent moves slower to his backhand side than to his forehand, letting you hit it out wide on the AD side for a winner. Furthermore, maybe you see that you can put more spin on it out wide instead of hitting it flat out side, giving you more margin for error and the opponent less pace to feed off of, as well as moving him off the court. Maybe you realise that putting in two hours of work each night for homework has never gotten you an A on a test and you set aside 5 or 6 hours to do so, increasing the probability for success. Furthermore, maybe you realise that you have a tendency not to study(practice) at all and enlist help from an outside source(a coach) to ensure an A(winning the game and/or match). The ramifications, both positive and negative, are greater when it's later. They should be after all. Why stay in it if you don't gain more benefits? Why work at a company for 20 years if they pay you the same as the schmuck who started 2 days ago(disregarding the hott secretary)?

The experience always pays off. Bottom line.
But hold on a second.

What about the 100 mile forehand you hit ten feet behind the baseline and two feet over the net? Shouldn't that have been a 10 foot forehand with 40mph? This is most likely incongruous with the practices and previous points you've played.  Desperate times call for desperate measures in life. It's inevitable and it's undeniable. Period. Notice that this low percentage shot has high risk and high reward. If you make it you gain more than points; you gain confidence, momentum and leave the opponent intimidated. If you miss it you pretty much experience the opposite of what I just said. If you invest your life savings in a small company called Apple or Microsoft...Get where I'm going with this? On the other hand, if you invested the same amount of money in Enron...Well, you probably killed yourself.  Experience matters, but sometimes you have to throw it out the window, trust your instincts and accept the ramifications.

We live and we die. But like anything in life, we cannot let one incident have a profound impact on our lives. How often have you seen a story where an impoverished person grows up to be a success? How often have you seen a wealthy man commit suicide? How often have you seen Rafael Nadal come back from two sets down to win the match (with tendinitis most of the time)? How often have you seen Fernando Verdasco lose in the first round of a grand slam event( Dasco, you're my boy, don't get me wrong)? We don't see the anguish, the happiness nor the other intricacies of the match when we see the resulting score.  That is the whole purpose of a match. The match is the big picture. The encompassing tale of what happens on the court. The legacy you leave behind to your child. Your grandchild. The world. Each point is merely a brief period of our lives. Each game an extended amount of time(years, decades, scores etc). How we play our points, how we play our games and more importantly how we deal with the ones we lose define the match. Our lives

Win or lose. Short or long. Enjoyable or not. The match will end.

Tennis is life. And life is...

Step on court and see.

I'm Sean Patterson and welcome to Alley to Alley.

Just Starting!

Just getting started with the site... Should have some of the first content up by Wimbledon Final but definitely by the Beginning of the US Open series