Today I discuss some great questions from a listener having to do with different playing styles of tennis. I first go over the four main styles of play in detail, talk about which pros fit each, and how you can improve your game if you fit into those styles. Next I discuss how much of
Madrid is the last of 3 Masters 1000 clay events. There's Monte Carlo, which is optional (you aren't fined for not showing up--it doesn't count as a 0). There is Rome (required). There is Madrid. For those of you who have not followed tennis in about a year, Hamburg used to be Madrid and Madrid
Sam Querrey was wondering what was going on. He was down a break in the first, and almost down a double break to his good buddy and doubles partner, John Isner. He hadn't so much whiffed a break point on Isner's serve. Then, Querrey was a break down in the second set to his doubles
Novak Djokovic's allergies (really--allergies?) has been a bonus for a number of players, most notably, Filip Krajinovic, also a Serb, who reached his first ATP semi against Sam Querrey. Because of Djokovic's retirement in the quarterfinals, and because Isner upset Wawrinka, the stage was set for something rather unusual. An All-American final on clay. Krajinovic,
The match should have been played earlier, but due to the weather, it was delayed til past 5 PM, the rain creating heavy conditions. Roger Federer was looking to right the ship. He had not played well since Australia. A loss to Marcos Baghdatis at Indian Wells. A loss to Tomas Berdych at Miami. Then,
Apparently, Djokovic wasn't feeling so good and wasn't sure he wanted to play Belgrade, but given that it's his home tournament, he felt obligated. The least likely Serbian to win today was therefore, Filip Krajikovic, 18 years old, reaching the semifinals. Good news for Americans. John Isner beat Richard Gasquet in 3 sets earlier. His
Federer appears to schedule a tournament like Estoril so he can build confidence playing decidedly weaker players. It may be the only tournament of the year Federer enters with a draw this weak. Federer played Doha, which is an ATP 250 event, but it typically draws stellar fields, such as Nadal and Davydenko, and, in
It still helps to have a big serve, even on clay. John Isner had a relatively routine win, 6-2, 6-4. Ouanna had a chance to break back at 4-2 down, but was unable to break. Isner had a chance for a double break, but didn't convert. Ouanna had a hard time returning serve which makes
Bjorn Phau is a rather ideal opponent for a struggling Federer. Federer lost to Ernests Gulbis and should have had a week to train. His level of play should look better than Gulbis, but it looks about the same. The scores tell you that Federer won 6-3, 6-4 which seems like a comfortable win. But
Juan Martin del Potro is expected to get wrist surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He had played only one official tournament all year long (the Australian Open) and has yet to play since then. He had hoped to avoid surgery, but has determined it is needed. The expected recovery time is somewhere between 3 and
