Hey everyone, Simon here from Top Tennis Training and in this video I want to show you five
ways to win more matches in tennis now we all want to win more matches we want
to beat our main competitors we want to win more tournaments and we want to feel
like we're getting better when we're competing if you use these five methods
I can guarantee that you'll boost your performance when you are competing and
help you win more matches now the first method is all about being ready so
preparing properly for the match this means from the very first point you're
ready to compete properly and start the match off strong now if you're someone
who doesn't warm up normally if you come on the match court those first four or
five games you're actually still warming up your body isn't ready to compete
you're not in a groove with your strokes so there's first four or five games
you're at a massive disadvantage especially if your opponent has warmed
up properly and they're already in a group you might be down five love before
you're actually ready to start playing the match on your terms and we want to
take that away we want to make sure that from the very first point I'm ready to
compete and I'm in the match right from the beginning
I want to feel that I'm giving myself the maximum chance to perform well from
the very first strike now it depends on your time it depends on the situation
you're in sometimes I've traveled to tournaments
and all the courts have been busy with players playing matches so there's
nowhere to hit and I simply have to go and shadow my swings I have to go and do
some skipping some jogging and I'll do a little bit of visualization before the
match but in an ideal world this means that around 2 hours before you played a
match you have a half an hour hit and in that session you're you're going around
60 or 70 percent of your full intensity you're not trying to kill yourself
you're not trying to crush every ball you're simply building that consistency
you're getting your tempo right you're getting the timing right and you're
grooving your stripes now after that half an hour hit you come off the court
you have a meal so something like a plate of pasta a plate of rice or even a
sandwich then you'll go and loosen up your body so this might be anything that
you feel tight so maybe you've played a match the day before and your legs are
extremely tight you'll go out and stretch them you might use something to
massage them a little bit just to get their knots out of those muscles then we
want to find a place where we can go and sit a quiet place and just use that time
to visualize how we want to actually build points and play to match when we
get out on the match court and when you visualize it's almost like you're
tricking your mind into thinking that you've actually played a match
beforehand so when you do get out on the match court everything is a lot easier
to deal with and you're actually in that groove right from that first point now
right before the match you'll want to have about a 10 or 15 minute warmup this
could be a bit of jogging this could be skipping some resistance bands and some
shadow swings so that when you go out on the court you're ready to swing the
racket at high speeds and reduce your risk of injury now of course if you're
rushed for time and you don't have access to a practice court you can
simply shadow your 400 back ends shadow some volleys do a few footwork drills
and Shadow some subs to actually swing your racket as if you're playing and at
the same time you have that same focus when you're playing the match so that
split step hitting the shot and then recover
this will make it much easier for your body to switch on when you start a match
compared to if you do nothing at all so now that you've warmed up and hopefully
you're already mentally in the match you know how you want to construct points
you know how you want to play your service games now when you step out on
the match court the first step is starting the match off in a positive and
consistent weight too often our C Club players stepping out on the match court
and they go for maximum power from the very first shot so they're hitting their
serves at full speed they're going from winners from the first couple of shots
they're not building any timing they're not building that tempo and they're
definitely not building that consistency and this cost many players matches
because of the way they start the actual contest that's certainly not how we want
to actually approach the first few games those first three or four games you want
to take the power off reduce your power to around 75% and build up that
consistency that timing and that tempo in the actual tennis match if those
first few games you just build points you can strut point you stay consistent
you play high percentage tennis you're building a good rhythm to build on for
the entire match and you actually get yourself into the contest and hopefully
if your opponent is someone who likes to go for their shot they might be missing
you might grab an early break an early lead so by starting the match out in
that consistent way you're setting yourself up well for the rest of the
match and you won't actually have to worry
about increasing the power because your body will feel when it's time to go for
more and you actually start to feel like okay now my timing is here now I have
that confidence to go for more I can start hitting a little bit harder I can
start going for those winners
but if actually constructed points in those first few games I've built that
timing I've build that rhythm I've built that consistency which is key for the
entire match it doesn't matter who you're playing so starting off the match
around 75% of your maximum power and building that consistency will give you
a huge edge over most of your competition now within these first few
games you also want to be finding out information about your opponent and this
is only possible if you're actually consistent if you're going for winners
and trying to force the point you're not actually finding out any information
about your opponent if it's someone you've never played before those first
four games will give you a lot of information that you can then use later
on in the match touch you win it so you have to be consistent in order to test
out the opponent today like high balls do they like low balls what kind of game
do they play and the only way to do this is by being consistent yourself method
number three to winning more matches is finding your opponent's weakness now we
all have weaknesses it might be a certain shot that actually breaks down
under pressure especially in a match it might be dealing with a particular type
of ball so for a one hand or out there it might be dealing with those high back
ends for a player who uses an extreme forehand grip it might be dealing with
those low balls on that forehand side so we all have weaknesses and the quicker
you can find those weaknesses in your opponent the easier will be for you to
win that match now this doesn't mean that if you find that the player doesn't
like high back ends you only give them high back ends on every single shot
because then you're actually grooving that player and after a few games
they'll adapt and they'll start to deal with that type of ball this means that
on the bigger points let's say the 30 all point or if you have a a game point
or a break point you then use a strategy that will exploit their weakness and
then hopefully help you to win more of those big points that will be so crucial
in winning the match
so how exactly do you find your opponent's weakness you simply test out
all types of shots in their game so you test out their entire arsenal every type
of ball that you could hit you use it against them
so just will include giving them high four hands medium height four hands and
low finds the same on the backhand side giving them a high backhand giving them
a medium high backhand and a low one giving them running shots on both sides
changing up the spins giving them aggressive topspin seeing how they deal
with that type of all giving them a flat shot seeing how they deal with that type
of all and then slicing the ball and seeing how their Chi respond to that low
slice coming at them
and the way I like to think about it is if I'm doing a lesson with somebody who
I've never coached before so a new student the first 15 or 20 minutes I'm
not going to teach them very much because I'm going to be analyzing their
game so when we step out on the court for that lesson that first lesson with
somebody new I'm gonna be checking out everything this means giving them high
four hands high back ends low four hands running for hunting backhands giving
them a slightly shorter ball giving them a deep high aggressive topspin shot that
they then push back on and seeing how they respond to each of these type of
shots all that time I'm building up an image of this player I'm also checking
out their grip what type of grip do they play with what type of grip do they use
on their forehand on their backhand are they out of right-hander are their
left-hander of course then I'll bring them into net and give them a few
volleys see how they deal with a low volley see how they deal with the ball
that has no pace on it all of these shots will be giving you information and
you're storing that data almost like a computer analyzing all the numbers so
that first fifteen or twenty minutes I'm analyzing everything in their game and
I'm building an image of how this player likes to play and more importantly what
they don't like to play now as a coach I'd then be constructing drills and
thinking about what to teach them for the remainder of that session but in a
match I didn't use that information to exploit their weaknesses
if you have Asher bowling you approach to their back-end sites you're gonna see
how they deal with a high back end when you're coming forward or how they deal
with a low slice and then coming forward and this comes back to that method
number two which is being consistent in those first few games because then you
can actually test out everything on your opponent's side you can even start this
in the warm-up as soon as you start hitting those first few balls down the
middle change up the pace change up the spins change up the heights of your
shots and see how they respond look at their forehand grip look at their
backhand grip when they start hitting their serve see what kind of serve they
go to time and time again and what type of spins they use when they're serving
the more you do this the better you'll get at it and the quicker you'll find
the information that you need to exploit the weaknesses if you're someone who
doesn't do this currently you're missing out on a massive advantage when you're
playing matches and you should certainly start doing it from today method 4 is
play each point as if it's the only point in the entire match now this is
that point by point mentality that we often hear players are speaking about
when we filmed with David Ferrer a few years ago he was explaining how
when he's playing a big match he's playing each point as if it's the only
one that means he's got full intensity the entire way through the match if he's
taking each point as if it's the only point account then he's always living in
the moment and this is something that we should all be trying to do one were
competing
now too often RC players who let's say they've missed an easy shot they've had
an easy forehand to put away they've had the open court and they hit
it too hard and they miss it instead of just losing that one point and then
focusing on the next point so regrouping and then concentrating on being in the
present moment they're actually still dwelling on the past and that one point
can actually cost them three or four games and before long they've lost that
set and now to come back in a match is a very huge task for them whereas the best
players in the world and the best competitors they're simply playing each
point as if it's the only one and it's the only one that does really matter so
what's happened before in the match if your opponent has seen a great shot if
they've hit a couple of incredible winners you just simply clap and say too
good but move on to the next point if you compete with this point-by-point
mentality it will also increase your intensity if I'm thinking okay it's the
first first game of the first set I still maybe have three more sets ahead
of me I might reserve some energy and not chase down every single ball and not
go full-out for that point whereas if I'm thinking this is the only point that
counts now my intensity is there my focus is there and I'm fully zoned in on
winning that point and this is exactly how you'll have a huge edge over most of
your competition now a good way to do this is to build it the next point in
your mind before you actually play it so you're already thinking about how am I
going to build this point and execute it to give me the best chance of winning it
so when you're serving this will be your serve plus one so I'm gonna serve down
the tee most likely the opponent will return it into this zone so if my first
shot I'm going into the space or I'm going back behind them so I'm building
that point before actually happens and this will make me to Zone in on what
really counts which is the next point that I'm about to play when I'm
returning I can do the exact same thing I could be focused on okay if they serve
on my forehand I'm gonna try to hit the return into that spot if they serve on
my back-end I'm gonna try to return the ball into that spot I'm gonna focus on
what type of spin I want to use when I slice the return will they block the
return or will they drive it with aggressive topspin now this is why it's
a good idea to have a towel on the court so you put it at the back of the court
you put it near the fence and after every point especially the bigger point
you go to a towel and you wipe down even if you're not sweating that much you
still go to the towel and use that time to focus on the next point that's why
you'll see most of the pros using a towel on the court it's not always about
wiping down the sweat it's also about having the time to think about the next
point this could also be when you're going to pick up a ball so if it's your
serve you're going to pick up the ball while you're walking to the ball take
your time don't rush let your heart rate come down to that optimal level do
you're letting your body recover in order for you to give yourself the
maximum effort on that next point and this might mean taking those 25 seconds
between every single point you have that rule so why not use it and why not use
it to think about how you're actually going to build that point and give
yourself an edge every single point how often do Club players actually think
about where they're going to serve the type of spin they're gonna use and the
first shot they're going to hit this is something that you can start to
implement into your game right away and it will give you a massive boost when
you're playing matches and method 5 is to fight that never give up attitude you
want to have when you're stepping out on the match court too often I see a lot of
players almost throw the towel in as soon as they lose that first set or if
they're playing bad they don't feel like they're hitting the ball well they feel
like it's just not their day and they simply give up and give the other player
the match without the other player having to actually fight for every
single point now the great thing about the scoring system in tennis is that the
entire match can change just with a few points you might be 5 2 down and the
player is serving from the match it might be 30 all if you get those next
two points and you get the break and then your whole serve now instead of
five two and two points from victory now it's five four and the pressure starts
to build on your opponent and you back in the match so the whole momentum
can change with just a few points and if you give up you'll never have that
ability to actually come back and make those drastic changes but if you're
always fighting and showing your opponent that you won't give up that
you'll be there until the very last point then this would be a massive boost
to you and hopefully this will have an effect on the opponent's mind and then
eventually their game if you're someone who's chasing down every single ball if
they see that they're playing someone who won't give up they're running for
everything they're really fighting to win that match this will slowly play on
their mind and they'll think that they have to start going form or they'll
start hitting harder they'll start going closer to the lines and you'll force
them to start missing and breaking down more and more especially as the match
wears on now I've lost matches where I've had a match point up and I've also
won matches were being match point down so I know that that the match is never
over until it's finally over until that final moment until that final shot has
gone out or you've hit that winner you always have to be intense
you always have to show your opponent that you're ready to fight and you're
chasing down every single ball and showing them your will to win if you can
do this if you can apply this in every single match you play you'll have a
massive boost over most of your competition because too often players
are giving up and if you're the player that shows that you're never going to
give up if you're the player that's always willing to fight then you'll
become a feared opponent and someone that nobody actually wants to play
because they know even on a bad day you won't give them anything and you'll be
working as hard as ever to win that match and that's the type of player you
want to be you want to be that fighter you want to be that kind of from the DAO
style that ferrer style even if you're someone who plays a completely different
game style when you're playing bad to actually win those matches when you're
playing bad it's all about fighting and making sure that you keep the ball is in
time and time again so that the opponent starts to break down so there you have
it five ways to hopefully help you win more matches and gained a massive edge
over your competition if you've enjoyed this video give it a thumbs up subscribe
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online signing off Simon from TTP all the best and see you soon guys take care