Consciousness on the Run, Roger Federer Defense to Offense, Monfils d. Nadal

Written by: Staff on 7th January 2012

Qatar ExxonMobil ATP Open Tennis tournament 2012

Consciousness on the Run, Roger Federer Defense to Offense, Monfils d. Nadal

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Andreas Seppi of Italy during their quarter final match of the Qatar ExxonMobil ATP Open Tennis tournament at Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar, 05 January 2012. Federer won 6-3, 5-7 and 6-4. EPA/STRINGER |

Today was my second day back in my hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii since coming back from Singapore. Again I hit the practice courts to work on my timing and physical stamina. I’m not overly-concerned with hitting big shots or winners, I mentally picture my old college coach Brad Pearce reminding me about playing solid and not making any unforced errors. My current form is a little shabby, the jet-lag makes my body think it should be sleeping when I’m actually training! Furthermore, I keep hearing Brad push me to limits I didn’t think were possible, thus allowing me to push through any pain or uncomfortable feelings. So inevitably, due to mental strength alone, I end up having a good workout.

I’ve been doing some pull-ups and push-ups to build up my shoulders and back. I believe it’s helping because I feel stronger, and the injured portion of my shoulder feels protected. I still do my band exercises and it really activates the sore area, but now it’s just an intense burning after sets, rather than pain. I advise you to halt any weight lifting or strength exercise if there’s pain. However, the sensation of “burning” is manageable and increases blood flow and mobility of the muscle area.

How about Monfils effort against Nadal? Finally snapping his losing streak to Nadal, Monfils was able to win in straight sets. Monfils is a pretty tall guy and Nadal’s shots were bouncing right into his strike zone! It just goes to show you that Willie Keeler’s advice to “Hit em’ where they ain’t” still holds true. Most of the time Monfils gets into trouble because he plays so defensive when put on the run. He will run around the back of the court without ever moving up and putting his opponent on the defensive. He would rather run all day and wait for his opponent to spray a shot wide or long in an attempt to hit a winner. He’s been athletic enough to do this but at what price? You see his knee braces, his slides, his “disappointing” losses in major events or big matches. I think if he wasn’t such a natural scrambler, he could “consciously” remind himself to take a step or two forward, event four or five if he has time (FAST steps of course), after one of his defensive gets. This shows his opponent he’s still in the point and in position to do some damage. You hit a great defensive shot, it lands deep, you see your opponent scrambling to get into position to hit another attacking ball – why not step up into the court, forcing your opponent to hit their offensive shot, catch it a little earlier (than opposed to running deep behind the baseline again to retrieve), and force them to go on the run unexpectedly because they thought you were going to take a lot of “time” to get to their shot?

I find that juniors as well as collegiate players really “forget” this part of the game. The switch from defense to offense. The game is not always played “toe to toe”, it would be too fast for anyone to keep up. That’s why the pros give themselves some distance to work with until they see their opponent in a tough spot and unable to produce a quality ball that is heavy and penetrating. Most of us decide that we either want to go toe to toe when our opponent is playing strong, or put on our running shoes and hoof it to every ball without a game plan for the next shot. Pros however move back into the court to take away their opponent’s time and are able to switch from a defensive position to an offensive position. Roger Federer is the best at this, Nadal’s forehand a close second. It’s sort of a gamble to take the ball earlier of course, but with less distance and your ability to catch the ball higher above net chord, you don’t have to put as much on the shot to keep it in and put your opponent on the run. Just a simple block that is either an angle or makes your opponent move just a few more steps than they anticipated is enough to garner you the point and their error, maybe even a winner if they’re slow. Agassi used to be the king of this, how much defense did you see him playing? One shot or two before he’s back on the baseline taking a ball early to make his opponent run instead and take away their time.

So take a minute to consciously monitor your court positioning when behind the baseline and on the run, you’ll be surprised when you do it prominently that your opponent’s eye will see you move up, causing them to get nervous and miss their next ball because they were watching you instead!

Waking up to a Loco Moco, Spam Musubi, and fresh juice is the perfect islander breakfast!!!

Shubert