Coach Evan is back with a new post dealing with the concept of highlight reel tennis. What is Winner Ball?

Winner Ball

In a way, it’s like “grip it and rip it.” “Lock and load.” Hit lasers and “hope for the best.”

To be honest, it’s a fun way to play. It’s highlight reel tennis. It’s the way the world is moving. I never thought of it until now, but players are using this form for their Instagram pages. For their Image. From the outside looking in, it looks fun. Attractive. But in the end, it’s like that nice-looking car you drive off the lot, and the wheels fall off (at some point).

It is useful. Not as a full-match game plan. You need backup to go with it. If you watched Djokovic lose to Rune a week ago, you would notice that Novak’s “combos” only got him so far. He needed a little winner ball. Yet, if you watch Fritz at the US Open….he needed a little combo work.

Winner Ball is predicated on forcing errors and hitting winners with the idea that that will take you to the Promise Land. I don’t think there’s one player (off the top of my head) who has won a Major playing Winner Ball only. You could say Thiem, but he changed from Winner Ball (slightly)…developed a few minor parts to add…slice backhand….volleys. Federer-ish.

If you want to understand Winner Ball, follow Brain Game Tennis. The problem is that there is not much thought going into it. What would you say if your buddy compared Tennis to Whiffle Ball? Or some other recreational sport….maybe Cornhole? You’d probably be pissed.

If you throw enough Mud at the wall…some of it is bound to stick. Is that the style of tennis you want to play? Mudball!

Who uses Winner Ball?

When I see a lot of players using this form, I sit back and think, “Is this where Tennis is heading?” Turning Chess into Checkers. If this is the trend, I see tennis disappearing and PickleBall taking over. Is that what you want?

Look at the eight guys remaining at Turin. One guy plays Winner Ball. Fritz.

You can put Tsitsipas in that category, too, partly, but he’s developing more game.

The rest of the guys are developing more areas in their game… Rublev is not just a “basher” anymore (What and Who changed him? Hard to break those mental muscle memory bad habits). Felix has progressed well this year. He is integrating patterns into his game. Layers, if you will call it that. Ruud is a “true” counter-puncher, yet he is also developing more attacking patterns to go with his game. The Major Winners have already adapted (They’re older. Wiser).

Don’t let PickleBall take over Tennis. Start doing Box Combos at the junior level to advance the game for the future.
At the Club level too. You’ll at least move up from the league you are in currently.

Coach Evan likes to dabble in fictional pieces and here is one about what might be going on in Casper Ruud’s hotel room.

In Casper Ruud’s hotel room

Christian Ruud sat at the table and opened the MacBook Air while Casper lay on the floor, getting his thighs massaged. He clicked on the ESPN icon and searched through ESPN+, looking for the Khachanov vs Carreno Busta match.

“We probably don’t need to focus on the Kyrgios match,” Casper said, not expecting an answer.
Nick played Nick’s tennis. That wasn’t going to help plan for the upcoming match.
“Can you see the screen?” Christian asked.
“Ya.”
Christian made notes while the first game played out.
“Do you see the patterns Busta uses in the first game?”
“Box 2.”
Casper was referring to the area in the middle of the Deuce side of the court.
“Ya,” he said and took a sip of water. “What else?”
“He’s also keeping the ball in the Ad corner.”
“Why?”
Casper rolled his eyes.
Christian clicked the pause button and put up his hands, palms facing up.
“He’s targeting the backhand.”
“Good. Let’s see how long this lasts and what Karen does to adjust.”

Not your typical Karen

Casper turned over, and the masseuse started digging into the hamstrings.
“How can he use such a small grip? His hands are huge.”
“That’s why he struggles with switching from forehand to backhand when you mess with time and space,” Christian said. “Remember the Brooksby match in the spring? I’ve never seen Karen so frustrated.”
Christian clicked the play button.
He made more notes during the next game.
He started mumbling to himself.
“What are you saying?”
“Busta uses three patterns in the first two games…I feel like that’s a bad choice. Like showing all your cards.”
“In a five-set match,” Casper added.
“Ya. Two out of three. I get it. But why tip your hand so early?”
Christain put up his hands to answer his own question.
“Karen’s serving buckets.”
“That’s nice to have.”

How many C’s does this story have?

Casper finished his massage, stood up, and wiggled his legs. He grabbed a water bottle and sat next to his father.
They watched the match for a few minutes, fast-forwarding through the downtime.
At 4-2, 0-15 on Khachanov’s serve, Busta hit a backhand deep to the Ad corner. Khachanov returned it crosscourt, and Busta ripped a backhand down the line, missing it wide.
“Why? Why go for that, that early in the game? Why not hit Box 2?”
“He’s trying to establish aggression and dictating when he gets up a point.”
“Ya, but why not wait until you’re up two points?”
“Who’s to say?” his father said. “That’s not my cup of tea.”
“Who says that anymore?” Casper asked.
“Says what?”
“Not my cup of tea.”
“Old people like me.”
“You probably got that from Christopher.”
Casper was referring to one of Christian’s old friends. Christopher had spent his life working the 9-5 life, becoming a “hollow” shell of a human.
“Imagine,” Christian said. “That you grew up from money, and that was a priority in your household, and you chased it all your life not realizing no one cares about the stuff you acquired except yourself.”
“And became rigid.”
“Exactly.”
“Why do you still hang out with Christopher?”
“To show you what not to be. Miserable.”
Both took a sip of water.

Busta moves

“Why is Busta switching his patterns?”
“It’s personal. Off-the-court behavior is creeping onto the court. I don’t know him well enough, but I would say he grew up in an emotional house…probably has sisters. They might have rubbed off on him.”
They both laughed.
Casper has two sisters too.
“You’re lucky you were in the middle. You might have been too soft,” Christian said and nudged Casper with his elbow.
Casper pointed to the screen.
Christian reached with his right hand, slid his finger on the keyboard, and clicked play, exposing his ribs.
Casper poked him below the armpit.
“Hey…What are you doing?”
“It’s ok for you,” Casper joked, “But not for me.”
Casper moved his seat slightly back, out of the reach of his father. As the match played on the screen, Casper thought about growing up in his household. Someone was always playing tricks on someone. You would get it if you didn’t keep your mental guard up.
Casper smiled at the memory of his sister jumping in the air. She had come home late one night, and Casper hid by the bush as she walked up the driveway.
“What are you doing?” he yelled quickly.
She jumped and screamed.
He yelled, “It’s me…your brother.”
“You jerk.”
He had felt bad afterward, but the memory was worth its weight in gold.

Pay attention

“Pay attention, Casper…Do you see? Karen is moving forward to mix it up. He’s losing the baseline battle.”
The score in the match was 4-3 in the first set.
“God, look at Karen camping on the forehand return. Be careful with that. Establish the body serves and get Karen stuck at the corner of the Deuce side. Don’t let him move to his forehand and smash the return. Use the wide serve as a diversion.”
He paused.
“And don’t start the game with it. Unless you want to grind your service games.”
“We could use some flighted combos.”
“Ya…but it depends on how the match is going.”
“I could pound the center and go flighted to the Ad corner.”
“Maybe. Let’s watch some more. And see what changes in the second set.”
The first game of the second set finished.
“Busta’s playing defensive on the return, and Khachanov is kicking out, running around backhands, and cranking his forehand.”
“Right. Who else plays defensive on the second serve returns?” Christian said and stared at his son.
“I know. I know. I have to mix up my second serve return location.”
This was something that they had been working on for months. It was getting better in practice, but in matches, Casper was still learning when to make the right decision and when to move forward and back.
AI made it harder to hide what you were doing. At least when you were playing the top players.

Don’t let Karen hit five forehands in a row

“Look at that. Look at that. Don’t let Karen hit five forehands in a row.”
At 15-all in Busta’s first service game in the second set, Busta played “cross courts” into the deuce side, and Khachanov dictated with every shot.
Christian turned quickly, and Casper flinched. Sometimes movements like that were the only way to let the idea “sink” in.
To alert the brain.
Christian called it “searing” in reference to cattle searing.
“See what Busta does on the Deuce side while serving? After the cracker on the first point, he serves to the backhand. Karen knows this and is expecting it. That’s why you must establish the body and the T patterns.”
“I get it.”
“Ya. Ya… We’ll see.”
They watched for a few minutes.
“Busta’s cracking,” Christian said and immediately thought about the Australian Open match a few years earlier when Busta lost it against Nishikori.
“He’s relapsing. That’s why staying under control and keeping the anger away is important. Because it will always be there.”
Casper heard this a thousand times.
“Busta’s a good player. It’s his mind and his triggers that get in the way.”

Everything comes back to the beginning

Casper took a sip of water.
“This is stuff from childhood, you see. People don’t get it. We carry our mental demons with us until we conquer them. Most people never do.”
Casper patted his dad on the back.
“I get it, Dad. I’m listening.”
It used to bother him when he was a kid that his dad would “preach” too much. As he got older, he understood.
Would he do the same when he had kids?
Maybe.
“Look, Look. Karen has moved back a few more feet behind the baseline during the rallies.’
“Which is why I need to pull angles.”
“On game points, if you had a choice.”
“In a perfect world.”
“Perfection is an illusion,” Christian said and drank water. “We cannot direct the wind, but we can direct the sails.”
“What? Who said that?”
“Dolly Parton.”
“Who’s that?”
“Never mind.”
A half hour went by.
“Man, it took Busta so long to settle his mind. I’ll fast forward to the fifth set and see what happens. You need to eat.”
After they watched the break of serve in the fifth set, Christian closed the Mac.
“Never any change in ball flight… that’s what makes Djokovic, Djokovic.”
They both stood up.
“Let’s go eat.”

Coach Evan went through the trouble of going through Corentin Moutet’s matches at the US Open 2022. It revealed some interesting ideas.

Corentin Moutet

Round 1 vs. Stan Wawrinka.

This was a case of a guy not back to form yet and another guy (Lucky Loser) playing on House money. It was also a bad matchup for Stan. Moutet plays far behind the baseline and makes you hit many balls.

From a game plan standpoint, Corentin Moutet started the match going after Wawrinka’s backhand on the return games and the forehand on the service games. A flip/flop plan. These plans work. Especially when you flip the plan later in the set (if needed), generally, if you are losing, you will adjust the plan. If you are winning, chances are you will slightly adjust the plan before the set is over.

Why? So you kick back the plan at the beginning of the second set.

A mistake college players and future players make is keeping the game plan going and not wavering. Once they continue it too long it’s either obvious a change has to come or they’re hitting too big on the pattern and burning mistakes after mistakes (errors and positional mistakes).

To explain the concept deeper, we need a match video. Because sometimes all you need is a few minor tweaks to a plan to divert the mind. Like on game points.

One problem that pops up is, say you want to adjust by the end of the set, and your opponent is playing like crap and can’t get a rhythm going. Double faulting on big points. Missing easy returns at the end of the game etc.
At that point, you are re-establishing the original game plan.
-When a player plays far behind the baseline like Moutet, you must play the angles.
Easy, right?

After watching Moutet, I would use the deep middle of the court to set up the power angles. Then to set up the redirects (Wu used a similar plan in qualies round 3. I was lucky enough to watch that match live).
(I will write up a training drill on how to beat players that play so far behind the baseline).

ZONE tennis

**A lot of the pros are still playing ZONE tennis. This match is a case of zone training not working. Zone tennis is predicated on fitness and depth, and power. Yes, it can have a little defense in there, but what will you do when you don’t have much time to train or are coming back from injury?
Zone tennis training.
It plays right into Corentin Moutet’s game.
But that style has to cover a lot of real estate, and your body will not last over time.

Round 2 vs. Botic Van De Zandschulp.

Say that name five times.
Lets just call him Van Damme.
There’s something that bothers me about this guy. He looks so laissez-faire.
“Papa will pick us up in the Bentley, Sara,” Botic said. “We will eat dinner at the Trattoria Graziella.”
“Again?”
Botic ignored her.
“After dinner, we will return to the Chateau Amsterdam and do the ramster dam.”
“You mean make love?”
“No! We will do, the ramster dam.”
“Whatever, Botic, you weirdo.”
“And then I will watch “The Big Lebowski.”
Sara rolled her eyes.

Moutet is getting after it this match. He’s not retreating so far back…at least not in the first set.
And Déjà vu.
He wins again.
What a great write-up.
To be honest, it was very similar to Round 1.
Moving on to Round 3
I want to move ahead and see what Ruud did and if he used the sidelines like the others should have.

Round 3 Vs. Pedro Cachin.

Right away, the stat line from the announcers annoys me. The first serve win % and the second serve win %. They’re talking about how the players have to get that % up.
It’s not about the %.
It’s about the strategy that goes along with moving up levels.
Are you just pushing the serve in?
Are you hitting the same spot every time?
Are you telegraphing your location?
From a strategic standpoint, I stopped hitting kick serves only on second serves last year. Sometimes I hit two first serves (the Second is more of a hard cut/slice). It puts more pressure on the returner. Now they are on alert.

How you approach your contact point on serve matters too.
I rarely use “true” (flush) flat serves. This is when the racket head is pointing up at contact. Instead, I’ll be slightly angled with my racket pointing left at contact at like 60 degrees. This allows for a “natural” spin but doesn’t take too much pace off the serve.
It adds a little more control and increases your %age.

Side note. Moutet has steadily gotten more aggressive on his forehand after the qualies. It’s as if he played super defensive to get through qualies (losing in Round 3).

Will he go back to what he knows as the Cachin match wears on and he thinks about getting through to the next round?

Corentin Moutet is a worker

Moutet reminds me of a buddy I grew up with. Both are workers. Both can get aggressive. Both are small in stature and they will fight till the end. But one difference (maybe) is when my buddy throws down a few beers he’s susceptible to being prodded into doing things he might not normally do.

Like throwing a hotdog into a crowd of people at an outdoor concert.
Dumping a beer on some random guys head at a nightclub.
Or causing fights with bouncers.

I’ve never played a 3 out of 5 set match (only goofing locally back in the day), but I can imagine it plays tricks on the mind. For me, it’s like playing your first few rounds of golf at the beginning of the season and crapping out mentally on hole 12. And how one bad hole ruins the rest of the round.

The hold of serve by Cachin at 2-2 in the third set had some weight to it. Off the top of my head, the missed overheads could be a negative seed, meaning after he missed the two in that game it could trigger a thought on the changeover from a past coach (or current) giving him crap over missing them in practice.

Clear your thoughts

It’s crazy what the mind will call up throughout the day, especially during a match, which is probably why so many players and athletes use meditation to clear their thoughts.

When you play on instincts, feel, fed ball, hitting to spots, footwork, you are doomed to fail. Those are by-products.
You want to train in point structure.
Without Box training it’s tough.
What are you going to do?
Play deep when you are down?
Everyone knows that.
Play crosscourts?
They know that too.
If you do that, it becomes a game of hope.
If you Box train, you can have specific plans to do at certain times in the game, the set, and the match and know how to deviate and adjust that plan.
What are you going to adjust with a crosscourt game plan?
Attack?
No shit.
My writing’s getting aggressive because the power went out.
Twice.
And I had to restart.
I’m a little annoyed.
Life goes on.
Last thing.
Cachin played not to lose at the end of the match. Crosscourts. Simple point structure. Hoping Corentin Moutet would miss.
It can work.
But not that day.

Carlos Alcaraz the incredible hulk, that’s how Evan Gaudreu sees the young Spanish star. What drills did he do to develop this game?

Carlos Alcaraz the Incredible Hulk

If you see my gram page, I throw a pic of the Incredible Hulk every time I post about Alcaraz.

The rumor is that Alcaraz is leaving the tour to pursue an acting career as Bruce Banner, but in Spain, they call him El Blancho, and their version is less based on the Incredible Hulk and more based on Tromaville’s “Toxic Avenger.”

They call him the “Lost Avenger.” Think about that! Why was Toxic Avenger not in the Avengers?

Yes, this match is against Brooksby. I’m not going to mention how Moderna is a major sponsor at the US Open. I’m not going to talk about what I think of the players using HGH (Human Growth Hormone). And I’m not going to talk about the use of EPO on tour. But I want to talk about Carlos and the “power sets” he uses on his forehand side.

If you watch Alcaraz play anyone with no pace or lack of pace, he locks into his “power sets.” All they are is blasting forehands from each box location (after you cut the baseline into “fours.”).

Yes, he can back it up with his serve and his volleys. His slice is getting solid. His droppers have been backbreakers.

And what you’ll notice is how he sets up his power with his backhand.

The Right Mental Reps

Imagine money wasn’t an issue for you, or you had loads of talent and were picked up by an academy which is essentially the same thing.

Imagine you were built enough to keep up with the pros at age 15 (similar to how horses are groomed and brought along). Now imagine being able to play Futures and Challengers (and win matches), but all you were doing on your backhand side was hitting “defensive” locations only to set up your forehand.

You are going to get nasty.

And you will be developing a lot of “Mental Reps” like Muscle memory to fall back on when the time comes to “play a bit safer.”

Side note about mental reps. If you or your student or your kid gets away with “pushing” for too long and builds too many “pushy” mental reps, that will be a tough…a very tough habit to break. Many kids have parents who follow the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it mentality.” Their mind will go against anything you might say. And they will be unwilling to change what works.

Just, win, win, win.

Back to the Power sets.

There are singular power sets. I call them ‘kick-outs.’ I’m sure a lot of teaching pros or coaches use these. I don’t see it being used that much in my area (but like I said in the podcast, Western Massachusetts is the Graveyard for tennis).

When I was in the juniors, I wanted my Coach (D1 top 70 in the country) to feed me kick-outs, and he laughed and said, “Why would you ever want to run around your backhand to hit forehands.”
What a turkey.
That was 1992.

Here’s how you work on Single power sets.

Start on the Deuce side sideline and have someone feed you balls to the middle-ish part of the court. Kick-out from the sideline and “Crank” a forehand to the Ad corner.

1) Get a feel for it first.
2) Do sets of ’20s in a row (breaking for 20-30 secs and hitting the bricks). The sets can be based on the level but don’t baby the kid.
3) Start hitting blocks of 5 in a row to a location (and repeat to 3x’s 5 in a row at least.
4) Really, you want to do 10s in a row. If you make a mistake at 9, do not pass “GO”…and go directly to jail….duh….start over. These drills are “real” mental toughness training, not reading Jim Loehr’s books.
5) Work up to 15s and 20s in a row…(15s are like a top in your region, 20s is like training for National level and above).
6) Forgot. Switch up the feeds to topspin.

If you want to work on inside outs, start at the hash mark in the center of the court. Push the student to make more space between the feed and the contact.

Parents…

It’s sometimes funny watching parents try to feed these drills in. They feed so irregularly, and there is no continuity.

The key is no “downtime” during the drill. Some juniors miss one shot and go full Boss Baby. But part of their tantrums is stalling, and the parents enable their behavior.

In a nutshell, “Doubles” are two-ball Bangers. Like double feed the drill. One to the forehand corner, one to the center. These are “old-school” but are still effective.
And fun.
Use your imagination.
They can be done from anywhere.

Beyond the basics, what’s important is hitting locations to your opponent’s side of the court that yield the ball you want. I thought everyone thought like that, but that mindset is disappearing and replaced by focusing on the technique.

Everything these days is about aesthetics (parents). Look at the parking lot at junior tourneys—Mercedes, Maserati, BMW, and so on. And nine out of ten tennis parents can’t even play club tennis. They masquerade around the tourney, impersonating tennis players.

I joke about these parents. They have the Maserati, but I am the Maserati disguised as an AMC Gremlin.

There are two things I don’t like.
The cold and people who wear Mickey Mouse sweatshirts (not at Disney).
But I like when “Goldmember” is announcing the tennis matches (not sure who he is).

Fire up your mentality!

Players need the “fire” mentality to get the power on the groundies. For instance, I had a lot of anger as a kid, and when hitting the ball, I wanted to smoke it. Whenever I hit a tennis ball, baseball, etc, I intended to break it.

This reminds me of a recent book I read by Cameron Hanes, “Endure.” He’s a bow guy and an ultra-marathoner. He talks about going to hunting areas that no one will go to. The point is that he makes it happen regardless of his pain and suffering to get there. It’s a recurring theme in the book.
You can’t teach that.
Like John Rambo.
(I just bought that book. “First Blood”).
I’ve seen the movie a thousand times.

It’s weird, the stuff that happens over a lifetime, and you think about why you do the things you do or things you “got over.”

When I was 18, my “Dad’s” car broke down on the highway in the middle of the winter, and I waited for help. After 30 minutes, I said, “Screw it,” and got out of the car and walked a couple of miles in -15 temps.
What choice did I have?

I also remember the lady’s face in the pizza shop I walked into. She grabbed me and put me in front of the oven. It was like, WTF? Ten minutes later, I could finally talk.

I always thought (unrealistically) that when I had kids, I would make them endure rough situations.
Then I had four girls.
Enough said.