What Tennis Strategy Can Roger Federer Use Against Nadal On Clay?

It's spring 2007 and things don't look any better for Roger Federer when he steps onto a clay court and looks at the imposing figure of his nemesis Rafa Nadal.

In fact, things look worse.

Yesterday, in the finals of the 2007 Monte Carlo tournament, Federer got smoked like a pig on a fourth of July roast.

Fed just can't handle the Nadal topsoin forehand to his backhand. He's tried of course. He's tried a stragey of slicing his backhand. Didn't work. He's tried trading topspin backhands with Nadal -- doesn't work.

If I were to receive a telephone call late one night from somewhere in Switzerland and a certain R.F were to ask what Roger Federer could do on clay agsainst Nadal -- I might offer the following advice. And, if this Monsieur R.F. said he was a close personal friend of Rog and asked me to tape a little message for the Great One, this is what I might say:

Rog,

Dude, as much as I admire your greatness, you just don't match up well with Nadal. If you both play percentage tennis, he smokes you everytime. His forehand just beats you up brutally on your backhand side and you can't afford to play percentage tennis against him.

And, I know for someone as great as you are, it's hard to accept that there's another player out there who has your number. But, it's true and the sooner you accept it, the better your chances of beating Nadal.

Right now you're playing to keep matches close. You've got to accept that to beat Nadal you're going to have play riskier tennis and escape your comfort zone.

You might get smoked 0 and 1, but this is the risk you're going to have to take if you ever want to beat him on clay.

The first thing you're going to have to do is position yourself more in your backhand corner. You have to run around every backhand you can. Get it through your head -- Rog -- you can't beat Nadal on clay if you have to hit a lot of backhands.

Now, of course, you're going to say, but wait --he'll kill me with his inside out forehand. He might, but this is the risk you have to take. Anyway, every time he hits an inside out forehand, he's hitting to your forehand and this is exactly what you want. In fact, it's your only chance. You must force him to hit to your forehand and then you must go for every forehand. Win or lose the point -- and keep the points short.

Rog, I'm getting tired but I'll have nore to say to you in the next few weeks. After all, the French Open is a month away and you've got to get out to the court right away to start practicing running around every backhand.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook All About Tennis Strategy guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level.

Plus, I've added a new page to my web site about tennis strategy Tennis Singles And Doubles Strategies Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Some Practical Doubles Tennis Strategies

I'm still waiting for my computer techs to sort out the problem with the tennis video software and hardware on my computer. So, for now, I have to put our foray into tennis video learning on hold.

In the meantime, I thought I'd talk about doubles tennis strategy.

I play in a good Sunday night men's doubles league. The guys playing one are usually 4.5 and up.

My favourite partner is a great returner with big groundstrokes. However, his serve is weak and he doesn't volley well for this level.

When we're both playing well we can beat anybody. But, too often his serve and volley dip at critical times. But to be fair, my game can go off too.

This last Sunday we started off slowly and lost the first set. Got bageled actually. Things weren't looking good and it looked to be a short night. As one of our opponents joked as we enjoyed a beer after the match, " After the first set I thought I'd be home in time for the Sopranos."

We were on serve at 3-3 in the second set when my partner got broken. They held, I held and they were serving for the match. We finally broke back to even the second set at 5-5.

We were playing on clay and my partner's second serve was getting hammered. I couldn't help much with poaching because of how hard the other guys were ripping the returns.

So, we decided that my partner would not serve and volley. He would serve and stay back. I would agressively hug the net looking to pick off easy shots and if they got by me, my partner would rip heavy low topspin shots and dare the other team to hit volley winners.

This change in tennis strategy seemed to calm my partner down. Now, instead of having to worry about his weakest shot - the volley- he could forget about that and just do what he does best, which is rip incredibly big groundies that are really tough to volley.

His serving improved, we held at 5-5, and broke to win the second set 7-5.

We were on fire in the third set and won easily 6-2.

We both felt great afterwards because it was a win that was really due to good tennis strategy and tactics.

Anyway, this was just another match that was won by understanding the patterns and dynamics that are going on in a tennis match. To learn more about understanding tennis strategies and tactics check out my Ebook INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook All About Tennis Strategy guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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More About Tennis Video

As I wrote about last week, I'll be blogging about using video to help your tennis game.

So, I did some online research to see what type of camcorder I was going to need in order to get some good quality, frame by frame, video that I could use to compare my tennis strokes with the top players in the world.

Last year I played around with video analysis, but I was using an old Panasonic camcorder that did not have an adjustable shutter speed. The video was helpful for gross body type observations, but not for frame by frame analysis, because the racket was blurred due to the low shutter speed.

My research led me to conclude that I needed a camcorder that I could set to have a shutter speed of at least 1ooo.

I went down to the video store, filmed a few service swings, and went back home to see what kind of detail I would get with the higher shutter speed.

But when I got home, I couldn't get the system to work. Man, I was annoyed!

After doing some more reading, I figured out that the problem could either be in the camcorder, in the firewire that connects my camcorder to my laptop, or in the laptop.

I loaded up all three ( camcorder, firewire, and laptop) and off to the local electronics store I went. We hooked up my camcorder and firewire to one of the computers in the store -and -lo and behold - it worked. This eliminated my camcorder and firewire as causes, and led me to conclude that the problem was with my laptop.

Since my laptop is under warranty, I got on the phone with tech support and we tried to figure out if the problem was a hardware or sofware problem. After a number of diagnostic tests, it appears that the problem is a hardware problem .

Tomorrow, I'm bringing in my laptop to the service center to see what can be done.

Now, I know that this blog post hasn't talked too much about tennis but , if we're going to get into hi-tech tennis learning, we have to learn something about technology.

Until the next time,

Glenn


Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook Guaranteed To Improve Your Tennis Results guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Can You Improve Your Tennis By Using Video?

Let's say you're a typical adult at the club playing a 3.5 to 4.5 game.

You didn't play tennis as a kid, love the game, have picked up a lot of savvy, and have a lot of good shots.

But, your game doesn't allow you to take it up a notch. You have too many technical limitations. Too many holes in your strokes which will take a lot of work to fix.

What are your choices?

The conventional approach is to take tennis lessons with your tennis pro. Not a bad option if you have a good tennis pro but it could cost you plenty at $40-60 per lesson.

Can you teach yourself by availing yourself of the newest technologies and studying the greatest pro tennis players in the world in frame by frame slow motion? What if you can compare yourself with them side by side? Is this an efficient way to learn?

Join me on this journey as we combine a love of tennis with the latest technologies. We'll explore the tennis video revolution.

It's going to be fun.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook Guaranteed To Improve Your Tennis Results guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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You've Got To Give Serena Wiliams A Lot Of Credit

Say what you want about Serena Williams. Tennis fans tend to either love her or hate her.

Personally, I've always admired her talent but she's not my favourite player. But, I am in awe of her competitive desire and mental toughness.

She should have lost to Peer in the quarters but I knew that there was no way that Peer was going to hold her serve and win the match in the third set.

And, when Serena was done 15-40 late in the third ,she promptly banged consecutive service winners. The woman produces her best stuff when the going is the toughest.

The only other woman who I can say shows that same 'fight till I die' attitude is Maria Sharapova. And, that ladies and gentlemen, should provide a very entertaining final.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook Guaranteed To Improve Your Tennis Results guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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I Love When Pro Tennis Coaches Commentate On ESPN

The typical image that one has of a pro tennis coach is a quiet type who sits stoically for hours at a time while his or her player goes through the emotional ups and downs of a match.

So, it was quite interesting for me when ESPN invited Darren Cahill into the booth to provide commentary on the Andy Murray /Verdasco match.

Cahill was a breath of fresh air and had plenty to say. He essentially said that Verdasco was a stupid player and implied that he probably wasn't the sharpest guy either.

Of course, if you watch the extremly talented Verdasco play, you can see right away that he's a very dumb player. He has tremendous weapons that he doesn't know how to use very well at all.

Cahill went where ex-pros tend not to go. He was brutally honest but it was refreshing to hear some insightful analysis.

Of course, my all-time favourite is Brad Gilbert who knows more about tennis and has more opinions than anyone.

So, I say let's hear from more of the coaches and less from the players who basically give you the standard answers anyway.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies A Tennis Ebook With Great Tennis Coaching Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Watch Federer's Footwork --It's Amazing

Like everybody else, I watch Roger Federer play tennis and try and figure out what makes him so great.

Last night in his match with Youzny, I decided to just watch Federer's feet during the points. And, it was incredible.

Federer is insanely cat-like with his movements. He moves almost like a squash player with extraordinary first step quickness after his split step. Plus, Federer will use small, super quick steps in order to optimize his positioning before striking the ball.

I think that's why his game looks effortless. We are all watching his beautiful flowing strokes but the work is being done by the lower body. It's a great lesson for all club players who play with one or two big steps. It's also highlights what a spectacular athlete Federer is.


So, next time you watch Federer play just spend a little time watching only his feet. You'll be blown away.

Comments?

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Online Tennis Coaching Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Has Nadal Changed His Service Motion?

I have to admit I only saw the last 2 games of Nadal's first round match. And, in the one service game that I did see I didn't see any major changes in his service motion.

But, reading about it afterward, I discovered that Nadal himself said that he has been working on his serve. And, on some of the tennis forums there were some comments about it. The comments seem to be that he has widened the distance between his feet in his set up.

Readers of this blog might remember that I charted the Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer. The most interesting thing that I noted was that Nadal hardly ever served wide in the deuce court and, when he did, he couldn't serve wide enough. You can read my analysis of the Wimbledon final here Analysis of 2006 Wimbledon Final


I postulated that the other players know this and cheat to the middle when they return Nadal's serve in the deuce court. I made the comment that if I were Nadal's coach I would teach him to serve wide in the deuce court.

I believe what made it so hard for Nadal to serve wide effectively in the deuce court was his starting stance with open hips and feet closely together. Broadening his base makes it easier to serve wide and this might be the reason for the change.

If Nadal can learn this serve I think he'll give players even more trouble. Serving wide to righthanders' forehands in the deuce court ( if he can get it wide enough) will pull them off the court and open up the backhand corner for an attacking shot on the next ball.

Plus, if Nadal can force his opponents to respect his wide serve, then they will probably have to set up for their returns a few feet further towards the sidelines than if he didn't hit the wide serve well. This will make his slice down the T more effective.

Ah, the chess game of tennis tactics.

Comments?

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Online Tennis Tactical Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Time To Starting Following The Tennis Tour Again

Ok, it's Australian Open time.

Readers of this tennis blog are well aware that I don't pay much attention to the pro tennis tour after the US Open. To me, it's all exhibtion tennis and a time for the players to make money and gain ranking points.

Personally, I've been focusing on my own game these past few months. But, now the real tennis season is starting. So, here are some of the story lines as the season starts:

1. How dominant will Roger Federer be this year? Can he possibly repeat his performance of 2006? Personally, I've got a crazy feeling that he won't be as dominant but that he'll win the French Open.

2. Will Rafael Nadal's slide continue? Everybody who follows the tour is aware that Nadal's results after Wimbledon have been disappointing. It's proably a combination of fatigue, injury, and the fact that the tour players probably now have a good book on Nadal.

They are all probably aware to step in and take the short topspin balls that Nadal hits and attack with flat shots. Blake and Berdych in particular have troubled Nadal by playing this way.

3. Is anybody else ready to step into the top 5? My one prediction is Novak Djokovic.
He's a big guy with a lot of power off both sides. And what about Gael Monfils? Personally, I've never been that impressed with the tactical side of Monfils' game.

4. Can Andy Roddick continue to improve? Imagine Roddick with a return and a volley.
Roddick did beat Federer last week in an exhibition and that has to be a great way to start the new year.

5. On the women's side, will Sharapova have a dominating year? I think she is the one woman with the game and the competivenesss to win majors consistently. Henin-Hardenne seems too injury prone.

6. Can either of the William's sisters make an impact this year? It's getting less and less likely but I could see a Wimbledon surprise.

Any comments?

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Winning Ugly Type Tennis Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level.

Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Can Pete Sampras Still Take Federer?

This week in the online Sports Illustrated tennis section, Justin Gimelstob talks about his practice sessions in Los Angeles with Pete Sampras.

According to Gimelstob, Pete is playing great tennis . He claims Pete is playing as well as anybody not named Federer.

Gimelstob mentions that Sampras is playing with a newer, larger head size frame, and is using some of the newer strings as well ( probably a polyester or a gut/polyester hybrid). Justin implies that these equipment changes have added to Sampras' game. Can you imagine the Sampras serve with even more spin?

Gimelstob casually mentions that he believes Sampras is one of the few players in the world today who can rob Federer of time. He doesn't go into detail about this but it goes along with what I've written in the past.

I believe that the type of player who could beat Federer consistently, and on fast courts, would have to be able to do some things very well:

1. Serve well and finish off the point with a volley. Roddick serves well but allows Federer to float back returns because he doesn't look to hit first volleys. Sampras would eat up floating returns and force Fed to go for more and consequently miss more.

2. Attack the Federer second serve. Put pressure on Fed by chipping and charging the second serve. Again, Sampras is one of the few modern players who has the skills to do this.

3. Flatten out the forehand to take away Fed's time to set up. Again, Sampras hits a very flat forehand as his basic forehand.

I know that some people will write and mention that Federer beat Sampras in their only meeting which happened to be on Sampras's favourite surface at Wimbledon. But, really one match doesn't enough to draw the conclusion that Federer would have Sampras's number.

Here is the link to the Gimelstob article. Comments anyone?



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/justin_gimelstob/12/21/sampras.federer/index.html

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Mental Tennis Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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Free Tennis Gifts

This holiday season I am participating in a free holiday tennis gift promotion.
It'a great idea and a lot of well known tennis people are involved.

So, split step on over to


Free Tennis Gifts


All the best for the holiday season,

Glenn Sheiner M.D.

Federer's Historical Three Year Run

In the last entry, I write about Federer's 2006 season and how, although it has been sensational, it has not been the greatest single season of all time.

Remember, he's had a superb year with a match record of 92-5, which means he won 94.8% of his matches.

Now, let's look at Federer's performance over a three year period and compare it to the other great three year periods in tennis history.

Let's look at it first from the point of view of total matches won in a consecutive three year period.

From 2004-2006 Federer has won 247 matches. This puts him in the number one position. Pete Sampras won 234 matches from 1993-1995 and Ivan lendl won 232 matches from 1983-1985.

If you look at the winning percentages over the same three year periods, Federer was 247-15 for a winning percentage of 94.3% while Sampras was 234-44 for a winning percentage of 84.2%.

Lendl was 232-20 for a winning percentage of 92.1%.

Now, let's look at the most titles won over a three year period. Again, Federer dominates. From 2004-2006, Rog has won 34 titles, of which 8 have been Grand Slams. Both Borg and Connors won 30 titles over consecutive three year periods ( Borg from 1977-79 and Connors from 1974-76) but, during their respective streaks, Borg won 5 slams and Connors just 2.

So, let's sit back and see what Rog has in store for us in 2007.

To learn more about the consecutive three year records go to:



Best Three Year Consecutive Most Titles Won;

Best Three Year Consecutive Most Match Victories



Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Mental Tennis Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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Federer's Great Tennis Season

So, Roger Federer won another tournament and again everybody is talking about whether or not he is the greatest of all time.

He's had a superb year with a match record of 92-5, which means he won 94.8% of his matches.

As incredible as this year has been for Federer, his season winning percentage is only the fourth best in ATP history!

The best single season winning percentage all time on the ATP tour is 96.5%.

And, guess who holds that record?

None other than John McEnroe who in 1984 went 82-3. Not to mention that Mac lead Ivan Lendl 2 sets to love in the French Open that year before Lendl came back to win the match.

There's no question of Federer's brilliance but there have been periods of brilliance by others as well.

To see the top ten single season winning percentages on the ATP Tour click on:
Top Ten Winning Percentages On The ATP Tour.

To see the top ten single seasons as judged by the number of titles won click on:
Top Ten Seasons -Most Titles Won.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Mental Tennis Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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Is The Tour Catching Up To Nadal?

Every player has patterns. The great ones win consistently because they usually can execute so well that it doesn't make much difference if their opponents know what's coming or not.

Some of the all time greats have had very simple game plans. Borg would rip heavy topspin until you made a mistake or fatigued. His game was only vulnerable to a superb net player and only John McEnroe was good enough.

Pete Sampras would hold serve by using his incredible serve and then try to break with his fairly flat, attacking game. On his backhand he would just try to neutralize and bide his time.

Rafael Nadal likes to wear his opponents down with his heavy lefty topspin. He doesn't like to come to the net and likes to grind away.

I think the other players on the tour maybe getting wise to Nadal's patterns. They may be overplaying his lefty topspin shots so that they are better prepared for them.

In addition, a number of pros who have beaten Nadal consistently like James Blake and Thomas Berdych like to step into Nadal's groundstrokes and rip flat balls back to him -- often winning the point outright.

Nadal also has certain patterns on his serve. I wrote about this after the Wimbledon final this year against Roger Federer and I thinks it makes for interesting reading.

You can read my analysis of the Wimbledon 2006 final between Nadal and Federer by following this link: Federer versus Nadal In The Wimbledon 2006 Final

To read more about tennis tips and playing better tennis here are a few web pages to visit:

Tennis Tips
How To Play Tennis

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Tennis Tactics And Tips Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level.

Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
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Play Better Tennis While Trying To Win Matches

It's the ultimate challenge.

All serious tennis players want to play better tennis, work on their tennis games, and improve. At the same time, almost all serious tennis players are very competitive and hate to lose tennis matches.

Guess what? The two motivations totally conflict.

From what I've seen there are very few players who will continue to try and work on new aspects of their tennis games while they are losing IF THEY KNOW THEY COULD BE WINNING BY DOING THE SAME OLD THING THEY'RE TRYING TO CHANGE!


It takes guts to have a longer term perspective and accept defeat today on the tennis court in order to gain victory in the future.

Having said all that, here are a few strategies that you can use while you're trying to improve your tennis skills while at the same time continuing to win matches.

Tennis Strategy 1.

Play down a level. Start playing the players you know you can beat fairly easily.
There is usually less pressure on you and if you are losing you can just switch back to your old patterns to win the match.

Tennis Strategy 2.

Play the set score. Let's say you're ahead 4-love in a set. You can try some new things even if it's going to cost you a game or two. You're still likely to win the set.

Tennis Strategy 3.

Play the game score. Let's say you're ahead 40-love in a game. You can use the next point to try the new option you're working on. Even if you lose the point, you're likely to win the game.

These are 3 ways for you to improve your tennis game, play better tennis, and still win matches.

To read more about tennis tips and playing better tennis here are a few web pages to visit:

Tennis Tips
How To Play Tennis

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Tennis Tactics And Tips Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level.

Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.



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A Tennis Lesson From Johnny Mac

Who wouldn't love to get a tennis lesson from John McEnroe?

A friend of mine recently was on the court with McEnroe and Jana Novotna in Ottawa.
I asked him, of course, what the experience was like.

The format was mixed doubles and my friend had two main comments.

The first thing he said was that both Johnny Mac and Novotna were incredibly competitive, even in the supposedly relaxed setting of a tennis lesson.

The second thing that my friend said was that it was stunning to him how early McEnroe hit the ball. It was as if the ball was returned back at his feet the moment he hit it.

Hitting early is one of those things that you can't appreciate on TV. On TV, we can see power and often the early hitter is using the other's player's pace. So, it doesn't look that impressive.

There's nothing like tennis lessons from the world's best.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Insider Tennis Strategies An Ebook of Mental Tennis Tips guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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Tennis Rackets Of The Pros -- What Sticks Are They Really Using?

The Racket Controversy And What Is A Paint Job?


There are a lot of reasons for the controversy about the exact rackets that the pros use. The main reason for the controversy, as usual, is money.

It’s common knowledge on the inside of the tennis world that many pros are using rackets painted to look like the retail version of a new racket that the manufacturer is marketing.

Here’s a typical scenario. A pro has been using a racket for a long time and, the manufacturer with whom he or she has a deal, wants to introduce a new racket line into the marketplace. The pro may not really want to change rackets but may agree to have the old rackets painted to look just like the new racket. In tennis vernacular this is called a paint job.

Of course, this is usually good business for the racket manufacturer as sales of the new and probably expensive rackets will increase. And, the player pockets the fee from the manufacturer and still gets to play with the rackets with which he or she is most comfortable. Whether or not this is good for the recreational tennis player is debatable.


Most recreational players could never play well with the exact rackets that top pros use anyway.


Often top pros use rackets that are not that powerful and are very heavy (even if the retail racket frames that you and I can buy are not heavy, many pros either add lead tape to make their rackets much heavier, or have them customized to be heavier).

The pros can play with these types of rackets because they can generate tremendous racket head speed and power, and wouldn’t be able to control the ball if the rackets were too powerful.


The average recreational player will feel that they can barely get the ball over the net with many actual pro rackets.


So, even if a recreational player thinks he or she is playing with the same racket as their favorite pro, it’s actually a racket that is usually substantially different than the actual racket the pro is using. It may look the same and have the same name, but it usually isn’t the exact same racket.

Of course, some recreational players customize their rackets with lead tape. And, they’ll try and find out how much tape certain pros use and where on the racket the players place the lead tape.

You see, where the lead tape is placed on the racket dramatically changes the weight and balance of the racket and how it plays.

In the final analysis, the smart recreational player goes to his tennis pro shop and demos a whole bunch of rackets before buying. And, the smart player will buy the racket that he or she plays with best as opposed to the racket he or she thinks Federer or Sharapova is playing with.



The Controversy Over Roger Federer’s Actual Racket



Among tennis fans today there is debate about the actual racket that Roger Federer plays with. There are as many conspiracy theories about Federer’s racket as there are about the Kennedy assassination.

What is known is that when Federer was in the juniors he played with the classic Pro Staff 6.0 85. This is the same frame that Pete Sampras used.

Next, Federer apparently played with a newer Wilson model called the Pro Staff Tour 90.

And now, he’s apparently playing with a newer model again - the N 6-1 Tour 90.

But, not everyone is convinced that Federer is actually using the new N 6-1 Tour 90!


Here are two of the top conspiracy theories:

• He’s still using the Pro Staff Tour 90 painted to look like the N 6-1 Tour 90.

• He’s using a custom frame based on the original mold of the original Pro Staff 6-0 85.


Obviously, there are small differences between the proposed rackets that Federer is using. Tennis fanatics actually take pictures of Federer’s racket in match play and magnify the images trying to look for little clues.

They analyze everything from the grommets, the string pattern, and the number of cross strings in the PWS.

According to one report from an unidentified source at Wilson, all of Roger Federer’s racquets are made from a modified ProStaff 6.0 85 mold. Apparently, Roger wanted to increase the head size from 85 sq. in., while trying to maintain the original features of the Pro Staff 6-0 85.

In order to meet Federer’s requirements, plus successfully market the Pro Staff Tour 90, Wilson modified a Pro Staff 6.0 85 mold to include the tapered flanges on the throat, increased the head size to 90 sq.in., and made slight modifications to the PWS shape in order to make it look like a Tour 90 to the untrained eye.

Now, conspiracy theorists think that Fed is playing with this customized racket that has been painted to look like the N 6-1 Tour 90.


If you'd like to read a FREE report on exactly what rackets , what strings, and at what tensions the top pros play with then split step over here now FREE Report on the actual raquets, tennis string tension,and types of tennis strings of the top pros.

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What Does A Tennis Diamond Bracelet Have To Do With Tennis?

Have you ever heard of a diamond tennis bracelet?

If you do a little research on the most common terms that people type into google to search for tennis terms, you'll find that the terms tennis bracelet or tennis diamond bracelet come up very frequently.

I was curious so I decided to do a little research.

And, it's an interesting story with a tennis twist involving one of tennis' greatest female players.

To learn more about the origin of the term tennis bracelet go to:

What is a diamond tennis bracelet?

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Tennis Tactics And Tips Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.


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I Played A Match Against One Of The Top Players In The World!

What a thrill!

A friend of mine is friends with one of the top tennis players in the world and he set up a fun doubles match.

I don't want to name the pro but before I talk about his game, let me just say, he's a terrific guy. Played just hard enough to keep it interesting and kept up a running stream of humorous and good natured trash talking.

Now, neither myself or the other two guys can even remotely challenge the pro. So, to be honest, he was just fooling around except for a couple of points in the second set when his side was behind and he decided to step it up a notch.

What did I observe?

Amazing returns of serve - Man, this guy could return. Super clean, quick, low liners that just were back at your feet before you could move.

Tremendous volleys - Our pro is a doubles specialist and has one of the best volleys in the world. Again, short preparation, little racket movement, and then boom -- a rocket perfectly placed. And, with the same motion, a drop volley that just dies.

Incredible anticipation - Many times I had a short ball and was trying to disguise my intentions by not looking at the part of the court where I was going to hit the ball. But, it didn't make any difference. Our pro could read where I was going anyway and was just standing in the right place.

I didn't have a chance to hit groundies with him, and he was serving at half speed, so I didn't get to experience what returning one of the world's top serves is like but I can just imagine.

All in all, it was a great thrill for me.

Have any of you had the opportunity to play with top pros?

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of Top Selling Tennis Tactics Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out the world's top tennis humor screensaver
Tennis Cartoon Screensaver. You can download a trial version for FREE.

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Why Can You Play So Well One Set And Then Play Horribly The Next?

First, a little confession.

When it comes to peak sports performance, I'm not a huge believer in the theory that says that all one has to do is to just relax.

If that's all it took then, hey, just relax in your favorite way, then go out and shoot scratch in golf, or play high level tennis for 3 sets.

It's not that easy!

I believe that the key to playing consistent high level tennis is to master muscle memory of high level stroke production. Then, when you have total confidence that you've got the swings grooved, you can just relax and let it go.

You see the relaxation comes after creating muscle memory of the right patterns.

I believe that proper stroke production in tennis is a beautiful dance of all the various parts of the body moving in a natural and efficient rhythm. Now, there may be many different ways to acquire the muscle memory, but that's a different issue to be discussed at a later time.

So, in my opinion, if at times you play really well and hit the ball beautifully and other times your strokes fall apart, it's not neccessarily mental.

It's quite possible that your muscle memory is failing and you've gotten out of synch. This is when I think you have to have cues on each stroke that guide you back to that place where your rhythm returns.

The cues could be anything but they have to get you back to the right muscle memory. You may tell yourself to turn your shoulders as far as you can on your groundstrokes when you're struggling. Or, maybe holding your weight back a little longer on the serve before exploding into it.

I'll be discussing this issue more in later blogs as it fascinates me.

And, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Glenn Sheiner M.D. - author of The Top Selling Tennis Tactics Ebook guaranteed to make you a smarter tennis player and take your tennis to the next level. Also, check out a little about tennis history here Tennis history

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