June 1, 2009 
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"What's New" Product Video - from Tennis Warehouse - Babolat Pure Drive GT Racquet
Jim McLennan Managing errors. Telling one’s self, “Watch the ball!” (I always wonder whether that is a monologue not requiring a reply, or a dialogue that awaits for yet another part of the brain to say, “Give me a break, I know, I am trying to concentrate.”) Playing our way through the ebbs and flows of a match. Trying to get it together. Somehow it often feels too much like a struggle, and even when things do come together, it seems to have magically occurred rather than having been made to happen. But what exactly occurs? And if we can identify that feeling, how can we search for it more often. One thing we do know, however, when we do get this elusive thing back, it will not be about verbal self-admonitions. That we can be sure of. Agassi vs Medvedev Andre Agassi erased many of his stinging reversals at Roland Garros with a stirring come from behind victory in the 1999 final. Final round losses to Andres Gomez in 1990 and Jim Courier in 1991, followed by a lull in Andre’s career, were overcome by an amazing 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Andrei Medvedev. I had forgotten about this match, and only recently watched it on the Tennis Channel. For me, the momentum swing highlighted an issue we are all familiar with, both personally and as spectators. That is, how can we somehow have a string of errors, the ball just barely out, the stroke just barely mis-hit, and yet at other times we can and do play flawlessly? In Agassi’s case, I believe it was absorption in the task – total and complete concentration.
The match began to swing in Andre’s favor in the fourth set. And by early moments in the fifth, Andre was striking the ball perfectly, with winners played very close to the lines, while Medvedev had lost his touch (both mentally and physically). One particular replay told the story for me. It showed Andre moving forward to finish a mid-court forehand, his head absolutely still, his eyes absolutely dialed in on the ball. Much like an animal tracking its prey – total absorption in the task. We have all seen the abnormal pictures of Federer, where his head is absolutely still at and moments after contact. Now we see similar photos of Nadal. Considering the skull weights eight pounds (more or less) and imagining the tennis stroke to resemble a spinning top (which more and more describes modern tennis), then it stands to partial reason that any motion in the skull during this hitting action would create a wobble, a perturbation that would ever so slightly disturb the accuracy of the stroke. Let me repeat that. Any motion of the skull while swinging will influence the path of the racquet. On that particular highlight, Andre’s skull was dead still, his eyes locked on the ball. Federer and Nadal do that, what about you? Tom Stow Tom Stow often taught strokes from a stool and though many times his methods were obscure, his results were always amazing. My experience on the stool was to correct the forehand volley. Tom felt I had too much movement, and following the lines of this article, too much movement in my head. He demanded absolute balance and, for lack of a better word, total poise. So in an effort to recreate those days I am volleying from a stool, isolating just my hand and arm. The ball balanced on the hat appears to be a circus trick, but actually shows clearly whether or not my head is still. Takeaways The next time on court, closely monitor the following:
Can you turn to the side (forehand or backhand) when returning serve, but separate the movement of your shoulders from that of your skull? That is, just as Rafa and Roger stroke through the ball without moving their head, can you, at the beginning of a stroke, turn to the side without losing perfect site of the ball. And as you move to the ball are you aware of a gliding, or rather a bouncing movement? As must be obvious, gliding will keep you head much more still. Take another look at Murray, or even Federer in his emergency forehand from inside the baseline – total and complete poise. And isn't that really the goal. See Jim McLennan's "Essential Tennis Instruction" website. As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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