June 1, 2010
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The French Open and the Green Bay Power Sweep Jim McLennan Some many years ago when Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers dominated the NFL, their signature play, as well as the key to their dominance, was the elegantly simple yet indefensible “power sweep.” With minimal deception, "four yards and a cloud of dust" was the key to Green Bay's ball-control offense. Quoting Lombardi, “You think there's anything special about this sweep? Well, there isn't. It's as basic a play as there can be in football. We simply do it over and over and over. There can never be enough emphasis on repetition. I want my players to be able to run this sweep in their sleep. If we call the sweep twenty times, I'll expect it to work twenty times...not eighteen, not nineteen." "Every team eventually arrives at a lead play. It becomes the team's bread-and-butter play, the top-priority play. It is the play the team knows it must make go, and the one the opponents know they must stop. Continued success with the play makes for a number one play, because from that success stems confidence..." I believe we see examples of this same thing on the tennis court. Nearly unstoppable bread-and-butter plays. Basic tactics the opponent knows is coming but rarely has an answer for. Sampras’ second serve and deadly volley on the slick Wimbledon grass, McEnroe's chip-and-charge against suspect second serves, Federer’s unerring defense punctuated by table-turning forehand winners when the opponent hits short, and finally, and most importantly, Nadal’s sidespin serve out wide to the ad court against any and all right-handed players. As a brief aside, I don’t believe we see the Power Sweep in women’s tennis. Their game involves punishing ground strokes, incredible court coverage, but with the exception of an in-form Serena, absent wicked side-spinning court opening serves, the ladies don’t seem to have the ability to run similar patterns. Consider Rafa, one of only two left-handers presently within the top 20. Cousin Tony has been considered a genius, and perhaps (this is just a hunch) Tony saw advantages in making Rafa into a lefty. If the bulk of the competition would be (and in fact is) right-handed, the lefty has an undeniable advantage when serving to the ad court if that server has a wicked sidespin delivery.** In an era where most servers rely on the second serve kicker, Rafa is alone in his preference for sidespin, on every serve. And with this side spinner opening up the court, down-the-line returns give Rafa a crosscourt backhand winner opportunity and worse yet (for his opponent), crosscourt returns flow into the Nadal forehand. Hideous choices for the receiver and a lot like the Power Sweep, generally indefensible. In fact, that may be why he played such a close 2008 Australian semifinal match with Verdasco, as his bread and butter play was answered with a strong left-handed forehand in the ad court. Consider Federer’s luck on break point when facing Rafa’s power sweep. In most instances this occurs in the ad court, though certainly not all ad points fall there. Further, I cannot find stats that break down these percentages with reference to the deuce and ad court.
Just as the Green Bay Packers chose the weak side of the opponent’s line for their recurring Power Sweep, Nadal’s wicked sidespin to the ad court exposes the Federer one-handed backhand. And what of Roger’s options? The following is a wild guess, and your comments and ideas are totally welcome. I don’t believe he needs nor should he develop a two-handed backhand return. Simply put, this point starts with Rafa centered on his baseline, and Roger stretched wide in, if not well outside, the alley on the backhand side. Roger must serve well, and hold serve as much as possible in order to “stay even.” Second, he must take every advantage when returning in the deuce court, for here Rafa’s signature sidespin simply moves Roger to the center of the baseline and, all things being somewhat equal, this is a much better start to a point against Nadal. And finally, a thought about takeaways. Verdasco played Sampras in an exhibition at the 2010 SAP tournament in San Jose. Verdasco served wide in the ad court every single time. Sampras got most returns in play but rarely got his racquet on the second shot;s there was way too much court for his 38 year old legs to cover. And I would bet that Verdasco practices this two shot sequence constantly – wide serve followed by either forehand to backhand to the opposite corner. I encourage you to do the same – develop a wide side spinning serve that opens the court – and forehand and backhand skills that drive the next ball to the opposite corner. Deliberate practice, again, and again and again. ** Top 20 ATP rankings as of May 2010 Note – some of these taller two-handed backhand players may have a slightly better counter to the Nadal power sweep when returning in the ad court, but that is a story left to another article. Further the author has no idea how to hit this particular stroke so in most instances he remains silent on its technique and merit.
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