Click here to register for the Serve +2 Webinar on Wednesday 17 September
G’day,
In 2013 I made my first online strategy course called the 25 Golden Rules of Singles strategy. Rule number three is called Serve +1, which focuses on the connection between the serve and the first shot after the serve. It became a focal point to discover how often Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer Forehand hit like the first shot after the serve (many).
So what exactly is serving +2? Glad you asked …
There are three components that you must understand.
1: The Halo effect of the serve
The first serve is the “big hammer” that starts the point. Seconds is usually a 50-50 proposition for most players.
So, in general, how long does the Halo effect of the serve take before the match between the server and the return of the return evenly at the point?
The answer is two shots. The server may play an aggressive Serve, and they can play more offensively on the next two recordings, which are served +1 and Serve +2.
You can extrapolate that to say that there is no real benefit for the server to make more than two recordings after their serve. Their early benefit in the point has expired.
2: Five Shot Rally
It is important to understand that the server can only win odd numbered rallies and that the retouter can only win even numbered rallies. Rally length is counted by the ball that lands – not by touching the strings.
Here is an example.
- The server touches the ball, the returner gets the ball in and the server touches a winner. That is a rally length of three.
- The server touches the ball, the return enters the ball and the server commits an error. That is a rally length of two. Only two balls landed in court.
So let’s talk about a five -shot rally. Only the server can win. And there are two ways to do it.
- The server touches a winner on the fifth shot.
- The returner makes an error on the sixth shot = only five balls that landed in court.
How often do five-shot rallies happen in a competition? Well, they are the third most popular way in which the server collects their points.
Below is a breakdown of 65 games from 2023 by Carlos Alcaraz. You see five-shot rallies in third place in volume for the Spaniard.
Five-shot rallies account for 14% of the total serve points for Alcaraz.
I have a general rule in prioritizing statistics such as this. If the percentage is double digits – like 14% here – it will get my immediate attention. So that applies to one, three and five shot meetings for the server.
3: The best patterns with five shots
Tennis looks like a game of pinball machine. It is not. It is a game of repeatable patterns and five-shot rallies have winning play patterns that the best players in the world use.
The server has to make three shots in court for a five-shot rally. That is a serve and two extra shots, which can be foundations or can end up on the net with Volleys and overhead costs.
In Webinar 71: Serve +2, you will see dozens of points of the elite men and women in the world who run the best five-shot patterns. Can you copy and paste these patterns for your own game? You can absolutely! You will just do it at a lower speed than the pros.
Summary
You will increase your chances to win the point if you have a plan before it starts. We all have a general idea where we want this to go, but not so much the two shots that follow. As soon as you have learned the statistics behind five-shot rallies and see the best play patterns, you walk the game for how you want to construct points when serving.
Click here to register for the Serve +1 Webinar on Wednesday 17 September.
Best,
Craig
#serving #Train #game #tennis