Can Lendl help Murray to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon?
The French Open final provided yet another example of the challenges Murray has in winning against Novak in a Grand Slam final! The Rome Masters win gave us all hope but once again "the machine" proved to be too good when it came to the crunch in a best of 5 set final.
So, can Lendl help Andy beat Novak? I'm not sure it's possible for any player to beat him in a Grand Slam final as by then he is totally ready and when performing at anywhere near his best he doesn't have any obvious weaknesses.
However, I'm sure Andy/Lendl will be thinking otherwise (obviously) and planning their strategy even at this early stage. Yes, Murray would need to make the final but any changes he makes to his game would have to be worked on both on the practice court and more importantly in matches. Queens will give us a chance to see if any changes are being made.
So, what might be the solution? In recent Grand Slam finals with Novak I felt that Andy wasn't able to maintain the necessary fitness levels but why should this be? Andy is considered to be one of the fittest players in the world so why should he get tired?
Do his emotional outbursts at himself, and in recent times towards his box, have a tiring effect on his physiological output? When playing everyone except Novak his constant rants don't seem to have such a negative impact on his energy levels? It seems that since Becker appeared on the scene Novak is much better at handling his emotions in the critical stages. The results speak for themselves.
To have any chance of beating Djokovic, Andy's concentration needs to be at the highest possible level especially in the clutch moments and I will be interested to see if his ranting continues under Lendl. I would imagine that abuse of his team box will be out of the question as it was when Lendl was there previously. The emotional calm Andy displayed when winning Wimbledon and during the final set of his US open win remain in my mind as his ideal performance state. So, can Lendl help him get into that state once again?
I'm certainly looking forward to watching Murray's wonderful tennis abilities without the boring negative self talk. Okay Mr Lendl over to you.........
What can we learn from Lopez & Lopez winning the French Open doubles?
Feliciano and Marc Lopez are not brothers but play together as if they were and compliment each others style of play.
They have different strengths with Feliciano a great serve/volley player and Marc a wonderful shot maker from the back of the court. Club players can learn so much about strategy and court coverage from them as they play one up one back often just like many club players.
During our Special Hosted Weeks we always do a doubles clinic and focus mainly on the one up & one back format. I find myself speaking about Marc Lopez as one of my favourite exponents of this particular style as the predominantly baseline player. Who says you can't win from the back in doubles especially on a clay court?
So just what can we learn from the Lopez boys?
1/ Being good friends both on & off the court helps a lot!
2/ Try to find a partner who compliments your game style i.e. a strong serve/volleyer plus a good baseliner with great court craft utilising all areas of the court can be a powerful combination.
3/ This is their first season together and they won the first event they entered and now a grand slam! So this tells us that if you can learn the basic strategies of doubles (re your game style) and combine this with someone who compliments your style, winning can happen fairly quickly.
The great thing about doubles is that you can try loads of tactics in order to win a match but always play to your individual strengths and find someone you get on well with who will support you no matter what happens!
Trapani Hosted Week
May 22nd to 29th
Our recent hosted week in Trapani , Sicily was a huge success - so much so that we had 2 famous players attend. Can you guess which 2 famous Grand Slam winners the above 2 ladies are thought to be?
Ian & Laura Special Hosted Weeks for 2016
Here is a list of what's left on our Special Hosted Weeks & for more information please click HERE
String Tension in Cold/Warm Weather
Great news in Glasgow that we have had some warm weather for the first time in years but how does this affect the playability of our racquets? The French open posed not only fixture problems but tension dilemmas for all the players with the unusually cold damp conditions.
So what tension should you have in your racquet for varying conditions? In a bid to keep it simple I would advise going up or down tensions by 2-4lbs eg
Normal tension -50lbs
Cold conditions - less 2-4lbs
Warm conditions - up 2-4lbs
This is a very simple guide and please remember your racquet will lose tension just sitting there but even more so in cooler temperatures. Pros have their racquets strung for every match and then change them every 8 games! Perhaps too costly for most of us, but if the ball is flying or it feels dead then get a restring suitable for the air temperature. The type of string also plays a part but if you have a string you like then stick to it and alter the tension.Always better a bit loose than tight as you will get more power and less shock to the arm.
The French Open final provided yet another example of the challenges Murray has in winning against Novak in a Grand Slam final! The Rome Masters win gave us all hope but once again "the machine" proved to be too good when it came to the crunch in a best of 5 set final.
So, can Lendl help Andy beat Novak? I'm not sure it's possible for any player to beat him in a Grand Slam final as by then he is totally ready and when performing at anywhere near his best he doesn't have any obvious weaknesses.
However, I'm sure Andy/Lendl will be thinking otherwise (obviously) and planning their strategy even at this early stage. Yes, Murray would need to make the final but any changes he makes to his game would have to be worked on both on the practice court and more importantly in matches. Queens will give us a chance to see if any changes are being made.
So, what might be the solution? In recent Grand Slam finals with Novak I felt that Andy wasn't able to maintain the necessary fitness levels but why should this be? Andy is considered to be one of the fittest players in the world so why should he get tired?
Do his emotional outbursts at himself, and in recent times towards his box, have a tiring effect on his physiological output? When playing everyone except Novak his constant rants don't seem to have such a negative impact on his energy levels? It seems that since Becker appeared on the scene Novak is much better at handling his emotions in the critical stages. The results speak for themselves.
To have any chance of beating Djokovic, Andy's concentration needs to be at the highest possible level especially in the clutch moments and I will be interested to see if his ranting continues under Lendl. I would imagine that abuse of his team box will be out of the question as it was when Lendl was there previously. The emotional calm Andy displayed when winning Wimbledon and during the final set of his US open win remain in my mind as his ideal performance state. So, can Lendl help him get into that state once again?
I'm certainly looking forward to watching Murray's wonderful tennis abilities without the boring negative self talk. Okay Mr Lendl over to you.........
What can we learn from Lopez & Lopez winning the French Open doubles?
Feliciano and Marc Lopez are not brothers but play together as if they were and compliment each others style of play.
They have different strengths with Feliciano a great serve/volley player and Marc a wonderful shot maker from the back of the court. Club players can learn so much about strategy and court coverage from them as they play one up one back often just like many club players.
During our Special Hosted Weeks we always do a doubles clinic and focus mainly on the one up & one back format. I find myself speaking about Marc Lopez as one of my favourite exponents of this particular style as the predominantly baseline player. Who says you can't win from the back in doubles especially on a clay court?
So just what can we learn from the Lopez boys?
1/ Being good friends both on & off the court helps a lot!
2/ Try to find a partner who compliments your game style i.e. a strong serve/volleyer plus a good baseliner with great court craft utilising all areas of the court can be a powerful combination.
3/ This is their first season together and they won the first event they entered and now a grand slam! So this tells us that if you can learn the basic strategies of doubles (re your game style) and combine this with someone who compliments your style, winning can happen fairly quickly.
The great thing about doubles is that you can try loads of tactics in order to win a match but always play to your individual strengths and find someone you get on well with who will support you no matter what happens!
Trapani Hosted Week
May 22nd to 29th
Our recent hosted week in Trapani , Sicily was a huge success - so much so that we had 2 famous players attend. Can you guess which 2 famous Grand Slam winners the above 2 ladies are thought to be?
Ian & Laura Special Hosted Weeks for 2016
Here is a list of what's left on our Special Hosted Weeks & for more information please click HERE
- Florence (Tuscany) - July 16th to 23rd - Adults Only - 1 space left
- Florence (Tuscany) - July 23rd to 30th July - All Welcome - 8 spaces left
- Lucca (Tuscany) - August 20th to 27th - All Welcome - 3 spaces left
- Lucca (Tuscany) - August 27th to September 3rd - Adults Only - 3 spaces left
- Sardinia - September 3rd to 10th - Adults Only - 5 spaces left
String Tension in Cold/Warm Weather
Great news in Glasgow that we have had some warm weather for the first time in years but how does this affect the playability of our racquets? The French open posed not only fixture problems but tension dilemmas for all the players with the unusually cold damp conditions.
So what tension should you have in your racquet for varying conditions? In a bid to keep it simple I would advise going up or down tensions by 2-4lbs eg
Normal tension -50lbs
Cold conditions - less 2-4lbs
Warm conditions - up 2-4lbs
This is a very simple guide and please remember your racquet will lose tension just sitting there but even more so in cooler temperatures. Pros have their racquets strung for every match and then change them every 8 games! Perhaps too costly for most of us, but if the ball is flying or it feels dead then get a restring suitable for the air temperature. The type of string also plays a part but if you have a string you like then stick to it and alter the tension.Always better a bit loose than tight as you will get more power and less shock to the arm.
