Some Motivation for frustrated Tennisplayers!

Don‘t Quit !

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Author unknown

HARDY HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

WWW.HESSETENNISTRAINING.COM

Rafa ready for US-Open!

By 

HARTMUT HESSE

Rafa finished his preparation for the US-hard-court season 2010 today in Manacor, Mallorca. Tomorrow morning he will head to Toronto, Canada for the first of two ATP-1000 tournaments he will be playing before the US-Open.

I have seen most of his practice sessions with different sparring partners and even though he has not trained for a very long time since his Wimbledon victory, he looks fit and ready to go for the only missing Grand Slam in his record books.

And maybe the reduced amount of intense training will make the difference this year and he will be healthy and on top of his game when the second week of the Open starts.

At one practice session I thought I have noticed a little limping when he was forced to go hard into the corners. But the next days he was ok again and I did not detect any kind of pain or injury that would hold him back. His last practice session today, where he trained with his good friend and doubles partner, Marc Lopez, he did not play too well, but neither he, nor his coach Toni Nadal, seemed to be concerned about it at all. Not even when Marc Lopez (ATP 730 !) won the only set they played today…

In all his training sessions he practiced a lot of serve and volley and net approaches, which shows that he is willing to make some changes in his game to get the only missing Grand Slam title in his, already outstanding, career. And with the French Open and Wimbledon in his bag, he carries a lot of confidence on his shoulders to try new things.

In general all of his practice sessions have been in a very good atmosphere and he seems relaxed and in a good mood. Even when the many fans or some local TV stations disturbed his training sessions he took it easy and did not get upset.

So, I think he is the clear favorite for the US-Open title this year and the New York crown would put him on the same page with players like Agassi, Borg, Lendl, McEnroe and Connors.

And if his knees will stay healthy for another 3 or 4 more years, he might catch up to players like Sampras, Laver and Federer, or even pass by them.

Vamos Rafa!

Rafael Nadal and his uncle and coach Toni during practice in manacor, Mallorca

HARDY HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

WWW.HESSETENNISTRAINING.COM

Federer Checks Out Paul Annacone!

By 

HARTMUT HESSE

After some disappointing results in the past months Roger Federer is training with Paul Annacone on a trial basis for a few days in Switzerland.

Annacone, who is the former coach of Pete Sampras has cut down his work for the British Tennis Federation and therefore has some spare time to share with Big Fed.

Since Annacone is a soft spoken guy and knows how to handle a talented players like Sampras and Henman, he might be the right guy to offer some humble suggestions to Federers game and training. Or to put it in other words, he might be the right coach not to disturb a genius at work too much… Since I don’t really think that Roger really wants a coach who pushes him too much. Federer is loaded with talent and he believes that he can beat anybody anywhere when he is confident, motivated and in a good mood.

So, it is good to know that Roger is realistic enough again to realize that his recent losses have not come because of injuries or some kind of sickness, like he mentioned in a press conference after he loss in Wimbledon…

Hopefully he will listen to Annacone and hopefully Annacone will have the nerve to push the big Fed to break a few more sweats in training.

But so far I have not seen a coach who dared to do so with King Roger.

We will see… but something big has to change for Roger to win the US-Open. He might not get lucky twice and have Nadal, Del Potro and Davydenko injured at the same time…

HARDY HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

WWW.HESSETENNISTRAINING.COM

Where are you going Roger?

By  HARTMUT HESSE

What a turn around for Roger (and Rafa) in the past 4 months after winning the Australian Open in great fashion and looking at a possible Grand Slam for the 2010 season.

Now Rogers card house is shattered and he is only no. 3 in the world and 4000 points behind Rafa in the ATP Rankings and chanceless to regain the top spot by the end of the season. But it might be even more devastating for him, that he will realize now that all his great successs in 2009, with regaining his no. 1 ranking, winning the French and Wimbledon after a neck breaking loss to Rafa in the Australian Open Final, was only possible because Rafa did not play or was injured. After the loss at the Australian Open in 2009 Federer was down in tears and everybody was feeling with him and admired that he was not afraid to show his emotions. But I thought that it was a big mistake to show how fragile he really is, when he is playing “Mr. Cool” during his matches all the time. Now not only Nadal saw the weakness in Roger and that it is possible to break him down. Federer’s tears showed every other player how big this loss was and how afraid he was that he might not get Grand Slam victory no. 15 and break Pete’s record, even though he was still young enough. But at this time there was a player he just couldn’t beat anymore, Rafa Nadal. And Rafa was getting better and better and looked like he will wait in each and every big final for Roger. Then Federer got big,big help from the Gods of tennis, and Rafa was stoped with knee injuries and personal problems from his parents divorce. Without this help from destiny, I don’t think that Roger would have been able to beat Nadal in Madrid, take the titles at the French and Wimbledon from Rafa and his No. 1 ranking back.

But he did and everyone was saying how great a champion he is to come back like this. But he did it only because another, maybe even bigger champion… , was not there or able to fight back.

But now Rafa did all that with a healthy Roger in front of him. That is REALLY big!

So, I would like to know how Roger sees all this?!

He was talking of some health problems after Halle, but this makes it even worse, because he is not the only ATP player playing through the pain. Rafa had no time to celebrate his victories at home yet, because he is getting treatment for his knees right now. He had knee problems all year long and still got these great victories! How sweet these titles must feel for him now!?

But what about Roger? What will he make out of all this? If he is honest to himself he will have to realize that he will not win many more Grand Slams unless Nadal and Del Potro are injured. But his wife wants him to play for many more years, so his daughters can see him play. And he himself also said that he loves the game so much, that he wants to play much, much longer. But does he still love the game when he is losing against players he did not lose to before and takes the plane home after the first week of a grand slam?

Well, the US-Open and maybe the ATP Finals are another chance to fight back, but I doubt that he will win one of the events. Maybe he can take some motivation from trying to prove people wrong, when more journalists and experts see him going down. And with his talent he can still win Grand Slams in his 30’s, just like Pete Sampras. But if Nadal stays healthy he has a very big mountain to climb…

HARDY HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

WWW.HESSETENNISTRAINING.COM

Nadal on Top of the World

by HARTMUT HESSE

Nadal wins his 8^th Grand Slam final and captures his second Wimbledon title to secure a big lead in the ATP world rankings.

He is now almost 4000 points ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who is only ranked at No. 3 for the first time since 2003. And Federer is almost chanceless to take back the top spot from Rafa by the end of this season, which was one of his big goals for 2010 (having the No. 1 spot at the end of the year and breaking Sampras record of 286 weeks at the top of the ATP-Rankings).

What a great turnaround for Rafa Nadal who had to watch how Federer was taking everything away from him last year, while he was in pain about his knee injury and his parents divorce. When Nadal lost to Soderling last year at Roland Garrros due to his bad knees, Roger took this opportunity and captured his first French Open title. And when Nadal had to withdraw from Wimbledon as well and was not able to defend his title from 2008, Federer also took this title from him. But Rafa not only lost these two titles to Roger, he also lost his No. 1 world ranking to Federer without being able to fight for it. What a hard time for Rafa this must have been, especially if you consider that his knee problems could be career threatening.

So, he had to watch how Federer took everything away from him he had worked so hard for. Much harder than Federer ever worked, even though he is always telling everybody how hard he does. But I have seen both practice and I can assure you that Roger does not even come close to Rafas work ethic… He is all about talent.

But all this makes Nadals victories even sweeter and he will enjoy his place on top of the tennis world for the rest of the year. Even if Roger wins all 3 ATP 1000 events, the US-Open and the World Tour Finlas he will probably not be No.1 at the end of the year, because Nadal will play a much better hard court season than before and will also gain more points. And I don’t see him losing to Roger Federer by the end of this year and maby not so soon again at all, unless his knees hold him off again.

Maybe Roger will never be No. 1 again at all and it is time for a new generation of players like Berdych, Soderling and hopefully a soon recovered Del Potro. But if Nadals body is not breaking down, he might sit on top of the world for a long time. Maybe even longer than Pete Sampras…

HARDY HESSE

HESSE TENNIS TRAINING

High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

WWW.HESSETENNISTRAINING.COM

French Open preview 2010

The draw is out and with Nadal seeded at No. 2 there is not much doubt that he will meet Federer in the finals, even though both have some tricky match-ups on their way to the final weekend.

Especially Nadal might have two tough matches before a potential final with “Fed”. But after a very convincing clay court season from Nadal, I don’t have many worries that he will jump over those two hurdles. But those jumps might cost him a lot of energy and might open the door for Roger, who has a little easier draw.

So, since everybody expects Federer and Nadal at least among the last 4 players, who will be the other two players, who are most likely to join them in the semi-finals?

In Federers half of the draw, the top seeded players to meet him in the semi final are Murray and Tsonga. Both did not have a great clay court season this year and might not even get to the semi-final at all.

But there are some other dangerous players who are more confident on clay and had some good results this year already.

First of all it’s Mikhail Youzhny who won a tournament on clay this year already and climbed up the rankings lately. Now he is seeded at 11 and might be the big surprise in the semi finals.

The other hot players are Berdych, Baghdatis, Isner and De Bakker.

Berdych did not play well on clay this year but had a great tournament in Miami on hard court. If the conditions are hot and dry for the next 10 days he might get through, even though he has to beat Isner, and Baghdatis or Murray to reach the quarter final already.

Tsonga will face De Bakker in the 3^rd round and he lost to him this year on clay already. Youzhnys draw is much easier. He will not waste too much energy before he faces Tsonga or De Bakker. But all these players are very unpredictable. Especially Tsonga will face a lot of pressure infront of his home crowd.

If I had to pick a player in this part of the draw, it would be Youzhny. All the other players rely too much on good weather conditions (Berdych, Murray, Isner, Tsonga).

But all these players won’t give Roger much trouble in the semi final.

And before the semi final “Fed” might face Soderling or Cilic in the quarters. Also not much trouble for him, I think.

In Nadals part of the draw, his potential semi final opponents are Roddick, Djokovic, Ferrer and Ferrero. And besides these players are not many in this section of the draw, who have the potential for a surprise up-set or have made a splash in this years clay court season yet.

But Ferrer is probably the best clay court player behind Nadal and Federer this season. Ferrer would be a big challenge for Nadal and this match might go the full distance of five sets and cost Nadal a lot of Energy before the potential final with Roger.

But before Nadal gets to the semi final he has to beat Verdasco in the quarters first, which will not be much easier than the semi final match up with Ferrrer. And I see another tricky match for him in the round of the last 16 with Thomaz Bellucci from Brazil. A lefty and a great clay court player, who has won on this surface this year already. Nadal faced him at the French in 2008 already, but now Bellucci is a much different player and way more dangerous for Rafa.

All in all Rafa faces more challenges on his way to a potential final with Roger and it will be crucial for him to save as much energy as possible.

Here are my picks for the quarters and the semis:

Quarterfinals:

Federer – Soderling:                        Federer in 3

Muray – Youzhny:                                    Youzny in 5

Ferrer – Djokovic:                                    Ferrer in 4

Nadal – Verdasco:                                    Nadal in 4

Semifinals:

Federer – Youzhny:                        Federer in 4

Nadal – Ferrer:                                    Nadal in 5

Check out my final prediction next time…

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

www.HesseTennisTraining.com

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Sweet Revenge For Nadal

It was the 21^st match between Federer and Nadal, and even though Nadal won 13 of the previous meetings, he has never been this eager to win against Roger like this time.

Too tough were the last 12 months since he lost the final against Roger in Madrid a year ago. His parents divorce and his knee injury ruined a great start of the season for him. He lost his first match at Roland Garros, was not able to defend his Wimbledon title and on top of that lost his no. 1 ranking to Federer again, who also took the French Open title from him. It was clear from the start, that Rafa would fight till the last drop of blood to beat Roger in the first meeting after one year of disappointments.

And it was probably the first time that Roger really had to prove something, even though he is clearly the no. 1 in the world with almost double as many points as Nadal. But a year ago he collected only his second win on clay against Rafa in Madrid. The only other time he beat him on clay was in wet and cold Hamburg, on a day Roger was not able to miss a shot in the last two sets of the match. And last year, Rafa had to play an extremely tough 4-hour match against Djokovic the day before. On tope of that too many other matches in the clay court season. Besides these two wins, Federer was always dominated by Rafa on clay and never really had a chance to win the French Open against him. And deep inside he probably knew that he would have not won the French Open by now, if Nadals knees had been fins last year and there would have been more harmony in his private life. And maybe Federer would not be no. 1 today…

Federer knew he had to prove a lot. And Rafa was eager to show the tennis world that Federer will not win the French Open, when he is healthy. Even minutes after the match he was sitting on his bench and pumped his fist again and again. This showed how much this win meant to him. It was a very, very sweet revenge after a year of torture.

So, there was a lot on the line this time. But more importantly, there was more to lose for Roger than to win. And for Rafa there was much more to win than to lose. And this is how they played. Both were very nervous, but in the crucial moments of the match, Rafa had more to win and therefore was more positive. And he was happy, healthy and not tired this time. And then it is nearly impossible for Roger to beat him.

Even though I think that Roger deserves to win the Grand Slam this year, I am afraid that it will not happen, because Rafa has gained so much confident through out the clay court season, that he will win in Paris as well. He planed his season much better this year and will be fresh and confident. On top of that Davydenko and Del Potro, the two players who could beat him on clay, will not participate at the French Open. It all went his way after the Australian Open, and that’s why he will win the French. Probably in the final against Roger, but Roger will not be happy with 2^nd place again…

Because then there is no doubt at all anymore, that his win at the French last year, was only possible because Rafa lost to Soderling.

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

www.HesseTennisTraining.com

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

How To Pace Yourself Like Federer!

One thing that is a big step to success in tennis is to learn how to pace your self through a match. Even more important to be successful in the long run, is to have a smart tournament schedule.

Roger Federer is a true master at this and it is probably the biggest secret to his success.

When ever it matters Federer is on top of his game. Now many people might say, ‘but what happened in Inian Wells, Miami, and Rome!?’

Well, the answer is simple. These tournaments don’t matter for him anymore. He has other goals, and I am sure he will bring himself in the best possible position to reach these goals. His goal is to win Grand Slams, not ATP-1000 events. He only uses these events to get in shape and protect his ranking if he needs to. But right now nobody is threatening his No. 1 spot at all. And his biggest goal is to win a Grand Slam (all four grand slams in one year). He secondary goal is to be the No. 1 at the end of the year. And if he wins all 4 grand slam events he will get 8000 ATP points alone for that and will be No. 1 at the end of the year. On top of that he does not have many points to defend at the ATP world Championships. So, there is another possibility at the end of the year to finish as the No. 1. And even if Nadal proves to be too strong for him again at the French Open. He is very likely to reach at least the final at Roland Garros, which would bring him 1300 points. Probably still enough to be the No. 1 at the end of the year. Even if he falls to another clay court specialist in the semis (which is very unlikely, if we look at the grand slam stats of Roger over the past 5 years…), he will have enough time to get some points at ATP-1000 events on hard court.

The same way he plans his tournament schedule and paces himself to have maximum energy at the start of the slams, he plans and paces his matches. That’s why he does not win his matches 6:0, 6:1, like Nadal, plays so many tie-beaks and close sets. Federer always looks ahead in a set, a match and a tournament. His goals are always long run goals. He is not looking to win a single match in a perfect way. He either wants to win the whole tournament or tries to find his form for future tournaments. When he starts a tournament which he wants to win (let’s say a grand slam) he tries to win the first rounds by loosing as little energy as possible. He does not start a match or tournament with 100%. Even if he gets into trouble, he tries to stay calm and tries to keep playing with maybe 85% energy instead of 80%. Only if he really has to he goes to 100%, but only in the grand slams, not in the preparation tournaments. This saves him a lot of energy and prevents him from being injured. Of course all the pros are good at this and not every player can say that they just focus on the grand slam events. Because they are not No. 1 yet and have not won everything yet. So, for other players it is great to win a smaller tournament or an ATP-1000 event and they don’t care if it takes all the energy out of them for the next tournament (maybe a Grand Slam…). This is the reason Federer might lose to Berdych in a ATP-1000 event. But he will probably never lose to him in a Grand Slam. Federe is not on his maximum fitness level at a ATP-1000 event yet. He is still in a prparation phase at this tournament and he plays with probably 80% of energy to slowly build up his fitness and avoid getting injuries.

The same way he paces himself through the preparation phase of the tournaments before the Grand Slam, he paces himself throughout a match.

Federer does not want to reach his top level 4 weeks before a Grand Slam, because it might be hard to keep the level for 6 weeks. And on top of that he wants the feeling of getting better and better, which creates a positive attitude of improving. Rather than having the feeling of not getting anywhere, by just keeping his form.

It is the same feeling he wants in a match when it comes to 4:4 or 5:5 in the first set. He wants to have the feeling of being able to shift into another gear, rather than being in the top gear already. He tries to sneak himself through the first games, to be able to say to himself that he can play even better when it matters. And at 4:4 with both players holding serve all the time it really matters and the player who has another gear left, will win the set.

So, Federer is a master at planning his matches and tournaments. But what can junior players learn from him?

The first thing a junior player has to do is set his goals. And not only his goals for a tournament, but all his goals. His long term goals. Once you know your goals you can start planning how to reach them.

Of course a junior tennis player has much more ahead of him then a pro, because he still has to learn, improve and develop his game-style. And play at the same time… And win some…Not easy!

Much more complicated than the tournament and goal setting for Roger Federer!

A junior player has not each his potential yet. He still explores how hard he can hit the ball (and this changes from day to day as he still grows and get fitter) and how fats he can run and how much pain he can take throughout a match and a tournament and a whole year…

So, it is more a matter of trying out to find out and this makes it more difficult to pace himself at the same time.

Roger Federer knows exactly what he can do and what he can not do. He knows what happens when he plays a 4 hour match in the first round of a slam and how his chances decrease of winning the slam in the end. He knows when he is getting close to injure himself, be going to close to 100%. And he knows where his 100% are. A junior player still tries to find out where his 100% is…

You see that it is very difficult to make the right decisions without having any experience of your limits yet.

So, how do you do it?!?

Well, you need a person who is able to compare your abilities to other players abilities and has experience in how much a junior at this age and strength can take. And that is an experienced coach. He will have a good feeling for you energy level and will make sure that you pace yourself right to reach your long term goals.

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Clay Court Season 2010 - a Latin Love Affair!

The first month of the European clay court season is over an it is time for a short check-up on who is among the favorites for the French Open.

So far it is only a handful of players who were able to claim a clay court title this year and in April all of them carried a Spanish passport.

But the rest of the season was pretty much a Latin love affair, as well. Only one “white boy” was able to claim one of the 9 tournament titles handed out on the red dirt this year.

And guess where he is from?!? –Switzerland of course. But surprise, surprise – it was not Roger who did it. It was Stan Wawrinka who took the title in Casablanca, Marocco in the beginning of April.

All the other winner came either from Spain or South America. Nadal took the two ATP-1000 series titles in April, Juan Carlos Ferrero also captured two titles and fellow spainiards Verdasco and Ferrer won one event. The other two winners are Brasilian Thomasz Belluci and Juan Ignacio Chela from Argentina.

So, who else will be among the contenders for the French this year?

For sure it is Roger, who has an easy draw in Estoril this week and will probably win and get some confidence for his title defense in Madrid.

Robin Soderling, who reached at least a final against Verdasco, is also playing quite well and might have a chance to get to the semis at Roland Garros.

The most disappointing performance comes from Murray and Djokovic who did not do much damage on clay yet. But as soon as the French start and we will play best of five  sets, they will be there again, I’m sure. But I don’t see more than a quarterfinal for them.

Del Potro and Davydenko are still out because of injuries and this made it much easier for the Spanish clay court specialists so far. But at least Davydenko might be back for the French. But it remains uncertain, if he can show up with confidence and some clay court wins in his bag.

So, far it all looks like a Latin love affair in Paris or Nadal and Federer again will get it on again... ;)

Let’s see…

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Finally Sam Stosur!

I always thought that Sam Stosur has the techniques. The fitness and the dedication to her sport to make it to the top of the WTA-Tour, but she never even made it into the top 10, or was able to play consistent enough to go deep in the tournaments. But now it seems as if things are clicking for her and she makes a step to the next level.

To see her and Justine Henin in the finals of Stuttgart today is a real pleasure for me. Finally two players on the women’s tour who really care about the sport and not only about their looks, their new tennis dresses, or their career as an actor or model after their tennis career.

And two players, who unlike many other players on the WTA-tour, have all the shots in their game that the men have. A kick-serve, a slice, a drop shot, a volley and variety in their game…

This should be a great final if Sam will be able to keep her nerves cool and calm. A thing she is always trying very hard, but sometimes kept her from getting that extra focus and energy for the big points in a match.

But now it seems as if she knows how to pace herself through a match and how to get ready for the important phases in a match. This was the one thing that was missing in her game and if she can keep it up like this, she will be very hard to beat for many other players on the WTA-tour, who are not as fit and technically perfect as her.

As a Tennis coach I would like to see her more aggressive on her forehand, finishing even more points at the net (after good forehands) and mixing up her serve a bit more. She has a great kick-serve (probably the best on the women’s tour!), but it will be even more effective if it comes a bit more as a surprise for her opponents (especially on grass and hard-courts).

And if she pumps herself up a bit more after winning big points, she will be much more of a threat for the other players and I see her cracking the top 5 soon.

For a tennis coach like me, it is always great to have players like her, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters on the tour, because they are great role-models for the juniors.

Let’s hope they will be the top 3 in women’s tennis soon… ;)

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Federer in trouble?!?

Is Roger Federer still on track to get in shape for the French Open or is he running out of time to find his form to put himself in position to win the Grand Slam this year?

He did not play well in Indian Wells and Miami and then decided to skip the Monte Carlo 1000 event (like many other top ten players…) and get some more practice in before the long stretch of tournaments until Wimbledon.

But now he lost his first round match in Rome against Ernst Gulbis and he has only the tournaments in Estoril and Madrid left to get in shape and more importantly gain some confidence for his title defense at Roland Garros.

His match against Gulbis was really shaky and he played with not much confidence. He also did not look really fit to me. The way he was sliding and running when he had to play defense, showed that he does not have top fitness yet. He lost his balance many times and that is very unusual for a Roger Federer. So, I see that there is a lot more work to be done on the practice courts, before he will be able to defend his title in Paris.

But I still don’t think that Federer fans should worry too much, because it has been like this many times before, no matter what Fed tells us in his press conferences.

He just does not focus too much on the events besides the Grand Slams. He is just trying to pace himself for the big events, and history showed us that he is a master at doing exactly this. He knows exactly how much he has to do to get where he wants and I am certain that he will be in top shape when the French open start.

I think he will at least reach the final in Estoril and then tries to defend his title in Madrid. Then he has one week rest before the French, which he will use for a last training tune up to find his form.

If he can beat a Rafa Nadal in Paris is still doubtful for me, because Rafa might gain so much confidence by the start of the French that he will be very hard to beat, even though he might be a little more tired than Roger.

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

ATP-1000 Rome Preview by Hartmut Hesse

Today I want to take a look at the draw for the 2^nd ATP 1000 clay-court tournament of the season.

The first Masters series event was won by Rafa Nadal, but 5 of the top 10 players were not in the draw because of different reasons. Federer felt that the tournament comes to early for him in his preparation for the French and some other big names were injured (Del Potro, Davydenko, Soderling) or did not feel like playing on clay at all (Roddick).

But now at least Federer is ready to make his start on clay for the 2010 season and if both win, he will meet Nadal in the semis’ already.

But besides this interesting semi-final match up, there are some other very exciting possibilities in the draw. First of all Federer might face Baghdatis (if Marcos beats Gulbis for a 5^th time in a row…) in his opener and he can take revenge for his loss in Indian Wells. In the Quarters Roger might face Cilic, who was not as convincing on clay yet, as at the Australian Open in the beginning of the year. But it will be a good indication for Cilic’s potential to reach the top 5 some day, and a tough test for Federer. But Cilic will also have to beat a tough clay-court player like Almagro to get to the quarters.

Nadals section of the draw is also very interesting, since his opener will be against Kohlschreiber, then maybe Montanes and in the quarters either red hot Berdych, who like to play against Nadal, especially in his current form. Or a rematch of last years’ French Open disaster, with Robin Soderling, who just proved that his clay-court abilities were no fluke, when he reached the final in Barcelona. So, a tough draw section for Nadal, and he will be happy that he made a wise decision and did not play in Barcelona. He will be rested for these matches and he needs to, if he wants to be still fresh, when he plays Federer in the semi-final.

The bottom half of the draw might see a quarterfinal between Novak Djokovic, who is seeded No. 2 and Barcelona winner Fernando Verdasco. But Verdasco played the final in Monte Carlo already and I don’t think his legs are still fresh enough to make another splash in Rome, even though he has a pretty good draw, with only Youzhny in his way. But so does Novak and I see him winning against Verdasco this time.

In the other section there will be a rematch between De Bakker and Tsonga in the second round and De Bakker has to prove if his great performance in Barcelona was not just a one-hit-wonder. Tsonga will be eager to take revenge and it will be an exciting match for sure. Murray runs into Ferrer again and has to prove that he is one of the contenders for the French Open. I doubt it and see Ferrer winning against him in the round of 16. Even though he also played 2 events already, I still see him with enough left in the tank to reach the semi-final, where he will face Djokovic.

So, here is my prediction:

It’s Nadal over Federer and Ferrer over Djokovic. So, another Spanish winner in the 3 big clay-court event of the year. Nadal will take the title, because the other Spanish players just have too much respect for Nadal to beat him in a final.

This win will give Nadal even more confidence and make him the clear favorite for the French Open, even if Federer should win in Madrid again like last year.

Let’s see if I am right… ;)

Hardy Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Barcelona Analysis

The first two clay court tournaments are finished and as I expected the winners carry a Spanish passport. First it was a dominant Nadal who lost only 14 games on his way to a 6^th straight title in Monte Carlo. And now it is Fernando Verdasco, the finalist in Monaco, who took the title in Barcelona.

Even though some of the big names (Federer, Del Potro, Davydenko, Roddick) did not play in these two tournaments, the first two clay court tournaments gave us a good indication, who will be among the contenders at the French Open this year. I see 4 names that are very likely to go deep into the draw at Roland Garros. First of al it is Nadal, who gained confidence over the last tournaments and has to be considered a clear favorite for the French Open. Then it is Fernando Verdasco, who reached two finals on clay and won one of them. He might be ready for a big win against a top 4 player at the French. And then it is David Ferrer, who always fights like a warrior on clay and deserves to reach a semi-final at the French. Nr. 4 is Robin Soderling, who does not have the typical clay-court game (and is the only one without a Spanish passport…), but proved last year already that he can dominate players with his hard an flat ground-strokes, even on the clay-courts at Roland Garros.

But there is another new name, who made a strong impression at Barcelona. Thiemo De Bakker, from the Netherlands might be the new kid on the block in this year’s clay-court season. He beat Tsonga in Barcelona and will improve his ranking a lot with his semi-final appearance in Barcelona. Let’s see if he can keep his momentum in Rome.

But it will be even more interesting to see if Federer can find his form in Rome. He will run into Nadal in the semi finals already and if he and Nadal really get there, we will see how good Nadals win in Monte Carlo really was. And if Roger is able to get back into shape by the push of a button.

Hartmut Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Monte Carlo Preview

The clay court season kicks off in Monte Carlo this week and will give a first indication who will be among the contenders for the French Open title this year.

Even though 5 of the top 10 players (Federer needs more rest, Davydenko out with broken wrist, Del Potro also wrist injury and Roddick and Soderling because of ‘ clay allergy…’) are not in the field we will see exciting ATP clay-court tennis.

Djokovic seeded No. 1 and Nadal at 2 are the defending finalists, with Nadal trying to get his 6^th consecutive title in Monaco. Murray and Cilic are the othe 2 players who are in the top 4 seedings and should go to the semis.

So, with Federer, Del Potro, Davydenko and Soderling there are 4 players not in the draw who are capable of giving Nadal a hard time on clay. A great opportunity for him to get a good start into his clay-court season and finally winning an ATP-title again after nearly one year of empty hands.

But even with these players out of the draw, there is plenty of competition for Rafa. On his way to a potential final he has to eliminate a few Spanish clay court specialist and maybe Andy Murray in the semi-final. Ferreo, Ferrer, Almagro And Monaco are all in his section of the draw. If he gets through these players he will gain a lot of confidence, but also lose a lot of energy, before he probably faces Verdasco or Djokovic in the final.

In the top half of the draw Djokovic has his hands full as well and will have to battle his way through Wawrinka, Nalbandian or Robredo, before he meets Verdasco, Cilic or maybe red hot Berdych in the semi-final.

If Verdasco is completely recovered from his back injury, I see him as the favorite to reach the semis, and if he gets there he will go through to the final as well.

But it will be very interesting how Berdych will handle he recent success in Miami, where he beat Federer and only lost in the final to Roddick. Was it just another flash of his great talent or was it a final break-through. We will know after this tournament.

Here is my prediction:

Nadal wins in the semis against Ferrer and Djokovic loses against Verdasco. In the final Nadal is too strong for Verdasco again and Nadal will get a record 6^th consecutive title at Monte Carlo.

It will give him a lot of confidence back, but it won’t be an indication that he will win the French as well. I still see Federer winning in Roland Garros and getting his first Grand Slam this year. Rafa’s career is slowly going down due to his physical way of playning, his injuries and his tournament planning, but for sure this title will give him a push for the next tournaments.

Let’s see if I am right

Hartmut Hesse

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Miami Sony Ericsson Open Analysis

The first part of the hard-court season is finished with the finals of the Miami Open and the pros are preparing for the clay-court season already.

The tournament in Miami came up some surprise upsets for some of the big names and it also came up with a new name and some very familiar one’s.

Thomas Berdych is for sure the biggest surprise in this tournament. Not only that he beat Federer in a very close match going the distance and into a third set tiebreaker, by fighting off a match-point, he also kept going all the way to the final. This was a new Berdych, we saw in Miami. He was always considered as one of the next big stars in tennis and Nike gave him a huge contract at an early age. But he could never quite live up to his expectations. The one thing fans and experts were missing in his game, was the fighting spirit and the determination that a true champion needs. Too many matches he lost when it got into a deciding set or when the conditions were not easy and comfortable.

But here in Miami a different Thomas Berdych showed up. He grinded out the rallys from the baseline, he was much more patient with his shot selection and most of all he never gave up. If he can keep playing with the same attitude, he will finally silence all his critics and become a top 10 player soon. But it will not be easy to carry the momentum into the next tournaments, since the is a surface change from hard-courts to clay-courts. But his newly found qualities will help him even more on a surface like clay. So, it will be exciting to see how he will do in Monte Carlo when all the clay-court specialists show up.

Not only with him getting better and better, the men’s ranking is getting more interesting, because all the top 10 players a moving closer to each other. Soderling, Tsonga and Roddick are pushing the to 6 players and the top 6 did not do very well in the last to ATP-1000 events. With Daydenko and Del Potro injured and Djokovic and Murray not at their top level, it was only Nadal who showed some signs of form. Even Federer lost some points and opened the door for the other guys (Roger has many points to defend in the next months).

But besides Berdych, it was Roddick who showed the best form and (even with lucky draws in both tournaments) was the talk of the hard-court season so far. We will see how he can carry the form into the clay-court tournaments, if he plays many at all. But it should give him confidence to try a few more clay-court events this year, especially since his game became much more consistent and he lost some weight. This will all help him on the European clay-courts.

On the woman’s side there were not too many surprises even though the top 2 players of the tournament went out before the quarterfinals already. Kuznetsova was injured and for new world No. 2, Caroline Wozniacki, Justine Henin was too big a bite, even though she won a set against the former world number one. So, it wasn’t really a surprise to see Henin and Clijsters in the semi finals. And again they showed their fans a thriller that was decided in a tiebreaker again. Just like in the beginning of the year in Australia. And it was the same outcome as well. Clijsters won again and then went on to take the title from a slightly injured Venus Williams 6:2, 6:1! With this win Clisters stormed back into the top 10 and for sure, Justine will follow her soon, especially considering the fact that we will be playing on clay in a few weeks. Serena was not playing in the tournament and if she is not getting back into shape soon, she will lose her No. 1 ranking. Probably to Kim Clijsters, if she decides to play a few more tournaments.

I think it is great to have the two Belgium champions back on the woman’s tour and I can’t wait to have one of the on the top spot of the rankings again.

But for sure we will see a big shuffle in both rankings, the woman’s and the men’s.

Exciting weeks are ahead of us and on top of that, I think the most interesting matches are played on clay, anyways.

Let’s see what happens and who will shine on the new surface!?

Hartmut Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

What's wrong with Roger?!?

So Federer lost to Thomas Berdych 4:6, 7:6, 6:7 in the round of 16 in Miami last night. A shock for most of his fans and the tennis fans in Miami, who were looking forward to a possible final Federer – Nadal. And ‘Fed’ lost to Marcos Baghdatis in the third round of  last weeks Indian Wells tournament already (in straight sets). How can that happen?!?

Is Federer struggling again with his form … and his forehand … and his overhead … and his backhand?

No, He isn’t!

He lost 6:8 in the third set of the tiebreak, had one matchpoint and had 10 break chances during the whole match, compared to only 4 for Berdych and he won as many points in total as the Zcech No. 1, as well. So, it was a really close match that he lost. Unlike the early exits of Djokovic and Murray, Federer was very close to winning, but just came up short a tiny little bit in the end.

On top of that Djokovic and Murray have been the two finalists of last years event, and they will lose a lot of points due to their early departures. Federer reached only the semi-final last year and has only 360 points to defend. The only player left in the draw, who can be dangerous for his No. 1 ranking spot, is Nadal and he is more than 4000 points behind Federer. So, no worries for ‘Fed’ in that department.

And this is one of the two things Roger is really concerned about. He wants to break Pete Sampras’ record of total weeks at No. 1 and total year-end finishes as No. 1.

If you have some money to spend, go ahead and place a bet on him reaching these goals this year. The only problem is that you won’t get much money back, if you are right…

His other big goal for this year and main focus is winning a Grand Slam. And in order to do that he needs to have enough energy a, motivation and focus during the last 3 Grand Slam events of this year. So, he cannot go 100% all year long. A big mistake Nadal has made over the past years. Of course both players have very different attitudes and work ethics. And they have to have (at least Nadal), because god did not give both the same amount of talent. Nadal always has to work hard to win his matches. But Federer can win with less effort most of the times, and that is the reason why he is not injured so often. And it is also the reason why he suffers some surprise early exits in some tournaments that are not so important for him. But it does not happen when he really care, as his Grand Slam record clearly show. Federer always tries to save as much energy as possible and win his matches with ease, because he is always aiming for the title. And that means a lot of matches in a row. And if he is not aiming for the title, but for the big titles (grand Slams) he is trying to save even more energy.

So, there is nothing to worry about for the Federer fans. He thinks French Open already and I think he will have a great chance this year to get the Grand Slam.

And then the Federer fans have reason to worry, because if he can accomplish that, he will also break the other records for the No. 1 ranking, and then he has nothing to play for anymore besides exercise and fun. And I don’t know if he will have enough motivation to travel around the globe to exercise… His wife might ask him to play with his daughters on the court next to the house instead…

Hartmut Hesse

Hesse Tennis Training

Professional Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals

Men’s Favorites Drop Out Early In Miami

Like in many other years already, a lot of top players drop out of the men’s draw at an early stage. In other years the strong winds at Key Biscayne had a big influence on many frustrated players unable to control their shots. But this year the surprise upsets were real surprises, since the winds have not been strong at all.

And the player who benefits the most from these early exits is Andy Roddick again, who had a good draw at Indian Wells already, with Tipsarevic, Monfils, Federer and Murray going out of the tournament before meeting Roddick.

Now he avoids potential match-ups with Blake, Djokovic, Robredo, Querrey and Ljubicic before he would reach the semi-final with Nadal or Tsonga. On the top half of the draw it is Soderling and Federer who still have a tough draw, but will not have to face Andy Murray anymore.

Nadal has probably the toughest draw, with Nalbandian in the 3^{rd round} (he won in 3 sets last night) and many other top players to come before he can reach a potential semi-final against Roddick. Even though difficult opponents like Isner and Karlovic fell to Ferrer and Ferrero. But Ferrer in the next round and Ferrero or tsonga in the quarters will also give him a hard time for sure.

With Federer waiting for Berdych and Cilic or Verdasco, before he will meet probably Soderling in the Semis, who will have to battle Gonzales, Youzhny and wawrinka, it looks like the safest pick for the semi final is Andy Roddick.

I think it will come down to Tsonga and Roddick in the bottom half and Roger and Soderling in the top half. In the final we will see Roger and Tsonga, for sure an exciting ending of the hard court season, before the guys will grind it out on clay. If Fed wins this one, he will secure his No. 1 spot for a long time and go with good hopes into the clay court season aiming for a grand slam this year.

I think he can do it and it will all depend on Nadal and performance on clay this year.

Hartmut Hesse

Professional Tennis Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Pros

Miami ATP Masters 1000 preview

This years Miami Masters 1000 event offers a very interesting draw with some exciting potential match-ups throughout the whole tournament.

First of all there is Roger Federer, who might run into Berdych first and then into rising star Marin Cilic. Cilic, coached by former Becker coach Bob Brett, showed his potential at the Australian Open already and might by inspired by fellow countryman, Ivan Ljubicic, who won last weeks event in Indian Wells. This is for or sure an interesting match-up and a real test for Cilic to check out his future potential. If he can beat Roger here, he will certainly do the next step in his career.

In the semi-final, Roger could face (if he beats Cilic…) either Murray or Soderling, which will be either this years Australian Open final rematch or last years French Open final rematch. Soderling also collected his first win against Federer in their last match, even though it was just during a show tournament prior to the Australian Open. But Soderling stepped up his game since last years ATP-Finals in London. These would be for sure two great semi-final match-ups. And the quarterfinal between Soderling and Murray will also be very interesting since it is a rematch of last weeks Indian Wells Quarterfinal, which Murray lost in straight sets, 1:6, 6:7. The last time Murray has beaten Soderling was in 2006 and if Murray wants to come closer to Rogers No. one spot, he needs to show up in the masters 1000 events.

Even though Roger I think that Roger does not care much about any other event besides the Grand Slams, I believe that his talent and potential is so big, that he will even win these matches in second gear and will reach the final, where he will probably meet Novak Djokovic. The Djoker is his biggest rival for the No. 1 spot, and he will see his opportunities this year, to make his dream reality. So this final will be an indication if he can contest the top ranking spot this year. By reaching the final Roger might be satisfied already though, so, I see it an open match. But with his talent, Roger will always be a good pick, of course.

In the bottom half are also some very interesting match-ups. With the return of David Nalbandian from his hip injury, there is a dangerous unseeded floater in the draw. And he will run into Rafael Nadal in the 3^rd round, a player Nalbandian has not only beaten, but crushed, a few times already. Nalbandian, who I see as the second most talented player on the ATP-Tour, behind Roger, is able to take Nadals high top-spin shot on the rise without any problems. And this takes all the danger away from Nadals game, which is anyways not nearly as good as last year. So, I see a win for Nalbandian, who should come back to his old form in this tournament, and who will be motivated to get back into the top 10. If he really beats Nadal, he will have enough confidence and will also beat potential opponents, Karlovic and Isner. Djokovic might be to tough for him in the semi-finals but, you never know with David.

But there are two more very exciting match-ups in the bottom half of the draw. In the round of 16 we might see a rematch of the Indian Wells final, between Roddick and Ljubicic. Roddick will be eager to make up for his lost final, but I think Ljubicic will pull it off again, which might be the start for Roddicks departure from the top 10…

Against Djokovic I see his energy fading and his great run in the last two weeks come to an end. Even though he has beaten the Djoker last week, I think that Novak will be too competitive to let this happen again.

If I am right, we won’t see many changes in the top-10 rankings after this event, since Murray beat Djokovic in the finals last year and Nadal lost in the quarters. But if the draw developes like I predicted, this might be a hint of what is to come in this years season. So far the only change would be Nadal regaining the No. 3 spot from Murray again, even if he loses in the 3^rd round to Nalbandian. With Davydenko and Del Potro out due to injuries and a fortunate draw in Indian Wells, Nadal will be able to stay in the top 4 going into the clay court season. Before the start of this year, I was not sure at all, if he will be still ahead of Davydenko and Del Potro at the start of the French Open. Since both players had not nearly as  many points to defend, as Nadal. But now Rafa can be a bit more relaxed and look forward to stand on his favorite surface again, soon. But stiil I see problems for Nadal this year and Del Potro, Davydenko, Cilic, Soderling and hopefully Nalbandian on the rise. Tough opponents to fight off for Nadal.

Let’ see if I am right…

Hartmut Hesse

Professional Tennis Training

http://hartmut-hesse-tennis.blogspot.com/

Roddick back on track?

Roddick back on track?

21.03.2010

Before the beginning of the 2010 season I was in doubt that Andy Roddick can keep his top 10 ranking until the end of the year. Now he is in the final of the first Masters 1000 Tournament of the year, his 8^th career Masters series final. And on top of that he plays Ivan Ljubicic, ranked outside the top 20 in the world in front of his home crowd in the USA. I see him as a 80% – 20 % winner in this match up and improve his record against Ljubicic to 8 – 3.

I am sure that the Indian Wells title will boost Roddicks confidence and especially his motivation for the rest of the year so much, that I have to take back my prediction that he will drop out of the top 10 by the end of the year. With this boost he might be able to keep up the faith to win another Grand Slam tournament, the one thing that keeps him going like he says. I think that he will never come as close again as in last years Wimbledon Final where he almost beat Roger Federer. I think he is far away from winning another Grand Slam, even with a newly found confidence and high motivation.

He might do well in Miami too, but the clay court season is coming soon and his confidence will go down the drain again. He will have a lot of pressure defending his points in Wimbledon and I don’t see him in the semi-final this year. The top 4, and even Del Potro and Davydenko are just too strong for him and he will face one of these players in the quarter-finals already.

But with a win in Indian Wells he might be able to hold off players like Tsonga, Soderling, Cilic, Verdasco, Monfils and Gonzales for bit longer. Without his fortunate draw at Indian Wells I am sure he would have not been able to go this far in a Masters 1000 event.

With Del Potro and Davydenko injured, Roger probably only thinking about a possible Grand Slam, Nadal out of form, Djokovic not able to control his emotions in a match-up of Serbia against Croatia and Murray losing surprisingly to Soderling, he could have not asked for more circumstances.

But what will the top 6 do in Miami. Even Roger will try to do a little better, and we will see how much Roddick has left in the tank after 10 days in the desert of California.

If he really wins the final tonight he will pass Soderling, but I doubt that he will be still ahead of him in the rankings after Miami. He has a Quarterfinal to defend, while Robin Soderling lost in the 2^nd round last year.

So, is Roddick back on track? I don’t see it. He might get a boost for a little while, but in April we will see different players with confidence and faith. A lot of them will carry a Spanish passport by the way…

Hartmut Hesse

www.hartmuthesse.com

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