Jannik Sinner, of Italy, executing a picture-perfect backhand volley against Holger Rune, of Denmark, at the 2022 ATP Sofia Open tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria
Frances Tiafoe, an exuberant American competitor, recently proposed two rule changes. In a Forbes interview, Tiafoe said, “I think fans should be able to come and go and move around and speak during matches. Imagine going to a basketball game and not saying anything.”
As I watched Christopher O’Connell, a 28-year-old Australian journeyman ranked No. 98, valiantly extend heavily favored Daniil Medvedev to 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the Doha quarterfinals, I knew it was only a matter of time before his weak one-handed backhand would break down. It took longer than expected because Medvedev inexplicably hit too many shots to O’Connell’s forehand. But the result was still inevitable.
The Australian Open provided much food for thought about how to play and teach tennis.
Here are four observations, and perhaps lessons, about the year's first Grand Slam tournament.
Technique and tactics form two of the main pillars of a winning offense and defense in tennis. Indeed, that’s precisely why these pillars inspired the subtitle for my award-winning book, “The Fein Points of Tennis: Technique and Tactics to Unleash Your Talent.”
The recent ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, provided some lessons for both technique and tactics. Here are some of them.
“In no other sport are the strategic possibilities so numerous, the ways to outwit your opponent so rich and varied within the accepted sportsmanlike bounds.” – Sarah Palfrey, a clever strategist who won 18 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles
When world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev was dominating the second set of his Paris Masters match against Alex de Minaur, Tennis Channel analyst Paul Annacone averred, “Medevev is a strategic genius when it comes to playing points. He knows just what he wants to do. He is such an anomaly. It’s tough to figure him out.”
Other Books by Paul Fein
