Preparing to go the distance

In my previous entry (“America’s dominance: will history repeat itself?”), I stated that "Until we find a way to develop our youngsters' games on the slower surfaces, particularly the crushed red brick, American juniors will struggle to develop the stroke proficiency, movement, endurance, tactical acumen and heart to compete with those who spend five to six hours a day on the gritty, slippery stuff." I will use this space to elaborate on this point and pitch in my two cents on where and how we should be taking the games of our best juniors if we hope to achieve the kinds of results we've come to expect and demand.

If you've read my entry on the scheduling of the Grand Slams and, subsequently, Tier 1 and Tier 2 tournaments, Davis and Federation Cups, and year-end Masters Cups (“A modest proposal (for the pro game)”), you already know how I feel about the trend away from multiple surfaces and toward a dual standard — crushed red brick and Rebound Ace. I don't like it, and I don't think it's good for the sport. Having said that, I also don't think it made sense 35 years ago to play three of the four Grand Slam championships on grass. It can be argued quite easily that the primary reason for the shift from a preponderance of continental and eastern grips and one-handed backhands to semi-western and western grips and two-fisted backhands is the abandonment of low-bouncing, fast-playing grass and indoor wooden surfaces for slow, high-bouncing clay and outdoor hard courts.

The best scenario, in my view, is to test the players on at least four, if not five or six, different surfaces, including (1) the true-bounce, slow hard courts known as Rebound Ace; (2) the crushed red brick found at Roland Garros and throughout Europe and South America and parts of the Middle East, Asia and Indonesia; (3) the grass courts of Wimbledon and surrounding areas as well as parts of northeast U.S.; (4) the composition courts (also known by the brand name, Har-Tru) common throughout the resort and private club community; (5) the fast cement, macadam and asphalt courts common in the public parks of the U.S.; and (6) the ultra-fast carpeted or rubberized surfaces primarily reserved for indoor play. By doing so, you'll see the best and most versatile athletes emerge as champions and you'll witness a diversification of playing styles we haven't seen in some time.

It is clear that the present direction is toward limiting professional competition primarily to two surfaces — red clay and Rebound Ace. This being the case, and taking into account the successes on both the men's and women's tours of individuals from European, South American and former Soviet Bloc countries, it is clear that success on the tour is dependent on the development of four key competencies: stroke proficiency; footwork and movement; tactical acumen; stamina, endurance and desire or "heart." These four competencies, which I’ll call “elements” after the fundamental Elements of Aristotelian cosmology — earth, air, water and fire — are essential arrows in the quiver of an elite tennis player.

By stroke proficiency I mean simplicity, efficiency, stability, reliability and durability. The ideal strokes, whether we're talking about service motions, groundstrokes, volleys, overheads or the auxilliary shots such as half-volleys and backhand smashes, are those which can be performed effectively under all conditions and stressors, both physical and psychological. This demands the development of strokes that are simple and efficient. Excess motion, or complexity, impedes effectiveness when conditions are windy, the surface fast, or the bounce unpredictable. Strokes that are stable and reliable are those that do not break down under varying conditions and pressures and produce intended results when properly executed. Durability refers to how the mechanics of a stroke are impacted by age and factors outside the player’s control, such as changes in surface or changes in racquet and ball technology. In this way, durability is connected conceptually to simplicity and efficiency. Strokes that are durable are those that hold up over time. Think Andre Agassi. Clearly, a player who has developed strokes that meet all these criteria has a huge leg up on a player whose strokes do not meet one or more of these criteria. When we watch Roger Federer, we are witnessing this principle in practice.

Footwork and movement obviously refers to much more than foot speed. As with stroke proficiency, footwork that is simple and efficient is more effective in getting a player from point A to point B and back again with less wasted energy and in less time than a player whose footwork and movement is complicated and inefficient. In addition, efficient movement enables a player to maintain perfect balance as he maneuvers around the court as well as while executing a stroke, particularly those strokes executed on the run, which so many strokes are in today's professional game. Efficient footwork and movement also are key factors in enabling a player to transition from defense to offense or from offense to defense quickly. Again, Federer’s game provides a case study in efficient footwork and movement.

Tactical acumen refers to a player's ability to match the most effective tactics to the strategy he has chosen to employ against a particular opponent under certain conditions. Of course, the more tactical options at a player’s disposal, the more effective he will be at employing a particular strategy or in altering his strategy should it prove ineffective. In this way, tactical acumen is closely tied to stroke proficiency and movement, as a player who has mastered many strokes and moves efficiently around the court is a player who can utilize multiple tactics in pursuit of one objective. For example, a player who has mastered the inside-out topspin forehand as well as the low, penetrating slice forehand, and whose efficient movement enables him to quickly improve his court position when the opportunity arises, is able to utilize the tactic of seizing the net with a deep shot that pins his opponent to the ad court corner. And he can do it in one of two ways—with the inside-out topspin forehand or with the low, penetrating slice forehand. So, we can see that tactics drive strategy in as much as strategy drives tactics.

Stamina and endurance refer simply to a player’s physical strength and durability. All the tactical know-how and stroke proficiency in the world cannot overcome a serious physical deficiency like a lack of stamina. But give a great shotmaker superb stamina and endurance, and you’ve got something special. Then add in a healthy dose of “heart” — that intangible yet quite palpable ability to dig deep and then deeper into one’s reserves of strength and will and craftiness to architect a victory against seemingly insurmountable odds. Heart, the fire within, is the final element that must be developed and which will sustain a player when all else is teetering on the verge of collapse. It is what we saw time and again from Pete Sampras, who, in addition to possessing some of the greatest shots in the history of the game, had the capacity to reach down into his gut and come up with something brilliant at just the right moment. On a few memorable occasions, Pete’s guts were literally displayed for all the world to see. And instead of shrinking in embarrassment, he gathered the courage to match his pride and pushed himself to limits few ever reach.

It is my contention that if the high-performance coaches and trainers in America today truly want to develop the next wave of great young players who will be fit to compete and win on the pro tour, they must reduce their efforts to developing the four elements detailed above. And the best way to do this is to create an environment in which players must rely on these elements in order to succeed against their peers. And since court surface is perhaps the single most defining factor in selecting successful game style and tactics, those who are charged with developing America’s next class of players must look to the slow, gritty, slippery crushed red brick as the primary surface on which to develop the fundamental elements of an elite player’s game.

The slow, crushed brick demands stroke proficiency; efficient footwork and movement; tactical acumen; stamina, endurance and heart. A player with the smallest inefficiency or mechanical hiccup in his stroke cannot survive the test of clay, where points are often decided in no less than 20 to 30 strokes. Because high-percentage play is rewarded and risk-taking is not, in order to win a point on red clay a player must use all of his tactical options to push his opponent hopelessly out of position before attacking with impunity or going for the winner. For this reason, the dirt demands the most of a player in terms of stamina and endurance. And as a match wears on and players are tested to their limits, the player with the most heart and desire to win will more often than not prevail in the end.

It’s no accident that nearly 30 years ago, when the turf of the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, was replaced by composition and soon after the U.S. Open was moved to the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, the world was also witnessing the rise of nations like Sweden, Argentina and Spain on the pro tour. The Swedes had created a national training center in Stockholm, and used Bjorn Borg’s meteoric success to develop a generation of players who could compete for Grand Slams and Davis Cups. Argentina and Spain were not far behind, and today are well represented in the top ranks on tour. These players all trained on the crushed brick, and developed the strokes, movement, tactical acumen, stamina and heart needed to compete on the slow, slippery, high-bounce surface.

After having achieved success with Jimmy Arias and Andrea Jaeger in the 70s, the Bolletieri Academy became the de facto elite training center in the U.S., developing young talent from all over America and around the world. With the success of Andre Agassi and Monica Seles in the 1980s and 90s, and the impact their style of play has had on the game, Bolletieri can lay claim to having helped architect America’s resurgence after the ATP careers of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe had come to an end. Now, as the USTA pushes for a national training center of its own, a place where the best juniors can come to get the best training and compete against the best of their peers — a sort of super-Bolletieri academy — it would behoove the architects to review the plans that have propelled the Swedish, Spanish and, most recently, Russian federation players to elite status.

To sum up, the road to American success on the pro tour must not be smoothly paved, but made of crushed red brick. The next wave of junior players to be developed in America’s high-performance training center(s) must be prepared to go the distance in order to compete with their European, South American and Russian counterparts.

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