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Interesting point. Going line is riskier but it could be 40-love and the server figured he’d try to sneak one down the line and see what happens. Thanks! I enjoy the videos.

It appears to me that ol’ Bruce was enticing a shot up the line. He didn’t move at all until the hitter couldn’t see him. Then he covered. Clever.

Good logic. The other day overheard a coach say "once a (doubles) opponent moves they become a target". Can you comment?

1 - on the shot after the serve, from the server's viewpoint there is no middle for him to see. Totally agree he has to go back cross court. 2 - after hitting down the line, server's partner is alone in the middle of a doubles court !! pretty much a disaster of positioning 3 - returner's partner's volley could be a 'down the middle answers the riddle' shot but he has at least 3 winning options so he can't go wrong if he executes any of them.

What about a short angle cross court slice to force the baseliner to hit up?

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Hi Brent, I think a lot of us have wondered - do you know the head size and model of Mark's racquet? Definitely looks larger, maybe a 108 or 110? Thanks!

The guy who hit all the overheads was really gassed after the point. :). overheads are tiring. Depth is the key. Shouldn't overheads be approached with an offensive mindset - not a keep it in play mentality ?

When do you decide to just angle it off instead of going deep?

Good points about the sprints. Jump rope, run the lines side to side returning to the fence after touching each working across.

Looking forward to trying these tips.

I go back to the old saying, He/she has good eye/ hand coordination. To have it takes early learning activities like catching a baseball, catching a football, hitting a baseball, tennis ball and other similar sports. We always talked about seeing the ball in. The point about seeing the ball early is key, as is seeing the ball late(Contact). Breathing deeply and adjusting my grip help me relax and keep my hand soft and wrist flexible. Good topic.

Great video on watching the ball. Baseball hitters do eye exercises that enable them to focus on a distant object then a near object very quickly. Tennis players can do similar exercises by holding a tennis ball and looking at the number on the ball then looking at a number on a fence 80 feet away. This should be done without moving the head, you can switch back and forth quickly however make sure the number is in focus before switching. By the way, a famous British study found that playing tennis extended a person’s life by about 9 years. The only activity that did better was ball room dancing. Golf extended a person’s life 0 years.

Something I've been thinking about lately : you referenced a Margaret Court thought that she focused on her return of serve on seeing the ball come up off the bounce. I've been working on this and it really makes a difference. I think what happens is that the returner's eyes are distance-focused when the serve is hit. Once the return is hit, the eye returns to distance focus when tracking the ball on the other side of the net. But in between as the serve arrives and comes off the bounce, focus has to change to a nearer focus. The ball is 78' away at serve contact ( distance focus) approx 20' away at the bounce (medium distance focus) and only 3' or so at contact (near contact). Eye focus has to parallel ball distance for best success. I think there is a strong link between change of eye focus and timing of the ball into contact. I think many players (too often myself...) don't change to a near focus just before contact. The consequence of this is imprecise timing of return contact - peeking. You often talk about not peeking. Is peeking perhaps the following : distance eye focus at serve contact, and continued distance focus as the serve arrives with medium and near-focus missing. Since the next time distance focus is useful is as the return heads back over the net, the mind and eye go to the next time the eye focus and the ball distance match - the other side of the net - unfortunately during contact - hence peeking. By focusing on the ball coming up off the bounce, the eye focus shifts from long distance to medium distance and makes it easier to shift to near focus as the ball arrives. I know this is complicated. but i hope you will take the time to consider these thoughts and give me some feedback on these ideas. Do you see the ball coming up off the bounce ? When I do I either see the spin or the writing on the ball. When I don't it is sort of blur. What do you see ? Do you have a way to improve this ?

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Impressed with quiet upper body and head throughout the point.

When the overhead came to your partner, the opponent net man read the shot and poached. Looks to me like he overran the ball and ended up with that weird inside-out forehand volley which sat up for you. Given his position, he needed to finish on that shot. When he didn't, his team ended up in a reverse stagger so you had that open cross-court lob available. My guess is that you didn't anticipate the shot that you got (how could you ? :))). . That's often enough to throw off your timing - like getting an unexpected changeup. Ideally do you think the cross-court lob was the best choice in that situation ?

Carve a lob. Make it a point to practice some lobs in warm ups.

My take away? The net players statistically win most of the points. That half second difference to prepare played out.

I think he needed to go short and wide either side here, or lob. Maybe he was thinking the guy was either going to poach _or_ duck back to cover the line so the shot would go behind him.

I can identify with the false read on the transition slower ball later on the point. It is mostly mental. I do need to work on prep to reduce anxiety on longer points. And keep control. Work more on prep is my takeaway. Good discussion on this video, thanks.

1 - the volley jammed returner's partner. The reflex worked out, but sometimes it doesn't. 2 - what about a chip lob-volley to the ad-court ? a few of those would discourage returner's partner from poaching

If i have time to setup, I would lob into the backhand corner. A backhand smash down the line would be a hard shot to do.

I see another shot, but it takes soft hands. Low percentage, but doable. Volley wide and short to the backhand side. Gives the server a little time to recover if the net man gets to it.

Can't wait to get back out there and experiment with the off hand...Thanks

thanks for the great insight. your videos help me a lot. I was looking to re-watch your videos about consistency and they were not available anymore. hope you can make something similar again. wonderful job showing the way to the tennis newbies. again thank you.

welcome back ! how did the tournament go ??

I like the way you take a step in, then split step. That's positive motion requiring less back swing to get something on it. On a faster surface that is crucial for good returns. Well done.

Low, slow, short up the middle approach. Classic Becker.

Love the Berkeley Tennis Club! Great job Brent.

Are you kidding me thats not a tip

Who is who???

Mark’s opponent hit himself out of position by going down the line while Mark hit himself into position by going cross court. Easy win!

This worked for Mark with this opponent. Would it work against Mark? I have my doubts.

I might have done that too - but for a different reason. I'm lazy. I would have gotten to the net to be able to pick up the first serve ball that was at the net. If there was no ball at the net - no approach.

Someone has to tell the guy in blue to stop hitting down the line! The last two videos have seen him punished severely when he fails to hurt his opponent with that shot.

On every shot Mark sets up his framework early, while moving when he has to. At the bounce of the ball he is prepped and his arm and racquet are in a 'ready to go' position. What I am most impressed with is how late and quick he is to the actual stroke into the ball. His hand(s) are really fast at the last second. That is not typical of players. Reminds me of Swiatek's groundies. In both cases, very short quick stroke surrounded by long, careful controlled prep and follow-through.

funny how approaching to the forehand even with a good shot doesn't work out well....

Mark is the guy we should all try to copy. Court position, racket prep, steady head and proper swing motion. Just a treat to watch.

He hit the hardest shot and it worked. Can also result an unforced error.. the way you hit it is you snap at the wrist and hit a flat shot, it’s a low percentage shot and is pure skill.

2011??? Why is this coming up on my feed?

Thanks! I like the Mark Vines episodes.

Notice where Mark was after the return. Moving to the middle, momentum toward the the add side, but still on on the deuce side because he hit it crosscourt. That changes when you hit it down the line. Now you have to move farther over to cover the angle, which his opponent did not do.

Mark could have chosen any of the shots you suggested, but he saw his opponent not getting back to the backhand side just past center, which is the proper position. Hence, the opening was presented. His crosscourt shot is money.

Mark will at times volley from back there to take away time and avoid backing up.

Like to see that as a Lefty!

Imagine a clock. If the back of the ball is 6 o'clock, 7 o'clock gets you to the outside. My hitting partner and coach always says, 'it's the last foot that's the most important to see.'

Is it worth the effort? Yes, of course it is worth the effort. The benefits of competitive tennis are so numerous that I would compare it to getting a good education. Always stay curious about how you might improve your game. Playing competitive tennis keeps you healthy both mentally and physically. Here are my favorite quotations from famous players: “ Tennis champions are born in the labor of defeat.” Bill Tilden “Pressure is a privilege.” Billie Jean King “ Tennis is not rocket science.” Andre Agassi “ It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.” Roger Federer

I agree with everything you said, but it takes some talent (understatement) in addition to the 8918 practice shots to hit such a good dropper from so far back. I'm working on it this summer It's not as easy as Mark Vines makes it look :)

Nice two shot pass. Mark had to move forward off the first passing shot because a stretched, low bh volley could easily draw a short or drop volley. Floating the volley deep made for a 3/4 court volley but an open court. Always nice to see how approaching to the forehand does not end well ;)