It is very easy to get wrapped up in how well you are hitting the ball when playing a tennis match. However, one of the things that will have the most impact on your level of success is your percentage of made shots. If your serve is decent, making 70 or 80 percent of first serves will be extremely helpful in executing a strategy during the point. It is likely that you can gain control of most points and force the opponent to be more reactive than proactive. The same is true if your return of serve is pretty good.
In addition to these shots, if you are making 75-80 percent of your groundstrokes, it puts pressure on the opponent to go for more winners or try to out-steady you. If you are able to convert on 50 percent of your break point opportunities and your opponent is only at 30 percent, they will have to create more break point opportunities in order to keep the match close. Overall, if your percentages are better than your opponent’s in these areas I noted above, you will likely win the match.
Remind yourself to pay attention to being consistent and limiting your errors, especially at the beginning of the point. If you can get the percentages in your favor, you will be able to play more freely at the crucial stages of the match and your chances for success will increase.
Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro, is the Director of Annacone Tennis, www.annaconetennis.com and MyHamptonspPro, www.MyHamptonsPro.com throughout the Hamptons, NY. Sam Alexander, Steve, and Gill Gross run the TOP (Tennis Optimization Players-Top Team) program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Tucson, AZ) for high level players ages 8-18. Please contact Steve at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323