Kypson VS Kecmanovic

I first watched Patrick play back in the Futures. He was playing in Pensacola and Niceville while I was traveling with college players from the U of Louisiana.

He was traveling with a group of 15 and 16 year olds that were part of some USTA “special” group (Shapovalov was there too).

The other kid travelling with them were good, but they had an “air” about them that they were playing for “Fun.”

What I mean is that they came from money and didn’t have the “full commitment” in their faces to want to be pro.

Patrick did.

So did Shapovalov.

I don’t mean that as a dig against the other players. It’s just the facts. People’s faces and the way they carry themselves show where they come from and where they are going.

I’ve been waiting all these years for Kypson to break into the top 200.

Sometimes, to get to where you want to go you have to “kill” the old you. You have to reach the point of no return. You have to accept outcomes and accept fate.

For most of us, we carry too much baggage and don’t want to start new.

Is that what happened?

Did Kypson reach a point where he was able to “let go” and build from scratch?

Time away (injuries) gives a different perspective. Like a vision quest. Being able to step back and think about where you are and where you came from and where you want to be is a gift.

Some don’t see it that way.

Some don’t get the chance.

Years ago, I wanted to travel the circuit and write about what players who don’t make it are lacking so that future players know the obstacles in the way.

(The Mind and how we process).

But, the truth is, things happen for reasons.

Some players have ceilings.

Physically and Mentally.

It blows my mind that players can be “Career” 3.0’s. All they need is a better serve to get to 3.5 (and a few minor fixes).

Game 1.

Right away I notice that Patrick’s feet have gotten “softer” since the Australian Open.

The first game takeaway is about consistency.

Serving consistency of patterns.

I wrote about this in my book (haha) but simple forms of increases your serve percentage is being consistent with the motion…Like, Deuce side wide serves and Ad T serves co-exist. If you use a lot of those, your serve percentage will be higher. The motions are very close to similar (the path of the swing/racket).

-Deuce t and Ad body serves are similar and can co-exist.

-Ad wide serves stand by themselves. The swing path is irregular (This is my favorite serve. I get so many aces here…but, today, I would switch to “owning” the Ad T serve as my primary.

-the point. Kecmanovic’s first service game is routine because of location consistency.

Game 2.

Second point. Patrick in the past might have given up a (+1) error here. Instead, he hits the center of the court to reset the point. Yes, the point is a loss, but there is still value here. Not giving up a freebie early is huge for momentum and keeps your opponent on guard.

Game 3.

1-1.

The first point is a change from the past. Patrick plays a “Wheel” combo. These are designed to keep the point going for a series of 3-5 shots before the point starts (or unless you get a short ball/neutral ball). I like it. I like seeing players develop their point structure.

Win or lose the point has less importance than what you are trying to “sell” to your opponent.

Look at my Instagram for visual points.

I’m going to stop here and right about the importance of establishing patterns early in the match. Too many players give away freebies and lose opportunities. When Patrick gets his first break point in game 3, he plays a two-ball power. These are great, but at the top 100 level they are easy “reads.” Sometimes, you can’t control that. So, what do you do? Play a two-ball attack and see where the point goes (and win or lose) or play a longer point using the middle of the court (and still win or lose). The key is to establish a base pattern you can work off of. Ideally, you would have wanted to play the Two-ball attack earlier in the match so you get a “feel” of the Opponent’s movements, etc (or you know this already from the scouting).

Think about stats!

Two balls are easy to read because the outcomes are so small. When you build a three-ball pattern, it adds to the variables and is harder to read. Four balls, even harder.

It’s wiser to build from a four-ball attack and switch to a two periodically than it is to use a two and switch to a four.

Do you understand?

If you start with two-ball attacks, your opponent knows you have to add a three or a four-ball. If you start with a four-ball attack on specific points, you can downgrade to a two or upgrade to a “mixed” combo.

(Mixed combos are 2 three-ball sequences…or 2 four-ball sequences during the same point. Again, you can’t always control that…but I would want a couple of four-ball patterns in my repertoire to choose from).

**Another thing popped up during the match. I call it stacking (It’s essentially a card trick where you “Stack” the aces in the deck of cards and separate the aces by 4 other cards etc). In tennis, stacking is when you establish a certain pattern in specific situations over and over and intend to deviate once the stacking has been established.

I never realized how “heavy” Kecmanovic’s feet are. Sometimes I wonder if that comes from too much leg work. I also wonder if big legs are a thing of the past. Now players are using more band work to gain strength instead of weights.

It’s funny at this level that little things make a big difference and that little differences are a pain in the ass to fix. Players have to constantly trim fat on their swings, on their footwork and on the return of serve.

-timing the split is crucial on returns. Soft splits are better than hard splits. Too much momentum creates a problem with timing etc (lower levels do that to generate pace on the return. I feel like it’s a handicap on big serves).

-When I think of trimming fat on footwork I think of the movie “Days of Thunder” when Robert Duval’s character takes time off the laps by showing Cole Trickle how to manage his tires during the laps. Like the movie, I feel that I can trim time and space on Kypson’s movement out of the “Box” which would give him back a few feet of space and a half second.  I’ll save that for him.

-The problem with writing these pieces is the breaks I have to take in between work. I can never find a break of time when I’m off the court for long enough so the pieces become jagged.

-There are little things that have gotten better for Patrick. The Serve and the Forehand Power are noticeable changes from 18 months ago. In a way, that’s what got him from 400 to Top 150. It’s just one aspect.

The Big change came from how he processes the need to change things to move forward. I wrote about this earlier but the process of change comes with reflection. The ability to step back and look at your life. Where you are at the present. Where you came from. And where you want to go.

This is a huge concept to understand for anybody. As “Livers” we don’t have time to take a step back because relationships, marriages, and jobs consume us and we fear change. We fall victim to contentment and ride our lives out (And slowly die inside). We are creatures of habit. Routine.

Sometimes, we have to take risks. And we have to shed old beliefs to move forward. One joke I make to a couple of people in my circle is, “Imagine you have been living for 50+ years. You think you enjoy your life and one day someone comes around and points out of few issues in the way you process. After a few days, or a week it hits you one day that your life has been a lie. A big waste of time. That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

I remember reading a piece when I was in college about a guy (in his 80s) who had something crazy like 20 degrees from college. He never stopped learning his entire life. I feel like my core beliefs and morals have never changed but the way I process has changed a lot. I feel that most people are the opposite. They don’t change their process, and their morals and values are in a constant state of flux.

I also feel that people are searching for the Holy Grail but they’re looking in all the wrong places (the joke throughout time is that there is no Holy Grail. You are the Holy Grail).

Imagine being a former 12/13 Utr, yet never crossing over to the “pro” level.

Why do you think that is?

What piece was lacking?

I’m sure you worked hard enough.

You also had to have some insight.

When you get to that stage there can be multiple reasons why you didn’t cross over. One big one is a reluctance to change. To feel that you are a finished product and….