Sinner vs Botic

Simone paused the MacBook.

“Watch,” he said.

He moved the video in slow motion.

“You’re opening early on your forehand.”

Jannik studied the screen.

“Play it again,” he said.

Simone pressed his finger down on the trackpad and moved his finger to the left. Then let the video go in real-time.

Rewinded it.

Then played it again.

A few more times.

“I felt like I was forcing the contact…I see it.”

Simone smiled.

The past six months had been a transition for Simone. It was tough as a coach to add another cook in the kitchen.

Messages get mixed up.

Progress gets halted.

Egos get in the way.

The decision to add Cahill was paying off.

Simone could work on the technical aspects.

Cahill could manage the add-ons and the point structure.

Most players had too many coaches in their minds. It was hard for the players to tell what was right and what was wrong.

Jannik had been different.

He wanted to UNDERSTAND.

A lot of players wanted to too, but they came from a closed background. One without an open dialogue. One that was one-dimensional.

Intentionally or not, Adults and their egos got in the way of learning.

It had taken Jannik six months to adjust to the five-mile-an-hour increase in his rally ball. It had also taken another six months to adjust to the outcomes it produced.

He didn’t have to hit the corners so early and often.

He could use the center of the court more to wear down his opponent.

But, the fun part was the added combinations that threw off his opponents.

The Switches.

Jannik was eating.

Simone looked at his watch.

“You don’t have to tell this kid twice,” he thought to himself.

Jannik took care of his routines.

In the previous round, he had played Botic Van De Zandschulp.

The team had discussed how to go after his forehand because of the hitch on the backswing. The problem was that Botic hit a lot of winners on that side too.

Jannik had done a good job of going after the forehand to get the break of serve and then finishing the set with more patterns to attack the opposite side of the court.

To keep the plan fresh for the second set.

A few hiccups had showed up in the first set.

The swinging volley error on break point.

And the points where he seemed in control until a fluke shot showed up and messed with the pattern execution.

The outlier patterns seem to show up on the Big Points.

But, there weren’t enough of those during the match to make a difference.

The plan was to get the break going after the forehand using Mids and Switches and then ride the set out with varying Ad-side patterns.

In the past, Jannik had a hard time adjusting to when to switch the plan.

He was getting better at it now.

It was funny to Jannik that announcers and commenters didn’t see the subtle changes in patterns.

It was funny too when he caught players on (+1) errors because of the mixing up of attacking distances.

To catch players “on the fly” was even better. The coaches helped with that. Recognizing moments in the match where the mind of the opponent was drifting, especially after establishing long rallies where he used number and movement manipulation. Then catching them with a few quick combos that attacked tighter spaces.

It was hard to stay on track mentally early on.

His Memory was getting better.

“Let’s get a better start to our service games Vs De Jong,” Simone said.

Jannik nodded.

Jannik remembered that he was starting every service game in the second set against Botic down 0-15.

It helped that Botic got a little defensive.

The coaches had noticed he got a little defensive on return points with his backhand.

Simone stood up slowly. He put his hands on his hips and stretched his pelvis. Sitting in the stadium seats during the matches took its toll on the lower back.

“Getting old, mate,” Cahill said.

Months ago, the comment would have bothered him. Now, the coaching dynamic was more reciprocal.

Simone smiled.

“Va fangool.”

Cahill laughed.

“I thought you were going to say ‘Go shit in my hat.”

“Italians don’t say that,” he said and smiled.

“Sure they do. I hear it a lot.”

“In America…American Italians say that.”

Cahill lifted his hand and backhanded the air.

They both smiled.

Coaching could be a lonely world. It felt good to have another person with the same philosophy to banter with.

“I don’t think you’ll have to attack the forehand of De Jong to get the break,” Cahill said. He uses the corners of the court too much. He’ll give you plenty of room to work with.”

Jannik remembered closing out the second set by going after Botic’s forehand by using Box 2 switches.

And opening the third with the same tactic.

But he couldn’t execute the break.

And then got broke in the next game because of it.

For Jannik, it was good to have coaches in the box to temper his mind. At times, his mind was too fast, jumping from thought to thought, idea to idea.

As a kid, it was hard to settle his mind down.

Competitive Skiing helped.

The pace kept you in the moment.

It was harder to stay focused while playing tennis. The mind wandered so often.

“Botic’s forehand cracked on the big points.”

“We knew that would be the case.”

“Remember when you were flying forehands on the biggies?”

“Ya.”

“It’s the same thing. It’s the mind getting in the way. Having a plan rather than playing on feel makes a big difference,” Cahill said as he picked up his water bottle to take a sip. He felt something wet on his fingers.

Something yellow.

He lifted his fingers to his nose.

“Mustard.”

Simone and Jannik laughed.

“Va Fangool,” Cahill said.

They laughed hysterically.

“That is not so nice a word,” Jannik said a few seconds later, smiling.

Cahill sprayed him with his water bottle.

A few minutes later they were walking out to the practice court to get a light hit on their day off.