Doubles Lessons from the Bryan Bros down Under
I recently got this clip from Wayne Bryan, father of Mike and Bob Bryan who are as of now on their way to adding to their historic duo accolades. There are several things that I point out to people at all levels that are pretty obvious here. Have a look at the video (mainly the first 1:42) and my comments and related pictures taken from the video. Once you click play you can expand on the video. Mike and Bob (whom my players played both collegiately and in the pros) are not only the nicest gentlemen, but along with their dad, are pied-pipers of tennis, providing numerous ways to give back (one is their Bryan Bros Foundation). Have fun.
1.This first point you see a few things.
a) FEET. EVERYONE is moving their feet a ton. Hear the squeaks. Move your feet. I call it having 3.5 energy out of 5. Having 1 is like falling asleep and thinking no one is going to hit the ball to you until surprise! Having level 5 is you are too spastic over-running and over-doing everything like you are trying to play singles on a doubles court. So 3.5 is a good balance of energy.
b) Hitting to the middle solves the riddle. They (Mike is righty and on the baseline) works the middle until they get a shorter ball that they can punish down the line and get another short ball that can be put away (Bob, lefty, drills the final forehand blow to the middle). Generally, and relative to the skill level, if you go down the line too soon, you should lose the point as your opponent can volley between you and your partner. So being patient by pounding the middle to soften up the sides is wise.
c) Notice how far over (known as pinching) Bob is as he knows Mike is going to drill the middle so he (Bob) has a shot at it. He finally gets a weak ball and ends the point.
2. The second point has two areas to note:
a) Matkowski (who played at UCLA) moved too soon. I tell people all the time you have to close forward in order to not give away your intent to poach. Matkowski just shifts to the middle and Bob sees it and hits down the line like stealing candy from a baby (whoever came up with that idiom I hope didn’t do that).
b)because of the down the line return with Matkowski shifting over, there is what I call a “C” formation. Two baseliners down the line (not cross court) and two net players down the line. When this happens Mike does the right thing (of course) and pinches the middle when the ball is on the opposing baseliners side. He moves over and quickly ends the point.
3. In the fourth point (the third was set point and a missed return) a lob fest ensues with Matkowski whiffing the overhead.
a) Don’t whiff overheads. Ok that is just for the humor. The real lesson is even pros do it sometimes.
b) Mike and Bob are back, opponents now have 1 up 1 back. Mike does the right thing again. Hit the ball to the deepest person in this case down the line. When you are that far back hitting it at the net person will lose the point most of the time.
c) Bob runs in to close the net knowing Mike is hitting down the line to the deepest person. We are now in “C” formation again (pause the video to see it at 1:07) or this picture shows it. Guess what happens? Matkowski does the no-no and hits it to the net player (Bob). See my just above in 3b. Viola, point over.
4. The next point is perfect to illustrate what not to do in “I” formation and what I spend a lot of time trying to explain to folks particularly collegiate players. The main point of “I” or even “Aussie” (which is played more over on the side of the server) is to take away the cross court return and when done correctly the net man in “I” can cover about 2/3 of the court and the server getting the down the line balls. The first picture shows the opponents going “I.” So far so good.
Then what happens when you see the video? Qureshi moves over too soon. In fact I tell all my players NOT to move at all but basically plug up the middle with the intent to take 2/3 of the court and dare the returner to hit through the middle and force them down the line. But by moving Qureshi gives Mike and easy, wide open down the line. Mike moves over and puts pressure on Matkowski who dumps the ball in the net.
I hope some simple points come across. Move your feet, a lot. Work the middle. Pinch the middle on C formation and if you are playing “I” or poaching do not give up the down the line by moving too soon, etc.
Let ‘er Rip
Steve