Hendrix such an icon? Well , there are many reasons and understanding why could just be the key to your tennis success. I am sure you are eager to know how Jimi Hendrix can help you win more tennis matches aren?t you? Hang on, I will explain in a minute! First, a couple of questions! Q. Do you lose too many matches to players with shots far ?worse? than yours? Q. Do you play better on the practise court? Q. What about the excuses? I?ve heard them all by the way ?They just got lucky on the day? or ?I just never got going? or ?I don?t know what happened , I?ve been playing so well in practice? etc. Has it dawned on you yet that Winning Tennis Matches is NOT all about Hitting Tennis Shots? Q. Is there a way to stack the match odds in your favour? Q. And if there is, are you interested? Listen, sometimes you just don?t play well or your opponent just plays a great game BUT normally the one big factor that decides matches (unless there is a clear gulf in playing standard) is NOT the shots you play (per se) but your MENTAL approach , aptitude and application. I don?t mean being mentally tough, I mean being mentally SMART! Or put another way The truth is that you are probably spending too much time working on the technical aspects of your game without understanding THE GAME!! Back To Jimi ? Are You Experienced? In the film ?White Men Can?t Jump? Wesley Snipes says to Woody Harrelson ?the trouble with you is that you listen to Jimi BUT you don?t HEAR Jimi?. There is a crucial difference here and if you can understand this difference you can begin to Win More Tennis Matches. Has the light bulb come on yet? Let?s go back to what Brad Gilbert said ? ?it?s about who is doing what to who?. What does he mean? Basically he is saying, it?s the person who understands why and where he or she is hitting the ball that controls and will win the match ? SIMPLE! In my e book Beat All The Tennis Players You Want I outline a 4 STEP MATCHPLAY SYSTEM to help you play BETTER in matches and ultimately WIN more matches! But I am going to ?let you in? on one of the steps that hardly anyone uses at club level that makes a MASSIVE difference in your ability to win matches! Let?s look at a tournament match that I was involved in to show you how it works! Here?s my story. I used to practice with Dave on a fairly regular basis and would normally beat him. Then came the Club championships. In the quarter finals I was drawn to play ? Dave! Anyway no problem I thought! It was traditional to play the Club championships on the clay courts at the club. I had mostly played Dave on hard courts but didn?t think it would make much of a difference. The match started and Dave who was a pretty good volleyer was not coming into the net as he normally did. He was staying back and just keeping the ball high and deep. I played my normal game and struggled a bit to attack and dominate from the net as normal! The first set was a 6 2 for Dave. The second set followed a pretty similar pattern with me just playing my normal game and Dave picking me off with his steady play and passing shots to win the second set (and the match) 6 3. Dave had changed his STRATEGY to suit the slower clay courts , while I had just played my normal game. It was only afterwards that I realized what had happened. I didn?t take my opponent and court surface into consideration. That is exactly what Dave had done and is exactly why he was into the semi finals. He Was Experienced! He knew I didn?t like to stay at the back of the court to rally and the slower higher bouncing clay court helped him keep me on the baseline and away from the net which is where he knew I wanted to be ? He took me out of my Comfort Zone and won the match!! I will say it again! He had a STRATEGY! How does this help you? First realize that All players (esp. @ club level) have ?holes? in their game. You just need to find them. Then just Exploit and Diffuse 1.Exploit weaknesses Hone in on areas (shotssituations) where they make errors. Control play to keep them defensive. Put your strength up against their weakness. Mentally put them under pressure from early on. 2.Diffuse strengths. They have a great forehand ? no problem, play on their backhand. Good from the baseline bring them to the net. Powerful serve block it back. Great volleys keep them on the baseline. Are you beginning to HEAR Jimi or are you still LISTENING? So here?s what you do! Figure Out your opponent. 1.Before you play (if possible). Watch them play and take notes (write them down) of what they like AND don?t like doing. 2.In the warm up Most players use the warm up as a time to focus on themselves and get themselves ready to play, but you should look at your opponent to pick up clues on the things they like to do and don?t like to do. 3.During the match During the first few games of the match , take mental (and physical notes ? write them down) about your opponents weaknesses (to exploit them) AND strengths (to diffuse). Another TRUE story to illustrate the point! I run a great mixed adults group every Saturday. It?s full of great people and I really enjoy coaching it. A few months ago a new guy joined and fitted well into the group (he is now a permanent fixture). It was weeks after he joined during one particular drill that I thought to myself ?no one realizes he is left handed? and casually walked around the group asking people on a one to one basis about what they were doing. Sure