The Strategy Zone:
Phase 2: "Hurt"

Nick Bollettierri with Lance Luciani

I first developed the concept of "Hurt" during my travels with the great Andre Agassi. Once Andre established control of a point, he loved to run opponents from corner to corner. We called it the "Bradenton to Vegas" strategy.

Andre was the master of Hurt. He developed a reputation on the tour of using this tactic to defeat opponents physically and mentally. He may have retired but he is still an absolutely brilliant model for developing this dimension in your own tactical game.

Lance Luciani and I have made "Hurt" one of the center pieces of the Strategy Zone training system, and for good reason. As we define it, "Hurt" means producing a feeling of physical and mental discomfort in the opponent. It's a key component in winning matches tactically, but equally important, winning matches psychologically.

"Hurt" is the second phase in the three step process in the Strategy Zone, a process you can master to win matches at any level. Again those three phases: "Control, Hurt, and Finish."

In our previous articles we looked at the various dimensions of phase 1, Control. (Click Here.) As we saw, there are many potential ways to establish control: deep drives, short angles, loops, serves wide or down the T, and also, deep neutral zone or angle returns.

Hurt

Once you understand how to gain control of the opponent, it's time to move on. You next learn to dominate them by using shot patterns or combinations. This intermediate phase is "Hurt."

Without mastery of the Hurt phase you will never develop the ability to hit consistent winners. Andre did it by dominating the center of the court with change of direction. But too many players without a fraction of Andre Agassi's talent try to skip over the Hurt Phase and try to finish points too rapidly.

Often that results in needless unforced errors, trying to hit winners at the wrong time, or from the wrong place on the court. Let's see how this critical phase worked not only for Andre and how you can develop it yourself.

When we talk about Hurt it's important to emphasize that the objective is to work a pattern. This can be a change of direction pattern or a wrong foot patterning. There are a great number of possible variations. The idea is to stretch the player, keep him, off balance so the opponent doesn't really know what's coming next, and open the court.

If you execute these patterns well, two things are likely to happen. First you may win the point outright because the other player may make an unforced error. Second, the other player is also likely to hit the ball back short, and/or to the center of the court. If you control the center of the court and consistently generate short balls, you are in control of the point. This will flow naturally into the third phase, called Finish.

Andre loved to use his ability to change directions to run players side to side and corner to corner. He did this to set up winners. But sometimes he just preferred to just keep punishing his opponent's corner to corner. This was one way Andre established his aura of psychological dominance. Believe me, it led to many players giving up and losing the will to continue to fight.

1-1 Combinations

There are two basic combinations for changing the direction of the shot in the Hurt phase and set up the Finish. The first is a 1-1 Combination. This is a simple change of direction pattern where the ball is hit to one side of the court, then the other.

For example, a 1-1 Combination is a ball hit crosscourt to either side, followed by a down the line, or vice versa. You can also hit 1-1 Combinations from the Inside Out position, going first inside out, then inside in, or the reverse.

That may sound very basic, but below the highest levels of the game, most players cannot even hit the ball consistently crosscourt or down the line. Also, they are usually unaware that they lack this basic accuracy. The fact is it's more difficult than it might appear from just watching Andre Agassi!

Players obsess about their technique and how to hit with more pace and generate more spin. This is often misplaced focus, and a huge mistake in priorities if you actually want to win matches. Commit to developing the ability to change directions and go either way on either side on any ball. I challenge you, and I could not feel more strongly about it! If you succeed I guarantee you will see your results improve by many levels.

Pattern Tests

You can do a few simple tests to see where you stack up on the basic shots that make up the 1-1 Combinations. Have a coach, a ball machine or a coach simply feed you balls to one side, and alternate going crosscourt, then down the line. Do this drill on the forehand side, then the backhand, and then from the inside position, where you go inside out and inside in. Now reverse the sequence and go down the line first, then crosscourt.

Can you complete all of the two ball patterns five times in a row on a consistent basis? Ten times? Which patterns are you most comfortable with and which need more work? The ones you prefer should be the initial basis for your 1-1 Combinations in matches. But over time you should also work to become equally accurate and confident with all the potential variations.

The time to change directions is when the first shot has stretched the opponent, moved him off the court, and/or forced him off balance. You need to experiment to find which patterns are most effective against a given opponent.

Remember the goal of all this is to produce a weak reply, usually a short ball or a ball in the middle that will allow you to move on to the Finish stage. Is this best accomplished by a crosscourt forehand and a down the line forehand? Or is the same pattern on the backhand side? Or the reverse? Or something else?

2-1 Combinations

The second basic "Hurt" pattern is called a 2-1 Combination. This is also sometimes called a Wrong Foot Pattern. The 2-1 Combination is a secondary tactic, usually implemented after you have successfully established one or more of the basic 1-1 Combinations.

The 2-1 Combination means that you hit two consecutive balls to the same side, then you make the direction change. This confuses the opponent because it is a fundamental change in how you are playing the match.

It can catch him flat footed, or even moving the wrong way to recover, based on his previous expectations of your shot selection. 2-1 Combinations are a critical component on all surfaces. But they are especially effective on clay or grass when the footing is much more slippery than hard courts.

Again, in the 2-1 Combinations, the actual diagonals can be put together in many different ways. Two crosscourt forehands, followed by a forehand down the line, or the reverse. Or either of these combinations hit off your backhand side, or the same diagonals hit from the inside position. Two inside out forehands, then an inside in, for example. Or the opposite, two inside ins and then the inside out. You get the idea.

The determination of which of these patterns to use and when to use them should be based on your own accuracy and comfort level with a given pattern--and your assessment of the strength of the replies from your opponents.

The success of using all these combinations comes from the knowledge of when to use them. The basic idea is to set up the change of direction with a series of 1-1 Combinations, then throw in the 2-1. Now you have introduced an element of uncertainty. What will you hit next? A 1-1 Combo? Another 2-1 Combo?

You want your opponent to be unsure about what to anticipate next. When you mix the combinations successfully, this will typically lead to additional unforced errors and more balls you can attack to finish points.

Advanced Variations

Let's look at t wo other more advanced variations on these basic combinations. Alternating the depth of shot creates an even greater challenge for the opponent. For example, in a 1-1 Combination, the first shot can be a short cross court angle, combined with a very deep, even looping, second shot down the line. These differences in depth force the player to move on a diagonals forward and/or backward, rather than simply side to side. This is more difficult to do and also involves a great distance to travel.

The second advanced variation is the use of disguise, especially in the 2-1 Combinations. If for example you are going back crosscourt on the second ball, it is easy to disguise a short, off speed angle to wrong foot the opponent. Now your opponent becomes even more confused and more likely to guess. All this leads to tactical and eventually mental domination. And that leads to winning more matches with less effort.

So, that covers the basis geometric, tactically, and psychological components of the Hurt phase. As you work to develop your skills in these basic combinations, you will want to increase the complexity and difficulties of the drills you do, as well as creating actual point situations. The Strategy Zone is a great resource here because it outlines dozens of on court options to help you progress in your ability to create "Hurt." (Click Here for more info.)

Next: We'll move on to Stage 3: Finish! Stay Tuned.