Able to anticipate the movement of players on the field and the type of shot that they might play is the key to securing victory, which is why someone who cannot be predicted as Alcaraz is so difficult to play.
Most players fall into the pattern of close games and study them becomes important in trying to secure excellence.
“Gabriel Diallo is a man who works with me and he plays in the new Majorca, and for his match with Jaume Munar I sent a detailed play plan to him about how to deal with it,” O’shannessy said.
“The things that I usually show will include the direction of service, what kind of service he likes to be beaten, and then where in the field it is more vulnerable to make mistakes, especially forehand errors. Because it happens more often than others.”
Other important battles can be a warm -up.
Instead of being – as seen to those who watch – only two players are prepared for the match, it also presents the opportunity to see how the opponent will react to certain types of shots.
“In warming up you might want to disguise the type of shot that you want to press,” added O’shannessy.
“I think it might be more advantage at the club level because you don’t need to know your opponent or lurk them.
“So this is a very good time to hit them some different balls, some tall balls, some low balls, some fast balls, some slices, and then monitor where they hit it.”
