004 – Interview With Tennis Legend Roy Emerson

Realtennis Network With Chris Michalowski, USPTA

Recently, I had the chance to sit down with the Australian tennis legend, Roy Emerson while at Ferris State University’s PTM Alumni Banquet for a few minutes and talked with him about his views on today’s game and what it takes to take your game to the next level.

I hope you had a chance to check out the Connie She’s interview on our video page and hopefully I will be getting in touch with her this week and catch up on what she has been doing these last couple of months. I know she had a great tournament in El Paso and I’m excited to she where she is off to next.

Well now that I am starting to get into a groove, I am going to start working on a lot more video tips and instructional material, which I consider one of my favorite things to do.

And please remember this is where I want to help take your tennis to the next level, not mine, so please go to our site and push that big red button and ask me a question, leave a comment of give me your feedback. It is much appreciated and helpful in deciding what my next episode should cover

Don’t forget to print out the one-page template to today’s show that I have created for your convenience at the bottom of the SN

Well today, I have another treat for you. Can you say LEGEND, or how about BEST OF ALL TIME?

I first met this gentleman when I was in High school at a tournament called “The Grand Masters.” In my home town. It was traveling tour, much like the Champions Tour is now, that provided great tennis and entertainment all across the continent. My job title was “Executive Director of Traffic Control” or in simple terms, “Parking Lot Guy” and I had a chance to pick up a few players at the airport and even had the chance to hit with some of them one-on one. (check out the picture in the show notes)

Some of the others in the event included Rod Laver, , Mal Anderson, Torbin Ulrich (Lars Ulirch’s dad, Lars is the drummer for Metallica and a very good player from what I understand), Ramanathan Krishnan…just to name a few

Recently, I had the chance to sit down with the Australian tennis legend, Roy Emerson while at Ferris State University’s PTM Alumni Banquet for a few minutes and talked with him about his views on today’s game and what it takes to take your game to the next level.

Many of you younger players may not know who he is, especially in this day and age of “On from one thing to the next,” and super short attention spans, but you can put him in the mix as one of the best players of all time.

Roy has 28 major titles to his name…… When Pete Sampras broke the record for most major wins in singles with 13, guess whose record he broke?……….. Yes Roy Emerson’s.

His 12 Major singles titles broken down are, 6 Australian, 2 French,2 Wimbledon and 2 US Open titles. And he held this for 33 years.

And if you do the math, that means that he has 16 major doubles titles to his name which include: 6 French, 4 US Open, 3 Wimbledon and 3 Australian Opens.

Let’s get one thing clear, because this is confusing to people. We may call the US Open a “Grand Slam, but according to Hall of Fame Tennis Journalist, Bud Collins, and I have the link attached, the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US Open are considered “MAJORS” and if you win all 4 in the same year, you have won a GRAND SLAM. Somewhere along the line, each tournament began being called a Grand Slam.

Even the tennis channels slogan was “Home of the Slams” until they just recently changed it to “Where Champions Live.” I wonder if Bud gave them a call…………………

So let’s add even more fuel to the fire, Roy Emerson is the only player in tennis HISTORY to win singles and doubles titles in all four of the majors. Nobody in tennis history has ever done that, ever….

What can we learn today from Roy?

1. Well it sounds like as players we have to do the same things now as they did back then. Practice

2. He mentions that the game has changed a lot when it comes to serving and volleying, because the pace, but that should not stop you. If you are up against a 100 mph FH like the big boys have, then yes, it might be tough to get up there, but there is no reason why you do not belong up there if need be.

3. Another thing he reiterates that Connie talked about was getting in shape. Any pro that you talk to will tell you how important this is if you want to play your best tennis, but for all of you teaching pros out there, how does it go when you ask a 3.5 team to do a dynamic warm-up and then a few sprints up and back to the net and then finish the lesson off with some static stretching……………

It does not go well for me. But in my logical mind it seems like we all like to work out and get in shape, but not on the tennis court, unless our opponent is making us run (because now I have to). For me, I would much rather do a couple laps in a tennis lesson than run on a treadmill watching the Beverly Hillbillies on a television.

And then came Cardio Tennis! I think this is where we meet in the middle and everybody wins and if you have not tried it, call the nearest club near you and give it a try. A great workout, lots of balls and a lot of fun.

4. Another thing he said was Quality tennis over Quantity. He said that practice makes perfect, but I’ll take it one step further and say that PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (which is what he is saying). 2 hours is about all one could last having to focus this much, but if you switch up hitting and points, you might be able to extend this a bit further. You will need to in a match someday anyway

5. Learn an all court game. This puts more tools in the toolbox and will allow you to change things up if you need to. A one-dimensional player will have a difficult time with different styles of play

6. Play a lot of sets! If you want to be great at hitting forehands, hit a lot of forehands and if you want great at playing matches, play a lot of points. The ball machine will not make you a great mentally tough player in a match.

That was some great information in a short time. I want to say thank you to Roy and I wish him luck on his next big adventure.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Well now it is time to answer a couple of questions from our listeners. The first comes from Rebecca and she is asking about her serves in matches vs. practice. She tends to serve better in practice. What can she do to translate this to a match?

1. Play more practice matches. Not only this, but put stipulations on your serve that will force you to focus harder and put pressure on you. Some ideas might include:
   1. One serve only
   2. Have to slice all serves
   3. Have to hit all wide serves or up the “T”
   4. If you double fault you lose the game
   5. Explain the “V” (or divide into three) serve game

All of these will be difficult at first, but get easier as you start to adjust and then pick it up again. It is all part of the process

2. Just as important, put more pressure on your serve when you practice. Now let’s face it. Serving practice can be boring unless you can add some pizzazz to it and make it worth your while. It is the most important shot and the only “freebie” in this game if you get pretty good at it

We talked about specific ways to do this in one of our first episodes, but some ways to do this include:

• Don’t make the same mistake twice and if so, run to the net and back (this will help you learn to adjust pretty quick)
• Go for 7 out of 10 to each box with a flat serve and then with slice serves. Divide the service boxed in two and then do it again and then divide it into thirds and do it again (maybe go for 3 out of 5)
• Play a set against a ghost player but with stipulations (this goes fast too and it is fun). Some variations include:1. One serve up the “T” on each side. If you make it you win the point, if you miss, the ghost player gets the poin
  • All slice serves – same thing with Flat serves (give yourself 2 serves and the same thing

Anything that will put a bit more pressure on your serve in practice will help bridge that gap into match play

The next comes from Mark.

How can I get more consistent with my groundstrokes?

1. Well, the first thing, especially when you are playing in a match is to concentrate on your “hitting zone”. This allows you to not have to change your current stroke or swing pattern, but just lengthen it.

The “hitting zone” can be defined as the area where your racquet face is square to the intended target during you four forward swing.

Think about it, the ball is going to go in the direction that the racquet face is facing AT CONTACT. So if I want to hit the ball down the line, for example my racquet face should be facing down the line for as long as possible, through the forward swing, to give myself as much “ROOM FOR ERROR”

“But the pros whip around the ball so quickly, they don’t do this.” YES THEY DO. Their hitting zones are very long. Longer than the average player. Look at the countless pictures of Federer extending with almost a locked loom on his arm.

In a nutshell, this might be stated as “HIT THROUGH THE BALL MORE” so you have more room to be off in your timing.

Visual examples might include:

1. hitting not only one, but three balls
2. Hitting down an imaginary line or runway
3. Hit down a coffee table
4. Have someone toss a ball forward through the hitting zone from behind you, forcing you to stretch trough contact after the ball

1. Some suggestions to help in a match might include:
   1. Slowing things down a bit
   2. Less backswing, but same finish
   3. Hit with more spin (if you are able to do this)
   4. Aim 5 feet from the lines (Tell Bud Collins/Borg Interview)
   5. Hit crosscourt – You are hitting over the lowest part of the net, have more court to work with (most of you know this),

BUT, when you hit crosscourt, you make your opponent run more and you will run less. This makes it easier for you because you are more set up because the open court on your side is down-the-line which is easier to cut off, and this should hopefully set you up more and make you more successful

Developmentally you can:

1. Develop topspin, which allows you to work with more of the court and keeps you away from the only obstacle…..THE NET
2. Develop Underspin. This is more natural and we tend to be more accurate this way

ANY spin you put on the ball will slow it down which usually leads to more consistency

1. Put pressure on yourself in practice (COUNT DOWN FROM 20), not up, but down. Nobody wants to miss around 5 and you can use this to bridge the gap in a match. Counting up puts less pressure on you because it is infinite.

I hope that answered your question Mark and remember, if you, have a question that you would like answered, go to that BIG RED BUTTON on our website and send one my way and I will be happy to answer it for you.

I look forward to the episode where it is ALL questions and answers, plus this will give me a lot of great content ideas to throw your way in future episodes and video

Well that is going to wrap it up for today. I would love to hear from you, our listener, and get your input and feedback. You can do so by emailing me at [e-mail], or call or hotline at 231-735-8518.

To get a one-page template of today’s show, scroll to the bottom of the show notes and download it for a rainy day or even a sunny day, so you can go out and apply what may have struck you in todays episode.

Special thanks to Thanks to Tennis legend Roy Emerson taking the time to talk to us and we wish him luck at his tennis academy this coming summer I switzerland

Also to Ferris State University and the Professional Tennis Management Program for bringing Roy to the annual Alumni banquet. If you are interested in a career in tennis, then check them out at ferris.edu/business/programs/tennis-management (how about if I just attach a link)

And to you our listener. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to this podcast and hope that we can spend more time on the next episode of the real tennis network where I hope we can help take you tennis…….to the next level

One Page Template – 004

LINKS

Roy Bio: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Em/R/Roy-Emerson.aspx

Bud Collins http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/2008/08/25/majors-not-grand-slams-says-bud-collins/

Ferris State PTM http://www.ferris.edu/business/programs/tennis-management

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