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Defining Excellence – Portland, Oregon Real Estate Information
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Defining Excellence

Defining Excellence

The US Open has started and inevitably I start thinking about who’s going to win and it makes me think about the 3 tennis giants out there, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.   What makes Federer, Nadal and Djokovic stand out from the crowd?  Is it God given abilities?  Is it hard work?  Is it training methods?  Why do these guys consistently win on all surfaces and end up playing each other so many times.  Let’s take a closer look at these three tennis Hall of Fame players.

Roger Federer

Physical Features: 6’1”, 177 lbs, Right handed, 31 years old

Upbringing:Roger was born in Switzerland by parents that did not play tennis themselves. He was a hot head on the court and could not control his temper, throwing his racquet against the fence every match he played. His parents were embarrassed by his behavior; then he met Peter Carter his coach who taught him every facet of the game including curbing his emotions. At 13, he was good enough to leave home accepting an invitation to Switzerland’s national training center. He would train during the week and come home on the weekends. He was depressed going back to the training center on Sunday nights because he felt isolated and out of place. He spoke German while the training facility was located in the French speaking quadrant.

Playing Style:  Federer is the ultimate all court player. He understands how to adapt and change during a match to utilize the outdoor elements as well as neutralizing his opponents’ weaknesses.  He’s great at everything and probably has the best God given timing to have ever played the game.  He is the smoothest player with unbelievable shot making ability and virtually never sweats.  He has every tool a tennis player can have from slice, top spin, serve and volleying, service winners and incredible feel for drop shots, pinpoint passing shots, incredible versatile ground game and quickness to return serve against the very best.

Training & Conditioning: His tennis strength and conditioning coach, Pierre Paganini, have worked together for a decade.  They work for 10 hours per week in which he does a variety of exercises like weights, sprints, footwork and coordination drills. He makes sure to sleep 10 hours per night giving his muscles plenty of recovery time.  He does many of the usual tennis player routine workouts and also does coordination training such as a 3 ball toss and hit drill (he has someone toss three balls to him 10 feet away and he has to hit all three balls before anyone ball bounces twice. He also uses a lot of band drills such as putting a band between his legs for ground strokes. When you take the band away you can float like a bird on the court. He would also tie a band around his waist and attach it to the net so he’s hitting balls with resistance to his body on every shot. For the volley training he uses the stiff mini trampoline device while balancing on one leg (pictured right). If you can hit a solid volley on one leg imagine how you can hit a volley with both feet on the ground!

Head to Head:Federer and Nadal and have played 28 matches against each other with Nadal leading 18-10.   Nadal won 12 of the 18 matches on clay.  Federer has played Djokovic 28 times with Federer leading 16-12.

Achievements: He leads the all time list with 17 Grand Slam titles, 24 Finals, 32 Semifinals and 244 Match Wins. Furthermore, he has spent 293 weeks holding the # 1 ranking in the world and has earned the most prize money at $73.5 million dollars.

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Rafael Nadal

Physical Features: 6’1”, 188 lbs, Left handed, 26 years old

Upbringing: When he was 8 his uncle encouraged him to start playing left handed for a tactical  advantage.  Then at 12, after winning a couple of tournaments his Father made him decide whether he would play tennis or soccer for the rest of his life.  He chose tennis and stopped playing soccer immediately.  At 19, the first time he played the French Open, he won it.

Playing Style:Nadal is a baseliner’s worst nightmare.  He’s the strongest, toughest, most fit person on the court while ground and pounding his opponents to leg cramps.  He hits the heaviest topspin in the world with a unique finish above his hitting shoulder.  His forehand topspin was measured as high as 4900 tennis ball revolutions per minute (rpm) while his average was 3200 rpm, in comparison Sampras and Agassi were at 1800 rpm and 1900 rpm and Federer is at 2700 rpm.  He will never quit or give up on a point and rarely misses.  He plays with such tenacity and grit, and defines what hard work is.

Training & Conditioning:He trains 4 hours on the court every day and 2.5 hours in the gym every evening.  He also uses the Power Plate (pictured right) which uses whole-body vibration to contract muscles 30-50 times per second compared to 1-2 times per second without it. This helps to improve blood circulation, increased muscle strength as well as a range of motion.  He uses the resistance bands for his shoulder and rotator cuff.  His physical therapist will stretch him everyday and he trains differently for different surfaces.   He stays away from eating meat or heavy meals and is more careful of what he eats heading into a match.

Head to Head:Nadal played Federer 28 times and Nadal leads 18-10 and 8-2 in Grand Slams.  Seventeen of those wins came on clay and outdoor hardcourt.    Nineteen of the 28 matches were in finals including 8 slams.  Nadal has played Djokovic 33 times and leads him 19-14, Nadal dominates the clay and Djokovic dominates the hard court match ups.

Achievements:He has won 11 grand slam events and holds the record for most French Opens at 7.  He had a 32 match win streak in 2008.

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Novak Djokovic

Physical Features: 6’2″, 176 lbs, Right handed, 25 years old

Upbringing: Novak Djokovic picked up a racquet at 5 1/2 years old. At age 7 he was being noticed so much that he went on national Serbian television telling his country that his goal was to be # 1 in the world one day. He was trained in classical music to calm him down during a match and he still enjoys it to this day.

Playing Style:He is an incredible baseline mover and is able to hit very hard and very deep working his opponents tactically until he can finish them off with a backhand down the line.  He is super agile and can cover the court as good as anyone in the game and has the ability to hit huge shots on big points.

Training & Conditioning: His training consists of a gluten free diet (because of Celiac Disease), he also uses a $75,000 fitness pod (pictured right), an egg shell chamber, he uses which simulates high energy workouts at high altitudes, and before big matches he will drill until exhaustion which simulates him having to practice hitting on the run and converting defense to offense, while being tired.   Before big tournaments he will train at very high altitudes which makes playing at sea level easy for him.

Head to Head: Djokovic has played Nadal 33 times and Nadal is ahead 19-14 in the head to head.  Djokovic and Federer have played 28 times with Federer leading 16 – 12.

Achievements: Winner of 5 grand slams and 3 runner ups, in 2008 he became youngest player to have reached the semi final in all four majors. He had a 43 match win streak only behind Guillermo Vilas’ 47 in 1977 and Ivan Lendl’s 44 in 1981-1982.  In 2011, he was 70-6 and 25-1 in grand slams, also winning 10 tournaments and $11,000,000 in prize money.

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So what can the big three teach us? First make sure to grow to at least 6’1″, second have the goal setting of Djokovic at a young age, third have the commitment to your sport like Nadal at age 8, and learn the mental side of the game like Federer, all the while maintaining the drive and work ethic of all three. That is a recipe for defining excellence.

Is it Andy Murray’s time now?  Who do you think is going to win?  Go John Isner! I’d love to hear about who you think will win and why, or what makes these three players special.

 

 


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1 comment so far


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Bob Dailey Posted on4:50 am - Aug 30, 2012

It’s going to be Andy Murray. With his recent gold medal against Federer in his home country he has the confidence now to back up his game.

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Comments are closed.

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