Factors that can change a match

I stayed up late last night to watch the Baghdatis/Ferrer match and I was thoroughly entertained. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, Baghdatis dropped the first two sets, but then came back and won it in five. After dropping those opening sets, Baghdatis threw his racket and realized that he was hitting the ball hard and flat. Ferrer took the ball easily and used Baghdatis’ power for his returns, catching Baghdatis out of position.

Baghdatis changed the pace and it changed the match. He added slices and hit forehands high and deep with spin and less power. Ferrer became frustrated and went for winners while having to generate his own power. This didn’t work. Baghdatis knew how to win the crowd over and began pounding his chest and looked to the audience.

All it took was a simple change of tactics and Baghdatis was able to make a huge difference and win the match. Hopefully, you can learn from this and use this when you play!