Nick’s Notes: Bollettieri on starting your match off right

WATCH: Remember the life and legacy of Nick Bollettieri, one of the sport's greatest coaches and pioneer of tennis academies, after opening Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978.

In memory of Nick Bollettieri, TENNIS.com proudly presents “Nick’s Notes,” an exclusive look at tips, tricks, and takes written by one of the greatest coaches of the modern era.

In this column, Nick explains how to begin your match with momentum.

How important is winning the first point of the game, or the first game of the set? Statistical studies show the odds supporting the importance of doing so. Here are my observations on the subject.

Let’s take Andre Agassi’s strategy on the return of serve. He did not concern himself with winning the first point of the game or the first game of a set, but how to break serve going for aggressive returns—he kept hitting aggressively no matter what the score was. He concerned himself with finding his timing and range, hitting the ball early, firm and aggressively, and he let the score take care of itself.

Serena Williams came out swinging. She’s not concerned about winning the first point or the first game by playing it safe. She wants to win every point by aggressive play, not just one point or one game. Her father would never allow her to play that way when she was young, and she would not be the best female player in history playing any other way.

However, there are other players who use more strategy and tactical measures, including scoreboard pressure. For instance, Martina Hingis did not have huge weapons or returns but used placement, court positioning and strategy to win.

A long time ago, Bjorn Borg came to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy to train for his comeback. I asked him what made him a winner. He said, in my mind when I stepped foot on the court, everything left my mind except to win by defending my side of the net and hitting the last ball in the court.

Don’t throw away winning the first point or the first game, but have the confidence to know that you will be the winner, and let your play will take care of the score.