The spring of 2004 was an inglorious one for James Blake. In May, a freak collision with a net post during a practice session with Robby Ginepri in Rome left Blake with a fractured vertebra in his neck. After being sidelined for a couple of months, Blake made a full recovery only to endure another setback once he returned to the tour, this time with a strained biceps muscle. That injury was followed by a case of tonsillitis, which kept Blake off the court for another four weeks. “It was kind of a comedy of ailments,” says the 24-year-old American, who hopes to get his ranking back into the Top 25 in 2005. Blake believes that working on his two biggest assets, his forehand and foot speed, is the fastest way to get him there.
NINE BALL
As Blake gets close to playing a tournament, he likes to feel confident hitting his biggest weapon, the forehand. So he’ll end just about every practice with a drill in which long-time coach Brian Barker stands in the middle of the court and feeds Blake a series of three semi-floating balls, the first to the forehand corner, the second down the center, and the third to the backhand corner. Blake has to move around and try to rip a big shot with his forehand on each one. He’ll do this sequence three times for a total of nine balls and then repeat it.
YOUR TURN: If your forehand is your best shot, you should do everything you can to hit it as often as possible. That’s why Blake’s drill is effective. “It gives me confidence because it’s my favorite shot and it makes me think about always getting in position to hit my forehand,” he says. Try to hit to one corner or the other, keeping the ball out of the middle of the court so the person feeding you balls can’t get a racquet on your shots.
RUNNING GAME
Blake prefers drills that focus on his movement. This is his favorite: For five minutes, Barker stays in one corner of the court and hits shots that force Blake to move from side to side. Then Barker moves to the other corner of the court and does the same thing. After another five minutes, they’ll finish up with Barker hitting to any spot on the court, with Blake having to react. “Everyone on the level we’re at can hit standing still,” Blake says. “But you really need to work on hitting shots when you’re on the move.”
YOUR TURN: Getting to the ball is one thing, but doing something with it once you reach it is quite another. So when hitting on the run, try not to sacrifice your form. Run with long strides to cover a lot of ground, but use small adjustment steps when you get close to the ball to get in proper position and help keep your body under control. This gives you a better chance of maintaining your technique.