Seeing WTA and ATP players play live (I was at WTA Portoroz and ATP Umag) is very different than watching tennis on TV or online and if you get a chance, take it.

You'll learn a lot from seeing the ball trajectory, hearing the sound of the shots and seeing how fast the players move and cover the court.

But sometimes your focus can only be on how good these players are and not on how many mistakes they also make. They're human too after all.

I've analyzed the final of Umag ATP to find out what percentage of shots are unforced errors. You might be surprised...

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1. What's new?
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There's a certain "perfect" risk ratio of your shots that you want to find in a match; your shots must not be too safe, because the game is too easy for your opponent, and your shots must not be too risky because you'll make too many mistakes.

Ever wonder what percentage of groundstrokes is missed by a top ATP player?

How Many Shots Should You Miss To Play Well?

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2. Tennis Thoughts Blog
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a) Roman asked a question why aren't there more players that play their forehand with the full extension - like Federer and Nadal do. Most other players namely hit a forehand with a slihgtly bent elbow. Take a look at some videos and join the discussion:

Tennis forehand technique dilemma - full extension or not?

b) Dinara Safina was the hot favorite to win the WTA Slovenia Open and her road to the finals was an easy one. But Sara Errani gave her lots of trouble in the final.

The most interesting thing about the final was the coaching between Safina and her coach Zeljko Krajan and I've shared my thoughts on how Krajan talked to Safina at that time...

Dinara Safina wins WTA Slovenia Open 2009

c) A week after the WTA tournament I attended the ATP tournament in Umag, which is just 30 minutes drive from Portoroz. I've seen many players in the past but never got the chance to watch Nicolas Massu.

Once I saw him play in the first round (agaist a fellow Slovenian Blaz Kavcic), I wanted to see every match he played later. Here's why:

Nicolas Massu - One of the most exciting players to watch

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I came across a tennis website that provides lots of info about tennis resorts, trips and vacations. Just follow the link to learn more.

Talk to you in two weeks!

Best, Tomaz

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