COURT POSITIONING:

The most important thing to know in tennis is where to stand to maximize your results and minimize your exertion. I watch Rafael Nadal suffer tremendous wear and tear in every match he plays because he prefers to camp ten, twenty feet behind the baseline..  The earlier a player learns to feel comfortable close or inside the baseline, just as the great Andre Agassi did, the better off he will be in those two important aspects of tennis Minimum exertion, Maximum result by saving energy. For in tennis, one never knows the duration of a match. Some will say, How can you argue with the phenomenal success of Nadal? I would answer: Look at his knees at 22 years of age. It is understandable why players fall into the trap of playing so far behind the baseline. Early success on slow, red clay, the heavy top spin and velocity of today's racquets technology forces players that far out of position into a false sense of comfort, thus neglecting the forecourt play where they do not feel comfortable at all. I kow for fact that Nadal has been attempting to adjust his stand and the results speak for themselves  this year: 4th French Open, 1st Wimbledon, Gold Medal in Beijing etc. But at what price? Maximum results yes, But with maximum exertion due to his habit of playing so far behind the baseline, we will be cheated out of enjoying his  great performances sooner than we would like.