Dissecting High Performance In Tennis · Adam Blicher, Tennis Coach

#60: Alon Moritz – Developing a Match Strategy

August 1, 2017·28 min·2 clips
Alon Moritz reveals how he helps top players like Marinko Matusevic develop winning match strategies.
This episode features Adam Blitzer interviewing high-performance advisor and national coach Alon Moritz. Moritz has worked with players like Marinko Matosevic and Marcel Granollers and currently coaches Ivan Dodig. The conversation centers on developing match strategy, training concentration, and analyzing elite coaching. Moritz outlines a four-step process for creating a match strategy with a player, starting with a pre-match analysis of the opponent. He emphasizes the importance of defining a player's identity and core patterns of play as the foundation for any tactical plan. The discussion covers how to train "defined concentration," which involves focusing on specific, controllable actions rather than outcomes. Moritz references coaches Günter Bresnik and Darren Cahill as models for effective coaching due to their structured approaches. A key insight is that strategy must be built around a player's existing strengths and identity, not imposed as an external system. Moritz argues that concentration is a trainable skill, not just a mental state, and should be practiced with clear triggers. He suggests that statistical analysis in modern tennis, referenced in a brief discussion about a Wimbledon final, is most useful when filtered through a player's strategic identity. The conversation implies that the best coaches, like Bresnik and Cahill, succeed by deeply understanding their player's unique game. The tone is educational and conversational, blending abstract coaching philosophy with practical, step-by-step advice. The style is interview-based, with Blitzer prompting Moritz to elaborate on his methodologies. Tennis coaches and serious players seeking to improve their tactical preparation would find this episode highly valuable. Listeners looking for entertainment or celebrity interviews might find the technical focus too specialized.
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