With Focused Plan, Vesely Breaks Through Against Best

Before this season, something was missing in Jiri Vesely’s game.

He had the weapons – the 120 m.p.h. serve, the whipping forehand. He had confidence from a 2015 Auckland title and a Top 50 ranking. But every time he’d face the top players on the ATP World Tour, Vesely was lacking.

The Czech had gone 0-8 against players ranked inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. But he’s changed his luck this season. He shocked World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Monte-Carlo and beat then-World No. 8 Dominic Thiem at Wimbledon.

So what’s changed? His strategy. Namely, he’s picked one and stuck with it.

In the past, sometimes Vesely had been hurrying himself to play more aggressive. Other times, the 6’6” Czech preferred more defensive tennis and tried to push the ball back.

But this season, he’s employed an aggressive game plan, starting with his serve, that’s helped him beat the top players in the world. The 23 year old hopes the strategy will also help him continue his breakthrough year and finish the season at a new career high.

Read More: Vesely Shocks Djokovic In Monte-Carlo

“I really didn’t know which game style, which plan to play against these guys or overall,” Vesely told ATPWorldTour.com at the Winston-Salem Open. “I think that this year I found a little bit more of my rhythm. I found a little bit more of my game that I really would like to play. It’s definitely a big change.”

The skills, without a doubt, were always there. He finished 2011 as the top junior in the world.

His power game naturally translated to the ATP World Tour as well, and two years later he was in the Top 100 and named the 2013 Emirates ATP Star Of Tomorrow. The expectations had been set: Vesely would soon contest the best in tennis.

But the next year, his struggles began. He fell to Andy Murray in Indian Wells. He lost to Milos Raonic at Roland Garros. By the end of 2014, the left-hander had climbed into the Top 70 but was 0-3 against the Top 10.

In 2015, the Pribran native won his first ATP World Tour title at the ASB Classic in Auckland. But Vesely lost five more matches against the top players, including a 6-4, 7-6(2) loss to Rafael Nadal in Hamburg.

“I always was very close to these top guys but I never had a win,” Vesely said.

Everything surprisingly changed in Monte-Carlo, though. Vesely battled back after losing the second set and knocked Djokovic out in the second round, handing the Serbian his earliest loss in three seasons.

His aggressive serving helped carry him to the upset. Vesely won almost 70 per cent of his first-serve points against Djokovic and going big with the weapon has remained an integral part to his new approach.

“Serving is definitely my biggest gun,” Vesely said. “Trying to be a little bit more aggressive. Trying to go to my forehands more…. And I think that’s where I made good progress.”

The focused blueprint was on display again on Tuesday evening in Winston-Salem. Facing defending champion Kevin Anderson, Vesely erased the only break point faced and won almost 80 per cent of his service points (50/64). He also frequently followed his serve with a forehand to prevail 7-6(5), 6-4.

“I served well and I think that’s what decided it today,” Vesely said after the match.

Read More: Vesely Beats Winston-Salem Defending Champion

In attempting to play more consistent, in a way, Vesely is trying to be more like his childhood idol and countryman Tomas Berdych, who’s finished in the Top 10 the past six seasons. The two played at the same club in Prostejov, and Vesely remembers as a 12 year old admiring Berdych, who was 20 but already in the Top 100.

“I really was always looking up to him and I was trying watch his practice sessions and watch what kind of stuff he’s doing,” Vesely said.

As Vesely has improved his game against the Top 10 and come closer to matching Berdych, though, he senses their relationship might be changing. It’s a shift that he’s glad to see taking place.

“We are fine. We are friends. But of course right now I think also we start to be rivals,” Vesely said before laughing. “I like that.”