The simple engine behind 98 of 101
Carlos Alcaraz did not protect his serve in New York with magic. He protected it with a short list he repeated until it felt inevitable: pick a precise first-serve zone, commit to a serve plus one pattern, breathe and reset before every point. The result was a clean, repeatable hold machine. Across seven rounds he won 98 of 101 service games, a number that looks superhuman until you break down how human the steps are.
This blueprint is built for good junior players and the coaches and parents who guide them. It turns Alcaraz’s patterns into court drills, simple cues, and measurable targets you can train this fall. If you want deeper context on how these patterns scale, see our breakdown of serve plus one patterns for pressure holds.
Step 1: Map the court like a darts board
Alcaraz simplified his choices. On both sides of the court he worked from three zones.
- Deuce court: Wide, body, T.
- Ad court: Wide, body, T.
Think about it like a darts board with six big wedges. Your goal is not to hit the wire. Your goal is to keep hitting the same few big sections on purpose.
Practical target rule for juniors
- Primary zone per side. Deuce court wide. Ad court T. These are high-value because they open the next forehand.
- Secondary zone per side. Deuce T. Ad wide. Use this to keep the returner honest.
- Body serve as the third option when you feel the returner cheating.
Training drill: Cone ladder
- Place two flat cones in each service box to mark your primary zones. Put them two feet inside the line. Missing barely long or barely wide does not help you. Two feet in is your friend.
- Hit 30 first serves deuce side, aiming wide. Count how many land in the two-foot lane between cone and sideline. Goal: 18 or more. Repeat ad side T. Goal: 18 or more.
- Now add a rule. If you miss your primary zone by more than two feet, the next ball must be a different target. This trains adjustment, not stubbornness.
Cue: Pick one wedge. Commit.
Step 2: Build two serve plus one patterns
A hold is rarely one shot. Alcaraz grouped his first serve with a first groundstroke that fit the serve’s geometry.
Pattern A: Deuce wide, forehand into the open court
- Serve wide deuce. The returner is outside the singles alley or leaning that way.
- First groundstroke: Forehand to the ad corner, three feet inside the baseline. Not a highlight, just a strong push.
- Position: Recover to just inside the middle, slightly left. Your backhand now covers the line, your forehand guards the crosscourt.
Pattern B: Ad T, inside-out forehand
- Serve T ad. You jam the backhand or force a middle return.
- First groundstroke: Inside-out forehand to deuce corner. If the return is short, take it early. If it is deep, aim bigger and higher with heavy spin.
- Position: Recover slightly right of center. Expect a crosscourt backhand.
Decision rule for juniors: Green, yellow, red returns
- Green return: Short or floating. Attack to the open court.
- Yellow return: Deep but central. Shape heavy crosscourt to the safer side, then step in.
- Red return: Deep and wide. Re-set with height and margin, then rebuild.
Training drill: Three-ball commitment
- Feed yourself a serve or have a coach feed from a basket.
- Ball 1: Serve to the chosen zone.
- Ball 2: Coach feeds a realistic return to your target half. You play your planned plus one.
- Ball 3: You play the expected reply ball to finish the mini-pattern.
- Scoring: 1 point for hitting the serve zone, 1 point for playing the correct plus one, 1 point for winning the three-ball rally. Ten rounds, try to score 20 or better.
Cue: Serve, see, swing. One decision per shot.
Step 3: A between-point routine that lowers your heart rate
The easiest way to give a break back is to rush. Alcaraz used a calm reset between points, then climbed back into his plan. For more options on how to build a between-point routine, use this junior-friendly sequence that takes about fifteen seconds.
Release
- Turn your back to the net for a beat. Wipe the last point. Drop your shoulders.
Reset breath
- Inhale through the nose for four seconds. Hold softly for two. Exhale through pursed lips for four. Hold softly for two. That small pause after the exhale is where the nerves drop.
Rehearse
- Look at the returner. Pick your wedge. Say the cue quietly. Bounce the ball the same number each time. Step into the stance.
Training drill: The fifteen-second metronome
- Set a phone timer to repeat every fifteen seconds. Run practice service games where every point starts on the chime.
- If you are not ready, you forfeit the point. If you rush, you forfeit the point. You are training the routine, not speed.
If you want a simple way to build this habit off the court, log your routine and breath reps in OffCourt.app. Off-court training is the most underused lever in tennis. OffCourt unlocks it with personalized physical and mental programs built from how you actually play.
Step 4: The second serve that never blinks
Holds die on the second serve. Alcaraz did not try to hit a flat winner. He added shape and height, then trusted the plus one.
Right-hander cues
- Toss a tennis ball can’s width to the left of your flat serve toss. Same height, just a touch left.
- Imagine brushing from the clock at eleven to five. You are not carving across the side. You are sending the ball up and forward with spin.
- Finish tall, palm to the target. Pronation is not a twist you force. It happens because you drive up and reach.
Training drill: The fence check
- Stand six feet behind the baseline. Serve second serves that must rise above the top tape by two feet and still land in.
- Goal: 15 in a row. If you miss long, add more spin. If you miss in the net, aim higher, not harder.
Tactical rule: On a second serve, your primary wedge is the one that best sets up your forehand next. Deuce into the body can be great at the junior level because it jams the swing.
Step 5: Land like a sprinter, not a statue
A great serve without great first steps wastes the advantage you just earned.
Footwork checklist
- Land on your front foot, then take a small hop split as the returner hits.
- If you served wide, your first recovery step is back toward the middle with your outside foot. Do not drift and watch.
- Keep your head level as you move. A stable head means a stable strike on the plus one.
Training drill: Launch pad ladder
- Place a short agility ladder near the baseline. Serve, hop split, then two quick ladder steps back toward the center. Coach feeds a ball and you hit your plus one.
- Goal: Ten clean reps deuce side, ten ad side. Count only the ones where the split happens before the opponent’s contact.
Cue: Serve, split, step. Do not let the split go missing.
Step 6: Make practice holds feel like match holds
Most juniors practice serves in sets of ten. Matches do not work that way. They demand holds under a clock and score.
Training game: The sixty-second hold
- Set a timer for sixty seconds. Your goal is to win a game to four points before the buzzer. You serve a live point, then hand-feed the return if you are training alone.
- Scoring is standard. If the minute ends, you lose the game.
- Play four games in a row. Target: Three holds or better.
Training game: Two-break cushion
- Play a set where you begin up two service breaks. Your only mission is to hold. If you get broken once, you must immediately break back or the set ends and you lose. You are practicing the calm side of the scoreboard.
Training game: Pattern streaks
- Declare your serve plus one pattern before each point. If you win the point using that pattern, you get two points. If you win the point but drifted from the pattern, you get one point. First to ten wins.
Step 7: Mix the body serve like a pro
At the junior level, returners often cheat to take a full swing. A body serve disrupts timing better than an extra five miles per hour.
Body serve keys
- Aim for the hip on the backhand side. Your target is a person, not a line.
- Use the same toss as your flat serve. Disguise is free power.
- Expect a shorter return. Be ready to step in and take time away.
Training drill: Three-body sequence
- Hit three body serves in a row to each side. On the first, play crosscourt plus one. On the second, go behind the returner. On the third, loop high middle to push them back, then press forward.
Cue: Hit the hip, win the reach.
Step 8: Scout with your eyes and adjust by the third game
Alcaraz did not guess for long. By his second or third service game he had a reliable read on returner habits.
What to look for
- Does the returner lean to the backhand on big points in the ad court?
- Does the returner take a step back on second serves?
- Do they chip more on the run than they do from a set position?
Adjustment rules
- If the returner starts outside the alley in the deuce court, you own the T until they move.
- If they crush crosscourt backhands, pattern B becomes inside-in to the open ad corner.
- If they block deep on second serve, buy height and time, then plan to win on ball three, not ball two.
Measurables to track
- First-serve percentage: Aim for 60 percent or better.
- Target hit rate: 60 percent or better to your primary wedge on first serves.
- Unreturned serve rate: Push to 30 percent at the junior level by adding body serves and better disguise.
- Plus one win rate: 65 percent or better when you execute the planned pattern.
- Time per hold: Two minutes or less on average means you are in control.
Log these in a notes app or inside OffCourt.app to see progress over weeks. For a deeper system on how to turn match data into smarter training, build a simple weekly dashboard.
Step 9: Pressure proof your big points
Alcaráz’s routine held up under the lights because it was the same at 40-0 and at break point. Make your big point plan before the match and stick to it until the opponent proves it wrong.
Pre-match card for your bag
- Deuce 30-40: Serve wide. Plus one heavy crosscourt. Live to swing again.
- Ad 30-40: Serve T. Plus one inside-out. Close to the open court.
- Ad advantage: Body serve. Expect a short return. Take it early to the open deuce corner.
Training drill: The break-point ladder
- Play only break points against a practice partner. You serve every point down 30-40. If you hold, you climb one rung. If you get broken, you drop one. Goal: Reach five rungs. The only shots that count are the ones that follow your card.
Cue: Same breath, same bounce, same ball toss.
Step 10: Proof that the recipe scales
In New York, Alcaraz was broken only three times across the entire tournament. That is not a superpower. It is the outcome of simple ingredients done on repeat: selective targets, a first-strike pair, and a breath that buys you a second to choose. If you want proof, he was broken just three times in seven matches.
Your blueprint for fall
- Pick two primary wedges and one secondary per side. Ignore the rest until you earn the need to mix.
- Marry each serve to one plus one you can hit in your sleep.
- Use a fifteen-second routine to reset after every point.
- Track four numbers for four weeks: first-serve percentage, target hit rate, unreturned serve rate, plus one win rate.
- Once a week, play the sixty-second hold game and the break-point ladder.
If you want help organizing the plan, try building a simple program in OffCourt.app. For more examples of how elite players bake these ideas into tournaments, see our preview of serve and return tactics across the Asian swing.
A final word from New York’s night session
What looked like swagger from Alcaraz was really clarity. He removed guesswork. He aimed for big wedges and accepted big margins. He grouped his serve with a predictable first swing. He slowed his heart rate before it tried to speed him up. Juniors can do the very same. Start with two wedges and one plus one. Breathe. Hold. Repeat for a month and your scoreboard will start to feel quiet even when the stadium gets loud.