Craig O'Shannessy: Using data to optimize strategy

Craig O'Shannessy is our guest for the third episode of Baseline Intelligence. Craig is the leading strategy analyst for the ATP Tour and most recently spent three years as the strategy and data analyst for Novak Djokovic from 2017-2019. He is also the founder of braingametennis.com, an educational website with multiple courses for the avid tennis player.

We talk:

3:32 - When he learned the value of using video for the first time

8:45 - Focusing on yourself vs. focusing on your opponent

13:45 - How he helped Rajeev Ram get back into the top 100

20:03 - What your strategy should be in the first four shots

23:48 - How often you should practice serve and return + 1

28:53 - The storm cloud analogy

30:24 - The leaking cup analogy

34:47 - The "center window" of the doubles court

37:50 - The future of tennis strategy

40:04 - What tactic makes him cringe the most

41:27 - The most important statistic in tennis

43:00 - What type of errors you want to make

**sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com