Another key thing, though difficult to explain, is to get yourself in a mental state where you can actually apply this sort of plan. In my own case, I cannot count the number of times I've gone into a match with a very specific plan in mind, only to find myself floundering about in auto-pilot mode when the actual match happens. (Especially during some of my matches on sunday )
As far as format goes, I like the notion of random 2v2 teams a lot.