you are the best on understanding the serve and how important it is even when it comes to the top guys. Did you see how much better Rafa served against Novak in MC? I know Novak had a tough day but Rafa did hit some big serves and did not get broken. ( not so good though in Barcelona
guess he knew he could win by spinning them in.

Joe

Thanks. Good strategy for every shot always goes a long way in winning matches. Anything you can do to keep your opponent off balance, out of their groove and buy you recovery time, if needed, is good stuff.

Thank you very much Jim for reinforcing the necessity of factoring in all weather conditions into one’s play.

Also, as you pointed out, respect for one’s opponent for their play goes a long way into improving your own.

It took me longer to explain it to my wife than to watch the video. She was fixed on your shadow instead of the camera man’s shadow. Maybe it would helped if she could have seen the camera man’s shadow or if you had also turned around and demonstrated lobbing in the direction of your shadow.

Fortunately the marriage is still intact…

thanks again

A couple of years ago I stumbled into the slice serve when I damaged my shoulder. Not wanting to stop playing my weekly competitive doubles game I fronted-up to play one night and told the guys that I was not able to serve normally but that I’d be serving side arm. I thought that I might be able to provide a tricky enough serve to at least get our side into the rally but I didn’t expect to win any serves that night. I think I lost my first serve but after that I won every serve despite serving much slower and with no topspin. I used my usual backhand grip and it produced a wicked slice that the other guys just could not get a handle on. It made me wonder why I bothered trying to serve so hard and with so much topspin when an easy to hit slice had my opponents tied up with balls sliding away from them or into their bodies. Its my go-to serve now when opponents start cracking back my best attempts at flat or topspin serves. Definitely a great serve to have in the arsenal to mix things up.

Thanks for the tip Jim.

Just a rules query, if a person serves the a ball with an underhand backspin and it clears the net lands in the opposite service box but then bounces backward hitting the net without tho opponent touching the ball at all is this a legal serve, one of my friends did it too me?

Thanks

Noel

Quick question: When you are going for the underspin, do you change grips? Just wondering.

I have questioned why JM DelPo seems to have a different looking forehand: racket head closer to his body, with the butt cap pointed up and an almost scooping motion. I asked my husband if he noticed anything different about Juan and I just got a shrug. Now I realize that he is getting his tremendous spin from that. Am I right?

Best example I can think of that might be relevant is slamming a slice drive into the net. That seems to a result of too vertical a racquet face with a swing closer to chopping vegetable. A better solution that only focusing on my swing pattern may be to include/add focusing on the grip handle throughout the stroke.

Regardless, I have made great progress at being able to feel the side of the ball as I hit it.

I will probably demo a new Wilson racquet to see if there is anything to “the way AmpliFeel works is to replace some of the foam material of the handle pallet with graphite and basalt plates in order to transmit only preferred vibrational frequencies” to take ball feel a bit further.

Totally awesome so simple yet so effective can’t wait to get out there and try this out.

cheers
Jeff

You answered many questions that I had about the swing path. Keep up the good work!

While I do not know where you call home, I would enjoy taking some lessons or clinics. Is this ever possible?

Thanks.
Ken – Pittsburgh

Thank you
Jim Fournell

I knew about the pointing of the but cap but hadn’t thought about the alignment of the racquet in relation to the swing path. Fabulous tip.

Thanks!

Bill

Reminds me of what they call “casting” in golf vs. the “delayed release”. They yield *massive* differences in clubhead speed.

Kevin

Your videos and articles are awesome and very helpful! I love them! Awesome-ly written!

I experience a lot of pain in and around the elbow region of my arm. I play right-handed and a single-handed backhand. I am extremely interested in tennis and have been learning it mostly myself over the last 5 years.
I was told during a brief tennis camp I attended that my backhand technique was wrong and was corrected. After correction, i don’t have any pain while rallying, but whenever i serve, i get a numbing pain in my arm. I asked the coach at the camp. He says there is nothing wrong with my service technique. I use the platform stance, by the way. I have been doing push-ups of late to increase arm strength. And, i use a Wilson K-Blade Tour.

What could be happening? What do you suggest i do? Please help….

Thanks a lot!

—Pranav (from Chennai, India)

Frank Nolan

You are absolutely right about the effectiveness of his serve. That is the difference between Fed of a few years ago and now. He needed to set up easy points and avoid the long rallies and when his serve is on like at Indian wells, that is what happens.

Great that you are deconstructing his motion to find the source of the pop. Thanks. I watched the famous fed/Sampras Wimbledon when fed was 19. I would be fascinated to read your comparative analysis of the fed serve then and now. Back then it seemed it was modeled on Borg. And since then he has moved closer and closer to the Sampras motion with as you described it the leg power and the arm whip. Thanks

Oops, forgot to paste on the link.

I’ve read that Sampras could touch his elbows behind his back! Is tyhat true?

I just wanted to say that I’ve been reading your content for a couple of months and I truly love your approach. It’s unorthodox (at least compared to main stream teaching), but it is spot on. Your depiction of “lag” has tremendously helped my game. Thank you!!

Di

Thanks for the invaluable information. Since last September I stopped copying Roddick serve and switched to Fed serve thanks to your advices thru your website and emails (I have read and watch all your articles and videos I think..haha). Since then, my serve (both first and second) greatly improved and I have found out how important the pronation for pace, control and spin. In somewhat very short time, I have learn how to add pace and control to my first serve. And spin and control to my second serve (kick serve). My opponents have now hard time returning my serve.

My coach once said, my serve is better than his. I know that for I have exercise if not almost master the ‘five keys’. It is somewhat remarkable that the far less effort in the serve, makes the difference especially when playing against high level players.

Since I began playing tennis last September 2009, I had and have trouble improving my forehand.
I hope you can also have something like this for the forehand. I hope to have that far less effort and effective forehand to further improve my game.

Thanks Jim.

Julius

I’m thinking that Roger’s “hoops” wouldn’t require nearly as large a diameter as most, and that the diameters required for the top four guys would be significantly smaller than for the rest of the players. How they *all* manage to do that, especially against the kinds of shots that their opponents send *at* them – think Murray vs. Djokovic in the final “on-the-run” – boggles the mind.

I’m thinking that this whip, or elastic energy, must be where most of the great racket head speed comes from, and that Federer certainly gets it done in a “prettier” manner. But, with this kind of crazy racket head speed comes the requirement of not only perfect racket face angle and perfect swing path, but also perfect *timing*, that is, getting that face of the string bed in the precise three dimensional spot/area for four or five milliseconds.

And, not only must they deliver the racket there, they must figure *where* that three dimensional area even *is* – and probably very soon after the ball has been struck by the opponent, *and* accounting for the pace, spin, and trajectory of same, along with any screwy bounces that those things will cause once the ball lands. Kick serves are not the only place the ball kicks significantly “sideways” with the big boys, yet they’re all able to anticipate it. Simply amazing.

But, back to the “skills challenge” idea and Federer’s dominant serve. It seems to me that a large part of his ability to “do it better” must lie in the accuracy of his tosses. I’d love to see someone find a means of measuring the variance of same. I’m betting that it would be a *very* small number (for any of his various serve types). . .

And, I *still* wonder about the way Federer kicks his feet up sort of together, especially on second serves, as pictured in yer article. . .

Kevin
known crank

Great lessons. thankyou!!!. Let me know if you ever come to costa rica…

Thanks Andreas

I also use single hand back hand. But, i have a concern here. My coach is pushing me to hit in open stand. is open stand or being cross is a correct approach? If both are correct approach, which one should we use most often? or which stand should be used in which circumstances?

Regards,
Sujit

Joe

I have a 10 year old daughter who is taking to the game and we are presently building her serve, following the pointers you have endorsed and already we can see the benefits (the reason I registered with you). I have kept the grip continental and can see more of a side slice, however, every now and then some top spin. I guess, when she gets stronger in the forearm, she will be able to move that grip more to the ‘eastern backhand’ grip to generate more kick?

She is using little if any bent knee action at present (she’s short, little), until the toss tempo is smooth and consistent.

Thanks for the slo-mo.

Wonderful adaptation of the slo-mo camera with insightful observations. Well received by me. It is obvious to me that you take the time to “get it right” while passing along your timely information to others. I commend you for not only taking time to share information, but also pointing out the technical points that need addressing. To view this short video and note your comments was time well spent. You got right to the point and did not waste time reviewing material that was not germaine to the subject. Keep up the good work.

Well done,

Jim Walker USPTA #53113

Like commenter ‘Alan’ below – I also have tended to ‘slice’ the ball on high shots. I can sometimes get some pretty good pace on these high slice balls and I am hitting ‘down’ on these shots. Still – as you point out – Fed and Djoker etc. are often hitting ‘down’ on these high balls and hitting them with ‘topsin’ – which is what I worked on this weekend. I happened to be hitting with a high schooler this weekend – who hits with a lot more ‘topspin’ than most of my age group buddies – who tend hit with a lot of pace – but hit a ‘flatter’ ball. Anyway – I noticed that my younger hitting partner’s shots were really jumping off the court and I found that I had a lot less margin for error when trying to hit the ‘high slice’ off of his high bouncing balls. If I didn’t catch it ‘just right’ my balls would really fly and go long. So I tried to implement your ‘tip’ and try hitting ‘down’ with ‘topspin’ on some of his high bouncing balls – and had more success than I thought I’d have.

One of my problems has been that I always have equated hitting ‘topspin’ with coming from ‘low to high’ and that’s why I think I’ve had a hard time hitting effective topspin drives on high shots. Of course it’s natural (at least in my mind) to hit ‘down’ on slice shots … which is why it was easier for me to get my mind around ‘hitting down’ to slice high balls. Your tip and comments re: Fed’s swing path reminded me that I could also start high and hit ‘down and across’ the ball to hit these high balls with topspin … instead of thinking that I had to start ‘low and then swing up and over the ball to generate top’ .. a very tough shot to time. So this weekend I just got my arm up high and STARTED my swing even with the ball and swung across and down on the ball and had a much easier time in ‘timing the ball’. Importantly – since I was now down and across the ball with topspin, I wasn’t having as many balls ‘pop’ and go long; unlike with the high slice shot – my racquet face was now ‘closed’ so the ball was directed down. Again .. the big difference was me getting comfortable with STARTING with my arm high and getting comfortable with swinging across and down instead of thinking that I had to start low and swing up and over the ball.

As you point out … it was mainly my ‘mind’ that was the problem; I was thinking that all topsin swings have to go from low to high; forgetting that it the ball is already high I just need to swing across and down. Great tip! I’m still going to use my slice at times on high balls, but I’m going to work more on getting on top of some of these high balls .. especially ones with lots of topspin and they are hard to control if the high slice is not hit ‘just right’.

Funny, but in what feels like a century of playing, I’ve never had this concept either shown or explained to me. Now that you point it out and show it here, it seems logical and straightforward. Thanks for pointing out what now seems obvious… except it wasn’t!

Best,
Bill

Well noted about the 2nd serve, it is what is holding back Andy and it was the slight difference in the final as well: Rafa had 20 break points against him, Novak is a great returner still what can he do agains 80 mph second serves! Break serve.

I think Jack Kramer said it before Laver, Who said it first?

Joe

Again .. great tip and visual.

P.S. Blackie sounds like he was an amazing coach! Judging by your teaching methods his example must have been to use the KISS method regularly. Like it!

Many thanks for your professional explanation.

Kind regards

Noushin

On a low ball you are correct.

Somewhere in MKTS you talked about the need to develop “…a feel…” for what is being done….

Cramped is a feeling, not something to be seen in one’s stroke and (in my case) was an awareness after missing so many similar shots that I started to become aware that I was not / could not take a full swing because I was cramped.

Sure would be great if you could do some sessions on other “feelings”.

Jeff

You’ve done it again… after trying to figure out why most of my chest and above high forehands feel “cramped”… your circle of play explains it all. I’m feeling stupid for not realizing the need to stand further away on higher balls, but that’s OK as you’ve helped me debunk another tennis mystery!

Thanks Coach – Jeff S Cherry Hill, NJ

I agree on the forehand but on the backhand (one hand) in practice it is very difficult to hit a topspin on a low ball, for these I’m better off hitting a slice.

Inside, low balls are easier to put top spin on and cross court…?

Outside, high balls are easier putting inside out/ straight…?

I completely get the “more natural swing” aspect in terms of arm movement.

Actually, your explanation to bjorn below was very helpful. The “inside” and “away” are talking about your distance from the ball when you make contact. Inside means closer, and away means further away.

I will try to pay attention to this the next time I’m playing.

Thanks for a another interesting video, Jim.

Many thanks for sharing your fantastic thought.
I really appreciate it.

Kind regards

Noushin

thanks for your kind response to my comments. Per your suggestion i have decided to share some of my thoughts on the state of tennis below. As a side note, I have been subscribed to your blog for a while and really enjoy the articles you write. Some tips that are helping keep me sane while i recover from knee quadriceps tendinosis, especially about the serve which i am most grateful for.

I think one of the unspoken rules about modern day tennis, tennis “3.0″ if you will, is that in order to perform the way these athletes do day in day out, you almost *surely* need to be on something. I wont beat around the bush like much of modern day sports media does, denigrating and castigating when things are revealed (mitchellgate), refusing to question while everyone is celebrating amazing athletic feats (“the chase” of 1998).

Due to technology and court homogenization tennis has now entered the stratosphere of these other high endurance sports (tour de france, triathlon, etc); In order to last, and do it repeatedly on surfaces whose normal wear and tear would have shelf life akin to a professional football runningback, you need to be able to elongate your career through artificial means. My opinion is that to accomplish their spartan efforts both nadal and djokovic use both mental strength *and* performance enhancing drugs. The former is not able to be mustered *without* the latter being in place.

Let us start with Novak. Djokovic, a man renown for quitting when the going got tough, who went from retiring against andy roddick due to heat exhaustion, to being able to play back to back 5 setters and almost 11 hours of tennis in 48 hours. This of course eclipsed the bar set by nadal in the 2009 australian open, who accomplished almost similar a feat. A man who has thrown out everything from the “gluten free” diet to “egg pod” as reasons for his success. He stated that his gluten “intolerance” was diagnosed rather recently and surprisingly. That is most stunning, since anyone who has had celiac disease will attest that it is not something you “stumble” across later in your life, and certainly not something a highly tuned athlete would be unaware of into his mid 20s. The cvac egg pod story, discovered in 2011 USO well that is not against the “letter” of the WADA (world anti doping agency) law, but certainly begs the question what other “advantages” he is willing to undergo to make the miracle transformation complete.

The tale with nadal can be traced back to his exploits to famous, or should i say infamous, dr emmuel fuentes, a Spanish sports doctor who has claimed to help artificially enhance numerous of his nation’s football and cyclist stars. French reports that came out outlining nadal’s listing on the infamous Fuentes list under “operacion puerto” were ordered by Spanish court to be sealed and never released. Fuentes’s wife has been quoted as stating (http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/11/cristina-perez.html ) that if the truth was revealed about the doping scandal in Spain specifically as it relates to Barcelona 1992 it would rock the nation to their core. Beyond this evidence was have numerous cases of Nadal claiming chronic injuries on his knees, including going as far to tape them extensively, take time out of the calender for months at a time (for “prp” – or platlet rich plasma therapy which can be granted by the ATP with a simple therapeutic use exemption ), and come back with more explosion than prior to his absence from the tour! The efficacy of PRP by the way, in clinical trials, has not insofar proven or disproven a tangible difference in recovery/repair for connective injuries; Some have been helped, others have found it no better than saline water or other prolotherapic injections.

There is also the mystery behind his us open 2010 serve, where he was averaging speeds 10mph higher than he ever had in the past (credited to a mysterious “grip change”) and haven’t seen anywhere *near* since. Where did that 130+ mph go mysteriously?

The issue has grown to such a crescendo that there is a website which has been designed over the last few years just dedicated to this subject (tennis has a steroid problem), full of fact-checks using the ITF’s own drug testing evidence against the case being made that tests are both without pattern and stringent. Compared to other sports, including cycling (!!) it has been discovered that tennis has the most predictable drug testing mechanism and do not disclose any “adverse” testing results publicly until the player has faced a tribunal and been found guilty by sed tribunal! (which is contrary to the WADA adopted standards in sports seen to be more commonly associated with doping, such as cycling).

I always was under the impression that if a substance was found in your system classified as “adverse”, certainly the burden of proof lies with the accused. This is not like a criminal trial, as chemical analysis has clearly found something “tainted” in your system. How can even the simple “release” of this information be withheld until post tribunal? Talk about keeping things mum for the “sanctity” of the sport

The game has been brought into an arena where it is on par with other “physical “sports, a sponsor’s dream. Revenue has never been higher, for both players and the tour. There is no impetus for the status quo to change, and unless an Agassi- esque book is released by the players themselves (which, by the way corroborated the level of corruption ITF would go through to protect their star players) i suppose this sport will continue through this “Golden Age” completely unscathed and as a supreme cash-cow.

This could even be seen as “passable” and analogous to other tainted sports, if it weren’t for the fact that young juniors coming up, those who idolize the stars of today, will be brought up to play in this corrupt system which essentially thrusts upon them a irreparable and unethical dilemma; to try to have a journeyman career playing clean or “get fit” to play tennis 3.0 to have a chance for “the prize”). This could have serious health ramifications 15-20 years down the line for these starry eyed talents, head in the clouds completely oblivious to the fact that they are simply a pawn in the marketing game that is Professional tennis.

Just my 2 cents
ajai

Dick J

I agree with your comments on the 2nd serve; however, I believe that statistic is clouded in this match by Nadals very average return of serve on Novaks 2nd serve. If Nada wants to beat Novak in the future on hard courts he has to drastically improve that part of his game.

I think Novak has the edge over Rafa for another reason too (but very similar to the point you made) – Novak seems to relish the game more, he gets more fun out of it, he’s more playful and humorous. I feel that Rafa sometimes suffers from the sheer effort of grim determination.

and, Jim, I also value your opinion…

novak is sooo consistent, but this is the second year in a row that he has been playing this consistent…i would imagine that many more years would prove his true consistency, as Roger Federer has been doing, for how many years, now, i am thinking probably at least 10 or more…

consistency in years proves who the real champion is…

novak is awesome, but let’s consider this again in 2024…thank you for listening to my comments, and please enjoy the best game there is out there…tennis

have a great day on the courts tomorrow, cayucos sue

Forget about the surface speed. The alleys and base lines and service box are identical regardless the surface, and you can choose any racquet you need to win.

Roger is a graceful loser (some times), as is Rafa. FORGET ABOUT THIS SURFACE SH.. Rafa
and Roger play to win, with no excuses, and don’t like to lose.
joseph

Your analysis seems to me to be on target. Roger’s inability to get a higher percentage of first serves in along with a greater number of unforced errors often put him in a catch-up position. However, I also think that Rafa’s uncanny knack of focusing so intently on critical points enables him to produce winning shots, especially first serves, in clutch situations, and contributes to putting Roger on the defensive.

Your analysis is interesting and makes sense. Do you agree with Patrick McEnroe’s in game analysis of the Roger and Rafa match? Patrick said that when Roger came in to the net he should have hit his approach shot to Rafa’s backhand side. Almost every approach to Rafa’s forehand resulted in a loss of the point for Fed, with Rafa making very acrobatic shots to win some of these points. Patrick’s point was that Rafa is too good with his forehand and Roger’s probability of winning the point increases when he approaches to the backhand.

I thought. Rafael hit some incredible shots. From impossible positions on the ct.

When roger. Hiit. Aggressive ground strokes, Rafael counterpunched his way to neutral

Roger hit. Out .. Rafael. Was counting on errors playing a lot of defensive tennis

I though roger let Rafael off the. Hook. In key moments

First set … Roger played pressure tennis

Second set…..fireworks display a factor

third set…. Rodger. Loses gtiebreaker …. Pivotal

Fouth set…..rodger throws the kitchen sink at Rafael….but relaxed a few key moments when he though the point was over….it hurt him psychologically..

Too much pressure when behind…..

I played my first match and lost badly.No need to guess whom I lost to.A terrible pusher.I have never seen a guy who pushes so badly.His serve is nightmare so much so that his serve’s second bounce is inside the baseline.I took two service games to figure that out.

The one plus point I found in him was his willingness to run all day.

The one mistake I did was to go with mentality to smash him out of the court.I have always been with great shot makers.Mcenroe,Edberg,Becker,Sampras and now Fed.I will always want to play a shot making tennis even if losing rather than a pushing winning game.When I was down I thought /reflected whether I want to push or swing and I made a conscious decision to swing.

I rushed,was nervous made half hearted offense but I swung….I am not playing Wimbledon final,a conscious decision to be myself.

The plus point was my serve was good, I coming to grip with Raonic grip had three aces and three double faults.

The general pattern of play was
on my serve
a good serve…avg return ..I blow my forehand ….he somehow retrieves…I hit another power shot he some how return again and my third shot is out of frustration is in the net or out.

On his serve the pattern of play is same as his serve is well…..new born babies /our grand parent are much better in serving I mean more SANE.I just cannot describe how cranky that serve was…most of times the contact point was head level or may be shoulder level….too much.

It was good learning experience.I need to relax,be loose and not try to blow someone of the court.

Yes my shoulder also has no pain.

Let me know if you have any thoughts.

Thanks
Santh

Many thanks for your valuable explanations.
Wish to see you soon.

Noushin

I’ve always thought that Rafa has the edge when it comes to intensity and keeping up the pressure during a point.

As Jerome mentions, Roger tends to slice his backhand just at the time when he needs to be upping the pace with a topspin. I’m massively guilty of doing this myself. Slice has its strengths at the appropriate time, but Roger over-relies on the slice I think. Particularly against Rafa.

Somewhere in the second set, there was a good example. Federer took a few steps forward for receiving Nadals second serve. He stood inside the baseline even before Nadal tossed up the ball. The second servce came… nothing special. And Federer then hit a very conservative slice, basically a rallyshot, back… and out.

Why, if you choose to stand so close for the second serve return do you choose to hit a conservative shot?

I think that Federer hit HARD too much and attacked too little. Often he would hit a great shot, watched it being great, THEN ran to the net… and got passed. Ofcourse that has to do also with Nadals fantastic court coverage. But again Federer in his approaches seems to want to go forward AND analyse at the same time. I would be really curious what would happen if Federer just would approach inside out, exchanging tempo for pace and take those few steps closer to the net.

My five cents

Rafa’s serves were rather ordinary, nothing that Federer cannot put into play, and yet, he failed to just put them back. Forget great returns, he was below par in his return game.

He made Nadal look like Goran.

Rafa has served better. When he won the USO.

This was simply very poor execution by Federer. No doubt it is mental.

The third set was outrageous. 25 errors, and Federer still came close. That is two errors EVERY game.

Hats off to Nadal, for executing very well on a simple strategy and compensating for lack of anything else with effort

thanks in advance

THANKS, RANDOLPH

Ernie

I am going to both agree and disagree with you. I agree with your concept about tossing into the swing. But I disagree with your implication that a low toss is better. There is a YouTube video with Djokovic (search for “Tennis Lesson with Novak Djokovic”) where he states that a high toss is preferable because it allows you to involve the legs. I will take his comment a bit further. For a good serve, you must allow the kinetic chain to develop. This is very hard to do for a low toss, particularly for the average recreational player. A low toss will make most rec players rush through their whole service motion and they will never allow the kinetic chain to develop. When you toss the ball higher, you can wait and time things for the full development of the kinetic chain, which of course, starts with the legs, as Djokovic stated. There is a good reason why most tour players (other than Dolgopolov) have a higher toss (vs. a lower toss). A higher toss makes it easier for them to develop the kinetic chain, which produces a heavier and faster serve. Yes, the wind will affect a higher toss more, but this can be compensated for most of the time (except when the wind is very erratic).

Logotherapy…….. Meaning of life , sense of. Purposes

Lendl wanted to be the best…..physical fitness regiment
That encouraged Sampas. Put a new approach to tennis

Lendl beat McEnroe at French 2sets downwas the mindset change that made him great

McEnroe was the best…. You beat the best

Murray has to beat Fed in a major ….

Fed is the best ever……beat the best when it counts…..

Add one more – his mother!

She should snip the cord and stand back.

Yelling and screaming from the box reminds Brits of the worst kind of parent at junior school. She makes him look silly and gives him a bad image with the crowd.

Murray is not a Roger. There’s no ballet star to watch nor a tiger moving like Nadal.
Cheers Adrian

Thanks a lot for your professional comments.
Wish to see you soon.

Kind regards

Noushin

Murray’s serve. I wonder if he would get a bit more zip on it if he had a bit more of a Continental grip and possibly enabling more wrist snap? Check out Milos Ronic’s serve.

Francisco J. Riveroll (from Mexico City)

Lendl was one the the best players ever. HE dominated off both wings

Nobody hit it harder. He had it all. Serve backhand forehand. … He was a beast

And with Tony Roche his volley improved. He was a dominant player. Of his era.

Murray is not ! A totally different player……That’ s just the way it is…….

I agreed with you that it’s too much hand and arm speed in follow through of Andy. He need to improve his second serve in order to achieve more important titles like Grand Slam.
It’s just a short time that Andy and Ivan Lendle cooperate with each other. I don’t think there’s much improvement on Andy’s games.It’s still early for him to get Australia Open this year. It’s might be the next Grand Slam of 2012.

First i wanna express heartfelt thanks to your tips especially in the KICK SERVE, Im always practicing it as a serve. With regards to andy’s game, he ‘s second serve needs improvement because as what i have observed his opponents finds it easy to return

regards

Murray has ONE weapon. His first serve when he cracks it at 128mph or more. The trouble is, on a good day, he barely breaks the 53% barrier with that level of serving. 53% in Lendl’s days for that premium pace was good, even great, but not anymore.

That’s it. You add to it his defensive abilities, and you have very little in terms of a slam-winning skill-set. He cannot hurt someone from the baseline, and he is not aggressive enough to follow his shots enough to the net, even if he has a serviceable net game.

So how he’s going to beat Djokovic or Nadal? Both of them have more weapons, and are at least as fast around the court as Murray. He cannot hit them off the court, and physically they can battle at least as long as he can.

It looks unlikely that he can win the AO this year, and in fact I pick Tsonga to take him out in four.

If Murray has to win, Lendl has to focus on Murray developing a put-away attitude, and a shot to go with it

As for his demeanour it sometimes makes me cringe .
I am Scottish myself and we can be a bit dour as a nation but Andy’s whingeing and facial expressions are horrible at times.

Maybe he can learn to be more like his new coach was as a player.

Anyway let’s hope you’re right and Andy + Ivan = Aussie open champ!

Well said, Hard to win slams with an 80 mile second serve and returners like Novak and Rafa.
Think the same problem affected Rafa last year. After a great 2010 with an improved serve, he retreated to spinning it in and now seems to serve at 105 and 85. Maybe he can still win on clay but not good enough anywhere else.

Very interesting story about Ivan.

Thanks Joe

This was the approach to the most complex shot I expected from a pro and I received it from you.
As expected. Thank you.
This is the way to teach tennis: give the student the bigger picture, the concept, the key thing, the base of the construction.
What we see quite frequently is someone braking a shot into many elements, that are altogether correct and should definitely be present into the final product. Unfortunately, this approach mixes things for the student, especially if he tries to learn by an instructional video.

Recently there was a video by Brent Abel dealing with the “rotation” of the forehand (not the “pronation”) – also an excellent example of focusing on the fundamentals, in that case, the “set position” and the full rotation of the forearm.

I don’t know if this is the methodology you use when teaching, but as a player that had to reconstruct the serve and elements of the ground shots at an age of 55 quite successfully and teaching other tennis enthusiasts, I firmly believe that the approach demonstrated here is the right one.

I wish you a very healthy and successful New Year, to you and your family!

Chavdar

IMHO…Coaches come in many flavors and varying competencies. As people, coaches like players have agendas – some good, some not so good – and styles and competencies. For example a baseliner who only plays singles “MAY” not be the best coach for doubles and all court training.

Some coaches, not to include Jim, simply seem to want to teach you what will work quickly so they are verifying to the those of us who don’t know better, that they are seemingly worth their fee…or maybe they simply don’t know better as coaching competency varies…etc. etc.

(Fortunately, Jim is heads above in attitude and knowledge. More than I can ever hope to assimilate at my old fart age.)

Unfortunately, as time goes one one finds that the poor techniques enforce skill limitations on us and even worse the habits are hard to break.

The better techniques take longer to perfect, but pay off better as time goes on.

As I understand it, when we toss forward we are relying on getting the ball into the court on gravity, with the ball down going in a relatively straight line (very tricky to gain consistency there). Often players use pancake serve grips with a lot of wacking and little spin at the rec level in hopes to generate a quick point – always looking for a quick exit so to speak.

Tossing the ball up relies on one hitting up and over the net. One uses grips that help effect spin and we rely on spin for control. Spin means we add our own “gravity” rather than relying on earths normal “gravity’ so to speak. Takes a lot more work but we gain consistency and accuracy over time allowing us to “build points” and not rely on hoped for lucky quick exits.

Cheers – hope this makes sense…

Thanks for another excellent lesson and demonstration. Serving while closing your eyes seems a good way to test the accuracy of your toss and the rhythm of your swing. I first learned of the effectiveness of a low toss from a video by Vic Braden several years ago. Subsequently it was confirmed by watching players like Federer as well as from personal experience. Best wishes to you in 2012.

Dennis

Finding all your tips when put into practice improving my game. Thanks.

Question >>

Playing Doubles > The idea of serving a reasonably fast service (difficult enough for my opponent to return) and at then me arriving near the service line in time to split and prepare for my first volley> seems to be unrealistic at my level. Generally my opponents stand on the base line and do not stand back to recieve the service. Is there a solution other than drastically slowing down the service.

I’ll go this technique one step further — I typically go thru a regular rotation of slice, to twist, to kick serve, all from tosses at the same spot. Drives returners crazy.

1) The first serve slices away with limited power, (which means they’ve got to add power or it hits the net),

2) The second jumps sideways with power and some hop (which they aren’t timed for after the slower slice service),

3) The third kicks up with power (when they are ready to swing fast and maybe low for another twist).

The returner sees the same toss each serve, but never sees the same service twice in a row, so they struggle to get settled into their return game. It’s especially confusing for body serves (to the opposite foot if you’re accurate).

One nice thing about this simple single toss with a service rotation is you can pretty much leave your power flat serve in your pocket until you need it and the returners haven’t seen it at all.

I’ve been working on adding this into my game for a couple months, after picking up on how aggressive Djoker uses this technique. My son has even commented on the increase in power of my ground strokes as I’m not beating him, where previously he’d mop me all over the court with my decent, but relatively weak, top spin forehand game. I’ve still got the spin, but now it’s got huge power.

The real key to me figuring out the power of the opposite arm came when I switched from a single heavy duty resistant tube stuck in a door mimicking my forehand motion to a triple band attempting to do the same motion. I quickly discovered that the only way I had enough power to reach full forward extension in the forehand motion was to aggressively use my opposite arm motion to power up my core rotation so I could reach full forehand extension. I also quickly discovered after a week or so of 25 reps a couple times a day, plus a couple ball machine session, I’d was starting to be able to incorporate the opposite arm into my forehand game on the court. Initially, I discovered that I had to adjust my timing as I’d get to the ball too early, then I had add a couple pounds to the strings to tone tone down the power, then I even added some weight to the 10 & 2 rim on the racket to give me more lateral and head stability — I still had plenty of power to spare.

The real pudding about opposite arm use is found hanging out at the club and observing how virtually all of the better players have more opposite arm motion in their strokes. It’s like magic — folks tend to look at the hand with the racket to see what is going on, but the real key to success is found in the magic movement of the opposite arm.

Long time ago, I learned from a tennis book that we should toss the ball just high enough so that we can strike the ball when the ball is at the peak of the ascend because the ball kind of pauses there before it comes back down. This makes it easier for the player to hit the ball because the ball “isn’t moving”. This is how Federer does it and I’ve been doing my serves this way. Then lately, my local pro tells me that my toss is too low and he wants my toss to go much higher so that I can swing at the toss. I’ve been so confused until I read your post now. Thanks for clearing this up!

You are a born teacher. I enjoy your lessons, and play better because of them, too.

Thank you so much. I always enjoy reading/watching your tips. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Happy New Year and all the best in 2012.

Sylvia

However, when I do a drop shot (as my opponents call it) slower moving wicked side spin serve, have found out how to just drop it in very sharply without a lot of pace when they are on the baseline for a winner against a lot of guys. In that case using a reverse forearm turn = even more clockwise/to the right for more spin and less pace…standing way out wide. Hope this makes sense as I understand it.

Am hitting my 1st and 2nd serves with the same fast pace. Really encourages daily serve drilling to maintain a minimum 50% of serves in the service box. Seems like there is some value in tossing a bit higher for the kick serve for me – need to keep drilling to improve my consistency.

We have come a long way since I started with you. Am still slowly working through your archives.

Hope to send in some videos next month or maybe come down for a visit. RS

Appreciate your idea about tossing into the serve. I struggle with the serve because I’m too tense and have not been able to develop a consistent toss. Any suggestions for relaxing and developing a reliable toss into the service motion??

Thanks!
Denny

Great tip Jim, keep up the great work.

Great advice. A high toss is harder to control and disrupts the rhythm of the swing as you wait for the ball to drop into the hitting zone. As I work to improve my serve I have become convinced that one of the most important elements I can work on is an accurate toss at a height that allows me to contact it at full extension with a smooth rhythm.

Thanks,
Ed

Thanks.

Many thanks for your professional explanations about the details of Tennis. It’s really appreciated.

Wish to see you soon.

Kind regards

Noushin

As for my own single handed backhand, I have a timing problem when the ball is bouncing higher and slightly faster coming towards me. I guess I need to get to the ball on time but hitting the ball at the top of its flight path (which is now higher) gives me all sorts of problems. My swing seems to be incorrect for the angle for the higher position.

Perhaps I need to learn to take it on the rise for these shots and hit it when the ball is still ‘low’ after the bounce. Not hit it like a half volley and on the rise. Appreciate any input from you…..thanks

Thank you for your help.

Well done. Everyday I am always learning something new.

Thanks again, much appreciated !

rene rivera

I do not mean to make this more complicated than you presented it — which was clear and direct — but, while all other things are moving and unloading from the nondominat to the dominant — the head remains still and the eyes are fixed.

Sometimes that Cheetah aspect of things (stillness of head and fixed gaze at any pace) is worth mentioning — as it seems that when it is not mentioned the head goes up as the swing opens too much and too soon … and things like the ball go a bit upward or late-ish, and everything gets pearshaped in general.

Thanks for the demonstration.

AJ

yours
Peter

Steve

It seems that many club players just don’t see the importance of the non-dominant ard it great importance in generating smooth, consistent and powerful strokes. Thanks Jim for your fine insight into key to better strokes.

In my view, this is excellent video for everybody who is looking for the key to improve his skill to hit the ball so that he can almost immediately start to play on different level..

regards,
Jaro

Thanks
Harry

Regarding the left arm, something I learned from Braden (at least I think it was Vic)…on the serve (and in pitching) the left arm should finish by stopping abruptly across the body. As he explained it, when that side decelerates, it causes the other side to accelerate, thus giving more racket head speed to the serve, or velocity to the pitch.

THANKS for all you are doing!!
Gordon

I personally “throw like a girl”. And I know I do and I’m not super happy about it but hey I grew up many decades ago when girls did not play sports like they do now and throwing skills just never happened. I wish I had a nickel for every tennis pro who has said to me in a serving lesson, “well it’s just like throwing” to which I have replied, every single time, literally: “That analogy does not work for me because I throw like a girl.”

I have, after picking up tennis as a middle-aged “girl”, kind of discovered for myself the role of my left arm. My serve stilll sucks but I really get how to use my left arm in groundstrokes–and when I’m tight in a match and things are falling apart a bit, my coaching thought to myself is always “left arm”. I coach a high school JV girls team and that’s also a key tip I use with them.

So I really resonate with this and it’s completely ok to use the “throw like a girl” analogy–cuz it is what it is!

(Altho I too have a daughter who grew up in more fortunate times and she is lucky–she does not “throw like a girl.” Too late for me….:)

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Spot on. I went on practicing. The result makes me smile and feel serene.

Respect …

Gilles

I tried this last week and it works, big time for me. At practice, I was consistently getting more pace and spin to hit the back fence with my serves. During match play, I hit double the number of aces and many more unreturnable serves. It takes some getting used to and I find during the match my serve tends to wonder back to what it was and I have to practice the horizontal supination/pronation routine between points to keep the feel going. I’m sure with some persistence it will feel more routine. Thanks Jim.

May be i am misunderstanding what you mean by a lag. I understood it to mean starting to turn before starting to swing the racket.

Thank you for the response. The reason i ask is because one of the flaws with my forehand has been that i start the swing with the racket and then moving my hips and body etc. Your video above has been of great help by suggesting a slight lag the other way. Should there be such a lag between moving up and towards the net and starting the racket movement?

Thank you for this. Been watching Ian’s serving tips over on Essential Tennis and a question i asked him was what moves first at the end of the racket drop if there was a pause at that stage. Do i take it that what you have mentioned here applies to serving and there should be slight lag between the start of body rotation and push up and the racket swing?

thank you very much for posting up this instruction video. It did gave me something to think about as I’ve reviewed quite a bit of the service mechanics of professionals.

I was wondering if this forearm rotation translate to more “punch” in the service and is more suitable for a service that is intended to be more flat than topspin or slice?

Hope to hear from you, thank you!

I think that I can do it in a flat serve. My question is how to incorporate this in a kick serve. I imagine that first I have to brush the back of the ball, and then at some point I have to leave the arm pointing up so that the racquet accelerates and the forearm rotates. As Vic Braden says:” when one segment stops, the next segment accelerates.” In Physics they call it conservation of angular momentum.
Any other tip on how to incorporate this in a kick serve?

Best regards, John.

I also find that what you do with your non-hitting hand is very important (I can see you have this nailed too, Jim).

Last night I played a set of singles for the first time in ages (I mostly play doubles). My first service game was my old-style serve, I lost it to 15. Then I remembered what I’d been working on and put it into action. My opponent, who was solid enough but not a great player, couldn’t control the ball at all. If a return did come in the court it was sitting up to be hit. It was a fantastic feeling.

I now just have that nagging concern that I’ll forget my new serve before I get to use it again on Thursday!!!

I have my students stand with their feet together while hitting serves and practicing the technique described.

And if you think this technique won’t provide you with the increased power and velocity that you seek, hit a few serves like this with your other hand. I am naturally right handed but can pop a pretty good serve holding the racquet in my left hand.

Many thanks!

I’m definately trying that tomorrow at practice. Having struggled to generate meaningful power to my flat serve since taking up the game 4 months ago, hopefully this technique will unlock my ability to generate some pop to my 1st serve

PS- Have any of your readers hit their leg with the racket edge since trying this?

And this bulb unscrew gives evon more pain to my elbow

Does this mean that i am doing it wrong? Would you have an advise about tennis elbow?
will it go away at some point or can it easily get worse?
I am playing with a light racquet 285 g.

Bogdan from Romania

I agree with your comment that the Fed serve is the best in the game – its so steady under pressure and so difficult to read, even for a returner as good as Murray. I really appreciate your help..

Thanks

Warm regards,

Chavdar

This was one of the things I was struggling with forever. Funny, that after Saturday’s game where I was serving abismally, I went to my home court, set on sorting out serving issues. I’ve always struggled with power on my serves. So I decided to try and figure out how the forearm turn really worked. Since in the MTKS2 you said power is generated with the arm turn.

So what I did was to put the racket behind my back, toss the ball up and try to hit up with the forearm turn at the ball contact. And to my surprise, the first time I did it right, it felt so natural and the ball went in. I was quite surprised. I thought it must have been a fluke. So I tried again and again the ball went in. I must admit its more like a flat serve than a kick. But the important bit for me is that my success ratio’s changed. I’m now missing maybe 2-4 out of every 20 serves. Where before I was maybe making 6-8 out of 20.

At this point I’m a very happy tennis player. So much so, that on Sunday I was back at the court practicing (just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming). I then tried to increase racquet head speed with some really awesome results kicking the serve. The one thing I still need to work on is Toss consistency. Get the toss right and with the new racquet swing/arm turn action I can get very good kick, but alas, the toss is very inconsistent. So next for me is to keep practicing the Toss. The torn in my side since I started playing tennis.

Cheers,
Marcus

The root cause of the forearm rotation you described is the forearm rotation in opposite direction behind his back. He is not bringing his right arm to the trophy position. The trophy position is passed during this unique continuous rotation of the forearm behind his back. This rotation helps him to keep his wrist relaxed since he is not directing the head of the tennis racket down like everybody else who was instructed to bring it down by the conscious effort. Instead, this forearm rotation allows the head of the tennis racket to drop down by itself resulting in the initiation of the elbow move up. Nothing is forced it is just happening.

I know I am successful when I do it right. But without knowing what I need to do I cannot be successful, nor can I correct myself.

This is is in sharp contrast to your kick serve instruction where you show how to brush, and how to snap, but not when to transition from brushing to snapping in the stroke. I can practice all I want, if I do not know when to make that transition I can only get it right by accident.

Thank you.

Best regards
Martin

If you were watching Federer and Djokovic this year, then:

In Madrid and Rome: Djokovic pummeling the Federer second serve

In Paris: Federer staying with Djokovic and preventing the massive return with a high first serve percentage and second serve bombs

In New York: I think it was Djoker’s first five set match. First two sets and first half of the fifth set, Federer’s first serve percentage was considerably higher than that of Djokovic. But then he started missing first serves and Djokovic was getting the better of the Federer second delivery. And don’t count out those massive forehands on match point by Novak

Technique is from within the stroke; the model is the overview, from which technique springs.
This lesson has put me much more in control of the process. This is very helpful!

is choking the racquet at the top of the head a good idea for practicing a good service action for my eastern backhand kick serve ,as so to stop the handle from locking on my wrist? I’m aiming at the smoothest action, because of the degenerated cartilage in my neck caused by getting hit in the back of the neck in 1998.

I will get my brother to take a short movie of my serve with our camera so you can have a look at my serve

Thanks

Noel

Who manufactures the * board” and where are they sold?

Thanks
Jeff

Does the online couse of building the serve from the ground up include mastering the kick serve product.

Thanks,

Noel

I have an injured neck, got punched in the back of the neck in 1998 and I am on pain killers Oxycontin and your advice has made it easier for my neck and shoulders.

I’ve had some tennis lessons and watched hours of videos on this serve, you have more insight and a gift for teaching than all other that I’ve seen and heard combined.

Yours respectfully,

Noel

Thanks,

Noel

Thanks,

Noel

Please I would like to know why does Sam use this Semi eastern backhand grip for her kick and what advantages does it give.

Yours respectfully,

Noel

Didn’t want to offend you by the “all you pros”.

I was just making a point.

And as much as you have the right to regard yourself as different and better,
I have the right to doubt what I see on the Internet that is offered as the ultimate instruction.
I am an electronics engineer with quite an experience in mechanics and quite some in bio-mechanics. Logical thinking is what I am pro in.
That is why I have the right of doubt.

I apologize if I unintentionally offended you.

As to your work, in most cases it’s excellent.

After watching your latest podcast I downloaded everything by you that was available on YouTube .
Though those are tips, they work, they are practical and resulted from years of experience..
I went to court this afternoon and was able to hit some of my best kickers just having in mind
what you taught about the serve.
Thank you.

I think there is no need to get angry on somewhat not so flattering comment by one of your regular readers and a devoted tennis fan.
We love the same game: it is your business but it is also my passion.
By the way, I am your age and have been playing tennis for more than 30 years.
So I know quite a bit about the game but respect and listen to guys like you that make their living
teaching the game.

So, thanks once again.

Warm regards,
Chavdar

Thanks for sharing those wonderful tips, I find myself doing the “one, two and a half and three” so I can stay focused and find my rithm when I play tennis. As usual you are right on the money. I remember a tip you shared before on waiting for the ball, and I just do that, wait and wait and wait, balanced, and my goodness what an improvement! Thanks again! -Juan-

I feel that you’re right again.

But if you wait, you stop the motion, or the “swing”. So you stop and then again accelerate.

Other coaches say that is to be avoided by all means and that the swing and the shot itself should be executed in one smooth motion.

This is just another example of directly contradicting instructions that mix up our amateur’s mind. I can give many other examples.

Sometimes you pro guys pick up an individual characteristic of a certain player and develop a theory out of it. And that doesn’t help either.

Going back to your podcast, what you say about the weight transfer is fundamental for may be 90 % of the shots in tennis. And may be with practice the shot becomes apparently a single smooth motion, still containing the “wait” element. This is how I see it.

What do you think?

Thank you and all the best!

Chavdar

Kwok

goodluck!! to sam u are nw my favorite……more winnings sam!!!!

Kwok.

Kwok

Thanks Ron

My son is a left-hander. If he competes against a right-hander ,why shall he know how to hit the kick serve ?

Regards

Maitree

Kwok.

I played singles the other nite 4.5 on fast indoor courts

I was spinning my second serve, the ball was kicking a little hiting near the lines

I was satisfied..but my opponent started hitting shoulder high inside out forehands, really

with good depth, the ball taking off forcing me to slice back defensively…setting him up to
hit big crosscourt. Racket technology has made these guys a new force to be dealt with

They wack it..nothing tentative…..made more than missed..

what do you think

Rich S

Yesterday I played two doubles matches (one regular doubles, one mixed) after which my both of my male opponents said (one of them I played in both matches): ‘I’ve never played worse.’

These guys (much younger than me and my partner) were set up by themselves, because they had a much better ranking than me and my partners, they had seen it on the matchforms… and then were suckered during the match…

As a teaching pro-slash-matchplayer I found that the best way to pressure the second serve is attacking THE SAME WAY OVER AND OVER (provided it hurts your opponent).

Don’t vary. Hurt by repetition.

What do I mean by that? Well, in doubles I try to return the serve back 9 out of 10 to the servicebox on the other side, obviously the side of the server, with both the first serve and the second serve.

With the first serve, if the serve is very good, at least I get it crosscourt and in, even if I miss the servicebox by several metres. With the second serve, I get much more time and I will get it into the servicebox, and very often to the side of the servicebox.

In my opinion, THIS shot makes the opponent feel worse about himself than anything, much more than hitting a scorching winner through he middle. Most players just don’t understand what is happening. They got a weak shot, did they not? Why can’t they take advantage of the ‘weak’ shot today?

Because some shots are not weak at all. The return back in the opposing servicebox is always trouble in doubles. The partner at the net can’t reach it. As a server, If you serve and volley, you get a return at your feet. If you stay back, you have to move forward and sideways and down, which is not something human sapiens likes to do.

In short, my advice: in pressuring your opponent on the second serve, don’t be too afraid to be too predictable yourself. Let your opponent know: ‘Look, you know what I am going to do. You just try to prevent me from doing it.’

And if he can’t, THAT’s pressure!

Thanks,

Noel

Big plus to Sam for putting up a great show, with CLASS!

A plus to the umpire for not bending over to a start status

Big minus to Serena for downright rude, AGAIN. Being competitive does not mean ‘hate’ or ‘choke’ someone. She has been given way much attention. I want to see more Sam, Kim, Caroline, less the sisters.

“She (Serena) even partially redeemed herself by going to sit with Sam ahead of the presentation ceremony. Who knows what they talked about, but it certainly looked good. “It shows you what a nice person she is that she can separate the result,” Stosur said. “Pretty classy.”

I fear that most tennisplayers behave just like Serena during matches. Few of them behave Serena AFTER matches though… when she is usually very friendly and gracious towards her opponents.

In all: coaches, parents and officials are much too leniant on behavuour like this.

By the way, Aussies respond strongly to intimidation! Good on you, Sam for displaying the virtues which made Australian tennis formidable in the past.
Best Wishes,
John Butler, Level Tennis 2 Coach & retired Chemistry Teacher

I coach a high school girls team and today I had to explain that if I ever saw any of them act the way the Serena did in the match, they would be off the team. I did say that the way Sam Stosur acted was the way champions act . . . good sportsmanship at all times, prevail in the face of everything her opponent could throw at her, don’t let the surrounding noise etc bother your game. What a great champion.

Mindset to me is very important, as in the case of Federer, whenever he sees that Nadal is waiting on the next game he always ended up losing to his opponent, maybe as a way to avoid playing Nadal again, surely everyone saw the two matchpoints there.

Her persona was wonderful. She came to play, not show off. I hope she gets many more titles.

JTH

I couldn’t say it any Better! Sam Stosur carried on the long Australian tradition of giving her best effort under all circumstances, being unfailingly fair and focused throughout the match, and especially of keeping her mental resolve throughout the disturbance Serena caused with her lapse of court ettiquette. I think Serena’s exuberance on that one shot got the best of her, I do not think she was purposely trying to rattle Sam with her vocal shout, though it did come out and certainly was, in my opinion, correctly ruled as a hindrance. Serena’s unforgivable response in trying to play the effect of her shout down was unkind and rude at best to Sam’s position. I hope, in restrospect at least, Serena acknowledges that she did indeed commit a hindrance, and though unintentional, still had the potential to affect Sam’s shot.

I was thrilled that Sam Stosur got a grand slam title, and like you, felt way too much attention was given to Serena’s blunder, rather than Sam’s achievement. Samantha Stosur showed nothing but class and resolve throughout the entire match. Good on her!!

Does the American tennis need Serena so much? Bartolli also had got the same call earlier in the tournament, no one even talked about it. Agreed this happened on a bigger stage but now they are questioning the legitimacy of the rule – because the call was made against Serena!! For her outburst, she is fined $2,000. She got away even 2 yrs back over that foot fault controversy.

Regards,
Mehul

My wife and I were discussing Sam’s use of the wrist – not just on her serve but also on her groundies. The acceleration of the racket head is remarkable and unlike what is seen with most females. The wifey, who played no ball sports growing up and who has a twelve mile per hour first serve, thinks it might be because Sam grew up playing “boy” sports. I’m thinking that it must be something far more than that, but have no idea where it comes from. I also think it must be more than just “strength”. (I also find Sam’s musculature attractive).

The other thing that jumped out at me was that Sam’s composure struck me as being almost “unnatural” – almost as if she were in some sort of trance. It was brought up during the match that she has worked with a sports psychologist, but, wow. Can it work *that* well?? I was *most* impressed with her. Congrats!

BTW, none of the announcers seemed to know anything about the hindrance rule. Here’s one guy who’s hoping that it will be brought to the fore by the opponents of some of the “screechers”.

Kevin
Savannah

This idea of the corkscrew with a rhythm looks good. I’m going out to practice it this afternoon. I am a assistant coach at a high school and work with a group of beginning girls aged 12-16. What do you think is the best way or best drill to help them learn to turn their hips and shoulders?

Thanks,
Sue

I have a very sexist theory about the lack of grace and sportsmanship when women shake hands as opposed to the guys warm and friendly embrace. I hate to say it but women can be very bitchy to each other and I think it just manifests itself onto the tennis court. Yet I think Serena isn`t like that at all…She,s just a winner whether she would play a male or female..However I see bitchiness everyday at work and at play.. Sorry Girls !

It could be a question of weight, Graf was ofcourse always very slight of build. Still I think Wozniacki could gain a lot by working on that aspect of her game. If you are on balance more you can also add some pop to the shot, because then you have weight to transfer into the shot.

Cheers
John Butler, Sydney, Australia
Super Seniors player, 69 years young.

For me, the sweetest woman player is Schiavone. She too is very talented, full of energy and really enjoys the game.

Kwok.

Wozniacki and Petkovic make it look so easy as they grind away from the baseline. Serena, Stosur, and Vera wield massive firepower matched only by Monica Seles, and even more power than Borg.

When he’s on his game, Tsonga can beat anyone, as shown in Melbourne in 2008 and Queen’s Club this year against Nadal, and again at Wimbledon and Montreal this year against Roger Federer. So can Andy Murray (as shown in Cincinnati a few weeks ago). Novak’s got a real shoulder issue but I’m sure he can get through it. Federer, be ready, though even if you are he’s still gonna beat you. Unlike indoor European hard courts, Rebound Ace, and clay, Federer’s most dangerous on grass, North American courts, carpet, and anything fast. Nadal struggles on hard courts, especially in the summer, on Rebound Ace, and in Europe in the fall. However, at the US Open he’s really dangerous, and can beat anybody consistently. Plus he has never defended a title not named Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Roland Garros, Hamburg, or Barcelona, so for him to repeat his US Open crown would really mean a lot to him.

But, may the best men and women prevail!

Its Del Potro who is slight but tall who with his outstretched forehand different then anyone else who can generate shots that are unexplainable, what a pity he injured his wrist, what a thing of beauty to watch someone whose style, ie. stroking of the ball is so different generate such power when he is in the zone. Jim, what are your thoughts on this?

As to the friendship it really looked like Fish was truly wishing Tsonga good luck in his match against Fed and would really want him to win the tournament. Yes you like to go out to the champ but somehow it looked real.

the women are kissy kissy in doubles but not in singles, like when Goolagong and that generation playes. to much at stake for them.

What do you think of Serena’s recent approach of walking over to a spot beyond the net and at the base of the umpire’s chair, waiting for her opponent, shaking hands, and then turnng around and reaching up to shake the umpire’s hand? To me it seems a bit disrespectful to the opponent, because I thought the protocol was to shake across the net, and then let the loser shake the umpire’s hand first, unless the loser defers. Am interested to hear your thoughts about this.

Excellent column, though, Jim.

As I’m getting older, I’m finding myself less flexibile with the shoulders and thus starting to have trouble with the one-handed backhand compared to last year. So just less than two months ago, after some success with one-handed backhand, I’ve switched to two-handed backhand for the reason that you described… so I can take the ball earlier and above the net with my backhand as well.

Best,

Ofcourse again a very relevant post of you. But the question is not why players let the bal drop untill they can hit from low to high, the question is: why don’t players understand the dynamics of the ballbounce itself? Because they are never taught that. In 99 percent of tennisinstruction it seems that the bounce of the ball doesn’t excist.

What I mean is: no coach I know tells his pupils that the ball of the bounce determines the way you have to hit it. Take a look at the Lessonslibrary at Tennisone.com, an excellent website… There’s all this talk about the ‘Milennium Forehand’ and how it’s much better than the ‘Old School Forehand’…But not one article even mentions that the bounce of the ball determines the contacpoint, the way you hold your racket, the way your arm moves, the way your feet stand, the way your hips move…

You are right that players should be not be locked in a style that requires them to let the ball drop to waistlevel. But I would enhance it: players should be taught that there is no perfect form to hit a tennisball. The bounce determines what you can do with it… or not.

Novak has what he needs to overturn his negative head to head versus Nadal. Two players, though, that can prevent Nole from the US Open crown include Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro. Anything of Federer’s is a force to be reckoned with, and del Potro’s forehand is a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Roger Federer was also the only person to defeat the Serb this year, and del Potro gave Djokovic his toughest test by anyone not named Roger Federer. I believe that Nadal will continue to succumb to Djokovic as there are no more clay or grass court tournaments until April 2012 at Monte Carlo.

Another psychological error this brings to my mind is when you play serve and volley and your opponent keeps hitting his return into the net even though he’s been using heavy topspin down the line and cross-court consistently until you charged the net. It works a lot with guys who aren’t used to ever playing anyone who serves and volleys, esp. young kids who would otherwise crush me.

it’s really more frustrating to make an error by hitting the ball into the net than by hitting the ball long.

thanks for another helpful tip.

regards,

darius

Bob

I’ve been using a plastic sheet across the net for many years with great success. It really works to get players to hit over the net. The plastic sheet make a noise that everyone on other courts can hear when the ball hits it…

P.S. Google my name and St. Francis Prep. tennis and you will see how your teaching ideas have worked for our team. Keep up the good work.