The pros seem to split and use the split to get going quickly.
The club players seem to split, land, think and then go. At this point the split was pointless.

To do this the bottom hand on the grip does not pull very much;most of the work is done by the top hand on the grip. So, for a righty, the top left hand would use a forehand grip like the Eastern, the bottom right hand would use the Continental grip, and would generate little pull during the swing.

As a practice drill to get a feel for this hit practice balls using the normal left hand forehand grip on top, but on the bottom, with the right hand, only grip the end of the grip with a few fingers, like with the middle, index and thumb.

These three element are common to almost all sports. It is true of skiing, golf, baseball and most of all tennis.

thanks again. I’ve got all your material and study it again and again with great pleasure. Even if I grew up in the late 40ties and during the fifties – beat that! Some refuse to acknowledge me as a grown up though.

Of course , underspin /sidespin is the way to go when transitioning to the net . I approach on the forehand always ( almost always ) with a sidespin forehand and my topspin obsessed friend make fun BUT , of course , I almost always get a weak reply i.e. sitter volley or easy to handle lob….the rocket , Newcombe , Rosewall et all could not be wrong . …still works !!!!!.
Great to see and hear you !!!!

Dario

Kk

I’m interested on your take on his idea of tapping your tossing arm on your front leg as a kind of guide at the start of the toss.

By the way, Jean Landry’s piece of (deserved) praise – “Great pedagogical teaching approach” translates as “great teaching teaching approach” as pedagogy is the art of teaching. Sorry Jean – a pedantic note from a pedantic old teacher.

Regards
John C

I found it is easier to kick on the Ad side than on the deuce side. What is the position of the left foot (I’m righty) in relative to the base line when kicking out on the deuce side?

My problem is that I am not consistenly leading the swing with the edge of my racket. I have a tendency to start to pronate too soon.

What can I do to correct this and get much more top spin into the ball

I watched your newest video about the serving toss and swing!! I really liked it!! I think having a consistent swing and tossing into it is way better for consistent results then trying to modify the swing based on the toss. Because the swing is more complicated than the toss. So less room for error.

Serena rocks back with front toe leaving ground, toe doesn’t touch back down until toss is out of hands.

Federer during practice will actually take a step forward with his front foot after the toss leaves his hand. As does Sampras. This guarantees the right sequence, rhythm, kinetic chain and a good toss to boot.

Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the
same subjects? Many thanks!

I hope all is well! Been a while since I’ve received a communique from you and BAM your recommendation of Will’s effort hits my desktop.

I watched Will’s first installment and then re watched your short piece which I recognized from having purchased MTKS a while back.

Must admit that of all the guys now doing frequent on line stuff including Will, Ian of Essential Tennis and Florian from Germany, I find your work to be the most informative, simple and beneficial! For me it goes back to your way of breaking things into bite size chunks and making hard things simple for the average rec player (gotta hit up to get topspin serves, grounders, gotta hit up) leaving me with a simple actionable take away sound byte.

Perhaps I’ve been spoiled since you were the first online guy I ran into several years ago and now I find that you are withstanding the test of time from a new wave of copy cats. (Just one man’s opinion) In any case I do hope you return to sending frequent on line tidbits.

In my first question, I was actually referring to the lower point in the toss, rather than a specific spot on the ball, although your answer was enlightening in a different way. What I was getting at was whether lowering the strike point in your toss, and thus hitting “up” yields topspin, while contact at the apex gives you slice; your swing being the same.

Great companion piece to Will & Pat’s, and, dare I say, better for the recreational player to talk about varying the contact point being the centerpoint of a kick serve. Two questions:

1) Is the lower contact point what distinguishes a kick serve from a slice serve in this case?

2) Does it matter whether the ball is struck while rising or descending?

Thanks so much for all you do!

Will is rationalizing like crazy but it must be uncomfortable to hear such nonsense when consulting an ‘expert’.

I have your Kick Serve course and it is very good. From what I’ve seen of Rafter, I prefer your advise.

I was wondering do you have anything on the kick serve.

Thanks

Your comments ?

Thanks as always you’re that generous coach to give free tennis tips.

More power to you.

Eli

Of course Gasquet has one of the prettiest and best 1 handed BHs in the world but he doesn’t attack off that side as much as he could/should. He’ll take a rip on certain balls – usually topspin BHs, but if he’d move in and also hit hard and/or inside/out slice approaches with that BH he’d be a much bigger threat to the top tier guys on the tour like Fed, Djoker, Murray, Rafa and Delpo – and he’d be beating the lower ranked guys a lot more easily. Your thoughts ….

christian louboutin]

I just got back from Indian Wells. I was lucky to see Federer and Dimitrov practice, separately. Keep your eyes open for Dimitrov, his style is almost exactly like Roger. His one-handed backhand is more explosive than Roger,s, in my opinion.
Sorry i cannot go again.

Kwok

Another stellar job on a very provoking issue: Why do we play tennis?

Do we play for external gratification ie: the score board, my opponent, everyone watching and all my “bragging rights” friends know I won – or – for internal gratification ie: the mere act of playing my best tennis and developing /advancing my game makes me feel good..?

Why do so many of us deliberately set ourselves up for the trap you reference…. Extreme focus on outcome (winning this point, saving the break, etc) has a very negative effect on performance. In the words of Jack Welch of GE fame, “If you aim at nothing you’re bound to hit it” translates here to “If you worry too much about not losing this point you’re bound to lose it!”

Perhaps Michael Jordan, one of the most competitive to ever play sports taught us all a lesson with his “Love of the Game” clause, whenever, wherever he wanted to play for the love of playing he played, even when no one was keeping score. How much you want to bet when he played pickup ball he did’t need a score to confirm his skill level, nor his Love of Playing!

I believe your lesson is huge, but I’m not sure I can fully break the old habits because if I do there won’t be much “bragging” left to do about my game! Just how human is that dilemma…?

Keep the great stuff coming!

Jeff from NJ

I’m a HS Coach and use your advice and pass it on to the kids.
Thanks, Kevin

I try to say to myself before a match: don´t think about the outcome, try to play well instead! Sometimes that works…The problem for me could be: I have 15-40 against a gay I usually loose to (he serves). It could be the first game of the match. In this sitauation, I start to think about the score and that I have the chance to win the game and I play more carefully just to keep the ball inside the lines. What happens? He wins the game of course and I feel bad about not taking risks at 15-40. The he rapidly goes to 3-0, that´s a great difference for the match and for my feeling. This happens over and over for me. How do you think and play when you have two (one) breakpoint(s)?

Kind regards,

Sigurd

I just like to contribute by asking: what do you think about creating contest when there is a clear gap between our level and the opponent level?

For example, if I am better than my opponent, there is no doubt I will win, but maybe it is a contest to win by 6/1 6/1… In this case winning by 6/2 6/2 is loosing.

In my experience, the results of a process/performance-oriented approach speak for themselves and have the side benefit of bestowing upon my students a continuously growing sense of self confidence.

Priceless.

FWIW, I’ve found when I think only in terms of being in the moment and looking for ways to create scoring opportunities, my performance is much more in line with my skills as I know them in practice, whereas every time I mentally wander into either results-thinking or frustration the wheels begin to wobble.

Thanks very much for sharing your performance insight. Excellent advice for tennis and life.

So slight differences have a large influence, and this is what makes tennis players hysterical about small things. The focus on small things is what distracts us from what really matters. So I try not to care whether I lose or win and rather focus on whether I played well. But it is hard, hard, hard,

TO FINISH THE MATCH
As I stand on the court with the score in my favor
The wind’s at my back, and a win I can savor.
It’s really not hard. I’ll coast home from here.
Except for my nerves there’s nothing to fear
Just a deftly hit drop or a neatly placed lob
Is all that it takes to finish the job.
But it takes more than shots to finish the grind
It also involves the state of your mind.
And that’s how they tell the men from the boys,
The boys have the shots, the men have the poise.

I think the smarter you are, the more you think you can use your mind to control the situation, however as I think about it, the more I give myself a game plan, and focus on that, and not the outcome, the better I do.

So if I have it right, in your words, my game plan is your “playing well!”

Or How can I just leave my mind at the court gate?

Q

I’ll definitely soak up all there is to know about Pancho Segura, and add some Jimmy Connors matches to my tennis DVD collection.

Dom

thanks a lot!

Tovarich

You never fail to hit that bell…thank you, Coach.

Martin

Having command of all the shots sounds like a *great* idea. Been working at if for decades. Should only require a very few more decades to get it down. The Djoker is just *bizarrly* good.

Great post. I credit (blame) Becker for convincing far too many players and coaches that it’s okay for your first serve % to be below the 65% that was the baseline before his day; his attitude was that as long as he hit enough service winners it was alright to be at 55%. Maybe if you serve like him, or Serena, but for the rest of the world, “get your first serve in.”

Thanks.

with serena’s injury i saw she was serving mainly with her arm and
was serving about as fast as i do – 82 mph or so.
i have been told by my wife that i serve mostly with my arm and i have
been told by you that i am trying to muscle the ball.
so how do you get more input from the rest of your body on the serve
and not just the arm? do you bend your knees for more leg action and rotate your shoulders more?
my wife says serena jumps up and forward into the court when healthy and i don’t.

also i was studying stan wawrinka’s 1 hand backhand and they say he uses a modified eastern
backhand grip and that allows him to wait longer to hit the ball. i don’t understand what this grip is and how that would allow him to swing later? also studying nickolas amalgro’s one hand backhand.
saw the 1st 2 sets in the qtrs versus david ferrer – he must have collapsed in the last 3.
don’t understand that either?

i also saw sharapova look very bad against li na in the semis – what happened ?
she had been playing sensational before that match but looked slow and made
too many errors. she served badly and did not return well. she did not even move
for a lot of balls on 2nd serve returns. she was sliced often wide to her forehand on the deuce court.

i don’t understand how a top lady pro can play that poorly in a big match after playing so well
in all other matches. granted li na has improved but…..

That said, Andy Murray acts like a spoiled brat on the court. I wish all the commentators weren’t so gaga over him. He is not a person I would want my son to emulate. Yes, he can be nice in an interview, but he is truly horrible on the court, like a raving lunatic. Just sayin’

Tennis is not football. We should hold them to higher standards. I realize Connors started this, but it’s worth pointing out. Don’t try this at home.

As far as Gerard’s comment about Wawrinka’s failure to challenge. It is not so easy for players to be sure about the back line. It’s very hard to see balls at your feet. Admitting that you ticked the ball or it double-bounced is the best behavior. Trying to make judgement calls about whether your opponent should or should not challenge is ridiculous. What is Dj tells him to challenge and it is out of challengers later. Not Dj’s job.

You have a great web site.

All the Best,

Mary B

Attitude definitely important. The courageous strokes at the crucial moment of 5 set match are definitely of high quality of mental strengh. But, we can not forget the loser also who has played equally well for 5 full set. Without equally strong mind, the loser can not go upto that level. There is a fraction of luck or some other factor which might have played the difference. In my opinion, the world tops are having very strong mind mental attitude.

yes, I couldn’t agree more!! It was the match of his life – Wawrinka’s. And he did so well. But fair play and sportmanship – where do they go when so much money and prestige are on stake? In that situation the Serb did not show it.

Also are we brave enough to make the second serve the fastest one ? If you think about it the shoulder and wrist are now loosened up …………
(ps all this talk of rewriting the rules reminds me of Mac s campaign to reintroduce the wooden racket….togue in cheek of course but have a go……..)

Yes, it is probably easier to hit the ball over the net, by having the ball starting point as high as possible, but that is just an added benefit.

The only other adjustment I think you need to make at my 4.0 level, is to start back one step back farther than usual so that you are not hitting the ball at the top of the bounce late. You’re moving into the shot!

Not bad for a 70 year old Super senior who’s unforced errors have been reduced by 50%. Where do I send the check Jim?

Q

Ahmed.

Im really impressed by it.
Hi there, You’ve done an incredible job. I’ll definitely digg it and for my part
recommend to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this website.

But the big advantage is that your balls are not going to land wide.

Have a great Christmas Jim.

this corkscrewing movement is a fantastic visual analogy

so easy to understand and apply

thanks
ec

You have very good points and great insight into the game. It doesn’t add to your credibility when you make excuses about your style of play or make comments about your camerman and the sun in your eyes, these are distracting points.

I found that by starting my forehands with a closed racquet face it has really enhanced my forehand…possibly due to my elbow position not being held in as close into the body as you hold it with your swing. I’m gonna tinker with that a bit as I think the racquet face open vs closed at the start of the swing and the elbow position during the swing are important for consistency.

A deep ball doesn’t have to be strong, fast, spinning or at a tough angle. The very nature of being deep means there is only so much the other player can do with it.

I’m looking forward to trying this technique on Saturday.

You mentioned shot selection and error management, two of the weakest parts of my game.

It’s nice to see someone distill the game down to the most important fundamentals (like deep and down the middle). It doesn’t matter whether you are Nadal or a hermit crab, this is smart tennis. I see too many of my students trying to play “outside” their “control ability” and it just leads to error after error. Keep up the good work Jim.

Your forehand shots went EXACTLY where you want.

Makes complete sense to hit Forehand drive with eastern grip
and racket to the back fence take back, when trying to hit the ball straight and deep.

Was amazed you said that about your forehand, because I’d love to hit as well as you do.

Thanks Jim.

Regards
Paulm

Thanks Again

{The secret to keeping rhythm on your “servev”}

BTW, I always had the hardest time feeding balls to the net man when warming up for a doubles match. I finally figured out that when the ball has no energy in it (just dropping it) that my semi-western grip made it *very* difficult to feed a “volley-able” ball without either too much pace or too much spin or some ridiculous trajectory. A continental grip makes that feed infinitely easier (for me). Every pro whom I’ve asked now tells me that they feed with a conti grip. . . grrrr

Exactly right. I also do that on ground strokes; well at least until actual contact (the grip will ‘firm up’ just before contact, I found) It’s amazing the feel you get… every ball has ‘stuff’ on it.. it feels totally natural because the whole body is contributing out of a relaxed, elastic state…. shoulders, knees, wrist, hand, fingers. That looseness gives you the ‘whip’ on every stroke.

As an experiment, folks, take the racquet using only your thumb and first finger, grip the butt end, drop the ball and hit a forehand nice and easy. If you take a full swing, the ball will go nice and deep. This informs how much of the work is done by the body and racquet, instead of holding a death-grip and muscling through.

I teach currently about 35 hours a week, and have never done this, but will have my students do this now. i teach them to drop hit a feed on the forehand side, so they can learn to rally back and forth, but will now add this to my curriculum.

thanks!

Matt

Plus, I like to re-enforce keeping my eyes down through contact and not “peeking” at my result as I go through the long path you suggest …

Brent

Cheers
Javier

Yes, power lines, risk, spacing. For the first time I took out Efram 6-0, who use to do the same to me. I make him change the power lines and I keep a triangular area in my mind to avoid hitting into, see below, that helps me with one aspect of risk. When I’m stretched out I make an extra effort, add risk, to keep my shots out of the triangular area that I keep in my mind.

Triangle:
Recently, I have taped a large triangle onto the court during practice (about 8 feet on either side of the service quardrant line)…works great for focusing on keeping my shots deep or angled…outside the triangle. By targeting and keeping it in my mind during a match, it helps me keep my shots outside the area of the triangle, making it harder for my opponent to take control. I pulled this targeting concept from a tennisone article on Aussie Rules: Learning from Lleyton Hewitt. It works great for me to have an area to stay out of to target away from as well as a target area all around the triangle to aim into.

I still use Brent’s target area wide in the serve box corner for my chips and angled shots. Also i use the center of the service quadrant for my drop shots. I think a lot of drops shots are missed by my fellow players due to lack of targeting or, as you say, targeting too close to the outside line. 0

Today, I hit all my drops, chips, and angled shots 100%. Like Salzenstein said, it works great to be obsessed with targeting.

So when I’m hitting back along the power line, I’m also imagining the triangle and aiming either deep or angled outside the triangular area I can imagine in my mind to reduce the chance they can effectively take control or easily change direction – in effect helping me to avoid hitting short along the power line…ie falling into the imagined Hewitt’s triangle.

Power lines. What a great topic and so easily abused when trying to change the line of a tough incoming ball.

What’s worked best for me with incoming pace and depth is to insure first that I’ve created the proper ‘space’ with my feet away from that power line.

We can think of what the right shot is all day, but if the ‘spacing’ isn’t there, high percentage shot selections can still end up as unforced errors.

Thanks again for including me on your panel for the Stow presentation last Sunday.

Brent

I understand. The problem is that words fail.

“Loose balanced feeling with a whip” is just a set of subjective terms.

Read this! We are just humans! Words DO fail. Careful analysis of data (imagery) does not fail.

http://www.frankwilczek.com/Wilczek_Easy_Pieces/306_When_Words_Fail.pdf

Jim H

Also, quads are leg extensors. Triceps are arm extensors. You didn’t mention the hip extensors – the hamstrings, glutes and lower back muscles that are the most powerful extensors in the body.
Do they participate in the serve? If so, when do they fire? Or if not, why not?

What we need is some really high speed video. Do you know the frame rate on the Federer serve video? Today, a 10,000 FPS video cam can be purchased for about 20K dollars. One Million FPS cameras are also out there (expensive!). What we need is at least 5 cameras (front, back, left, right, and top synchronously shooting the Federer serve. With that imagery in hand, I could begin to think about what he is REALLY doing, The ball only stays on the strings for about 4mS.

Jim

But now you’re telling me, no, I should develop the slice serve first. Well, OK, but while I’m working on that, what should I use for my second serve when I’m frequently double-faulting?

You deserve the accolades and recognition Jim. Looking forward to your return of serve course.

In the US Open final, without a days rest between matches, Novak held out and didn’t start to fade physically until the 5th set. If Novak had gotten a days rest, he would have one the US Open.

As always, superb communication. I’ve been endorsing your ‘snap and pull’ technique with my club mates as it works so well for me. It’s become quite rare for me to hit a serve out, or put it in the net these days. Remarkable tutoring.

Keep up the innovative work.

Best wishes
Gordon

Many thanks for sharing your invaluable knowledge and experience with us.
Wish to see you soon.

Noushin

Given that some wheelchair players can serve over 100mph, I would say that the legs contribute about 5%, and most of the power is coming from the arm extensors.

Correct?

It sounds like a very clever advise. I can make that throwing motion, maybe because I am used to throwing a ball, since I have been playing handball since I was a kid. Just like you show in the video.. But how do I am a relatively new player and every time I do the throwing motion/serve with a ball, it tends to land all over the place. Can’t control it. How do I get to there… to combine the correct motion with a ball also?

Thanks

as always, simple and essential.

Joe

best,

rf.

I love the fact that you don’t over analyze …

Thanks again,
Bill

In this case, Murray got an extra days rest that Novak did not get. He played a tough match the day before with Ferrer and had to play a grueling 5-setter against Murray.

He could hold out for 4 sets, but the lack of rest took its toll in the 5th.

Thanks for the explanation. I can ‘read’ lagging of the racket, from Federer’s slow motion forehand video, with greater understanding now.

The same principle applies to hitting a golf ball, if it’s not shoulder / body lead, it will never be a 250 yard hit. The turn and ‘unturn’ concept could sync with the tempo of every stroke. I play with more powerful ground strokes now but with much less effort.

A million thanks you for the explanation in your Linear vs. Rotational video.

I slice down the add court T or out wide to the deuce court, topspin second serve down the center with the same pace as my first serve and with confidence, kick serve down the deuce T and wide out the add court – sometimes I get a pretty good bounce out of it as well, sometimes just a good place is enough. My flat serve consistency is also increasing.

Ray, a 4.0, commented when we played together yesterday that my topspins serves were harder to return for many of the players because they were bouncing up enough to throw opponents off who are otherwise use to fairly flat bomber serves.

Regarding the slice, I use more “up spin” out wide in the deuce than down the add court T to compensate for the distance. I also move all over the baseline mixing my hitting positions up.

So from BTS 1 to 2 and now 3, and Kick serve 1 and 2, with you over the last 4 years more or less.

(Note: I still sneak in an occasional underhand sidespin serve wide to the add court side for a surprise ace or forced error, sometimes more than once depending on how well my opponent can or can not adjust). And yes, I did that against Ray today for an untouchable that bounced wide onto the service sideline a few inches over the net, and spun out like a bullet to his left/my right.

Most difficult serve to make is when I’m laughing.

One other thought about the open. Right at the very end both guys had one exactly 136 points or something like that. I wonder how many points Murray won when he was playing into the wind with all kinds of “stuff” while Nole slammed away with or against the wind

Cheers

Klaus

Regarding the Open, Andy has dramatically impoved his serve, particularly the second, and this is what gave him the W.

I went out to work on my serve today, but felt a bit frustrated after trying to get some idea of how to work the Sampras snap with that forearm rotation into my serve. I understand the concept and the feel of rotating the forearm into the net, but just had no idea how to transfer that feel to the serve motion. I just don’t seem to be able to develop any real pop on my serve, and every aspect of my serve seems very inconsistent.

Thanks,

Mike

Thank you so much for all the great informatioin you have shared with me and your other readers. I have been playing tennis as a rec player since I was a kid. I’ve always been a good athlete, (ex horse jockey) but obviously I’m not very tall. I never learned some of the basic fundamental for good ground strokes and the serve, but I have more recently been trying to build a better serve. I served with more of a straight arm motion for years, so it is difficult for me to make a transition to a looser arm with an elbow drop position before going up to contact. I’m only about 5’6 and 140lbs, so I know I probably with never have a power house serve, but I really believe I can develop a better serve with a lot of hard work. I’ve been taking lessons recently with a guy who I feel is a pretty good coach, and it is interesting that many of the things he has been working with me on in my serve is many of the same things that paralell what you teach. One of the first things he hoticed was my balance, because it seemed I was always losing mine on the serve. He has been really stressing the idea that when I warm up that I should keep my feet planted throughout the whole motion. I do notice that I find a little more pop without using my legs at all. That being said, I know if I can learn to use my legs that I can get even more power eventually. Right now, it seems like as soon as I use my legs in the serve, the fluidity of the arm and the elbow drop start to diminish significantly, and the balance seems to suffer too. Anyway, that’s a little history of where I’m at right now, but I am determined to build the best serve possible, so I can quit giving away so many free points. My groundstrokes and my court speed gives me a great deal of potential to play at a lot higher level, but right now, my serve is really letting me down, and when the serve suffers, the rest of my game starts to waver because the doubt starts creeping in. I’m currently rated a 3.5 player, but my coach and I really believe I have the potential to play much higher if I can start putting a better serve out there. I’m going to try and start working on the idea with the box on the serve, but I suspect keeping my feet still is sort of the same thing. Also, I am very interested in the Sampras snap technique, and Pete was always my favorite player. I’m curious as to how to try and put that forearm rotation you speak about into my practice. I’ve practiced the rotation into the net like you show and also just into my couch. : ) It seems like I can beat the dust out of my couch with very little effort. Even though I am smaller in stature, I am very fit and have pretty strong forearms for my size because I am a bricklayer/stone mason. Doing that exercise to feel the motion into the net and my couch seems to indicate to me just how much more potential I might have if I can learn to put it into my serve. I’m just not sure how I might go about moving in that direction. Any insight you can give me in that area would be greatly appreciated.

I have spent lots and lots of time watching your very straight forward teaching videos, and many of the info you share are things I am trying to work into my overall game. Thank you Jim so much for all you do to help us rec players out there. This year I played in an LTTA leagues and I was lucky enough to play with a very great player, so we went undefeated with him playing as the number 1 seed and me as a 2. I learned a great deal watching and learning from him and it has given me a greater determination to raise the level of my game, so I can compete at a higher level. I know I have made great strides, but I know I’m also only as good as my serve, especially the second one. Previously, I would always double fault, because I would slow down my motion while attempting the new technique with elbow drop etc and then to whole motion would break down and I would miss terribly, especially when tension would creep in. I’ve tried to develop a kick serve for the second one, and it is coming along pretty well, but I just have not been able to sync everything up yet. I seem to do okay when I focus on one element at a time, but when I try to put it all together problems arise. Anyway, I guess I have rambled on enough, but I am passionate about correcting my faults and becoming a better server and player, so and help you can give me would be awesome.

Thanks again Jim and I look forward to hearing from you!

Mike

Murray over Djokovic in 4 sets (6:3)

Kwok

Women: Williams – winner, Azarenka – runner up: 3 sets: final set score 6-4

Women: winner – Serena, runner up – Azarenka. 2 set match. 6-3 in final set.

Azarenka beats Serena in 3 sets – final set score 7-6(5)

Women: Serena over Victoria; 6-3 in three sets

women
winner: Serena
runner up: Azarenka
sets 2
final set 6-4

Women Williams over Azarenka 2 sets 6-3

greetz

Women’s Winner: Serena
Runner Up: Azarenka
Sets: 2
Final Set Score: 6-3

Berdych over Djokovic 6-3 in the 4th.

Don Shead

Serena wins
Azarenka second
3 sets
7-5

Women’s Winner: Serena
Runner Up: Azarenka
Sets: 2
Final Set Score: 6-2

Women’s draw: Serena will defeat Sharapova in 2 sets with a score of 6-3 in the final set.

Serena Williams will beat Victoria Azarenka in 3 sets. Score will be 6-3 for final set

Serana in 3 against Victoria , last set 6;4

women:
winner: serena
runner up: asarenka
2 sets
final set: 6:4

Serena Williams winner
Victoria Azarenka rumner up
62 46 61

Thanks.

Maria Sharapova; 3 sets; 7:5 Runner Up Serena Williams

Serena over Sharapova in straight sets, 6-3 in the second.

Federer over Djokovich in 4. Last set is 6-2

Men’s
Winner: Novak Djokovic
Runner up: Roger Federer
#sets: 4
Score final set: 6-3

Women’s
Winner: Serena Williams
Runner up: Maria Sharapova
#sets: 2
Score final set: 6-2

Sounds like a great opportunity with great people and the price is OK. I just would not feel safe in Mexico right now ?

I agree with your explanation but I’d also like to add that there could also be some amount of slip and slide factor when the ball is struck flat. I noticed it more on the indoor pickleball courts where the ball slides off the court at a higher speed than it had travelled over the net.

My hunch would be we would see a slight improvement in speed, but but I’m afraid it was more off-day than improved second serve. Your point about second serves indicating the winner is essentially a truism, not a function of cause and effect. In fact, it is possible for this not to be an indicator, although you qualify this with ‘professional or amateur’. But take a one-sided match in the park where my opponent has a very accurate, slow, spun first serve that I clock for winners…….

I’m intrigued by your hint of the new BTS3. Looking forward to it! The 2nd serve is so, so important. And I’m fascinated at how there are so many different styles of serving at the club 3.0-3.5 level. I’m still very much an amateur and I like to think of serving as “two chances to do a good, spinning, penetrating second serve”. — Phil

I think the people who think it is insulting to suggest Federer threw a match away are bigger fans than the people who think that Federer might have done it.

My sentiment is this: under the circumstances I mentioned in my last blog, if I were Federer, I would help Andy to win, not that he is not able to win it. As much as I love the game, to me there are things more important than winning a match, getting a gold medal and maintain my integrity as a tennis player…….things like friendship and humility.

For the fans of Federer and Andy alike, I knew it was a heresy to suggest that Federer threw a match. That is why, in the beginning, I declared what I was going to say was “controversial theory”.

Now my friends, let’s go out to hit some balls to celebrate the fact that we are so lucky to be able to witness the best tennis playing in the history of tennis. And the best way to honor players like Andy, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is to improve our games !!

Kwok.

Quite right to focus on the second serve stats, it was equally the key to the Wimbledon final as well but to Roger’s advantage. I watched the match but not as closely as I would have liked, I thought
it was more that Roger could not return as well and tht he could not take advantage of Andy’s second serves particularly in the key 2-0 game 0-40 in the second set.

Frankly I was not aware of a better Murray second serve as much as a very tired Roger.
Winning as much as he has and getting to #1, Roger has played more tennis than anyone one else at an advanced age.

Maybe I missed it but did Andy get more kick or speed or depth, if so I stand corrected.

Joe

Many thanks for your professional blog. I really appreciate your invaluable knowledge.

Wish to see you soon.

Noushin

First of all, thank you for all the thought-provoking material you send us tennis nuts. I particularly like the way you analyse the subject and your explanations make great sense and also make the material very accessible.

On the subject of Andy Murray, I have watched him for years and I was at the Wimbledon semis this year and of the four players he was (once again) the only one who was playing not to lose. The others were trying hard to win. They expressed this attitude in aggressive court positioning, aggressive and early ball-striking, moving up the court just as soon as opportunity afforded (and often when it did not) and yet (with the possible exception of Tsonga) defended so well when required to do so without ever making this facet of the game their first thought. Murray did not do this.

At the Olympics, however, Murray appeared to be prepared to latch on to any ball he could hit and he hit it. He has done this in the past with success but usually only when pressed to do so by a disadvantageous scoreline or at the expense of poor execution. He never ever allowed Djokovic or Federer any time or respite or hope. He gave me the sense that he was truly going to take it to them and put them to the sword before they would have the chance to do that to him. He has of course sent the field a message but I hope most of all he has sent himself a message. Try to win or try not to lose. I believe the tennis scoring system promotes the latter but at the very top that is (for the most part) not good enough and yet it is so difficult to change your mindset if you naturally embrace this logic. I salute Murray for successfully doing this at the O’s and I hope he will continue this approach wherever possible.

The only chance he had against Murray would have been if the roof was closed, thus no wind, and he could win easy points off his laser accurate serves and forehand.

Why did he let Andy win it ?

1) He didn’t want to be a big enemy of the whole UK. he had already disappointed them once a month ago, he did not want to do it again.
2) Remember Andy cried so bad after he lost to Roger at the Wimbledon tournament ? poor guy, he had his whole country on his shoulders. Can you imagine what he would feel if he lost again ? It takes a very mean person to do it again to him.
3) Roger dose not need another gold medal, he has already got one, remember ? With Wawrinka. And it is very unlikely he will have a chance to break Michael Phelps record of 22 medals, so one less gold medal would not make much of a difference.
4) Roger did not come out of it with nothing, he got a silver medal. A lot of Olympians cried over a bronze medal, let alone a silver one, it is not bad at all. Actually, during an interview Roger said,” I did not lose a gold medal, I won a silver medal !”
5) By losing, he made million of Brits very happy. And he did have not much to lose.

I am not saying Andy would not win if Roger put on a big fight. But He just made too many mistakes on not too difficult shots, that was just not likely; the scores just don’t make much sense to me.

The next match between them in a grand slam tournament will paint a better picture. Let’s keep our eyes open.

Kwok.

Does anyone seriously believe that fed would lose a wimby final with such a score ?

Discuss.

however i wouldn’t judge this specific Olympic final –
for the fact it wasn’t the real Federer he played against.
after a few games it was obvious it was pretty much a one sided match.
Federer looked exhausted and simply didn’t have the energy and the will for a gold medal.
that made Murray adjust himself enough to dominate.

that said, Murray did manage to produce good mental stability throughout the match.
but again, with a 100% home crowd and no serious game from the other side, Murray somehow managed to avoid getting into his usual imploding/mumbling and “crossed that mental line”.

the real test STILL remains a grand slam as i see it.

Brian Minnesota

I suppose that power (the heavy shot) is lost by using poor technique “especially timing” and body poor weight transfer to the racquet.
If you think about it a tennis racquet and tennis ball are oozing power already.
It’s what we do with it that matters.

Phew at last a brief message from yours truly.

Thanks Jim

Danny

Very old school: Hugh Stewart (former David Cup USA man and Diamond Head Player) tells of Don Budge’s backhand being so heavy that when Hugh was a top 10 U.S. player, Budge could knock the racket out of his hand when he tried to volley-and this was when Budge was a senior and much after his grand slam.

Second, the hybrid grip of the semi-western so that the heaviness can be achieved by a player transitioning from top-spin to a flat and hard,heavy stroke vs. the safer top. The drive and the punch come from the slight grip change and getting your full weight behind it. Heavy and keeps them off-balance.

Third, the ball that looks like it is going to hit the fence and suddenly dives for the baseline and at your adversaries shoes. This is a great one to hit if you got it. And we certainly hope that like the great Brian Cheney, you would call that ball good and admire your adversaries shot.

Speaking of Brian Cheney and the heavy ball, as many, many on the losing end of battles with Brian can attest to, this player seems to hit the heaviest ball in third sets and in tie-breaks. That is Chandler/La Jolla heavy.

I think the explanation for this is perfect timing, hitting in front and putting the bodyweight on the ball. One more thing is relaxation while swinging, especially of the hand holding the racquet.

I thank you Jim for providing the best (by far) coaching tips on the net.

Walter

This is where the term/feature of ‘pocketing’ comes into play. String sets and tensions that give a good pocketing feel help grab and control the heavy balls to allow quality heavy ball returns.

Since F=MA a tennis ball struck with a 400gram racket swung at 50mph would have more momentum than a 300gram racket .
Having said i still think that I still think that the heavy ball is more about RPM .
I remember studies at the time claiming that Pete Sampras ‘s serve was over 4000 RPM while Andre Agassi’s was 2500 RPM.
Lets keep this thread alive , I would like to hear more opinions because there is no greater satisfaction than being able to consistantly hit the “heavy ball”wether its the forehand , backhand serve volly etc. and if someone could demystify its nature we would all benefit from that advice.

Momentum is mass times velocity, right? Since the mass of the tennis ball stays the same, saying that a shot has more momentum is the same as saying it’s faster, isn’t it? The same thing would be true when you talk about the momentum of the racket head, I think.

I think you’re right about the psychological factor, because I can’t see any other variables in a moving tennis ball other than

1)trajectory
2)speed (before and after bounce)
3)spin

Would love to hear more about this from someone with a physics background.

Anyway, thanks Jim!

From my own experience , I used to play with the old Dunlop Max 200g . The strung weight of the racket was about 400 grams. I routinly hit so called heavy balls with that racket. My opponents would tell me so and I could feel the energy as th e ball left the strings. Over the years I have experimented with dozens of rackets ( all of them lighter and I might add “stiffer”) but I have never been able to reproduce that sensation of that power and raw energy that I felt with the Dunlop.
Its not about the speed of the ball. Its about the quality of the rotation. My guess is that more mass gives you better quality of rotation.

Yes I do think about the percussion aspect of my hitting because there is nuance and within that there is information , it’s feedback that comes down the racquet the same as it does through the drum stick.

In a slightly abstract parallel I started to think of the tennis ball as being the tip of the drum stick and the string bed as being the “drum head”.

The most “bounce back” is found in the middle of the head where the trampoline effect is optimal but out nearer the edge of the head is where a lot of control is to be found and where the most delicate “buzz rolls” are played or subtle ghost notes and so on.

Because of the lesser trampoline effect nearer the edge you can get the stick to dance tirelessly with absolute control.

I’m still assimilating all of this, it’s early days so it may only have limited mileage but when serving in tennis recently, I softened my grip right off as I started to hit up on the ball to create topspin and I found that just slightly higher up the string bed, nearer the top edge, came a whole lot more accuracy.

I have been told by a couple of opponents that the ball is now more awkward and consistently heavy to deal with. I have also begun to try this with my ground shots and found a similar result.

To my mind the so called “Sweet spot” on the racquet as on the snare drum may vary according to what it is you require of your racquet but I find that a brutally struck tennis ball usually returns very disappointing results

The soft grip seems to be partly the key as with the drum stick it facilitates what drummers know as the fulcrum effect which means that the stick does all the work not the wrist.

If you want to see this in action then watch the late Buddy Rich in full flight, that’s the fulcrum effect!!

Maybe this sounds too far fetched to some but a free moving drum stick or racquet is better behaved than one which is gripped too firmly.

I have just out of interest put a link here to an expert breaking down Buddy’s stick technique and the relevance of all of this to me, is not that far removed as it may seem.

Kind regards Jim

Danny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0jLlUAXSA0&feature=related

Heavy ball analysis is nice.
Roger and Rafa hit very heavy balls and balls jump off the court.
Back in 80s Ivan Lendl hit a very heavy ball but that was a kind of ball shot through the court.
How do you compare the heaviness here ?

Thanks!!

My comment re the heavy ball analysis -

It seems to me that the arc is a factor. A ball with a low arc or flat trajectory, hit hard, and even with topspin, does not have as much “heaviness” as a similarly hit ball which has more arc (higher trajectory).

I like your notion re the sound of the hit.
Hear this, Below is I think, a new thought.

I have recently started to wear hearing aids and I find that they help my game !!!
Better Q’s. Hearing the opponent’s hit, hearing the ball the hit on the floor.
And yes, I think you may have something – your own hit tells you lots by it’s sound.

TY, aka Tennisyoda, aka Gene Lee, aka EJ

I was able to hit with Pete, as they were doing a commercial for ESPN, and Pete was already there for the tournament, and they asked Pete, Malavia Washington and the Jensen brothers to participate. When Pete showed up at the Riverside Club in Bala Cynwid in Philadelphia, they asked me and another teaching pro if we would return balls to Pete as they filmed him.

I realized after hitting with him just how heavy Pete’s ball was, compared with other pros, like Malavia Washington, who I also hit with that week. Pete used a very heavy racquet, the Wilson Pro Staff, and also put lead tape on it. He used it during his entire career, and this worked well because it meant that the collision with Pete’s racquet was so heavy in meeting the ball that it was more effective than that of others on the tour.

By comparison, it’s like a train going down the track and having a colllision with a tractor trailer truck. The train is going to win every time because of the solid mass. When you take into consideration Pete’s heavy racquet meeting the tennis ball, the end result is the ball coming off the racquet much heavier than that of any other players on tour.

I have read the below posts and they seem, to some degree, to be the writer’s best how to do it. In that vein, I read recently that there are five ways to basically “hit” a ball. That the “best’ way was to compress the ball (with your body) and roll the ball forward.

Back on point, I think it is really relative to the receiver. If the ball doesn’t feel heavy to me, it’s not heavy, even if it is well hit. And I don’t know that a poorly hit ball won’t feel heavy…because when I was a beginning 2.5 six years ago, I received a lot of heavy and punishing balls, even from 3.0 players. Lately, when hitting with the 4.0s, I don’t seem to receive many heavy balls.

I’m thinking that when I’m in balance, my hand relaxed, eye on the ball and the ball path, and I’m not surprised at what I’m getting, I rarely receive a heavy ball.

So, you have my vote Jim. And Jim, you don’t get it automatically, you always have to earn it. On the other hand, I don’t remember a vote you have lost yet, but I got my eye on you.

Note: I got that Nadal grip change down for forehand and backhand.
Note: I executed a backhand underhand sidespin serve to the deuce court against a strong 4.0 last weekend and he was so shocked, as well as my partner, that they all laughed like heck as the guy couldn’t get his racquet on it as a first serve, as it went sideways off the court. His swing path assumed a fairly straight path.

Used sparingly in some cases and more in other cases, it’s a lot of fun.

Topspin allows the tranfer of the other four better than a slice or cut shot.

You can grunt and yell all you want but that has nothing really to do with the heavy ball. Watch the mechanics of the player. Not the grunting or yelling which I think they are looking to ban soon if its too loud.

I understand something about the percussion aspect of the shot as I am both a passionate recreational tennis player and a professional percussionist. I wrote to you a couple of years ago about this very subject as I recognised the existence of this parallel.

For better or for worse my understanding is as follows.

The parallels that a tennis racquet and a “snare drum” (for instance) share, are the “sweet spot” “tension” of the drum head or string bed and common physics.

An over struck snare drum will choke sonically when hit with brute force whereas, with a consistent clean, crisp hit in the same spot every time then “the sound” is actually greater.
This suggests a more “efficient use of energy” at least from the drumming point of view and so perhaps with the tennis racquet too.

For the tennis player / drummer, there are less aching joints the following day too.
Best done with the ease that technique facilitates like Federer’s or Kohlschreiber’s backhand for example… Sweet but deadly.

Perhaps where the parallels really cross over is that the sweetly struck snare drum rewards the player not only with a lovely sound but with an “effortless bounce back” of the stick.

Powerful yet energy saving and equivalent to the effect that a racquet has on the tennis ball.

If you insist on slamming the stick on to the drum or crushing the ball then expect no help at all from the drum, the stick or your racquet. An effortful and inconsistent performance and “poor timing”, will be your reward.

Did I really just say all that, apologies if it’s too much.

MTKS has seriously helped my game by the way, Jim!!

Thanks for tolerating my comments.

Kind regards to all

Danny

Sincerely,

Norman Ashbrooke

FWIW, I’ve been trying a subtle down/up motion with my knees, where I bend the knees slightly coming into contact, and just before contact my knees spring up quickly, pushing up off the group rapidly. Makes my leg muscles act like springs, in a way, using the forward momentum of my body and bending legs as energy for the rapid release upwards. The jury is still out on it, but I’ve had some good results where the effort feels less than a regular knee bend ( regular meaning in which there’s no potential energy stored in the bend, as if you had been bending for a longer time and you have to exert more muscle energy to push upwards. )

I see the key in focusing all your energy – from your whole body! – into the ball which of course you hit with pace and spin as you mentioned.

The ball is not heavy when one hits it with the arm and doesn’t know how to connect the arm with the energy generated in the body (namely using the ground and rotation).

When I think about “heavy balls” or when I see them or when I discuss them, I am referring to balls with pace and top spin. When I am playing a player who hits what I would refer to as “heavy” — they are typically playing with a combination of: good balance, good hip and core rotation, ball in front, closed grip, fast yet smooth stroke, brushing the ball — with power — into top spin delivery.

As much as anything, I use my eyes and ears together to pick this up — but its all about the swing and and the effect on spin on the ball. I would not generally refer to a flat or even semi-flat ball as “heavy” though I might refer to it as “hard” or “atomic.”

When I execute a heavy ball, I need balance, good position and shoulder turn, a grip that is closed – say a forty degree brush-power stroke angle, a stroke out front, with smooth and timed hip and core rotation, and, for lack of a better way to say it, a finish that is high (or includes some upward movement as to the ball on contact to impart spin).

“Heavy” is known. It requires, for both the stroker and the receiver (who is the next stroker), a clear eye on the ball and an eye on the spin.

And, knowledge of the habits of the opposing stroker or hitter who hits heavy helps.

Your Kick Serve Course is fantastic! Just got it a two days ago, and played this morning. Your three finger grip advice does wonders, and by itself covers the cost of the course. I have never hit my serves so controlled and hard, and my overheads had a new level of control and power as well. I was able to relax more than ever, yet generate great power. The picture of Sampras adds a lot of credibility to the concept, and just shows how loosely you can hold your raquet. Just Awesome!

Question – Just before I bought the serving course I had been experimenting with a smaller grip size. I started realizing that it moved my main pressure area on the grip to the index finger and thumb. Basically identical to your three finger serving grip. Up to then I had been trying to loosen my grip, but my main pressure area had been my pinky and ring finger. In fact I made a point of barely contacting the grip with my thumb and index finger. Now that I look at it, the pinky and ring finger approach feels clumsy, seems to lock up your wrist, and makes the racquet feel heavy. Am I on a good path if I adopt the same basic 3 finger serving philosophy to my forehand and single handed backhand grips? My impression at this point is that it seems to work really well.

Yes, great tournament — and great commentary. Thanks for that, as usual.

One question: Djokovic really did not look like the player who came back to beat Federer in the U.S. Open last fall. Just curious what you think — was he just not mentally into it enough? Were there specific parts of his game he just couldn’t get going? Or was Roger just playing too well and that put him into a funk? In some ways, I thought he looked like the pre-2011 Djokovic.

Serena wasn’t the form player going into the tournament but she worked her way through the draw and was in fine shape come finals day. I enjoyed her brutal encounter with Kvitova but was saddened that the Czech girl lost as she is beautiful to watch. Serena’s game for all it’s violent power and screaming leaves me yearning for the more elegant likes of Graf, Henin, Mauresmo et al. Sharapova’s early exit didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Her career grand slam puts her in rare company but her high risk, one dimensional game often leaves her vulnerable.

Tsonga was a model of decency and sportsmanship after his terrific struggle with Murray. Who can forget him smiling and chatting at the net while match point was being confirmed by Hawkeye? Federer is just remarkable of course. I didn’t believe he could reach the final let alone win it, but the man seems to have no sense of age or time. His gorgeous, effortless shotmaking make athletes in their prime look tired, confused and withered. While his opponents change their soggy shirts and wipe down the great man just tickles his hair and straightens up his racquet strings. What an incredible champion.

I always enjoy the commentary.

I only wish to differ on the “head shot” question. It seems to me that you can go to the net but that you assume the risk once you are there. The risk is: getting passed, getting lobbed and getting a shot coming hard straight at you. If you can’t assume those risks, then you should not advance to the net. The problem with being at the net is, if you don’t control the point (by hard, sharp and deep volleys or a devastating drop shot) then you are pretty much vulnerable. You can’t say, well, I got to the net first so you have to hit around me. And, obviously, there is nothing in the rules of tennis about where you can aim the tennis ball, only where it must land.

On too high tosses, it makes NO sense to toss a ball so high that it is accelerating back down toward you as it drops. You want to hit as still a ball as possible, and since it is stillest at its apex, then you want to hit it as close to that as you can. Since you can’t grow your arm, then you must lower the apex.

Finally, a sidebar on excessive grunting–it makes so little physiological sense on any level. You want a tight coil and then an unleashing of the force of the racquet so it can achieve maximum head speed at contact. Does anyone think the operator of a bullwhip could achieve more velocity at contact if he grunted at that moment? All this grunting is a waste of energy (not a focus of energy) and maybe that is why the grunters have so much trouble putting together multiyear excellent tennis–they have wasted too much energy and are mildly to middlingly hyperventilated.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Serena is a great athlete and simply out slugs everyone else. Someday there will be an all court player like Fed in the womens game who possesses finesse and power.

Did not get the “crying game” have to agree with the I Man on that one.

Djokovic just didn’t have it against RF. I had thought that Djokovic would beat RF. ND just didn’t have the juice that day. This was a match that I thought was worthy of a final at Wimbledon. RF was just better than ND this day. His class and expertise and conditioning were all outstanding and he went right over ND with very little real resistance.

I never really believed that Andy Murray(AM) would beat RF. I still remember the failure of AM at the US open a couple of times. I have not seen Ivan Lendl ‘s coaching make a real significant difference in AM’s game so far. I was disappointed that the commentators is some things. I thought that the juice came into RF’s game at 4/4 in the third set, before the roof was closed. RF also took off the dark undershirt before the rain break but I didn’t notice exactly when.

Once RF really turned it up at 4/4, he never let down, He was energized, confident, and unstoppable on a grass court. He also was very elegant. I have watched the match twice so far, I will probably watch it more.

I really enjoyed watchin Serena Williams also. When she served at 2/2 in the third set(or 3/3), it was as dramatic a game as I believe I have ever seen. I don’t particularly like SW but that was awesome (4 aces!!!) She was unstoppalbe on a grass court at that point. I thought AR put up a very nice try but just didn’t quite have it. I really enjoy watching her play. I think she is talented.

Thanks for listening to me.

There is so much to love about this game, which is why I’m endlessly amazed at how 99% of the players around me resist learning more about the game and resist making any changes. I don’t know anyone at my local court that is the least bit interested in anything but winning, having stabilized long before I met them.

Today I snuck in 5 underhand sidespin serves, 1 in the deuce and the rest in the add court. Won points on all those serves. Today and once before players have gotten pizzed at me about it. One player walked off the court complaining about my trying to hurt him since it was so physically awkward to return the serve and that the serve was illegal and was something only fit for a badminton court.

Enjoyed your article – thanks!

Serena – The best ever! Her serve is so good, she can also compete in the men’s section.

This is the golden age for tennis – Take the top 6 plus Del Potro & Brian Baker, you have very beautiful individual stories.

I thought Murray was superb and dominant the first 2 – 3 sets. His relatively weak second serve cost him the match.

We are fortunate, Fed is still and will be around – healthy and hungry.

I’d like to see more of Brian Baker – I saw him (at a very close range!) defeat Gaustin Gaudio in US Open 2005 and he disappeared mysteriously only to surface again in the recent French Open. What an awesome character he is!

I have to politely disagree on two points. First, as far as women go Serena does have the best serve in the WTA. That’s were it stops though. She does not have the best serve of all time, let alone better than many of the top 50 ATP players. Can she crank it up to 120 every now and then, yes, but these guys are doing that on average not just once in each game. It’s actually quite offensive to Sampras to say that she is the best server ever.

Second, you seem perturbed about the passing shot close to Fed’s head in the final. If you think about it, what better tactic is there? I’m sure murray wasn’t trying to injure him. Look at it this way, when you’re up at the net waiting for a shot that close you’re almost always going to guess one way or the other. So by going at the person, you’re actually hitting it where they won’t be. It just so happened that Roger didn’t guess that time and almost got hit. Lighten up a bit about the shot. If you can’t take being hit by a ball on the court, find another sport to play. Even the lines women came back out after taking a 120MPH serve from Isner to the eye.

FED is my man!!!. So it was a great tournament. As far as Andy hitting that ball at Fed, to me that’s just Tennis. I have hit guys and I have been hit, I feel bad when I hit someone and it doesn’t bother me when someone hits me, in fact I always say “Good Shot”. It’s a part of the game, that being said I agree that Andy seemed to have possibly “Head Hunted” a little and should knock that off if that was indeed the case.
I want to see Fed get to 20 majors. Wouldn’t that be absolutely amazing!!!.

Will

IMHO, Federer showcased few interesting changes :
Technical : Second Serve – boy that was really kicking. His first serve is exceptional
Strategical :
a. Serve & Volley – Federer came frequently to Net in second set and really used this in his favour..infact, thanks to the article on atp site, we can see that he came for 68 times onto the net and out of which he won 53 times..78% hit ratio..and he used this pattern at its maximum against Andy , then any other player…(interesting,,as andy is not known for handling pressure against the best in general and putting him to pass..consistently,might have consumed andy’s brain energy as well..) ..http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/Features/Brain-Game-Federer-Nets-Wimbledon-Title.aspx
b. FH – somehow in this match he mixed Cross-Court and Inside Out pretty well..infact he deployed corner to corner strategy using his slice and FH..(interestingly against Djoko he used Cross court FH more
c. Did not allow andy to dominate his BH ..

Actually, Andy did not play bad, but if i am right , he played safe..for e.g. whenever Federe moved him out of position on backhand corner side,,he hardly ever tried to go for down the line etc…Djoko does this smartly as federer typically drives this type of points by securing his feet on his BH corner i.e. exposing FH corner a little bit..

Andy’s serve were too predictable, all second servs were really swinging to his BH, which allowed Fed to at least do something,however minimal , with return..in otherwords, at crucial points i.e. in that 18 min game also andy was not showing out-of-the box thinking..

Andy’s mindset and game is somehow defensive ..unfortunately he might have the best arsenal that was never used in the final..

But thats where probably credit to Fed as he did not allow him to doso..

Superb tournament for the Fed. His mental fortitude and determination was unassailable. (Love how he concentrated throughout: no more lapses after leading in the matches.)

I wish Roger more success!

As for her commentary, it lacks depth and sparkle – true enough. (Evert would agree.) But that’s not why she’s in the booth. She was tennis’ first female superprofessional whom fans could really follow Slam to Slam throughout all of her career. She’s in the booth for perspective in the competitive area of the game. If today’s women could improve their top-level tournament-deep consistency … what a treat that would be for the fans.

BTW, I have to agree that American telecasts could use less talk and more planned silences…

Great point on Rosol… give credit where it is due

“.. Chris put up to having a good left arm (crazy).” hilarious.. Chris does say some of the craziest stuff

I was hoping for your inimitable technical breakdown of the final.. like you did here http://www.essentialtennisinstruction.com/rafa-at-roland-garros/

About your comment on Andy’s shot right at Fed was a bit cheap… it surely looked like straight from Lendl’s book … he actually did hit Tsonga in his you know what.. so I it surely looks like he did it on purpose and from that point I rooted against him (until the crying began )

Federer is so graceful and fluid. Plus, he still has the huge forehand and imagination, above all the other players, in designing and ceating such a variety if shots.

Great tournament.

PS– ROGER FEDERER: The reason Chuck Norris does NOT play tennis ; )

Looking forward to the Free serving lessons, Lord knows I could use them!!!.

Will

Keep up the good work Jim, your articles/blogs/tennis articles are priceless.

John

When practising on my own I am having some success with the kick serve, but in a doubles situation I am putting a lot of balls in to the net. How do I overcome this?

Also, in Module 3 there is a video on returning the kick serve and you show it from the receiver’s point of view and how the kick looks, but what advice do you have on returning a kick serve because this isn’t covered?

A question: Is it an.unreasonable scenario that a professional one handed backhander develop a two handed backhand for return of serve and high bouncers? I keep trying to find a scenario where Federer can challenge Nadal or Djok on clay , using the two hands solely for defense and preservation of energy.

Enjoyed your footwork and agility for your age, ha ha!
What about a diagonal move to take the ball earlier or
on the rise rather than side steps? Will the same
patterns be usable or should the back step for balance
be eliminated? Your thoughts?

Antony
ETI

Kevin

I have gone through all the videos before doing the step-by-step on the court. It’s been raining in England since I bought it (and my club doesn’t have a concertina roof!) so have been doing all the shadowing at home. I’ve only had one occasion to start on the drills on court and have already noticed that listening for the ‘pfft’ and ‘telling the time’ have made a difference to my understanding. I’ve also had a new insight into topspin in general, so really appreciate this.

I’m on an iPhone 4S and a new iPad (3) and notice some playback issues with videos at different times – I get a black screen and audio-only. If I quit the app, or load another video then go back to one of the earlier ones they seem to be fine. It’s happened on both devices on 3 or 4 videos.

Looking forward to posting a 5 star review on iTunes soon!

You have asked for feedback and comments about your videos. Here are some of my general thoughts:

* I wish there was more time between the videos: for example if they came once a week instead of every day or two. (If I was able to get to a court every day and try something new each time that would be one thing, but the information has been coming in at a far greater rate than I have had to try out the tips.)

* I really like your course and think the tips are excellent and well explained, but sometimes I think they would be improved if there was slightly less time on introductory comments each time, vs. a little more time in demonstrating.

(FYI: I am someone who about 10-15 years ago used to spend many, many, many hours trying to develop a kick serve, getting instruction from pros and then often spending time alone on a court practicing with with a big basket of balls… I wanted to use it for my 2nd serve to have a dependable but strong serve — but even for a first serve it could be effective because so many people I played with had a hard time returning anything with heavy topspin. Some of your tips are familiar to me, but others I wish I could have had the benefit of at that time!!)

* One question I wish I could see addressed: what is the best way to increase the degree of topspin? (I5 years ago I was strong and in very good shape, but I remember one young teenage girl who had mastered incredibly heavy topspin that made her one of the top players at our club. (This was in Athens, Greece, where I was living at the time as an expat). I practiced for hours with a (male) pro who fed me heavy topspin to improve my ability to return serves or any topspin shots — and ultimately I almost (but not quite) beat the teen in a very dramatic tournament at our club. But I never could achieve anything like her degree of spin and “kick”. My 12-year-old son longs to learn heavy topspin, and I wish I could give him guidance!)

Thanks for letting me share.

– Elizabeth

http://www.tennisone.com/club/lessons/jm/silicon/split/splitting.php

It is important that all in the tennis community have a sense of give and take, and approach new and old ideas with an open mind – at my end that point of view was inspired by a book I met in college, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions – which revolved around “paradigms” and how they influence the point of view of any field (including tennis instruction)

I will find the precise dates of these publications tomorrow – but suspect in any event you may still be quite angry – if so I am sorry
Jim

With all due respect and kindness:

1) I don’t hear Jim suggesting that this is some “new” idea in the video and 2) after you read the below from one of Jim’s 2003 articles, it just may be that the reason the player development staff agree that the drop-step is the quickest from a dynamic start had something to do with Jim and other coaches having these kinds of discussions 10 years ago – notice that Jim’s article was published some 9 years ago.

Per Jim McLennan,July 2003, published in ADDvantage – the magazine for the professional tennis coaches association. “The gravity turn, or drop step, drops the right foot away from the ball as the hips turn, creating forward motion…..At the 2002 USPTA World Conference in Las Vegas, I posed the question, “What is the quickest and/or least effortful way to move for a wide and difficult ball?” About 90 percent of the audience chose the jab step, while less than 10 percent chose the crossover step, and only a handful from an audience of 200 chose the drop step.

http://www.addvantageuspta.com

Mestengo, would you mind keeping your posts a bit more positive and constructive in the future for those of us who are trying to learn from Jim???

Thanks and Kindest Regards, Rodger S.

Second, If you can put together a course that teaches senior citizens how to move like young studs, I’m gonna buy a dozen and hand them out to all the old duffers around me…just joking, but I’m going for a second 20 lbs off the butt while I keep working on your fast footwork ideas…so far no injuries of any kind.

Third, I’m pretty focused on my neutralizing drills from your master the ground game video. I’m hoping 4 months of practice will help a wee bit on that “consistent power” thing down the middle of the court to the baseline. I’m starting to pick up a few more points that way, which keeps these guys from picking me off somewhere between how far it is possible vs probable for me to move to. (taking a bit of creative license with your yellow/orange cones concept)

Antony
ETI

I checked your site for building the serve from the ground up but it shows it is not available at this time. When will it open again? Will a short version of building the serve from the ground up be available as a app?

Anyway, I did get your Mastering the Kick Serve, and I’m still not “there” yet, though some days I seem to have it. But a separate question: I have absolutely no idea how to hit the slice serve. Maybe it should be easier, I don’t know. But I can’t seem to do it. Do you have a Mastering the Slice Serve package?

To answer your two questions, it’s worth acknowledging the overall importance of the serve.

The serve is often believed to be the #1 most important shot in competitive tennis. If you always hold serve, you can never lose. By your service alone, you can win every service game without hitting a single groundstroke or volley.

Yet, the serve is not as “fun” or “easy” to pick up for many recreational players. It’s harder to teach during clinics (improving it requires, perhaps, more individualized attention than other strokes); there is only so much you can learn during lessons (you have to do smart, diligent and individual practice to improve it); and, from what I’ve noticed from watching most recreational tennis players, most prefer to just hit groundstrokes all day (they are often the easiest to teach and execute as a beginner).

For many, the serve is a complicated and non-intuitive stroke. Learning it can be difficult. Psychology provides evidence that people prefer to do what they are good; thus, they avoid what they struggle with. This means more groundstroke practice and less serve practice (or less volley practice, but that topic is for another day…).

Now why is the kick serve so hard to master? I think the answer is simple: executing the kick serve requires mastery of serve fundamentals, and it is less intuitive than other types of serves (flat is a prime example). Most can hit a flat serve that goes in with poor fundamentals; few can hit a kick serve that goes in with poor fundamentals. Besides the fundamentals, the concept that you need to “hit up on the ball” is perplexing for many. It takes hours to “understand” and hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to “feel.” Even if you have diligent, smart, and individualized serve practice, this takes time.

The kick serve is so important because, as referenced earlier, the serve is so important. Having a good second serve, not to mention a first serve, is an invaluable asset and helps confidence. It allows you to take control and hit a quality shot with a high margin for error–most matches are won or lost because of unforced errors (e.g., double faults). It allows you to understand two important fundamentals for quality tennis: racquet speed and confidence.

What does this mean for those of us that enjoy playing tennis? Well, if we want to be better at competing, we best perfect our serve with smart, diligent and individualized practice. For most of us, we should spend a higher ratio serving than hitting ground strokes. If you just want to have fun non-competitively and don’t have the time or have physical limitations with serving, then by all means hit groundstrokes all day. It’s fun.

Cheers,
Nick

Tried pointing that out to Brent recently, but he thought it was a “minor detail”. I don’t.

Just watched the postmortem of Stosur’s loss. Apparently the second serve kicker ain’t as valuable on grass. Played the 50′s grass courts in Philly one time. “Low” seems to be good on that stuff.

Kevin

How about Michael Chang, 17, beating Lendl at the French Open in 1989?

I disagree with your thoughts about the Rafa/Djokavic match. The only reason Rafa won was because of the over night rain delay.

Djokavic had him against the ropes in the third set and fourth sets, the fifth set would have gone 6-2 in Djokavics favor. Once Rafa is on the ropes against Djokavic he pretty much folds.
I’ve seen it too many times where Djokavic forces Rafa to use up all his energy and then Rafa starts hitting the ball down the middle of the court for Djokavic to put away.
Djokavic played poorly against Rodger and beat him, he played poorly the first two sets against Rafa and had him beat. In the rain delayed 4th set Djokavic played poorly again while Rafa had his energy back.

Rafa’s game is suited for clay, high net clearence top spin, Djokavic game is suited for everthing else. Which would you rather have?

So Rafa can be stopped, but its going to take Djokavic to do it, Rodgers and his one handed backhand is on the decline, Murry is a dud, theres really no one else. Guys like Songa can go out in the first round.
Mike Azzopardi.