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M. E. M'Loughlin, Willis E. Davis, Harold Throckmorton and
several others are famous "speed" exponents.
A great many players have both "speed" and "pace." Some shots may
carry both.
The order of learning strokes should be:
1. The Drive. Fore- and backhand. This is the foundation of all
tennis, for you cannot build up a net attack unless you have the
ground stroke to open the way. Nor can you meet a net attack
successfully unless you can drive, as that is the only successful
passing shot.
2. The Service.
3. The Volley and Overhead Smash.
4. The Chop or Half Volley and other incidental and ornamental
strokes.
CHAPTER II. THE DRIVE
The forehand drive is the opening of every offensive in tennis,
and, as such, should be most carefully studied. There are certain
rules of footwork that apply to all shots. To reach a ball that
is a short distance away, advance the foot that is away from the
shot and thus swing into position to hit. If a ball is too close
to the body, retreat the foot closest to the shot and drop the
weight back on it, thus, again, being in position for the stroke.
When hurried, and it is not possible to change the foot position,
throw the weight on the foot closest to the ball.
The receiver should always await the service facing the net, but
once the serve is started on the way to court, the receiver
should at once attain the position to receive it with the body at
right angles to the net.
The forehand drive is made up of one continuous swing of the
racquet that, for the purpose of analysis, may be divided into
three parts:
1. The portion of the swing behind the body, which determines the
speed of the stroke.
2. That portion immediately in front of the body which determines
the direction and, in conjunction with weight shift from one foot
to the other, the pace of the shot.
3. The portion beyond the body, comparable to the golfer's
"follow through," determines spin, top or slice, imparted to the
ball.
All drives should be topped. The slice shot is a totally
different stroke.
To drive straight down the side-line, construct in theory a
parallelogram with two sides made up of the side-line and your
shoulders, and the two ends, the lines of your feet, which
should, if extended, form the right angles with the side-lines.
Meet the ball at a point about 4 to 4 1/2 feet from the body
immediately in front of the belt buckle, and shift the weight
from the back to the front foot at the MOMENT OF STRIKING THE
BALL. The swing of the racquet should be flat and straight
through. The racquet head should be on a line with the hand, or,
if anything, slightly in advance; the whole arm and the racquet
should turn slightly over the ball as it leaves the racquet face
and the stroke continue to the limit of the swing, thus imparting
top spin to the ball.
The hitting plane for all ground strokes should be between the
knees and shoulders. The most favourable plane is on a line with
the waist.
In driving across the court from the right (or No. 1) court,
advance the L or front foot slightly towards the side-line and
shift the weight a fraction of a second sooner. As the weight
shifts, pivot slightly on the L foot and drive flat, diagonally,
across the court. Do not "pull" your cross-court drive, unless
with the express purpose of passing the net man and using that
method to disguise your shot.
NEVER STEP AWAY FROM THE BALL IN DRIVING CROSS COURT. ALWAYS
THROW YOUR WEIGHT IN THE SHOT.
The forehand drive from the No. 2 (or left) court is identically
the same for the straight shot down your opponent's forehand. For
the cross drive to his backhand, you must conceive of a diagonal
line from your backhand corner to his, and thus make your stroke
with the footwork as if this imaginary line were the side-line.
In other words, line up your body along your shot and make your
regular drive. Do not try to "spoon" the ball over with a delayed
wrist motion, as it tends to slide the ball off your racquet.
All drives should be made with a stiff, locked wrist. There is no
wrist movement in a true drive. Top spin is imparted by the arm,
not the wrist.
The backhand drive follows closely the principles of the
forehand, except that the weight shifts a moment sooner, and the
R or front foot should always be advanced a trifle closer to the
side-line than the L so as to bring the body clear of the swing.
The ball should be met in front of the right leg, instead of the
belt buckle, as the great tendency in backhand shots is to slice
them out of the side-line, and this will pull the ball cross
court, obviating this error. The racquet head must be slightly in
advance of the hand to aid in bringing the ball in the court. Do
not strive for too much top spin on your backhand.
I strongly urge that no one should ever favour one department of
his game, in defence of a weakness. Develop both forehand and
backhand, and do not "run around" your backhand, particularly in
return of service. To do so merely opens your court. If you
should do so, strive to ace your returns, because a weak effort
would only result in a kill by your opponent.
Do not develop one favourite shot and play nothing but that. If
you have a fair cross-court drive, do not use it in practice, but
strive to develop an equally fine straight shot.
Remember that the fast shot is the straight shot. The cross drive
must be slow, for it has not the room owing to the increased
angle and height of the net. Pass down the line with your drive,
but open the court with your cross-court shot.
Drives should have depth. The average drive should hit behind the
service-line. A fine drive should hit within 3 feet of the
baseline. A cross-court drive should be shorter than a straight
drive, so as to increase the possible angle. Do not always play
one length drive, but learn to vary your distance according to
your man. You should drive deep against a baseliner, but short
against a net player, striving to drop them at his feet as, he
comes in.
Never allow your opponent to play a shot he likes if you can
possibly force him to one he dislikes.
Again I urge that you play your drive:
1. With the body sideways to the net.
2. The swing flat, with long follow through.
3. The weight shifting just as the ball is hit.
Do not strive for terrific speed at first. The most essential
thing about a drive is to put the ball in play. I once heard
William A. Larned remark, when asked the most important thing in
tennis, "Put the ball over the net into the other man's court."
Accuracy first, and then put on your speed, for if your shot is
correct you can always learn, to hit hard.
CHAPTER III. SERVICE
Service is the opening gun of tennis. It is putting the ball in
play. The old idea was that service should never be more than
merely the beginning of a rally. With the rise of American tennis
and the advent of Dwight Davis and Holcombe Ward, service took on
a new significance. These two men originated what is now known as
the American Twist delivery.
From a mere formality, service became a point winner. Slowly it
gained in importance, until Maurice E. M'Loughlin, the wonderful
"California Comet," burst across the tennis sky with the first of
those terrific cannon-ball deliveries that revolutionized the
game, and caused the old-school players to send out hurry calls
for a severe footfault rule or some way of stopping the
threatened destruction of all ground strokes. M'Loughlin made
service a great factor in the game. It remained for R. N.
Williams to supply the antidote that has again put service in the
normal position of mere importance, not omnipotence. Williams
stood in on the delivery and took it on the rising bound.
Service must be speedy. Yet speed is not the be-all and end-all.
Service must be accurate, reliable, and varied. It must be used
with discretion and served with brains. I believe perfect service
is about 40 per cent placement, 40 per cent speed, and 20 per
cent twist.
Any tall player has an advantage over a short one, in service.
Given a man about 6 feet and allow him the 3 feet added by his
reach, it has been proved by tests that should he deliver a
service, perfectly flat, with no variation caused by twist or
wind, that just cleared the net at its lowest point (3 feet in
the centre), there is only a margin of 8 inches of the service
court in which the ball can possibly fall; the remainder is below
the net angle. Thus it is easy to see how important it is to use
some form of twist to bring the ball into court. Not only must it
go into court, but it must be sufficiently speedy that the
receiver does not have an opportunity of an easy kill. It must
also be placed so as to allow the server an advantage for his
next return, admitting the receiver puts the ball in play.
Just as the first law of receiving is to, put the ball in play,
so of service it is to cause the receiver to fall into error. Do
not strive unduly for clean aces, but use your service to upset
the ground strokes of your opponent.
There are several style services in vogue in all countries. The
American twist has become one of the most popular forms of
delivery and as such deserves special treatment. The usual forms
of service are (1) the slice service, (2) the American twist, (3)
the reverse delivery, (4) the "cannon ball" or flat serve.
The slice service is the easiest and most natural form for all
beginners, and proves so effective that many great players use
it. It is the service of William M. Johnston, A. R. F. Kingscote,
Norman E. Brookes, and many others.
Service should be hit from as high a point as the server can
COMFORTABLY reach. To stretch unnecessarily is both wearing on
the server and unproductive of results.
The slice service should be hit from a point above the right
shoulder and as high as possible. The server should stand at
about a forty-five degree angle to the baseline, with both feet
firmly planted on the ground. Drop the weight back on the right
foot and swing the racquet freely and easily behind the back.
Toss the ball high enough into the air to ensure it passing
through the desired hitting plane, and then start a slow shift of
the weight forward, at the same time increasing the power of the
swing forward as the racquet commences its upward flight to the
ball. Just as the ball meets the racquet face the weight should
be thrown forward and the full power of the swing smashed into
the service. Let the ball strike the racquet INSIDE the face of
the strings, with the racquet travelling directly towards the
court. The angle of the racquet face will impart the twist
necessary to bring the ball in court. The wrist should be
somewhat flexible in service. If necessary lift the right foot
and swing the whole body forward with the arm. Twist slightly to
the right, using the left foot as a pivot. The general line of
the racquet swing is from RIGHT to LEFT and always forward.
At this point and before I take up the other branches of serving,
let me put in a warning against footfaulting. I can only say that
a footfault is crossing or touching the line with either foot
before the ball is delivered, or it is a jump or step. I am not
going into a technical discussion of footfaults. It is
unnecessary, and by placing your feet firmly before the service
there is no need to footfault.
It is just as unfair to deliberately footfault as to miscall a
ball, and it is wholly unnecessary. The average footfault is due
to carelessness, over-anxiety, or ignorance of the rule. All
players are offenders at times, but it can quickly be broken up.
Following this outburst of warning let me return to the American
twist service. The stance for this is the same as for the slice,
but the ball is thrown slightly to the left of the head while the
racquet passes up and over the call, travelling from left to
right and slightly forward. The result is a curve to the left and
the break of the bound to the right. This service is not fast,
but gives an excellent chance to follow to the net, since it
travels high and slowly and its bound is deep. The American twist
service should be hit with the muscles of the side. The slice is
a shoulder swing.
The reverse twist is of an absolutely distinct type. The stance
is facing the net with both toes fronting the line. The racquet
is gripped as a club. The ball is thrown in front of the body and
not high. The swing is a sharp wrist twist from right to left,
the ball carried for some distance on the face of the racquet.
The curve is from left to right while the bound is high and
breaks sharply to the left. This delivery is slow, ineffective
and very uncertain. There is little opportunity to follow it to
the net.
The "cannon-ball" service is nothing but a slice as regards swing
and stance, but it is hit with a flat racquet face, thus
imparting no spin to the ball. It is a case of speed alone. This
service is a point winner when it goes in; but its average must
necessarily be poor since its margin of error is so small. It is
only useful to a tall man.
Varied pace and varied speed is the keynote to a good service. I
spent hours in serving alone, striving to disguise the twist and
pace of the ball. I would take a box of a dozen balls out on the
court and serve the whole dozen to No. 1 court with one style of
delivery. Then, crossing, I would serve them back with another
type of service. Next, I would try the left court from both
sides. My next move would be to pick out a certain section of the
service court, and serve for that until I could put the ball
where I wanted it. Finally, I would strive to put it there with
speed.
All the time spent in this practice has stood me in good stead,
for to-day it is my service that pulls me out of many a deep
hole, and causes many a player to wish he was delivering the
ball. William M. Johnston, the American Champion, has a
remarkable service for so short a man. He times his stroke
perfectly, and hits it at the top of his reach, so that he gets
the full benefit of every inch of his stature and every pound of
his weight. He uses the slice delivery in the majority of
matches.
Do not try freak services. They are useless against high-class
players. Sharp breaking underhand cuts can be easily angled off
for points by a man who knows anything of the angles and effects
of twist. These deliveries are affectation if used more than once
or twice in a long match. A sudden shift may surprise your
opponent; but to continue to serve these freaks is to destroy
their use.
Mishu, the Rumanian star, has many very peculiar deliveries; but,
when playing against high-class tennis, he has brains enough to
use a straight service. The freak services delight and yet annoy
a gallery, for once the novelty has worn off, nothing but the
conceit remains.
The object of service is to obtain the maximum return with the
minimum effort. This statement holds true for all tennis strokes,
but in none so strongly as in service.
The average player hits, his first service so hard, and with so
little regard for direction, that about nine out of ten first
deliveries are faults. Thus, one half your chances are thrown
away, and the chance of double faulting increased
proportionately.
There is a well-known tennis saying to the effect that one fault
is a mistake, but two faults are a crime--that sums up the idea
of service adequately. A player should always strive to put his
first delivery in court. In the first place it is apt to catch
your opponent napping, as he half expects a fault. Secondly, it
conserves your energy by removing the need of a second delivery,
which, in a long five-set match, is an item of such importance
that it may mean victory or defeat.
I urge all players to put their service into court with just as
much speed as they can be sure of, but to serve both deliveries
at about the same speed. Do not slog the first ball and pat the
second, but hit both with average pace.
Try for service aces whenever reasonable, but never do so at the
risk of double faulting. The first ball is the ball to ace. The
second should never be risked. Your aces must at least equal your
double faults, or your service is a handicap and not an
advantage.
The importance of service in doubles is more pronounced than in
singles as regards holding it; but the need for individual
brilliancy is not so great, as you have a partner already at the
net to kill off any weak returns.
Service is an attack, and a successful attack should never break
down.
CHAPTER IV. THE VOLLEY AND OVERHEAD SMASH
The net attack is the heavy artillery of tennis. It is supposed
to crush all defence. As such it must be regarded as a
point-winning stroke at all times, no matter whether the shot is
volley or smash.
Once at the net hit from the point at the first opportunity given
to get the racquet squarely on the ball. All the laws of footwork
explained for the drive are theoretically the same in volleying.
In practice you seldom have time to change your feet to a set
position, so you obviate trouble by throwing the weight on the
foot nearest to the ball and pushing it in the shot.
Volleys are of two classes: (1) the low volley, made from below
the waist; and (2) the high volley, from the waist to the head.
In contradistinction to the hitting plane classification are the
two styles known as (1) the deep volley and (2) the stop volley.
All low volleys are blocked. High volleys may be either blocked
or hit. Volleys should never be stroked. There is no follow
through on a low volley and very little on a high one.
You will hear much talk of "chop" volleys. A chop stroke is one
where the racquet travels from above the line of flight of the
ball, down and through it, and the angle made behind the racquet
is greater than 45 degrees, and many approach 90 degrees.
Therefore I say that no volleys should be chopped, for the
tendency is to pop the ball up in the air off any chop. Slice
volleys if you want to, or hit them flat, for both these shots
are made at a very small angle to the flight-line of the ball,
the racquet face travelling almost along its plane.
In all volleys, high or low, the wrist should be locked and
absolutely stiff. It should always be below the racquet head,
thus bracing the racquet against the impact of the ball. Allow
the force of the incoming shot, plus your own weight, to return
the ball, and do not strive to "wrist" it over. The tilted
racquet face will give any required angle to the return by
glancing the ball off the strings, so no wrist turn is needed.
Low volleys can never be hit hard, and owing to the height of the
net should usually be sharply angled, to allow distance for the
rise. Any ball met at a higher plane than the top of the net may
be hit hard. The stroke should be crisp, snappy, and decisive,
but it should stop as it meets the ball. The follow through
should be very small. Most low volleys should be soft and short.
Most high volleys require speed and length.
The "stop" volley is nothing more than a shot blocked short.
There is no force used. The racquet simply meets the oncoming
ball and stops it. The ball rebounds and falls of its own weight.
There is little bounce to such a shot, and that may be reduced by
allowing the racquet to slide slightly under the ball at the
moment of impact, thus imparting back spin to the ball.
Volleying is a science based on the old geometric axiom that a
straight line is the shortest distance between two points. I mean
that a volleyer must always cover the straight passing shot since
it is the shortest shot with which to pass him, and he must
volley straight to his opening and not waste time trying freakish
curving volleys that give the base- liner time to recover. It is
Johnston's great straight volley that makes him such a dangerous
net man. He is always "punching" his volley straight and hard to
the opening in his opponent's court.
A net player must have ground strokes in order to attain the net
position. Do not think that a service and volley will suffice
against first-class tennis.
I am not a believer in the "centre" theory. Briefly expressed the
centre theory is to hit down the middle of the court and follow
to the net, since the other player has the smallest angle to pass
you. That is true, but remember that he has an equal angle on
either side and, given good ground strokes, an equal chance to
pass with only your guess or intention to tell you which side he
will choose.
I advise hitting to the side-line with good length and following
up to the net, coming in just to the centre side of the straight
returns down the line. Thus the natural shot is covered and your
opponent's court is opened for an angle volley 'cross. Should
your opponent try the cross drive, his chances of beating you
clean and keeping the ball in court are much less than his
chances of error.
Strive to kill your volleys at once, but should your shot not
win, follow the ball 'cross and again cover the straight shot.
Always force the man striving to pass you to play the hardest
possible shot.
Attack with your volleys. Never defend the ball when at the net.
The only defensive volley is one at your feet as you come in. It
is a mid-court shot. Volleys should win with placement more than
speed, although speed may be used on a high volley.
Closely related to the volley, yet in no way a volley stroke, is
the overhead smash. It is the Big Bertha of tennis. It is the
long range terror that should always score. The rules of
footwork, position, and direction that govern the volley will
suffice for the overhead. The swing alone is different. The swing
should be closely allied to the slice service, the racquet and
arm swinging freely from the shoulder, the wrist flexible and the
racquet imparting a slight twist to the ball to hold it in court.
The overhead is mainly a point winner through speed, since its
bounce is so high that a slow placement often allows time for a
recovery.
The overhead is about 60 per cent speed, and 40 per cent combined
place and twist. Any overhead shot taken on or within the
service-line should be killed. Any overhead, behind the
service-line, and back to the baseline, should be defended and
put back deep to, allow you another advance to the net.
The average overhead shot that is missed is netted. Therefore hit
deep. It is a peculiar fact that over 75 per cent of all errors
are nets with only 25 per cent outs. Let this be a constant
reminder to you of the fact that all ground strokes should have a
clear margin of safety of some 8 inches to a foot above the net,
except when attempting to pass a very active volleyer. In the
latter case the shot must be low, and the attendant risk is
compensated by the increased chances of winning the point with a
pass.
Do not leap in the air unnecessarily to hit overhead balls. Keep
at least one foot, and when possible both feet, on the ground in
smashing, as it aids in regulating the weight, and gives better
balance. Hit flat and decisively to the point if desired.
Most missed overhead shots are due to the eye leaving the ball;
but a second class of errors are due to lack of confidence that
gives a cramped, half- hearted swing. Follow through your
overhead shot to the limit of your swing.
The overhead is essentially a doubles shot, because in singles
the chances of passing the net man are greater than lobbing over
his head, while in doubles two men cover the net so easily that
the best way to open the court is to lob one man back.
In smashing, the longest distance is the safest shot since it
allows a greater margin of error. Therefore smash 'cross court
when pressed, but pull your short lobs either side as determined
by the man you are playing.
Never drop a lob you can hit overhead, as it forces you back and
gives the attacking position to your opponent. Never smash with a
reverse twist, always hit with a straight racquet face and direct
to the opening.
Closely connected to the overhead since it is the usual defence
to any hard smash, is the lob.
A lob is a high toss of the ball landing between the service-line
and the baseline. An excellent lob should be within 6 feet of the
baseline.
Lobs are essentially defensive. The ideas in lobbing are: (1) to
give yourself time to recover position when pulled out of court
by your opponent's shot; (2) to drive back the net man and break
up his attack; (3) to tire your opponent; (4) occasionally to,
win cleanly by placement. This is usually a lob volley from a
close net rally, and is a slightly different stroke.
There is (1) the chop lob, a heavily under-cut spin that hangs in
the air. This, is the best defensive lob, as it goes high and
gives plenty of time to recover position. (2) The stroke lob or
flat lob, hit with a slight top spin. This is the point-winning
lob since it gives no time to, the player to run around it, as it
is lower and faster than the chop. In making this lob, start your
swing like a drive, but allow the racquet to slow up and the face
to tilt upward just as you meet the ball. This, shot should
seldom go above 10 feet in the air, since it tends to go out with
the float of the ball.
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