Attacking Tennis (Tennis Forum - Centre Court (Free from Havoc))

Many of us here are serious fans of the attacking game especially if it is done correctly.The flare and breathtaking shot making when in the zone and attacking is something to marvel at.

I was watching the Wimbledon final(yes again, my 15th time) And 2 points really stick out to me like a sore thumb.The first set Federer at Set point 8-7 in the tiebreak.That point was tryely sublime.Big Serve forearm to Nadals backhand then even bigger forearm to Nadals backhand with one of the sneakiest net rushes I have ever seen with him finishing off with a backhand volley.Truely marvelous! :bow:

The other obviously being match point and he just goes mad.What is it that appeals to you about attacking tennis?How much more riskier is it?If you were a coach would you teach your charge to attack rather than defend?

Who were the best attackers of all time? :shrug:

Attacking play means shorter points for me which I like. The player is also attempting to acheive something so has to use their imagination and tactics much more.

Zonal performances by my favourites who play extreme attacking tennis at their best are just amazing.

QUOTE (Federer-Williams @ Sep 17 2007, 02:12 PM)

Attacking play means shorter points for me which I like. The player is also attempting to acheive something so has to use their imagination and tactics much more.

Zonal performances by my favourites who play extreme attacking tennis at their best are just amazing.

Do you rememberthat set point in the 1st set Fed-Williams?Wasnt it masterful and sublime and a full out attack?

Who do you think are the best attackers that played tha game?

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 17 2007, 11:24 AM)

If you were a coach would you teach your charge to attack rather than defend?

This is a good question. though it is very much down to players personality and what they feel confortable with, we can see that success is essentially done to material and surfaces. If anything gets any slower, I would advise to look at Nadal, if material and surfaces get any faster, I would push towarads the attacking game.

I was playing tennis in France last summer, and next court was a coach full of energy who was training a talented attacking player to play a la Nadal, by hitting very spinny moon balls and retrieving all possible shots. I must say that the game did not suit the player's style but I can imagine that playing against someone who brings everything back and feeds you with high bouning balls would discourage most players out there of a similar tennis level. Just the sight of Nadal jumping and stretching while the referee tosses the coin, is enough to depress me. I have vey often lost versus good defending players.

This is why I have this great admiration for Federer and whoever can beat Nadal and the likes as one needs courage, great talent AND stamina.

Question Tenez,which is your favourite set piece when put together in terms of attack on the court that you enjoying watching the most when implemented by the top players?

Hi Darky - I think McEnroe was the best attacker I have ever watched. Every single shot was aimed at unbalancing/rushing the opponent. Constanty going forward with very little defense skills. He had a break or make approach to the game. Obviously, McEnroe woudl have had to work 3 times harder if he had wished to try to be successful with his game in today's world.

And Obviously, Lendl was pretty agressive too though he did attack from the baseline.

Nowadays, Federer does a great job but his success comes as much as his defending skills as his attacking ones. This is why he is becomin the greatest of all time. The most "balanced" player ever pick up a racket.

I am no sure I understood your question though ;) but I liked to watch Safin when he was "on". Simply awsome versus Hewitt on a few occasions.

I love to see a wide serve into the first court and then see a player run around the return to hit an off forehand winner. Not surprisingly, Federer is one of the best proponents. :bow:
I am a big fan of one of Pat Rafter's favourite drills, where one player starts on the service line and the ball is fed to the feet of that player, who has to play a half volley or low volley to open up the point. Reminds me of both Rafter and Sampras when they would follow in their serves religiously and have to make their first volley or pick-up off their feet and then defend the net. It was breathtaking and although it isn't a set play, it's a skill that can be practiced and perfected. :ok:

As someone from the Netherlands it’s inevitable to sympathize with an offensive player. We -as it’s in our genes- always had the best results in sports with that view how to play the game. Although I regret it we don’t even have a clue how to defend in for instance soccer; i’ll take attacking over defending any time.
It’s hard to say who is the best attacker thse days but purely based on ones intentions i really give James Blake credit for his approach. He’s always searching for that dead winner. Sometimes it seems like he considers a return of serve as a great opportunity to finish the point instead of keeping the ball in play. Is it smart? No, but it’s nice to watch. :ok:

QUOTE (Tenez @ Sep 17 2007, 02:49 PM)

Hi Darky - I think McEnroe was the best attacker I have ever watched. Every single shot was aimed at unbalancing/rushing the opponent. Constanty going forward with very little defense skills. He had a break or make approach to the game. Obviously, McEnroe woudl have had to work 3 times harder if he had wished to try to be successful with his game in today's world.

And Obviously, Lendl was pretty agressive too though he did attack from the baseline.

Nowadays, Federer does a great job but his success comes as much as his defending skills as his attacking ones. This is why he is becomin the greatest of all time. The most "balanced" player ever pick up a racket.

I am no sure I understood your question though ;) but I liked to watch Safin when he was "on". Simply awsome versus Hewitt on a few occasions.

You answered my first question in my initial post about who is the greatest attacker.I wanna know from you buddy which play do you like the most when a player in on the attack.Its a play that they employ time and time again.

My favourite is when Federer is in the advantage court returning.He hits the offensive off forearm then the offesive cross court short angled forearm with him moving into the net for the back hand volley.Its great to watch.

I also love Agassi's heavy kick serve out to the backhand in the ad court and then his backhand drive up the line into the open court.

I find defensive mundane tennis a bit boring.

Oh I see. For me, it's got to be serve wide and volley on the opposite corner leaving the opponent 5m from the ball. Like the first point of the FO 05 semi between Federer n Nadal....except that Nadal was so quick that he turned it into a passing winner. :(

SV executed at its best is very nice to watch imo. there is no successful ones nowadays unfortunately.

I also like Davydenko relentlessly attacking right and left, down the lines or cross court, there is hardly any defending shots in his game, including the return of serve.

and Finally Nadal' FH one/two is not bad either...when he decides to be agressive.

Becker was also very forceful in his approach and style.It all began with that boom boom serve.

Not may players are successful at being an attacker this is why i admire Federer and the Williams girls because they go for the play.Which is why their error count is normally higher than everyone else!

The best attacking player I have ever seen (although my I have seen little before 98) is Serena Williams.

When she is playing her best and is at her most confident she plays 'first strike' tennis. That is to say she is attacking the first ball in the rally she gets her racket on. Often this results in many aces and return winners (in it's most extreme form) or atleast many winners at any rate.

When she is in the zone or playing at a relatively high level (aussie open 07 being the most recent example) it is amazing. This is the reason why when she is at her best she is unbeatable. Many people scorn her for saying this but I beleive it is true. If she is attacking extremely effective off the first ball no-one can match her.

Venus at her peak has a different style. She hits the ball just as hard and does 'go for' alot but she has a more flowing style ending the point after perhaps a slightly longer ralley (see how she outralleys Sharapova in Wimbledon 05/07). She is nevertheless an extremely aggressive player especially with her more frequent ventures to the net these days.

Thats what makes them the best on the WTA.

Alternatively on the men's game my favourite Federer switches between defense and offense alot with his 'all court' style. Yet his most brilliant moments for me are when he attacks (which he hasn't done as frequently since Aus 07). At Wimby final there were a few examples especially in the last set the point he had to break Nadal was amazing.

Fed-Will that point and the match point were 2 completely different forms of Federer genius in attack mode.The point to break in that final set he was being stretched and defending then with a flash it was all out attack.Even after the point you saw Nadal standing and staring at his entourage because at that point he knew it was all over.

The match point from the time he strck the first shot he knew what he doing and it fearless hitting! :ok:

Yes actually I forgot the rest of the point I just remember the firehand down the line which was amazing. I only watched it once but the shot before that was a slice defensive shot I remember now? Amazing stuffs

QUOTE (Federer-Williams @ Sep 17 2007, 04:37 PM)

Yes actually I forgot the rest of the point I just remember the firehand down the line which was amazing. I only watched it once but the shot before that was a slice defensive shot I remember now? Amazing stuffs

I have watched that match 15 times bud.It was brilliant.Yes in that point Nadal hit a truly great flat backhand that Federer hand to slice in defence to stay in that rally then after short low reply from Nadal he hit the winner up the line.Amazing stuff! :ok: That is classic Defense into attack but Nadal who plays a predominantly defensive game is the current king of that strategy!

I think the best attacking player I saw was Sampras. He was able to back up his serve with excellent volleys, especially half volleys into the corners for clean winners. He was the best at the serve volley then smash routine. And in the baseline rallies, what was his real strength was his shots down the lines. The very best attackers can hit down the lines with precision, throughout his career he had one of the best forehands down the line and a very good backhand down the line. his game adapted as he got to around 29/30 because he became more aggressive, going for more second serve aces. In 1995 McEnroe called Sampras a counterpuncher, to me I understand that because I always enjoyed watching him play serve volleyers like Rafter because his passing shots and lobs and movement have always been one of his strengths and a typical serve volleyer doesn't possess those sorts of skills at all.

Today I really enjoy watching Amelie Mauresmo on grass and indoor carpet, last year she played some exceptional Tennis and is unfortunately not at her best this year due to the appendix situation. She is actually similar to Sampras in the sense that even though she is seen as an attacking player, she can also go through passages of defensive counterpunching play. I think Henin has been the best attacking female player this year - she has been relentless at hounding her opponents.

After Serena's performance in the Australian final and Miami final we were all getting excited thinking we were about to witness something historical but injuries and/or a lack of commitment to improvement will again make us wonder what will happen next with her.

Potentially, Svetlana is a succssor to Serena and Venus and Justine, in the Fed Cup final she played some awsome athletic, attacking Tennis - as of now, she is still inconsistent but the potential is there.

In the men, I certainly don't enjoy watching Federer as much as I used to, he seems to have some aversion from going to net now, he probably doesn't need to anyway but his serving in the Wimbledon final was the best I saw it, if it wasn't for his serve that day he would have lost.

Gasquet again like Svetlana has the potential. He also has bouts of going through to much counterpuching play - if he can improve his return of serve and play more up to the baseline and adapt his mentality I still hope he can succeed Federer, the most talented player out of the younger ones.

Tenez, that story you mentioned reminds me of Gael Monfils - tall, athletic but his been trained to play a nonsensical counter punching style - which probably will ensure he never becomes a top 5 player - unless he somehow changes his mentality.

Sorry for the long post! I'm not at work today B)

Much agree with this Laurie. the thing is those volleys and half volleys are now impossible to be hit with accuracy so I feel Sampras would have had to stay at the back, like everybody else, if he had wanted a chance to win slams. We would all love to see someone able to play like Sampras and McEnroe in todays tennis, but tat would mean having better serves than them, and much better anticipation and reflexes..which is a lot to ask really.

What a shame on Monfils, he looks like a "has been" before even having "been" someone.

Tenez, this may interest you, but the more Sampras became a full time serve and volleyer on all surfaces besides grass, the more his grand slam count dried up (and tournaments in general)

Up to 1998 Sampras had 11 slams. He had a formula of staying back on 90 percent of his second serves on hardcourts, rebound ace and indoor tournaments. He would also stay back about 20 percent of the time on 1st servs as a change up. On clay he had his best results up to 1996 including the Italian Open and Kitzbeul and the Davis cup victory and decent French Open results..

In 1999 after beating Agassi in the Wimbledon final and winning four tournaments in a row during the summer hardcourt season, he went into the US Open as overwhelming favourite, then he suffered a lower disc problem is his back and had to withdraw. After that he decided to serve and volley on 1st and 2nd serves on all surfaces to shorten the points, protect his back and mask his conditioning.

But he was never the same player after 1999 and his results reflect that. From 2000 to 2002 he only won 3 tournaments on the ATP tour including Wimbledon and Miami in 2000 and US Open in 2002.

So the principles are the same lie you say - Sampras was at his best when he was an all court player. As a typical serve and volleyer in 2000 to 2002 he didn't do well at all, and as I said months ago, it was a mistake because he neglected his baseline game and movement which helped him get to the top. It's hard to serve and volley all day when the ball is coming back fast. When he played a smarter baseline aspect to his game in 2002 Open, he won it. The media will say his serve and volley play won it but it was actually his decision to play more baseline rallies, cut down on the chipping and charging and staying back on his serve 25% of the time allowed him to play himself into form and more efficient and conserve energy for the final against Agassi.

The question I want to ask is, Is Serve AND Volley and all out attack from themoment the serve is hit or is it a means to and end of a point quickly 1 way or the other?

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 05:46 AM)

The question I want to ask is, Is Serve AND Volley and all out attack from themoment the serve is hit or is it a means to and end of a point quickly 1 way or the other?

I'd say it's definitely an attacking tactic, but it all depends on the quality of the serve and the return. As I mentioned earlier, one of Rafter's favourite training drills was (and still is) practicing the half-volley/low pick-up into the corners and either attacking the net or defending it. Short points are almost guaranteed, but the serve volleyer needs to execute very well to keep attacking.

QUOTE (TennisMenace @ Sep 18 2007, 01:50 PM)

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 05:46 AM)

The question I want to ask is, Is Serve AND Volley and all out attack from themoment the serve is hit or is it a means to and end of a point quickly 1 way or the other?

I'd say it's definitely an attacking tactic, but it all depends on the quality of the serve and the return. As I mentioned earlier, one of Rafter's favourite training drills was (and still is) practicing the half-volley/low pick-up into the corners and either attacking the net or defending it. Short points are almost guaranteed, but the serve volleyer needs to execute very well to keep attacking.

Do you spend more energy serving and volleying as opposed to the baseline?Remember Serve and Volley is kinda like an adrenalin rush its also exausting!

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 05:53 AM)

QUOTE (TennisMenace @ Sep 18 2007, 01:50 PM)

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 05:46 AM)

The question I want to ask is, Is Serve AND Volley and all out attack from themoment the serve is hit or is it a means to and end of a point quickly 1 way or the other?

I'd say it's definitely an attacking tactic, but it all depends on the quality of the serve and the return. As I mentioned earlier, one of Rafter's favourite training drills was (and still is) practicing the half-volley/low pick-up into the corners and either attacking the net or defending it. Short points are almost guaranteed, but the serve volleyer needs to execute very well to keep attacking.

Do you spend more energy serving and volleying as opposed to the baseline?Remember Serve and Volley is kinda like an adrenalin rush its also exausting!

It's pretty draining to serve volley religiously, but grinders are usually the fittest players aerobically. SV requires a different fitness, more sprints and stop/start energy (like interval training) compared to Nadal/Canas type fitness, which requires constant court coverage. Not sure statistically which game would take the most out of a player. :shrug:

I agree with that being a player of the game myself.
In terms of my attacking game,I normally find myself approaching on my backhand since its my stronger shot both crosscourt or off.I only ever approach on my forearm hitting the off forearm off a short reply! Weird!

Dark, I agree with Tennis Menace, it's much more energy sapping to serve and volley all the time, that's the point I was making in my previous post. It's much better to become an all court player - or an all court player using a serve and volley strategy as opposed to someone who just learns to serve and volley but cannot execute other facets of the game like return of serve which is equally important. That's why todays serve and volleyers like Myrni, Karlovic, Dent don't have good results because they cannot return serve to any standard cannot stay in rallies, so they chip and charge all day, which is as draining as serving and volleying all day.

Having said that, watching the most skillful volleyers is great. Sampras and Becker for instance constantly used the quality of their serve to engineer an opening. On the deuce court serving to the forehand and volleying into the open court for instance - thse guys were masters at actually thinking out a strategy before executing it, so that's why they were at the top for long. Rafter actualy got better as he got older, he didn't have the natural talent like the others but worked extremely hard on the kick serve and his backhand return and staying in the rallies for longer, consequently his grand slam meetings with Agassi are classics. He played his best Tennis in his mid to late 20s when most players now seem to play their best in their early 20s and start slowing down from around the age of 27 onwards.

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 06:04 AM)

I agree with that being a player of the game myself.
In terms of my attacking game,I normally find myself approaching on my backhand since its my stronger shot both crosscourt or off.I only ever approach on my forearm hitting the off forearm off a short reply! Weird!

DH backhand Darky? I like to approach on an off forehand (backhand is a bit weaker) but sometimes give opponents too much angle. I also can't resist approaching crosscourt, even though I'm opening up the court for an opponent. I quite like giving an opponent the chance to make the pass and having to lunge for volleys. If I get there, it feels good, if not, the other guy's too good. Low percentage tennis is often more fun and less of a physical grind for an old fella. ;)

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 18 2007, 02:14 PM)

Dark, I agree with Tennis Menace, it's much more energy sapping to serve and volley all the time, that's the point I was making in my previous post. It's much better to become an all court player - or an all court player using a serve and volley strategy as opposed to someone who just learns to serve and volley but cannot execute other facets of the game like return of serve which is equally important. That's why todays serve and volleyers like Myrni, Karlovic, Dent don't have good results because they cannot return serve to any standard cannot stay in rallies, so they chip and charge all day, which is as draining as serving and volleying all day.

Having said that, watching the most skillful volleyers is great. Sampras and Becker for instance constantly used the quality of their serve to engineer an opening. On the deuce court serving to the forehand and volleying into the open court for instance - thse guys were masters at actually thinking out a strategy before executing it, so that's why they were at the top for long. Rafter actualy got better as he got older, he didn't have the natural talent like the others but worked extremely hard on the kick serve and his backhand return and staying in the rallies for longer, consequently his grand slam meetings with Agassi are classics. He played his best Tennis in his mid to late 20s when most players now seem to play their best in their early 20s and start slowing down from around the age of 27 onwards.

:ok: Mirnyi and them actually look mindless at times and its very frustrating.Another question.Would you consider a doubles specialist a better volleyer than Sampras,lets say Woodforde,who was from that generation as well as Woodbridge and now Bjorkman.By the way Woodforde has been employed by Djokovic as a volley attack specialist.I mean WTF is that and a new job title out of the blue.

It is much harder serving and volleying.I recently completed my club league and it was mainly serve and volley man was I beat but i also used my baseline game to force points and it paid off.

Am I correct in saying laurie that the tactic you spoke about used by Becker and Sampras is you favourite play and form of attack?

QUOTE (TennisMenace @ Sep 18 2007, 02:15 PM)

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 06:04 AM)

I agree with that being a player of the game myself.
In terms of my attacking game,I normally find myself approaching on my backhand since its my stronger shot both crosscourt or off.I only ever approach on my forearm hitting the off forearm off a short reply! Weird!

DH backhand Darky? I like to approach on an off forehand (backhand is a bit weaker) but sometimes give opponents too much angle. I also can't resist approaching crosscourt, even though I'm opening up the court for an opponent. I quite like giving an opponent the chance to make the pass and having to lunge for volleys. If I get there, it feels good, if not, the other guy's too good. Low percentage tennis is often more fun and less of a physical grind for an old fella. ;)

Yes double handed! My back hand it very flat and heavy but also I can generate huge spin off it as well.Its rythem is like Safins.I make less errors off that wing.

I tend to find that my baseline play is more work.I work the point waiting for an opening then approach.However its harder to approach nowadays and the younger kids keep coming up with amazing shots.Thats why I love my doubles season at my club as its nore strategic and fun!

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 07:25 AM)

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 18 2007, 02:14 PM)

Dark, I agree with Tennis Menace, it's much more energy sapping to serve and volley all the time, that's the point I was making in my previous post. It's much better to become an all court player - or an all court player using a serve and volley strategy as opposed to someone who just learns to serve and volley but cannot execute other facets of the game like return of serve which is equally important. That's why todays serve and volleyers like Myrni, Karlovic, Dent don't have good results because they cannot return serve to any standard cannot stay in rallies, so they chip and charge all day, which is as draining as serving and volleying all day.

Having said that, watching the most skillful volleyers is great. Sampras and Becker for instance constantly used the quality of their serve to engineer an opening. On the deuce court serving to the forehand and volleying into the open court for instance - thse guys were masters at actually thinking out a strategy before executing it, so that's why they were at the top for long. Rafter actualy got better as he got older, he didn't have the natural talent like the others but worked extremely hard on the kick serve and his backhand return and staying in the rallies for longer, consequently his grand slam meetings with Agassi are classics. He played his best Tennis in his mid to late 20s when most players now seem to play their best in their early 20s and start slowing down from around the age of 27 onwards.

:ok: Mirnyi and them actually look mindless at times and its very frustrating.Another question.Would you consider a doubles specialist a better volleyer than Sampras,lets say Woodforde,who was from that generation as well as Woodbridge and now Bjorkman.By the way Woodforde has been employed by Djokovic as a volley attack specialist.I mean WTF is that and a new job title out of the blue.

It is much harder serving and volleying.I recently completed my club league and it was mainly serve and volley man was I beat but i also used my baseline game to force points and it paid off.

Am I correct in saying laurie that the tactic you spoke about used by Becker and Sampras is you favourite play and form of attack?

That's a good question - what's my favourite tactic - ummm....

Well, thinking about it to watch these are some of my favouite plays.

This one was started by Lendl and employed by Sampras, on the ad court, serving a kicker to the backhand, getting the return then skipping back to make room and hitting the forehand down the line for a winner. Svetlana does that beautifully as well. So for instance, in 2002 during the Open Sampras brought this play back into his repotoire against Haas and Roddick and it worked beautifully - that's one of the plays he had stopped using in 2000 and 2001 but used a lot in his younger days. The Spanish guys do it too but not it in the same way like Sampras did, he had that beautiful movement where he skips around the ball and really lets fly of the racquet, Svetlana does that too - they do it with abandon almost.

Yes, I also love the serve to the forehand in the duece court, stretching the opponent and eitheir volleying into the open court or hitting a forehand into the open court, if the player tracks it down and throws up a lob, then boom! smash!

I also like thse two plays, Sampras used to hit the first volley to a good length making the opponent back off behind the basline to have to hit a passing shot, then hit a stop volley with the guy completely out of position, making him look a bit foolish.

I also like when a player is on the baseline, hits a drop shot, the opponent runs in tries to do something with it but gets passed or lobbed, more a clay tactic but works well on hardcourts too.

With my serve I aim for corners so I'm always looking to engineer an opening, not saying it always comes off but Tennis becomes cat ad mouse if you play that way because the returner has to respond. I aim for the corners because I put a lot of spin on the ball.

My other favourite tactic is the serve down the middle on the ad court - the proper slider, where the ball curves awayy from the forehand from the returner and straightens in line with the centre line judge, hitting the second serve down the middle with kick can always be a good surprsie tactic because nearly all players expect a second serve to the backhand - this is where Sampras and Becker really excelled throughout their career, getting a lot of second serve aces there too, classic example matchpoint at 1999 Wimbledon final - second serve ace at 113mph curving away from Agassi's forehand.

Watch carefully the next time you watch Roddick for instance, when he serves on the ad court to the forehand, his serve doesn't curve away with slice, it goes more in to the opponent's hitting zone, so he's more vulnerable. Like fast bowlers it's not pace that does it, it's deception. So Roddick and other guys may serve faster first serves, but skill wise it's not as good as Goran or Krajicek or Stich etc who learned the classic service motion standing close to the centre line and swinging the ball.

I've got too much time on my hands today! :dancer1:

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 18 2007, 04:15 PM)

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 18 2007, 07:25 AM)

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 18 2007, 02:14 PM)

Dark, I agree with Tennis Menace, it's much more energy sapping to serve and volley all the time, that's the point I was making in my previous post. It's much better to become an all court player - or an all court player using a serve and volley strategy as opposed to someone who just learns to serve and volley but cannot execute other facets of the game like return of serve which is equally important. That's why todays serve and volleyers like Myrni, Karlovic, Dent don't have good results because they cannot return serve to any standard cannot stay in rallies, so they chip and charge all day, which is as draining as serving and volleying all day.

Having said that, watching the most skillful volleyers is great. Sampras and Becker for instance constantly used the quality of their serve to engineer an opening. On the deuce court serving to the forehand and volleying into the open court for instance - thse guys were masters at actually thinking out a strategy before executing it, so that's why they were at the top for long. Rafter actualy got better as he got older, he didn't have the natural talent like the others but worked extremely hard on the kick serve and his backhand return and staying in the rallies for longer, consequently his grand slam meetings with Agassi are classics. He played his best Tennis in his mid to late 20s when most players now seem to play their best in their early 20s and start slowing down from around the age of 27 onwards.

:ok: Mirnyi and them actually look mindless at times and its very frustrating.Another question.Would you consider a doubles specialist a better volleyer than Sampras,lets say Woodforde,who was from that generation as well as Woodbridge and now Bjorkman.By the way Woodforde has been employed by Djokovic as a volley attack specialist.I mean WTF is that and a new job title out of the blue.

It is much harder serving and volleying.I recently completed my club league and it was mainly serve and volley man was I beat but i also used my baseline game to force points and it paid off.

Am I correct in saying laurie that the tactic you spoke about used by Becker and Sampras is you favourite play and form of attack?

That's a good question - what's my favourite tactic - ummm....

Well, thinking about it to watch these are some of my favouite plays.

This one was started by Lendl and employed by Sampras, on the ad court, serving a kicker to the backhand, getting the return then skipping back to make room and hitting the forehand down the line for a winner. Svetlana does that beautifully as well. So for instance, in 2002 during the Open Sampras brought this play back into his repotoire against Haas and Roddick and it worked beautifully - that's one of the plays he had stopped using in 2000 and 2001 but used a lot in his younger days. The Spanish guys do it too but not it in the same way like Sampras did, he had that beautiful movement where he skips around the ball and really lets fly of the racquet, Svetlana does that too - they do it with abandon almost.

Yes, I also love the serve to the forehand in the duece court, stretching the opponent and eitheir volleying into the open court or hitting a forehand into the open court, if the player tracks it down and throws up a lob, then boom! smash!

I also like thse two plays, Sampras used to hit the first volley to a good length making the opponent back off behind the basline to have to hit a passing shot, then hit a stop volley with the guy completely out of position, making him look a bit foolish.

I also like when a player is on the baseline, hits a drop shot, the opponent runs in tries to do something with it but gets passed or lobbed, more a clay tactic but works well on hardcourts too.

With my serve I aim for corners so I'm always looking to engineer an opening, not saying it always comes off but Tennis becomes cat ad mouse if you play that way because the returner has to respond. I aim for the corners because I put a lot of spin on the ball.

My other favourite tactic is the serve down the middle on the ad court - the proper slider, where the ball curves awayy from the forehand from the returner and straightens in line with the centre line judge, hitting the second serve down the middle with kick can always be a good surprsie tactic because nearly all players expect a second serve to the backhand - this is where Sampras and Becker really excelled throughout their career, getting a lot of second serve aces there too, classic example matchpoint at 1999 Wimbledon final - second serve ace at 113mph curving away from Agassi's forehand.

Watch carefully the next time you watch Roddick for instance, when he serves on the ad court to the forehand, his serve doesn't curve away with slice, it goes more in to the opponent's hitting zone, so he's more vulnerable. Like fast bowlers it's not pace that does it, it's deception. So Roddick and other guys may serve faster first serves, but skill wise it's not as good as Goran or Krajicek or Stich etc who learned the classic service motion standing close to the centre line and swinging the ball.

I've got too much time on my hands today! :dancer1:

You are clearly old school.Nice classic plays!

:ok:

Dark, this service game sums up what I like, the forehand down the line, the kick second serve to the forehand curving away (surprise tactic), a smash

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cJk8MUMWGEQ

As I don't post here much these days I haven't told you guys I've closed my Tennis DVD clips website last month. I've decided instead to put many of my matches on youtube. I've got about 15 there so far.

I will give you guys a list of matches I have on there later today. I will start my own thread on this because it's a big list!

I have to think of the appropriate place to start this, I have ATP and WTA matches.

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 20 2007, 12:53 PM)

Dark, this service game sums up what I like, the forehand down the line, the kick second serve to the forehand curving away (surprise tactic), a smash

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cJk8MUMWGEQ

As I don't post here much these days I haven't told you guys I've closed my Tennis DVD clips website last month. I've decided instead to put many of my matches on youtube. I've got about 15 there so far.

I will give you guys a list of matches I have on there later today. I will start my own thread on this because it's a big list!

I have to think of the appropriate place to start this, I have ATP and WTA matches.

Cant watch youtube here in the office.Its blocked as its against bank policy :angry: I hope you havent closed down your dvd business Laurie.I still have my list and have a few more matches that I want. :pray:

I do understand exactly what you mean with your choice of tactic. :ok:

Don't worry my classic Tennis matches site is going strong. I've even given it a more updated look.

http://www.classictennismatches.net/

You can watch the clip later at home.

The Kuznetsova site takes a lot of my time especially as she's been doing so well in the last month. Plus not everyone could see the clips on the Tennis DVD site so I figured if I put the matches on youtube, a lot more people will have access, the downside is the picture quality is not as good due to the compression they use. But I think that's ok. Plus I don't have to keep rotating my clips because youtube has unlimited space. So it was logical for me to go to youtube. I have much more time to concentrae on the Classic tennis matches site and the Svetlana Kuznetsova site.

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 20 2007, 01:16 PM)

Don't worry my classic Tennis matches site is going strong. I've even given it a more updated look.

http://www.classictennismatches.net/

You can watch the clip later at home.

The Kuznetsova site takes a lot of my time especially as she's been doing so well in the last month. Plus not everyone could see the clips on the Tennis DVD site so I figured if I put the matches on youtube, a lot more people will have access, the downside is the picture quality is not as good due to the compression they use. But I think that's ok. Plus I don't have to keep rotating my clips because youtube has unlimited space. So it was logical for me to go to youtube. I have much more time to concentrae on the Classic tennis matches site and the Svetlana Kuznetsova site.

Great! Please tell me you have some Lendl matches.I also want that classic Wimbledon with Mackers and Borg!

I want some great attacking matches where there was some superb all round tennis. :ok:

Svetlana has been doing well.I love the way she slated Maria this past weekend.LOL! You know how blunt she is!

I find this clip very interestig. We have here the best 2 SVers of the open era (though Sampras was very young) but it puts in perspective what was needed then to be a good SVer and what it would now.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfw9hRP0deI&...related&search=

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 20 2007, 05:21 AM)

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 20 2007, 01:16 PM)

Don't worry my classic Tennis matches site is going strong. I've even given it a more updated look.

http://www.classictennismatches.net/

You can watch the clip later at home.

The Kuznetsova site takes a lot of my time especially as she's been doing so well in the last month. Plus not everyone could see the clips on the Tennis DVD site so I figured if I put the matches on youtube, a lot more people will have access, the downside is the picture quality is not as good due to the compression they use. But I think that's ok. Plus I don't have to keep rotating my clips because youtube has unlimited space. So it was logical for me to go to youtube. I have much more time to concentrae on the Classic tennis matches site and the Svetlana Kuznetsova site.

Great! Please tell me you have some Lendl matches.I also want that classic Wimbledon with Mackers and Borg!

I want some great attacking matches where there was some superb all round tennis. :ok:

Svetlana has been doing well.I love the way she slated Maria this past weekend.LOL! You know how blunt she is!

I've acquired a lot of finals from the late 1980s to mid 1990s including some Navratlilova and Graf finals at Wimbledon and French Open. I also got the 1984 US Open final between McEnroe and Lendl.

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 20 2007, 02:07 PM)

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 20 2007, 05:21 AM)

QUOTE (laurie @ Sep 20 2007, 01:16 PM)

Don't worry my classic Tennis matches site is going strong. I've even given it a more updated look.

http://www.classictennismatches.net/

You can watch the clip later at home.

The Kuznetsova site takes a lot of my time especially as she's been doing so well in the last month. Plus not everyone could see the clips on the Tennis DVD site so I figured if I put the matches on youtube, a lot more people will have access, the downside is the picture quality is not as good due to the compression they use. But I think that's ok. Plus I don't have to keep rotating my clips because youtube has unlimited space. So it was logical for me to go to youtube. I have much more time to concentrae on the Classic tennis matches site and the Svetlana Kuznetsova site.

Great! Please tell me you have some Lendl matches.I also want that classic Wimbledon with Mackers and Borg!

I want some great attacking matches where there was some superb all round tennis. :ok:

Svetlana has been doing well.I love the way she slated Maria this past weekend.LOL! You know how blunt she is!

I've acquired a lot of finals from the late 1980s to mid 1990s including some Navratlilova and Graf finals at Wimbledon and French Open. I also got the 1984 US Open final between McEnroe and Lendl.

you must know that i want them then!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had a few tennis DVDs from Lauries and I highly recommend him for his Tennis collection. They are of excellent quality. If they are of older pictures, he will say.

Thank you Tenez, very kind of you.

QUOTE (Tenez @ Sep 20 2007, 02:16 PM)

I have had a few tennis DVDs from Lauries and I highly recommend him for his Tennis collection. They are of excellent quality. If they are of older pictures, he will say.

I have quite a bit from Tenez already and will not buy from anyone else.He is the best!

QUOTE (Dark_Necrofear @ Sep 20 2007, 06:20 AM)

QUOTE (Tenez @ Sep 20 2007, 02:16 PM)

I have had a few tennis DVDs from Lauries and I highly recommend him for his Tennis collection. They are of excellent quality. If they are of older pictures, he will say.

I have quite a bit from Tenez already and will not buy from anyone else.He is the best!

Tenez, you didn't tell me you went into the business ;)

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