THE “SMASH”

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 99, 21 January 1936, Page 14

THE “SMASH”

Advice by Fred Perry

"The smash is the thriller of the game.' says Fred Perry. "I have been told by a Wimbledon authority that one of Wimbledon’s greatest thrills came the year Gerald Patterson smashed his way to the world’s championship. But the smash also delights the smasher, and there is no greater thrill to me than burying a deep lob;” Many tennis experts have said that when smashing nt least one foot must remain on the ground. Tilden is one to expound this doctrine, but Perry strongly disagrees, for he says he has learned that the best overhead work can be obtained at the summit of a jump. .Height in smashing counts for much, and in jumping for the ball one gains anything from a few inches to 2ft.

Perry claims that be maintains his balance better when he takes the ball in the air. and Quist, holds the same ideas. Henri Cochet, Gerald Patterson and Ellsworth Vines all jumped for the smash. The similarity of Quist’s service and smash is striking, and with few exceptions the smash is made with the same grii> as the service. Most mistakes in smashing are due to faulty balance, which causes mistiming. Too often the shot is made with the weight of the body forward on the front foot throughout, and when the ball is hit there is a sudden lurch forward that tends to poor timing. Perry’s advice to all players is that they must practice solidly to be able to smash well. Throughout a match one seldom gets more than a dozen balls to smash. That is not enough to give one confidence to smash for the lines; “When training for the Wimbledon championships, I usually have twenty minutes, about twice a week, with the leading British professional. Dun Maskell, on smashing alone.” said Perry. "He alternates drives with lobs to keep me guessing, and I find this is the only way to keep ‘smashing lit,’ for so much depends on fast footwork to get tinder the ball and to be able to jump into the air with the weight of the body balanced back ready to be swung into the smash.”