TILDEN'S TACTICS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 140, 14 June 1924, Page 19

TILDEN'S TACTICS

HOW SPIN MAY JSE

SECURED

ITS EFFECT ON RETURNS

SPEED AND PACE AN ESSENTIAL OF THE GAME.

William T. Tilden, champion of the united States for four consecutive years .and acknowledged to be the world's foremost player, has been giving iliis views on the question ot spin, writes B. H. Liddell Hart in the "Manchester Guardian." As this is one of the most important factors in lawn tennis, and as Tilden is the supreme exponent of spin, 'the secrets of his success and his.opinions can hardly fail to be of interest and value to lawn tennis followers.

-As he points out, most tennis players look upon the ball as merely something to hit, a means to an end, not an individual factor like their opponent or their own form. Ho suggests that the ball should be regarded as a, third party, and that the issue will turn on which ot the players succeeds in gaining the help of this third party. "Suggest (with your racquet, not your tongue) that the ball curves this way or that and it obeys Every ball has an inside and outside edge every time it comes to you/ l_ admit that it is round, yet 'to the player the side nearest you is":its inside edge, and that away from you- its outside edge, and the edge you "hit determines the curve and spin on your return." '■•■..,■. LEADING OPPONENTS INTO ERRORS. The object of applying spin or curve to the ball is either to gain bfetter control of our shot or to fool our opponent. After pointing out that the ball is the factor :ri the game most affected by external conditions^-wind, heat, courtsurface—Tilden lays down, the old max|im: "Never give your opponent a, chance to make a shot he likes." tilden sees tennis as a form of war, and applies to it the conception? and skill of the strategist. The western frbnt idea of attacking the enemy at his strongest point and giving- him eve' Reliance to develop his heaviest armament was not war, nor is it tennis. Tilden declares that nothing upsets a man's physical and mental poise as to be continually led into error, and it is with this allpervading idea of the fcffect on the opponent that he advocates never making any stroke without a conscious, delit> crate, and intentional spin on the ball. Passing on to the fundamentals. of spin, he gives the reminder that the more spin the less wiil be the pace of the, shot. Top spin tends to drop: slice or cut spin tends to.rise. Spin may be applied either by a long followthrough, the soiihde?t method for ground strokes, or by a wrist movement, preferable in volleying. Jh hitting a slice or undercut shot the racquet passes under the-ball and clcser to the body, so that the curve or the bali.in flight tends .towards the side-lines, whereas top spin, where the racquethead is outside the ball and passes up and slightly over it, tends to curve the ball towards the centre of the court. The qualities of the two kinds of spin may be summed up by saying that top spin and undercut give greater control than the flat-hit shot, and that the former is offensive while the latter is defensive Against a volleyer, Tilden advocates that all passing bhots should be :hit •with top spin, because the quickly dropping, ball forces the opponent to volley upward from below the. level of the net, and because the reverse of its spin when .volleyed tends, to make the opponent's shot rise in the air. For a high lob, however, undercut is the better, as tlie ball stays longer in the air, whilst'the pulling-down .tendency often makes the opponent put his smash in the net. ■■

THE VALUE OF UNDER-CJUT.

Wheii both players are in the" bide court .Tilden considers that the difficult bound of the undercut shot makes it an equal weapon with the top-spir> drive; if forces more errors though it scores fewer outright points than the pace of the top-spin shot. The best game, however., is to mix the two forms. "I study my inaii, and lay hiy attack accordingly. I_form the basis of ihy gaihe oh a top-spin drive, using the slice shot to mix pace, speed, and d&pth," Tilden defines speed at the rate the ball travels through the air, and pace as the velocity with which it comes.off the, ground —dependent oh the weight put into the stroke. . "A sliding chop to the forehand of W. M; Johnston or R. N. Williams is fairly effective, whilst, against Wallace Johnson or Vincent- Richards it is a -waste of time; yet this shot will almost alone defeat Shimizu or Kuniagae, owing to their faulty forehand grip." As a general .principle Tildeh, advises slicing to a player who prefers a high-bounding bull to drive, and topspin driving to an exponent, of chops. Chopping, however, is difficult and "unsafe in a high wind; a soft court is an invitation to undercut the shots; a hard fast court favours the possessor of a speedy top-spin drive. The grass court surface Tilden considers ideal for the mixed-spin game, but some types of hard court handicap the iliced shotj and on wood, cement, or asphalt render it useless. • : ■

It is not sufficient to know how-to apply spin; its effect on tho probable return should also be understood. A slice to either corner will tend normally to come back down the siie-lin°, because it requires a special effort to pull it across court. Spin that holds th» ball low tends to make the opponent's return high. Conversely, your floater will probably return fast and low; Tilden is' emphatically opposed to exaggerated spin or freak ihots. They ar» soon mastered by the opponent and are tiring to execute, so that they are use^ ful only as an occasional surprise. Ease of stroke and;a lack of contortions are essential, Therefore, says Tilden, nse just enough spin to ensure your own control and to impair yojii- opponent's and put the rest of your effort.into speed and pace. . , ....;,.,,