LAWN TENNIS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 29 November 1938, Page 7

LAWN TENNIS

BY DONALD BUDGE

(Copyright)

IIOW TO RETURN’ THE SERVICE A WORD ON VOLLEYING | (Fifth Instalment > I have often heard our top class play- I ers state that they would rather receive thq service of Vines, Perry and Tilden than serve to them. These three men return the services so well that they enjoy a fine psychological advantage over their opponents. This ability is a wonderful asset and its importance cannot be over emphasized. A good portion of the success of Fred Perry came from his well-developed service returns. It should be the purpose of the service return to offset the offensive advantage which belongs to the server. This may be accomplished either by a direct attempt to take the offensive or by a defensive move to keep the server from gaining the full benefit of his advantage. As the forehand is usually the stronger attacking stroke I believe that it I should be slightly favoured by the receiver. In other words he should stand a little bit to the left of the centre of the service court. This means that the server has a smaller portion of court in which to find his opponent’s weakest shot off the ground. It also allows the receiver to run around any slow serves to his backhand, take them on his forehand and often make a good forcing leturn. The distance at which the player stands from the service line to receive depends on several factors. The speed of the service, the amount of spin on the ball, the intention of the receiver and the quickness of his reflexes, all have an important bearing on the return. If the service is of average speed and the ability of the receiver about average, the best position is either on, or slightly to either side of, the base line. Against a powerful straight service it is often well to back up slightly. This gives the reiceiver a little extra time to judge and handle the ball. A service that is sharply angled and carries 'ots of spin presents a different problem. The ball breaks away from the court and the player. The farther back the receiver stands the greater amount of court he has to cover. Against this tpye it is best to stand in closer. If the receiver is keen to take the ball on the rise and make offensive thrusts off each serve he must also be •in closer. Seme players prefer to set up a defensive shot against powerful

services by standing in close and blocking flie ball back. The body should be slightly forward and crouched a little. The player should also be up on his toes all the time. These fundamentals enable him to get a quick start and deal with 1/te ball with the greatest efficiency. Most olayers use a safer method of delivery on their second serve This may take the form either of less pace br a greater amount of spin. The receiver. therefore, has a better chance to take over the offensive on the easier second serve. I usually move in closer. This is to worry the server a little and if possible to enable me to get to the net. should I succeed in making a forcing return. When the serve is placed well out of reach of the receiver he is often forced to scramble the ball back. Some players are in favour of a jump or lunge to cover the distance. I prefer to keep both feet on the ground and run or slide and stretch to get the shot. I advocate this practice because a ltjnge or jump is apt to destroy the sense of balance and cause the retriever to miss the shot even if he does get to the ball. A PROBLEM TO THE RECEIVER A net-rushing server is always a problem to the receiver, who is forced to i make an attempt to pass him a shot j that will bring an error. The receiver j has several alternatives in coping with this attack. Shots made straight down either line are always effective. The server must put his volley away or be prepared to cover the next shot from a position near the side line. I have found the backhand down the line bothersome to the net rusher. The receiver may use sharply angled returns to good advantage. Many net rushers have difficulty volleying angled returns. Most volleyers, however, make good shots straight down the receiver’s line from an angled return. For this reason I only use the shot to introduce variety. Against the net rusher one must also i keep the returns as low as possible, sometimes even at the expense of pace. Returns carrying top spin usually force the server to volley the ball up. as it drops rapidly after clearing the net. Flat shots of low trajectory achieve the same purpose to some extent. The leturn should never be high. Shots above the waist of the volleyer are usually dealt with severely.

The main object in making the return to the net rusher is to keep him guessing as to what is coming next. The best programme is to mix shots down the line with angled returns, ancT to avoid any fixed programme or rotation ot plays. Look for weakness in the net game of your opponent and try to pave the way for effective stabs at those points.

A well-timed lob can cause the net attacker a great amount of discomfort George Lott was one of the leading disciples of this form of strategy. His low, fast-bouncing lobs were very difficult to handle. The lob should not be overdone, however, as most net players are well able to cope with them. They are most useful when bringing into the play the clement of surprise. Against an average opponent a steady lobbing attack is more often than not disastrous to the Jobber.

' The server who remains off the basei line presents a different problem. The i receiver has an opportunity to put the , ball back in play and bide his time to go to the net. I believe that the return i should be a deep well-placed shot, usually to the weaker side of the serIver. In this way he may be forced into making a shot which offers a better chance for a sally to the net than his service does. Against a baseliner, as well, the returns must be varied; no set programme is practical.

! The best way to cope with a basej liner is either to attack from the net i or draw him into it. I usually attempt the former practice. It pays to refrain from becoming over anxious to attack. It is best to rally with your opponent j until he makes a shot well inside the ! baesline. The tactics must depend j on the soundness of the server in the

different departments. Sometimes in the case of a player whose serve is less severe it is better to try the forcing shot from the service return, as that is more apt to be an easier shot than would result from a base line exchange. Whatever method the receiver uses he should remember to mix his shots and confuse and surprise his opponent whenever possible. Make the server run and by all means lake the offensive away from him at every opportunity.

THE VOLLEY The volley is one of the most important phases of the game. It is so important that some players—among them Borotra —have reached the top :y concentrating on little but the net game. In other cases it has proven the spark which, when added to a sound combination of ground strokes, has urod iced a game of championship class. The purpose of advancing to the net to make the volley is to score a placement or to force the opponent into error. As a player stationed at the centre of the net is able to cover all the court except for one or two feet down either sideline (excluding, for the present. the possibility of the lob) he obviously gives his opponent very little space to hit into. The opponent, who is faced with this problem, often tries for this small sideline opening, and makes errors.

If the opponent’s shot is within reach of the volleyer a chance often comes to the latter to score with a placement. The volley is also a means of avoiding long and tedious rallies with confirmed baseliners. A sally to the net usually speeds up the play and forces the issue. Volleying offers a variety of shots. There are balls below the level of the net. balls between the level of the net and the shoulders and balls over the head. All of these can be hit to either side of the net player which means he must perfect a variety of weapons to handle them. The grips used in volleying are the same as those previously listed in referring to the ground strokes. I prefer to use the same Eastern grips, except that I do not place my thumb up the back of the racquet handle in making the backhand volley. The Continental and Western grips have been used successfully for volleying, but I oppose them because there is a tendency to hit under the ball with the former and a great difficulty in handling low shots with the latter.

The position of the racquet is very important in volleying. The head should, In every possible case, be kept above the level of the wrist. This is, of course, impossible on really low shots, which must be excepted from this rule. It is a fine principle to follow on all other occasions and the volleyer should not hesitate to crouch to secure the proper positions for the racquet. POSITION AT THE NET The volleyer must be careful about his position at the net. His stance should always leave him facing it, because he may then make a shot from either wing. A few steps to either side enables him to cover almost any shot, assuming that he is in the centre of the court and as close to the net as possible. The latter is important because it enables him to hit forcefully down on the balls. Some players are very much afraid of the possibility of a lob over their heads, and therefore reluctant to go in far enough. A lob is seldom fast and unless the net player is completely surprised the possibility of such a shot getting away from him is remote. The volleyer must remember in reaching for shots either side that it is more difficult on the forehand than cn the backhand to handle the ball decisively and forcefully. As the volleyer turns sidewise to make his steps, he places his racquet farther from the ball in the case of the forehand stroke, making it more difficult to hit down on the ball. To offset this disadvantage he must be quicker in his movements to this side. Some players prefer to stand a little more towards the right side line. The weight must go into the shot just the same as in making the ground strokes, that is, from the back part of the body forward into the ball. This must often be accomplished under difficulty. The net player has less time to get set for hit shots and must often nit. the ball while still facing the net. Regardless of his stance he must remember first to get his weight behind the ball and then transfer it into the shot. In the volley the wrist bends back, slightly but locks and stiffens when the stroke brings the racket straight with the forearm. This should be the point of impact with the ball. An added punch is given to the stroke by the reinforcement of forearm and shoulder which imparts speed to the ball.

The ball should be met as far in front of the volleyer as possible and as high as possible. The first gives him more of a chance to make a well-angled shot, and the height is important because it allows h.' .1 to hit down over the net, which means more speed and more safety. The swing of the racket in the volley is much shorter than in the other strokes. The usual low shot or block type of volley is made with a very short back-swing and little follow through. Now I believe that this prac-

tice is quite correct on shots that must be hit up over the net or shots that are made on the spur of the moment as it were. However, on the horizontal shots, shoulder high or slightly lower, 1 prefer to make a longer swing. Such fine volleyeis as Vines, Allison, and Mako use more severity on these high shots, playing what 1 call the "kill” volley. I have patterned my shot after that used by Vines. 1 start the back-swing with the same loop used in the forehand drive. However, instead of carrying the racquet ' - back and bringing it forward level with the flight of the ball the forward swing starts from the height of the loop. The racquet is brought forward and down on the ball with fiat, open face. The result is a great deal of speed and force. There is less chance of your opponent oven getting his racquet to the ball and in doubles it very much discourages your opponents from attempting to take the net away from you. A little follow through is needed on the shot but not as much as in the case of the forehand drive. Many ot me young players are attempting to speed up their games by one variation or another of the kill volley. 1 believe that it is an important possibility in net playing arid fee) that its use has greatly increased the efficacy of my net play.