LAWN TENNIS

NZ Truth, Issue 1105, 3 February 1927, Page 12

LAWN TENNIS

■ .: ■'■ ' •,■•':■■"■"■.; :■■ ■. -..■;";,'"■—— — ♦ " — — •: ■. u^iv^i^^tv Graft and Play Tactics :; .; i """-.'. . . XBy' "The^ Ball ; V One of the first essentials- to success m any game is to possess a very clear idea of what you ar e attempting 1 to do when playing".

rls surprising the number of players of lawn tennis who apparently ..consider that the virtue of the gaxne lies m keeping the ball going, ,a»a : that prolonged rallies >are the sign of a. good player or players. J" ■ This is all wrong, for your main ob- . Jec;t should be to prevent. your opponent from returning the ball over the . net at all, and even if <>you permit him. to do this^you are at least hoping that -his return ■•will' either go . out or be sufficiently weak to permit your sailing In with an ace shot and finishing the rally as rapidly as possible. Beginning with your service you must try arid place \he ball so as to' make, the next stroke as difficult as possible for your opponent. V Do not hesitate for instance, when finding your opponent . well behind his base-line, to drop a very slow and short ball just over the net. ;

. I mention this shot m particular for there" exists .a..v ery erroneous impr.ession that it is not sporting, and I have frequently heard a player apologise to his or her opponent for scoring a point m this. way. It is. not only perfectly legitimate to do this, but. it is a very excellent and nono too easy shot to achieve. • . The service is the beginning of your offensive; when . you serve you are launching your first line of attack and are consequently m a superior position to 'that of- your opponent whose line of action has of necessity to be moulded on- the effect .of service. It stands to ;reason\ therefore that it is obviously fatal to your chances m. a rally to ..start off ..with . a ;weak service. Whatever else, you do "take your time," and- .concentrate, all you know how, onto'the execution of this stroke and. 'the placing of the ball. If you .do not posses an exceptionally powerful service then you must cultivate placing and variety. The service is of far more use, or should I ;say far moro effective m doubles than m singles, though even m singles a well-placed and - varied service is of great value. Study at all times your opponent ; see where he is standing, find out •whether he -has a weak backhand or forehand and concentrate your attack accordingly.' . Under;' these circumstances £ry a short one over the net— keep him gu.essing--and; at all . costs avoid placing the ball m the same, place every time. •'■'•.. Probably the most effective service of the lot is the hard ball straight down the service line. '■ Practice it. POSITION ON COURT Many and many a really good stroke player loses an enormous, number of points and matches through Ignorance of the principles, of where to move to on the court. . . Like the majority of other games, the most effective position to take up on the court.comes only by experience. Some 'placers have this faculty well developed, .. outers, are always out of place. - Remember that it is far easier to run forward to' a ball than to run back, sq keep well back or outside your baseline. In running forward .to a shot you are adding the momentum of your body as well as the swing of the racquet to the power and pace of the stroke. If you are forced to run backwards to a shot your stroke is bound to be weaker. : i / Sound. play. from the base-line, is the concrete -foundation of a first-class player's game. I confidently- assert that' : a good, reliable base-liner will defeat' volleying every time. The only possible exception to this lies amongst players at the very top of the tennis tr.ee, and it is; by no means always untrue even of them. ' A. Very sound reason for this lies m the fact *hat the base-liner has got more time for his shots than the player who volleys, is far more less likely to be "off his game," and has more time to consider what to do with his return. A wholesale volley player appears to be more of \a. temperamental player than the cool and collected base-liner. On his game the volleyer is probably unplayable, but how often is he on it? To bring off a first-class winning volley certainly ] gives infinite pleasure to ' the player, r buf whether you are a volleyer by nature or temperament or not; you will m any case have to play a great many strokes off the ground, so.it behoves you to make these confidently and effectively.