Australian formation

[Jim Clark]

How to use it in serving and receiving and when to use it. How do you line up? How DO you use in receiving? Thoughts.

[cl76]

Are you talking about the "I" formation? Even in Aus you hardly ever see people using it.

[LeeD]

For serving, IF you opponents are returning sharp angled crosscourts totally consitently, you might employ Aussie. Net person camped at center of net, you stand on singles service position and hit the serves they return crosscourt before, but maybe NOW right at your netman. You serve and cover DTL as in singles, avoiding THEIR netman.
Barely better than 50% most times, as a good crosscourt returner can return DTL just as good, and you're team us now susceptible to crosscourt LOB returns, using the longest court and nearest to net netman to lob over....

[W Cats]

Use it serving from the Add court. Server is serving from the add side of the T. If netman is camped at the center of the net as LeeD describes it's known as an "I" formation. If netman has his left foot on the centerline it's known as the "I+" formation. The I+ more accurately bisects the returners angles. If netman is positioned at the add court service box it's know as the Aussi formation. The server covers the duce court. Advantage of Aussie if serve is to the backhand, is that it matches 2 forehands (yours and your partner)to a backhand if returner does not hit crosscourt lob or sharp cross court. Additionally if you serve and volley the middle land between your opponents is often open if they don't remember to adjust. Counter to the Aussi would be cross court lob, dipping cross court sharp angle, chip and charge. Hope this helps. Gary

[Nellie]

http://www.tennis.com/yourgame/masterclass/masterclass.aspx?id=142174

[LuckyR]

Naturally the Aussie formation is as described above. However, although it is technically vulnerable to lobs from a pencil and paper standpoint, returners who are great CC artists are often not all that great of lobbers, or even if they are OK lobbers will often choose to not hit one. And even if they do, part of the Aussie is making the returner hit a shot that they haven't grrooved to perfection in the previous two return games. Same with forcing the returner to hit DTL. It's not that the guy can't hit DTL, but he hasn't been practicing that shot all day.