My first serve is just a faster second serve

[Wes_Loves_Dunlop]

Is this okay? Since my flat serve is very inconsistent in speed and percentage, i decided to use a topspin serve for my first serve. It worked out very well, i have to say it weird but i got a faster serve speed with my topspin serve and even aced people a couple times (something i could never do).

My second serve is just a toned down first serve with some slice added into it.

Is it acceptable as my first serve?

 

[larry10s]

very acceptable. now work on accuracy of placement and work on your flat serve. occasionaly at 30- love 40-15 (you get the idea) throw in the flat one since you have confidence in your 2nd serve. this will surprise your opponent .try for body serve (center of service box) biggest margin of error until you can control it.

 

[wyutani]

no gd, you realise in the long run, you'll get broken more often than someone who has a faster 1st serve.

 

[kcmiser]

I very recently switched to something like this, and am having surprising success against 3.5 to 4.0 players. I'm winding up with my back more to the target than normal, and hitting more upward than I used to, but still hitting it very aggressively. My percentage is way up,and I'm more consistent day to day, but the big surprise is that my opponents are having trouble with it. It doesn't really look as impressive as when I flatten it out, but talking to my opponents, they say it's tough to judge and it can get out of their strike zone. I didn't think I could S&V with it, but the rapidly rising ball seems to be more difficult for them to keep down than the flatter serve.

I'd say experiment, and ask your opponents what they thought after you play. Some spin serves hit and set up for a returner, and others seem to hop up less predictably and are tougher to handle.

Lastly, as Larry10s suggested, why not use both? Don't give your opponent the same look every time. Your flatter serve will be much more dangerous if your opponent isn't grooved for it.

 

[Wes_Loves_Dunlop]

Oh, of course i use both, but on close points i use my topspin serve. Its not like its a slow floater, its very fast and accurate. i could move it around easily with the same toss and can use a slice serve also.

 

[SethIMcClaine]

My second serve is usually the same as my first if that gives you any light. After I hit my first serve I can usually get some idea of how to adjust to correct my serve instead of changing everything up and throwing everything off. My first serve is almost a warm up, except when it goes it

 

[2ndServe]

I say it's a good strategy up to 5.5 level. And the best strategy if you play doubles

 

[BU-Tennis]

no gd, you realise in the long run, you'll get broken more often than someone who has a faster 1st serve.

This is improper advice. Even though you need pace with your serve, if it is inconsistent then this means nothing, and your opponent relaxs, and you get nervous because you're hitting seconds serves all the time. Until you can hit 50% first serves, then stick with a more reliable one. I often tell players when their first serve is missing alot to just hit a really aggressive second serve, which is usually a kick/slice serve. The results are usually very awesome, because players tend to swing to slow on their second serves anyway, especially on a kick or twist serve, they now don't feel stressed at swinging out because they get another chance afterwards.

Stick with this, and work on your flatter more pacey serve during practice and put it to use when its ready.

 

[naylor]

I very recently switched to something like this, and am having surprising success against 3.5 to 4.0 players... hitting it very aggressively... the big surprise is that my opponents are having trouble with it... they say it's tough to judge and it can get out of their strike zone. I didn't think I could S&V with it, but the rapidly rising ball seems to be more difficult for them to keep down than the flatter serve...

Agree entirely. I play men's / mixed doubles during the winter season, and the standard is 3.0 - 4.0 (mine hovers in the 4.0 - 4.5 range, and I would regard myself as a doubles specialist). I vary my serve between topspin-slice, topspin and kicker (seldom bother with flat), and can place it pretty much anywhere, deep on the service line from T to wide corner, from both sides. My first serves are just more aggressive second serves, where I try to move the ball away even more, or I aim for half-way up the sideline in the service box. Overall, my first serve %age is over 75% and in 12 matches this season I have only been broken once (serving for the match - I started flattening it, doh!). Yesterday, in two matches, I only faced one break point against my serve, and never double-faulted.

Hence, my advice is - get yourself an extremely good, reliable second serve, and that will open up plenty of options for your first serve.

 

[GuyClinch]

Its fine. You can use the same serve all the time if you have good stuff. Your like a Mariano Rivera.. I like to mix it up but my stuff isn't that great.

 

[OTMPut]

Why not? No point serving flat bombs if you are getting about 50% in.

 

[raiden031]

In my opinion it is very difficult to hit topspin/kick serves that are difficult for opponents to return if your opponent is above say a 3.5 player. I'm a lousy returner and can return kick serves alot better because they give me extra time that I need, but hard flat serves tear me apart because I can't track them well due to the speed and I mishit them or hit a weak blocked return.

With that being said, I think if your percentages are low for the flat serves, you have no choice but to hit more topspin first serves while concurrently developing your flat serves in practice and hitting flat serves when you are leading 30-love, 40-15 as someone else said. I never hit flat first serves when I'm down in a service game because realistically the percentages aren't where they need to be, but I'm frequently hitting flat serves with my hopper to fix this. They are the more effective serve and when my flat serves go in, I don't get broke.

 

[fuzz nation]

I very recently switched to something like this, and am having surprising success against 3.5 to 4.0 players. I'm winding up with my back more to the target than normal, and hitting more upward than I used to, but still hitting it very aggressively. My percentage is way up,and I'm more consistent day to day, but the big surprise is that my opponents are having trouble with it. It doesn't really look as impressive as when I flatten it out, but talking to my opponents, they say it's tough to judge and it can get out of their strike zone. I didn't think I could S&V with it, but the rapidly rising ball seems to be more difficult for them to keep down than the flatter serve.

Actually, you can get another step in toward the net and also enjoy some weak returns off those mildly slower, more unpredictable kickers. The spin on your serve will also help you to stretch an opponent to either side, since you can serve into bigger angles and this can make for a huge advantage when S&V'ing.

An occasional heater can keep an opponent honest and force them to give you a little room, at least on your first serve, but a funky spinner can induce lots of tentative returns and they can be a lot more reliable.

Wes: you've had the big revelation! Now you can serve with pace, consistency, and also some variety. This can leave more opponents guessing and help you to at least start more points in control. A bit of spin can make a relatively hot serve much more reliable (no mystery there, right?), but it will take a lot of pressure off of you when you can land a lot more first serves.

You may even find that your first and second serves become a lot more similar with the exception of placement. Both serves need a good deliberate motion to make pace or spin, but the second ball just needs to be hit into a little wider margin for error than your first serve, which you might want to tuck in closer to the center or sideline. Eventually, these different serves will be even more effective when you develop a similar delivery for all of them. Future project: learning the art of disguise.

 

[jmverdugo]

Go for it, you have to play and set up strategies according to your strenghts. I usually do not hit flat bombs unless I am 40 love or something like that. A good kick or slice serve may not give you an ace but it will certainly wont be an easy serve to return, so your mentallity should be: spin in the first serve, start the point and work from there. Also not many people attack the first serve. People like Verdasco, Davydenko and Nadal play like this, also as other have said, in doubles is a really good strategy.

 

[herosol]

10char10char10char

 

[LeeD]

You gotta use what works for you, period.
If you can't hit a flat fast serve, you gotta work on the spin first serve with good placement, movement, and varied depth.
Some OK players, like Edberg, Chang, Agassi, Connors, never really had good consistent flat first serves, and they played at a decent level.
But without a good first serve, you better be able to react quickly and effectively to a strong return of serve coming at you.......

 

[Sephiroth619]

Nadal's first and second serve are the same, minus the first serve being a little faster. Look where it's taken him. As many have mentioned already, use what works best for you. BTW, I'm in the same camp.

 

[masterxfob]

i don't think there's a big difference in speed between my first and second serve. i usually go more for the corners or down the T for my first, then for the second serve, i'll give myself room for error and just aim for the fh or bh.

 

[TENNIS_IS_FUN]

Is this okay? Since my flat serve is very inconsistent in speed and percentage, i decided to use a topspin serve for my first serve. It worked out very well, i have to say it weird but i got a faster serve speed with my topspin serve and even aced people a couple times (something i could never do).

My second serve is just a toned down first serve with some slice added into it.

Is it acceptable as my first serve?

When i was still a tennis noob i started out by blasting my first serve (really uncontrolled it was pretty much a 10% chance of going in) then love tapping my 2nd...this was when i was a reserve for my team. Then i discovered the kick serve and used the same exact kick serve for my first / second serve and rarely double faulted. As i got better and played against better opponents, my serve was causing me to get broken too easily...this was when i opted to practice a strong hard flat serve and then use the kick as a second serve. This is the combo that most people use. I heard a saying that went like this: "You are only as good as your second serve." I cannot agree more. What you don't want to do is blast your first serve then follow it up with a second serve that is flat and low with minor spin just to put it on. A second serve should have very high net clearance WITHOUT it being a dink serve...it should also be effective (no freebies!).

 

[Ultra2HolyGrail]

Why not? No point serving flat bombs if you are getting about 50% in.

50% is actually not a bad number if you could get flat serves in. If you can get a high percentage of second serves in, or rarely double fault, than you should atleast try to hit them flat serves. But i would say most people don't even get 50% in. Not many are going to get their hardest serves in. Pros like sampras and federer are not really hitting their hardest, they hit with alot of spin, even their flat serves have some spin, to help with control.

Every player is different when it comes to how much they rely on their serves or how big of a weapon it is for them.