Marc Lopez and Gronollier--doubles, Can Amateurs Learn from them?

[wihamilton]

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Lopez, little guy with weak serve, Gronollier--not exactly your most talented player on tour. and yet these guy beat the best in the world in doubles and proved, you don't need 130mph serves and 90 mph passing shots and returns to win at the highest level.

To all the experts like Fuzzy yellow ball and Jeff Salzenstein, What can we learn from these guys ? that can translate into USTA 4.5 or even 4.0 level doubles tennis ?

Hey!

So I've spoken a little bit with Bob & Mike Bryan about these two. Basically what the Bros said is that singles players tend to get right on the net to mask their weaker volleys. Often they'll guess where they think the ball is going to be, and if they guess right it's an easy put away volley.

There is A LOT of I-Formation going on. Not only does that make it tougher for the returner to pick a target for a normal return, but also the lob can lose effectiveness. If you lob to the side that the server is closing on, he could have an easy overhead or high volley.

Interestingly, the Bros almost never use I-Formation. They're bigger guys (6'4") and they said that makes them a little slower out of the crouched position you start the I in.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

As I am watching the davis cup. How does 5'9" Lopez hold serve so consistently with 100 mph or 90 mph 1st serve ? this is at the very highest level of ATP, we are talking about now.

He gets a lot of help from the net man, and the broader lesson here is that holding serve in doubles is a TEAM effort. The Bros show a lot of movement at net, whether they are poaching or not, to throw off the returner. Don't let him take a big rip, giving the server a very tough first volley.

Hope that helps!

- Will @ FYB