Bread and butter serve

[Timbo's hopeless slice]

if you're not chasing ATP points, it's all rec tennis, actually...

I just kick it into the body as best I can, works all right.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by Timbo's hopeless slice

if you're not chasing ATP points, it's all rec tennis, actually...

I just kick it into the body as best I can, works all right.

Amen!

-Fuji

[LeeD]

I find some players, regardless of 3.5 or 5.5, can handle body shots really well, while some other's can not, almost fall over themselves trying to get out of their own way.
Makes a difference.
Same with the first serves. Some reach better to return, while other's have a spot in space then can defend REALLY well, while leaving other spots almost unguarded.
Or maybe I"m just overanalysing the situation, and I should just shut up and get in shape.

[J_R_B]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Kicker down the middle if my opponent does not have a huge forehand to take a whack at it.

Same here. I'll try to direct it wide to get it to the backhand if I'm getting killed on the forehand.

[Overdrive]

My second serve is still my first serve, except it's to the backhand if my opponent is right handed/weak backhand.
If left handed, forehand.
If he has equally good strokes, a serve to the body.

[maggmaster]

My second serve "kicker" probably comes about 5 feet off the court. It has enough movement to not get smacked, most of the time. At the open level I better be ready to scramble I try to get it into the body, if I feel really good I put it out wide on the ad.

[Ace of Aces]

Flat at the body in pressure situations. It forces your opponent to make a quick decision what to do with it instead of serving to one side or the other.

[NLBwell]

The most fun I have in my regular tennis routine is when I have a second serve break point down against my friend who has a tremendous 2H backhand serve return. I'll hit my kick serve to the backhand to the sideline. My strength against his. He knows what I'm going to do and it's just a question of how well I can do it. One-on-one, who is better? I love the challenge.

[dlam]

Originally Posted by S&V Specialist

Flat serve down the T. Stuns them mentally and allows for much easier deuce points. If for some reason my flat serve isn't seeming too reliable then I go with a kick serve to their backhand.

My flat ones tend to be long
I will try on the first serve but I have setup with racket bouncing ball to tossing hand to get the proper rhythm in my set up
The kick ones are more reliable as if I can clear the net and still spin in or if I hit the net cord it will spin in for a let
The flat ones there is less margin of error as the same clearance above the net on the flat serve might be long and if I hit net cord with a flatty serve it can bounce out
Someone as tall as Isner (who super tall) might be have more options and less margin of error

[S&V Specialist]

Originally Posted by dlam

My flat ones tend to be long
I will try on the first serve but I have setup with racket bouncing ball to tossing hand to get the proper rhythm in my set up
The kick ones are more reliable as if I can clear the net and still spin in or if I hit the net cord it will spin in for a let
The flat ones there is less margin of error as the same clearance above the net on the flat serve might be long and if I hit net cord with a flatty serve it can bounce out
Someone as tall as Isner (who super tall) might be have more options and less margin of error

If you really jump up and attack the ball way out in front of you, your margin for error increases greatly. Height is a large factor too. Deep knee bend and strong weight transfer allows you to create more leverage and thus more margin for error (not to mention the extra speed and higher bounce).

[rkelley]

Generally top/slice out wide. Toss well, bend the knees, swing big, and then trust that good things will happen. There are no guarantees on any shot.

[onehandbh]

regarding kick/topspin serve heights:
I think people are getting caught up with the "height." Where the max height
of the serve is on the court and the speed of the serve is important.
Many people can hit slow kickers that bounce head high, but they have so
little speed that the serve reaches head high before the baseline and will
bounce twice before hitting the back fence. I find that if I can get it head high
or higher at the baseline, it makes it harder for people to attack.

My bread and butter serve is the kicker out wide on the ad side so that's
where I'd hit at 30-40. At 40-30, I might try a slice down the middle.
I try not to use it too much, though or else it gets predictable.