Hitting with Maximaqq

30 seconds in, looks like Matt has changed his baseline game to more direction and angles, but he's still taking it easy here.
Never serve weak serves to Matt's forehand.
Never retrieve a wide ball and hit back to Matt's forehand, up the center.
Really work on your serve placements.
Move Matt, or he moves you.
Looks like Matt is working on a flatter, faster forehand.
 
Op, you need to open your mouth wider on the serve. :twisted:

Haha good playing. Looks like Matt's strokes were just a little too big for you.
 
The player in red has a damn good 1hb and great placement of the ball. The player in blue had a tough time but hung in there to make it competitive in the 2nd set, which is great after getting bageled in the 1st. Who's going to challenge LeeD now?
 
LOL...not even sure what to say after watching that. The guy in the red has a lot of holes in his game and you look like your just playing right into it.
 
Jusumman, Matt and I are going to hit around mid Sept. Happy?
He's at least mid 4.5 this summer, with lots of teaching and some tennis.
I"m still mid 4.0, been so for the past 20 years.
 
These two players are not even in the same league, the referee would have stopped the fight after 5 minutes. Both of you should be playing with guys of similar standard.
 
Attila_the_gorilla said:
These two players are not even in the same league, the referee would have stopped the fight after 5 minutes. Both of you should be playing with guys of similar standard.
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The best way to improve your game is to hit with better players. I'm no longer playing serious competitive tennis so I've turned more to the coaching aspect. OP is a young developing player who wants to move his game to the next level.
 
BIGJ98 said:
Here's a video of me playing a set with Maximaqq. I ended losing 0-6 and 4-6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkWrycCbrOk&list=UUAMbTeq_Edpx44kVK_V3MNw
This is a video of the first set and a half we played. Unfortunately the battery on the camera died so the footage Matt got was pretty sloppy. The second set was a lot better but Matt didn't get that on video. Any advice/tips would be welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
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You need to work on:

1. your serves. Matt's toss is so good. Learn from him.
2. Your returns.
 
Anyway, I promised BIGJ98 some tips that I told him during our set, but I'll say it again so it's easier to clarify and people can correct me on anything I stated incorrectly. I think he needs more extension towards the target on the groundstrokes, in particular the backhand. Too often, it seems like he is cramped on the strokes and this leaves the ball short. Against a good player, they are going to take advantage of this quickly because the only option when the stroke is that close in to the body is a weak short topspin reply. This is especially apparent in the return, when you have the least time to react.

Good drills to improve this would be the drop feed drills I always emphasize, but you can also perform little checks when you play. On the forehand, I personally try to extend the tip of the racket as far as possible towards the target and the face naturally closes as the forward part of the swing progresses. This ensures that you get enough length on your forehand and the closing of the racket face helps bring it back into the court. I don't have a two handed backhand, but a good tip is to try to fully straighten the left arm through contact and have the tip also point towards the target, then wrap around to complete the follow through.

Having a partner serve at you when they are at the service line is a good way to develop your return. I did this a lot because everyone was going after my 1HBH, and you saw in the match how I would target your backhand on every crucial point like mightyrick mentioned. For the most part, it worked in the 1st set and the first half of the 2nd because I felt you couldn't hurt me on that side because you couldn't get enough depth. Focus on the length of the follow through first and foremost.

Serve was actually pretty decent. I liked the kick you were getting on some of these. I don't have a great serve myself so let someone like LeeD and Topspin reply to this.

Movement wise, I felt needed to get set on a lot of these shots more and earlier on because on a few of the putaways you mentioned, you overcooked them. I did that plenty of times too so don't use me as an example haha. Watch a guy like Federer on his forehand. Federer absolutely crushes short balls, watch how fast his feet are in getting up to the ball. Make sure you are set with your legs so you can explode off it. Power comes from the ground up.

That's pretty much it from my side. Hopefully other people can analyze other things too.
 
Maximagq said:
LeeD and mightyrick (somewhat) were the only guys who gave the OP tips. He's asking for tips/advice guys.
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Advice and tips?

There is no advice you can give someone who is at least a full NTRP point below someone else -- except "Keep playing and get better".
 
Your serve technique looks pretty good, but do you notice where you're landing after you hit it? You're still behind the baseline. Sometimes you even finish farther back than where you began.

Ideally, you need to finish a foot or two inside of the baseline. That will get more of your body weight into the shot and make it a little more penetrating. That, in concert with your good spin, will make pretty tough serves.

I think Matt hit the nail on the head about extension on your groundies. You get good topspin, but leave far too many short. Even the ones you try to be really aggressive with end up being moonballs. Keep the upward motion of your serve, but make sure to plow through the ball as well.

A visualization some people use to help with this is the "hit 3 balls" idea. Just imagine that there are 2 other balls behind the ball you're hitting and you need to go through all of them.
 
Maximagq said:
Anyway, I promised BIGJ98 some tips that I told him during our set, but I'll say it again so it's easier to clarify and people can correct me on anything I stated incorrectly. I think he needs more extension towards the target on the groundstrokes, in particular the backhand. Too often, it seems like he is cramped on the strokes and this leaves the ball short. Against a good player, they are going to take advantage of this quickly because the only option when the stroke is that close in to the body is a weak short topspin reply. This is especially apparent in the return, when you have the least time to react.

Good drills to improve this would be the drop feed drills I always emphasize, but you can also perform little checks when you play. On the forehand, I personally try to extend the tip of the racket as far as possible towards the target and the face naturally closes as the forward part of the swing progresses. This ensures that you get enough length on your forehand and the closing of the racket face helps bring it back into the court. I don't have a two handed backhand, but a good tip is to try to fully straighten the left arm through contact and have the tip also point towards the target, then wrap around to complete the follow through.

Having a partner serve at you when they are at the service line is a good way to develop your return. I did this a lot because everyone was going after my 1HBH, and you saw in the match how I would target your backhand on every crucial point like mightyrick mentioned. For the most part, it worked in the 1st set and the first half of the 2nd because I felt you couldn't hurt me on that side because you couldn't get enough depth. Focus on the length of the follow through first and foremost.

Serve was actually pretty decent. I liked the kick you were getting on some of these. I don't have a great serve myself so let someone like LeeD and Topspin reply to this.

Movement wise, I felt needed to get set on a lot of these shots more and earlier on because on a few of the putaways you mentioned, you overcooked them. I did that plenty of times too so don't use me as an example haha. Watch a guy like Federer on his forehand. Federer absolutely crushes short balls, watch how fast his feet are in getting up to the ball. Make sure you are set with your legs so you can explode off it. Power comes from the ground up.

That's pretty much it from my side. Hopefully other people can analyze other things too.
Click to expand...

all good tips, maxima. as i've hit w/ bigj, the ones in bold are especially spot on.
 
BIGJ98 said:
Here's a video of me playing a set with Maximaqq. I ended losing 0-6 and 4-6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkWrycCbrOk&list=UUAMbTeq_Edpx44kVK_V3MNw
This is a video of the first set and a half we played. Unfortunately the battery on the camera died so the footage Matt got was pretty sloppy. The second set was a lot better but Matt didn't get that on video. Any advice/tips would be welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
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First off, good vid, thanks for posting. I like your game, and I think you can improve a lot in the near future. As far as tips/advice, my thoughts are as follows.

In general:

-Improve your positioning. When you've hit a defensive or floating shot against a guy who's hitting aggressively, you should retreat to give yourself a better chance to run down the next ball. This needs to happen as soon as you hit the ball. When you hit an aggressive shot, then move up tighter to, or even inside, the baseline and be ready to take the next ball early.

-Your defensive movement is too lateral. When Matt hits a good groundstroke deep and toward one of the sidelines, you tend to just run straight across the baseline to try to get there. You need to move back as you move in the direction of the shot, on an angle, to intercept the ball deeper. This will be a little more intuitive if you're following the "improve your positioning" part. Conversely, when he hits more of an angled ball, you want to move forward as you move across to cut it off before it gets lower and wider.

Watch the very first point Federer plays in this clip to see both of the above illustrated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpT8ZXJk3Y

Notice that after he hits the return, he recognizes that he's hit a defensive shot and he's playing against a guy who's looking to attack, so he immediately starts giving ground as he prepares to play the point. When Berdych hits the inside out forehand, Federer doesn't have to retreat too much because he's already at a reasonable defensive depth. After hitting another defensive shot, he again retreats because he's anticipating playing more defense. Berdych hits a big crosscourt forehand, and Federer quickly drops back at even more of an angle to put up the lob; if he had gone straight to his right, he probably isn't getting to that ball.

Against a good player like Matt, you're going to have to be able to commit to playing some defense when the situation calls for it, which in your case is going to be after hitting second serves, hitting serve returns, and of course any time the opponent hits a good offensive shot.

-Defensive shot selection. When you're stretched wide, give the ball more air to give yourself time to get back in position. Also easier to get it back deep when you hit that type of ball. If you're only able to hit a defensive ball short, try to keep it low, since a ball below the net is harder to attack.

On your serve:
-Need to get more first serves in. You missed quite a few in this vid. Even if you take something off of some of your first serves to get more in, it's less likely to be attacked than any second serve so long as you keep the guy honest by going after a first serve a reasonable percentage of the time.

-Related to the points in the general section above, but you need to move/react faster after you serve. Be ready; against a good player like Matt who's attacking a lot of your serves, especially your second serves, you should be dropping back into a defensive position immediately after serving if you feel that the serve you hit is likely to be attacked. This will depend on how the points are going. Conversely, when you hit a good aggressive serve, you should be on your toes, looking to move in a bit and attack the next ball.
 
HunterST said:
Your serve technique looks pretty good, but do you notice where you're landing after you hit it? You're still behind the baseline. Sometimes you even finish farther back than where you began.

Ideally, you need to finish a foot or two inside of the baseline. That will get more of your body weight into the shot and make it a little more penetrating. That, in concert with your good spin, will make pretty tough serves.

I think Matt hit the nail on the head about extension on your groundies. You get good topspin, but leave far too many short. Even the ones you try to be really aggressive with end up being moonballs. Keep the upward motion of your serve, but make sure to plow through the ball as well.

A visualization some people use to help with this is the "hit 3 balls" idea. Just imagine that there are 2 other balls behind the ball you're hitting and you need to go through all of them.
Click to expand...

from first hand experience, bigj hits a ball that's loaded with spin but can use more penetration. i think part of the reason why his groundies are heavily weighted towards spin vs penetration is because his coach teaches him to visualize "hitting up a ladder" vs "hit 3 balls".

hitting 3 balls would be good for him because it does 2 things - 1. gives him more pace and penetration, 2. takes time away from his opponent.
 
oh...thought i'd point out that bigj has only been playing for 2-3 years so i think he's progressing quite well. :)

bigj, keep working on your game! :)
 
Maximagq said:
Anyway, I promised BIGJ98 some tips that I told him during our set, but I'll say it again so it's easier to clarify and people can correct me on anything I stated incorrectly. I think he needs more extension towards the target on the groundstrokes, in particular the backhand. Too often, it seems like he is cramped on the strokes and this leaves the ball short. Against a good player, they are going to take advantage of this quickly because the only option when the stroke is that close in to the body is a weak short topspin reply. This is especially apparent in the return, when you have the least time to react.

Good drills to improve this would be the drop feed drills I always emphasize, but you can also perform little checks when you play. On the forehand, I personally try to extend the tip of the racket as far as possible towards the target and the face naturally closes as the forward part of the swing progresses. This ensures that you get enough length on your forehand and the closing of the racket face helps bring it back into the court. I don't have a two handed backhand, but a good tip is to try to fully straighten the left arm through contact and have the tip also point towards the target, then wrap around to complete the follow through.

Having a partner serve at you when they are at the service line is a good way to develop your return. I did this a lot because everyone was going after my 1HBH, and you saw in the match how I would target your backhand on every crucial point like mightyrick mentioned. For the most part, it worked in the 1st set and the first half of the 2nd because I felt you couldn't hurt me on that side because you couldn't get enough depth. Focus on the length of the follow through first and foremost.

Serve was actually pretty decent. I liked the kick you were getting on some of these. I don't have a great serve myself so let someone like LeeD and Topspin reply to this.

Movement wise, I felt needed to get set on a lot of these shots more and earlier on because on a few of the putaways you mentioned, you overcooked them. I did that plenty of times too so don't use me as an example haha. Watch a guy like Federer on his forehand. Federer absolutely crushes short balls, watch how fast his feet are in getting up to the ball. Make sure you are set with your legs so you can explode off it. Power comes from the ground up.

That's pretty much it from my side. Hopefully other people can analyze other things too.
Click to expand...
Thanks Maximaqq for the tips.
 
FitzRoy said:
First off, good vid, thanks for posting. I like your game, and I think you can improve a lot in the near future. As far as tips/advice, my thoughts are as follows.

In general:

-Improve your positioning. When you've hit a defensive or floating shot against a guy who's hitting aggressively, you should retreat to give yourself a better chance to run down the next ball. This needs to happen as soon as you hit the ball. When you hit an aggressive shot, then move up tighter to, or even inside, the baseline and be ready to take the next ball early.

-Your defensive movement is too lateral. When Matt hits a good groundstroke deep and toward one of the sidelines, you tend to just run straight across the baseline to try to get there. You need to move back as you move in the direction of the shot, on an angle, to intercept the ball deeper. This will be a little more intuitive if you're following the "improve your positioning" part. Conversely, when he hits more of an angled ball, you want to move forward as you move across to cut it off before it gets lower and wider.

Watch the very first point Federer plays in this clip to see both of the above illustrated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpT8ZXJk3Y

Notice that after he hits the return, he recognizes that he's hit a defensive shot and he's playing against a guy who's looking to attack, so he immediately starts giving ground as he prepares to play the point. When Berdych hits the inside out forehand, Federer doesn't have to retreat too much because he's already at a reasonable defensive depth. After hitting another defensive shot, he again retreats because he's anticipating playing more defense. Berdych hits a big crosscourt forehand, and Federer quickly drops back at even more of an angle to put up the lob; if he had gone straight to his right, he probably isn't getting to that ball.

Against a good player like Matt, you're going to have to be able to commit to playing some defense when the situation calls for it, which in your case is going to be after hitting second serves, hitting serve returns, and of course any time the opponent hits a good offensive shot.

-Defensive shot selection. When you're stretched wide, give the ball more air to give yourself time to get back in position. Also easier to get it back deep when you hit that type of ball. If you're only able to hit a defensive ball short, try to keep it low, since a ball below the net is harder to attack.

On your serve:
-Need to get more first serves in. You missed quite a few in this vid. Even if you take something off of some of your first serves to get more in, it's less likely to be attacked than any second serve so long as you keep the guy honest by going after a first serve a reasonable percentage of the time.

-Related to the points in the general section above, but you need to move/react faster after you serve. Be ready; against a good player like Matt who's attacking a lot of your serves, especially your second serves, you should be dropping back into a defensive position immediately after serving if you feel that the serve you hit is likely to be attacked. This will depend on how the points are going. Conversely, when you hit a good aggressive serve, you should be on your toes, looking to move in a bit and attack the next ball.
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Thanks Fitz. My footwork/positioning also is something I think can be improved a lot too. Yeah I do need to react better after I serve. Usually my serve does not get attacked like that though but Matt is a great player so he can attack it.
 
mad dog1 said:
from first hand experience, bigj hits a ball that's loaded with spin but can use more penetration. i think part of the reason why his groundies are heavily weighted towards spin vs penetration is because his coach teaches him to visualize "hitting up a ladder" vs "hit 3 balls".

hitting 3 balls would be good for him because it does 2 things - 1. gives him more pace and penetration, 2. takes time away from his opponent.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mad Dog. Yeah my game is centered around heavy topspin and grinding but I think I do need to drive my bh more and yeah I think hitting through 3 balls would help me a lot.
 
HotCarl said:
Lighten up. These boards became P.C. all of a sudden? I'm sure he's a great kid. But his gaping maw was the first thing I noticed. Not his strokes, not his footwork. His mouth. You can't tell me it doesn't look weird...
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i suggest you go back and re-read your post. making the recommendation to close the mouth wasn't the offensive part.
 
BIGJ98 said:
Thanks Fitz. My footwork/positioning also is something I think can be improved a lot too. Yeah I do need to react better after I serve. Usually my serve does not get attacked like that though but Matt is a great player so he can attack it.
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Yeah, I suspected as much - you get some good action and pace on that serve, so I'm not surprised that you aren't accustomed to having it attacked to the degree that Matt often was. That's exactly why it's good to play against very strong opponents now and then.

Did you feel like you were adjusting to it better in the second set? Obviously it's not on the vid, but you said that score was much closer, so I'd imagine you were making some adjustments there which is good.
 
FitzRoy said:
Yeah, I suspected as much - you get some good action and pace on that serve, so I'm not surprised that you aren't accustomed to having it attacked to the degree that Matt often was. That's exactly why it's good to play against very strong opponents now and then.

Did you feel like you were adjusting to it better in the second set? Obviously it's not on the vid, but you said that score was much closer, so I'd imagine you were making some adjustments there which is good.
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Yeah during the second set I was getting more first serves and also I got used to Matt's serve so I was getting a lot of returns back in play. Also I got used to Matt's ball and played higher % tennis .
 
Hey, just to give you a specific example of what I was talking about with the positioning and also the defensive movement, check your video at the point that starts at about 8:22.

Matt hits a second serve down the T, and you hit a return back. Your return isn't a short ball per se, but given the pace, direction, and depth that you've put on the ball, and especially considering the opponent's game, you'll want to assume that he's going to try to attack this ball, and that he's likely to do so effectively.

You take a step to recover to the middle, which is a step in the right direction (so to speak!), but you essentially maintain your position in terms of depth.

Instead, I think you'd want to have retreated several steps by the time Matt is hitting this next forehand. He hits a good aggressive ball down the line, but you'd have a better chance at getting to it if you had moved into a better, deeper defensive position immediately after making your return.

Notice also that you run basically straight sideways to try to retrieve it. If you had moved at an angle with a little more depth, you'd have a better chance to get that ball back into the court and make the opponent play another shot, and doing that could win you the point.

Anyway - I'm not trying to be over-critical here or nit-picky, but improving those little things like that can go a long way. It's something I've tried to work on a lot this summer and it really does help to win a few more points here and there
 
the ball slows down quite a bit from the impact with the court, so moving back buys you more time.

of course, against opponents that can hit sharp angles, you have to move forward diagonally to cut off the angle.

moving back can also help you get more serves back in play if you find yourself rushed.

fwiw, i have a pretty terrible return of serve and lazy footwork.
 
What does your coach say about your serve? I see a toss that's too high and not far enough forward, along with an exaggerated knee bend and a vertical leap up to contact. There should be a combination of upward leg drive, forward weight transfer, and coil/uncoil. You need more of the second one. BTW, I know I'm sounding a little overly harsh here. I like a lot about your game, and taking games off Matt having only played a couple years yourself is really impressive. Do you have a ranking?
 
Topspin Shot said:
What does your coach say about your serve? I see a toss that's too high and not far enough forward, along with an exaggerated knee bend and a vertical leap up to contact. There should be a combination of upward leg drive, forward weight transfer, and coil/uncoil. You need more of the second one. BTW, I know I'm sounding a little overly harsh here. I like a lot about your game, and taking games off Matt having only played a couple years yourself is really impressive. Do you have a ranking?
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Thanks Topspin. My coach says that toss and knee bend are ok but yeah he definitely says that I should coil my hips and explode into the court more. Right now I don't have a ranking but lately I've been improving a lot and I haven't been playing that many tournaments.
 
Only took a look at the first 2-3 minutes so I don't know if my observations would apply to your tendencies for the full 15 minutes of your video. You should hit your crosscourt shots more crosscourt (and deeper). You returned too many of your shots up the middle -- perhaps because Matt's shots were a bit too penetrating/challenging for you. He was moving you around a lot more than you were moving him -- he was easily able to maintain control of the rally even on your service games.

Overall, your serves appeared to be pretty decent but you could still do a bit more with them. Good knee bend (but perhaps more than you need) and a very good measure of leg drive. However, you should toss a bit more into the court so that you are driving forward as well as up into the ball on your serve. Your front foot should be landing in front of the baseline (especially with all that leg drive you are getting). Take a look at these images for a general idea about toss placement (depth) for 1st and 2nd serves:

toss-serve-placement1.jpg


On the 3 serves right after the 1-minute mark, your right leg kicks way off to the right and you are falling off to your left. See if you can get that right leg to kick up toward the back fence instead (even for your kick serves). This should help you to achieve optimal body rotations and a better transfer for your kinetic chain. It should also help to get that leg drive both upward and forward (instead of off to the left).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d5gDHp0GgOc/TgSkoj2cdqI/AAAAAAAAAEY/bNm_Bs3FBxE/s1600/demo_coria_serve.jpg

http://www.**************.org/Editor/Img/tennis-serve-img4498_668.jpg
 
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So kid played only 3 years and got 4 games off matt 2nd set? Ha ha..... Matt needs to practice more lol.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Only took a look at the first 2-3 minutes so I don't know if my observations would apply to your tendencies for the full 15 minutes of your video. You should hit your crosscourt shots more crosscourt (and deeper). You returned too many of your shots up the middle -- perhaps because Matt's shots were a bit too penetrating/challenging for you. He was moving you around a lot more than you were moving him -- he was easily able to maintain control of the rally even on your service games.

Overall, your serves appeared to be pretty decent but you could still do a bit more with them. Good knee bend (but perhaps more than you need) and a very good measure of leg drive. However, you should toss a bit more into the court so that you are driving forward as well as up into the ball on your serve. Your front foot should be landing in front of the baseline (especially with all that leg drive you are getting). Take a look at these images for a general idea about toss placement (depth) for 1st and 2nd serves:

toss-serve-placement1.jpg


On the 3 serves right after the 1-minute mark, your right leg kicks way off to the right and you are falling off to your left. See if you can get that right leg to kick up toward the back fence instead (even for your kick serves). This should help you to achieve optimal body rotations and a better transfer for your kinetic chain. It should also help to get that leg drive both upward and forward (instead of off to the left).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d5gDHp0GgOc/TgSkoj2cdqI/AAAAAAAAAEY/bNm_Bs3FBxE/s1600/demo_coria_serve.jpg

http://www.**************.org/Editor/Img/tennis-serve-img4498_668.jpg
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HEY! You stole my tip! :evil: I get credit if this wins him a tournament.

Haha, I like the pictures. They give a good visual of what he needs to try on his serve.
 
That was a fun video to watch, clearly one player is more experienced than the other. Always interesting watching someone's game grow.
 
Topspin Shot said:
Also IMO you're standing too far behind the baseline when returning Matt's serve.
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This is a good point. Unless OP is facing a big server (which I'm not), there is no reason for him to be standing that far back. The top returners like Djokovic, Connors, and Agassi stand/stood right on top of the baseline. This cuts off so much of the angle that the server can try to exploit.
 
BIGJ98 said:
Here's a video of me playing a set with Maximaqq. I ended losing 0-6 and 4-6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkWrycCbrOk&list=UUAMbTeq_Edpx44kVK_V3MNw
This is a video of the first set and a half we played. Unfortunately the battery on the camera died so the footage Matt got was pretty sloppy. The second set was a lot better but Matt didn't get that on video. Any advice/tips would be welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
Click to expand...

I'm curious how old you are and what level you play at.

My first impression was that you need to hit a more penetrating rally ball. You are rolling way too many into the middle of the court with nothing on them. Topspin is nice but top with no pace or depth equals a sitter.

I don't want to knock Matt's serve from a video, because I'm sure it's coming a lot faster than it looks. Still, you were way too far back returning what looked to be a pretty average serve. It's one thing to stand way back if you can blister the returns with a full stroke, but you were letting yourself get pushed around by them.

On serve, I though you started your motion from too open, ie facing net, position. Your motion looked pretty good. You just need more speed.

Your point construction definitely needs work. A good starting point would be the Wardlaw Directionals. Hitting the ball into the center of the court is probably a good play at 3.0 but at 4.5 it is point over. You might as well risk hitting it long because you will lose either way.
 
RetroSpin said:
I'm curious how old you are and what level you play at.

My first impression was that you need to hit a more penetrating rally ball. You are rolling way too many into the middle of the court with nothing on them. Topspin is nice but top with no pace or depth equals a sitter.

I don't want to knock Matt's serve from a video, because I'm sure it's coming a lot faster than it looks. Still, you were way too far back returning what looked to be a pretty average serve. It's one thing to stand way back if you can blister the returns with a full stroke, but you were letting yourself get pushed around by them.

On serve, I though you started your motion from too open, ie facing net, position. Your motion looked pretty good. You just need more speed.

Your point construction definitely needs work. A good starting point would be the Wardlaw Directionals. Hitting the ball into the center of the court is probably a good play at 3.0 but at 4.5 it is point over. You might as well risk hitting it long because you will lose either way.
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No offense taken haha. My serve needs a lot of work anyway and it's my worst shot overall IMO. What are Wardlaw Directionals?
 
RetroSpin said:
I'm curious how old you are and what level you play at.

My first impression was that you need to hit a more penetrating rally ball. You are rolling way too many into the middle of the court with nothing on them. Topspin is nice but top with no pace or depth equals a sitter.

I don't want to knock Matt's serve from a video, because I'm sure it's coming a lot faster than it looks. Still, you were way too far back returning what looked to be a pretty average serve. It's one thing to stand way back if you can blister the returns with a full stroke, but you were letting yourself get pushed around by them.

On serve, I though you started your motion from too open, ie facing net, position. Your motion looked pretty good. You just need more speed.

Your point construction definitely needs work. A good starting point would be the Wardlaw Directionals. Hitting the ball into the center of the court is probably a good play at 3.0 but at 4.5 it is point over. You might as well risk hitting it long because you will lose either way.
Click to expand...

i'll give you a hint...Big is the first name. J is the last name. And 98 is the birth year. :lol:
 
^ Wardlaw is good to know. It makes a distinction between inside shots and outside shots and give you a guideline as to when to change the direction of the ball. Note: for an I/O Fh, you are taking a shot the would be an outside shot to your Bh and run around it to make it an inside shot for your Fh. Capisce?

HunterST said:
HEY! You stole my tip! :evil: I get credit if this wins him a tournament.

Haha, I like the pictures. They give a good visual of what he needs to try on his serve.
Click to expand...

Didn't steal it so much as reinforced it. But, by all means, you get the credit for his win.
 
Last edited:
SystemicAnomaly said:
^ Wardlaw is good to know. It makes a distinction between inside shots and outside shots and give you a guideline as to when to change the direction of the ball. Note: for an I/O Fh, you are taking a shot the would be an outside shot to your Bh and run around it to make it an inside shot for your Fh. Capisce?
Click to expand...

The ironic thing about this direction "law" is the better you are, the more you break it. Basically, Nadal is gonna win by making all the impossible shots, shots that others can't make.
 
Hey Big, I sent you an email, can you tell me how you edit your videos? i just got a camera and filmed myself but still learning the rest..Thanks
 
user92626 said:
The ironic thing about this direction "law" is the better you are, the more you break it. Basically, Nadal is gonna win by making all the impossible shots, shots that others can't make.
Click to expand...

No, the higher the level of the player, the more they respect proper directionals and higher percentage shots. At low levels, you see people trying to create angles and shots that higher level players would not attempt. That is why they fly the ball long, shank balls, hit into the net, hit balls wide.

If you think Nadal wins by hitting impossible shots, then you don't know anything about his game.

Gulbis said it best after losing to Nadal in Rome, "He (Nadal) comes up with very solid play on important points. He didn't do anything special, I made all the mistakes, but you have to beat the guy. He's not going to give you anything free.... At the end when it counted, he just didn't miss. I don't know how good he played or how bad he played, he just didn't miss... and I missed."

Nadal doesn't win because of an impossible shot here or there. He wins because he grinds his opponents down physically and then digs in like a tick in the important points and plays super high-percentage tennis and defense.
 
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