I don't need to hit accurately

S&V-not_dead_yet said:
I think that analysis gets more and more accurate the higher the level. At median rec level around 3.5, S&V is effective because, in spite of the technology, people aren't utilizing it optimally. I'd say the technology advantage is dwarfed by the 3 Fs [footwork, focus, fitness, and spacing].
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I agree SnV can be very effective at low and high rec levels, just not at the pro level which has been proven for over the last 20 years.
 
IowaGuy said:
16 years actually, but who's counting :) (Ivanisevic 2001 Wimbledon and Sampras 2002 US Open)
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There still weren’t very many SnV guys back then. But hey if you like that style you just need to find all the matches from a few decades back and then you can enjoy watching your favorite style of tennis.
 
tlm said:
There still weren’t very many SnV guys back then. But hey if you like that style you just need to find all the matches from a few decades back and then you can enjoy watching your favorite style of tennis.
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I don't need to watch it, I play it quite often myself :-)

If you're ever in NC, hit me up and we'll spray some balls...
 
TTMR said:
Nadal's topspin is less effective on grass. Does that mean his strategy was ineffective? No, only his execution was. If he hit harder, with more topspin, he would have prevailed. Perhaps Nadal is no longer able to generate the topspin and pace he used to, which would explain his decline on grass. His muscle mass has declined compared to his youth, and his footspeed is slower, preventing him from transitioning from defense to offense as well as he could in the past.
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Do you even read what you write? If only Nadal would hit harder and with more spin. Lmao. Maybe you should call Uncle Tony and hip him too that.

Serve and volley is an effective strategy on faster courts. Since the courts are slower at the majors and bounce higher its not as easy to win with. If all the majors were indoor and on carpet the top 10 would look very very different and more would play serve and volley. But the ATP banned fast carpet courts to avoid aces. And since most rec courts still play fast, its a viable strategy at least on hard courts.
 
tlm said:
I’ve been hearing this dream for 15 years now and still nothing to even close to confirming it. Sorry but the extreme topspin and angles that can be hit today do have a lot to do with SnV’s death.
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The only thing the extreme topspin strokes of today’s players killed is the chance for those players to displace the generation of players ahead of them. Lots spin and pace, but not enough accuracy to win a slam against old broken-down geezers.
 
travlerajm said:
The only thing the extreme topspin strokes of today’s players killed is the chance for those players to displace the generation of players ahead of them. Lots spin and pace, but not enough accuracy to win a slam against old broken-down geezers.
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I can’t deny that there is nobody stepping up in the new batch of players, but I think that is more of a mental problem as opposed to their ability.
 
Shroud said:
Do you even read what you write? If only Nadal would hit harder and with more spin. Lmao. Maybe you should call Uncle Tony and hip him too that.

Serve and volley is an effective strategy on faster courts. Since the courts are slower at the majors and bounce higher its not as easy to win with. If all the majors were indoor and on carpet the top 10 would look very very different and more would play serve and volley. But the ATP banned fast carpet courts to avoid aces. And since most rec courts still play fast, its a viable strategy at least on hard courts.
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Actually they did not ban carpet courts, they just fell out of favour with the ATP over indoor HCs because of injury concerns and standardisation. IIRC, a lot of players didn't like indoor carpet either.
 
To me, WTA used to be moonballing. But then I felt it changed to just hitting as hard as possible, with no aim... a bit like what OP here suggests. Gladly, I think I've seen a change in that for the better. Just hitting hard is not the best recipe in ATP tennis.

As a kid, with my small racket and the old style strings, I it all shots quite flat. 20 years later I got back. Changed to SW grip, hitting top spin 2nd serves etc. Poly changed my game for sure. I played a couple of sets of doubles with an old Rossignol with multis this past winter, quite succesfully for my standard of doubles. But had to play eastern grip flat (and continental slice) forehands, as my regular forehands flew WAY out, serves were flat aiming for a spot rather than speed or spin.

I think I was better at aiming my forehand before in EE grip, it was a flatter shot with aimed at a clear spot on the court. Now I hit a heavier ball, which lands in, more angles, but I am more likely to surprise myself of the shot than before. More effective, but different.

For me, I think there will always be somebody who hits harder or/and moves better. And my A-game is not always there. So the play I need to play depends.
 
tlm said:
I’ve been hearing this dream for 15 years now and still nothing to even close to confirming it. Sorry but the extreme topspin and angles that can be hit today do have a lot to do with SnV’s death.
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Just return those fast courts at GS's and Masters like they were once in the past, and watch a miraculous comeback of S&V.
Court speed was manipulated at highest level tournaments like 1000, 500 and GS. And ATP/ITF are bunch of liars if they claim they didn't have anything with this.

tlm said:
I agree SnV can be very effective at low and high rec levels, just not at the pro level which has been proven for over the last 20 years.
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Then look what happens at grass tournaments outside of Wimby (which is now about the speed of RG lol), or at fast courts like Doha and similar.
 
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TTMR said:
Why do coaches still teach targeting, inside-out, inside-in, outside-in, upside down shots these days?
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Coz repetition supports consistency, and you'll often find yourself in a position to need to be able to naturally, and most efficiently & effectively, hit those targets. Among many other things, Federer literally spends hours practicing tweener shots, in between the legs, running towards the back court, back handed volleys, etc, etc.
TTMR said:
I just hit hard with a tonne of topspin and the ball lands in and the topspin accelerates the ball off the bounce with power. If I find I'm hitting long, I hit the ball harder. The harder I hit it, the more topspin I generate, the less drive and more arc I get with my shot, the less likely I am to hit out. Even depth doesn't matter too much. I can hit a hard deep shot and risk it going long, or hit a shorter shot harder and back up or jam my opponent on the bounce. I don't even really aim anymore. I just hit the ball as hard as possible and let physics do the rest.
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What's your Forehand Grip?
 
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TTMR said:
Why do coaches still teach targeting, inside-out, inside-in, outside-in, upside down shots these days? Sure, I could understand in times past, when you had a minuscule racquet and inflexible strings, that hitting accurately was crucial in baseline rallies or setting up points. However, with the advent of the new racquets and strings, players discovered topspin. And yet, a lot of coaches are still using antiquated techniques from the days of flat drive hitting and targeting by deceleration.

I don't need to hit accurately. I just hit hard with a tonne of topspin and the ball lands in and the topspin accelerates the ball off the bounce with power. If I find I'm hitting long, I hit the ball harder. The harder I hit it, the more topspin I generate, the less drive and more arc I get with my shot, the less likely I am to hit out. Even depth doesn't matter too much. I can hit a hard deep shot and risk it going long, or hit a shorter shot harder and back up or jam my opponent on the bounce. I don't even really aim anymore. I just hit the ball as hard as possible and let physics do the rest.
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You need to step up your troll game. Not nearly as good as your past work.
 
You should also incorporate the technique of humiliating your opponent by hitting bombs directly at him, so that he feels like he has no chance of winning, even when he GETS to hit the ball.
If you encounter a formidable opponent who can hit missiles back, you'll then need to unleash your next level shots back: rockets.
 
jz000 said:
You should also incorporate the technique of humiliating your opponent by hitting bombs directly at him, so that he feels like he has no chance of winning, even when he GETS to hit the ball.
If you encounter a formidable opponent who can hit missiles back, you'll then need to unleash your next level shots back: rockets.
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The military, I see.
 
Bender said:
From what I gather, it sounds more like they phased them out rather than ban them. The WTA still has one tournament held on carpet, and the challengers definitely have them too IIRC.
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I can't translate very accurately (especially since I don't need accuracy, so I never trained it), but "prohíbe" sounds a lot like "bans" to me. The fact carpet still exists in the WTA and Challenger Tours might be due to them being held by different organizations. That said, in the article it's reported that Dent did declare their major reasons for removing carpet are homogenizing the surfaces and reducing injuries, but lenghtening the points (well, reducing aces) is also named.

As for players disliking it, there will always be for any surface, but people usually need to raise their voice if they have a problem with something rather than if they like things as they are now, and that makes people's discontent sound a lot bigger than it actually is, in my opinion. The article, in fact, actually mentions comments from Tsonga and Ancic, as they opposed to carpet courts fading away (I enjoyed what I could grasp from Jo's snarky comment). Before the issue was brought up, I don't think they went to journalists claiming that they liked carpet courts as they were and would have opposed if someone asked for their removal.
 
Morch Us said:
Really, wow that is a new amazing way to hit a drop shot. I got a new name for the technique HTDP (heavy topspin drop shot).
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I've calculated my drop shot to be 7,200 RPM. Strictly speaking, it's the hardest shot I hit. Again, it's all about racquet head speed.
 
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