Kyrgios made history? First point won by underhand serve!
- Thread starter Tennease
- Start date
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Chang won the point with this underhand serve, but not on the serve itself. Not sure if that meets your criterion?
helterskelter
G.O.A.T.
It also wasn’t his first service point of the match but deep into set five, if I recall. I didn’t watch today but I think it was Kyrgios’s opening service point.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
OK, I misunderstood your post. I interpreted it as Nick hitting the first point won by an underhand serve in the Open era. Not the first point of the match.
Tennease
Legend
I am talking about winning an opening point of a match with underhand serve.
Kyrgios didn't ace the underhand serve, but won the point with forehand crosscourt.
Mark Asher
Rookie
Nadal returns from such a deep position I've always wondered why more players don't try to slip a dink serve in. You hit it right I don't think Nadal gets there in time.
Mark Asher
Rookie
Players take medical breaks all the time just to throw off their opponents. I don't see this as any different.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
I disagree. Do whatever works.
If an opponent stands 150 thousand feet behind the baseline drop shot the S out of him.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Back then it was considered unladylike for women to serve overarm.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
are you insinuating that Kyrgios is ladylike?
Mainad
Bionic Poster
His good friend Andy has trained him well.
tennishabit
Legend
why worry abt this guy's option whatever he chose:?)))..........i watched the ytb highlights of the match, entertaining, m8..............wining or losing or watever dere dat's btw him n his opponent n million miles away from me. only thing close 2 me was enjoy watching n hv a laugh, m8...................
if dere's anything bejond enjoy watching w/ laughs, i might or might not learn something from dis guy n wish all the best 2 him as only a few hundreds real tennis player out there competing in the whole world, out of ~100 mil 'tennis population':?))) besides he's the current aussie no.2:?))).......................
..............wining or losing or watever dere dat's btw him n his opponent n million miles away from me. only thing close 2 me was enjoy watching n hv a laugh, m8...................if dere's anything bejond enjoy watching w/ laughs, i might or might not learn something from dis guy n wish all the best 2 him as only a few hundreds real tennis player out there competing in the whole world, out of ~100 mil 'tennis population':?))) besides he's the current aussie no.2:?)))
.......................Absolutely not! It is a perfectly legal shot and anyone who likes variety in tennis should like that as well. Or do you also dislike normal dropshots in a rallye? Variety means that your opponent doesn’t know what comes next right from the beginning of a match.
What on earth is to dislike about it when a whole routine like "standing as far back as possible at the return" is questioned from the get-go? And then the player alone has to find a solution, because no coach is allowed to help. Things like that are reasons why tennis is great!
And I’m totally not a fan of Kyrgios be the way. For me he isn’t a serious competitor, but for different reasons than underarm serving.
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Using underarm serve to disrupt opponent's rhythm from the 1st point just doesn't make sense. Sorry. If that happened after about 6 games, that may be ok, but it was absolutely unnecessary. Medvedev probably didn't have any rhythm anyway. NK's action was nothing more than making mockery of his opponent.
Yes, but isn’t "making a mockery of the opponent" (in a fair sense within the rules of course) what playing variable tennis is about? Destroying the opponent’s rhythm is what brings the success against those who are one-dimensional.
As the underarm serve is so rare (honestly I don’t know why), it is a great tactic to let the opponent guess from the beginning and don’t give him a rather save position where to stand for return. I bet someone like Nadal would have problems if he couldn’t be sure his normal position works. Why only let him guess the direction then and not also the length? Or better said: As he stands that far back that he can always react to the direction, the length is the only thing you could make him guess. And the earlier you start, the better it is.
Jaitock1991
Hall of Fame
I get your point, but is it really that bad? If anything, all this is is a natural response to players standing redicilously far back to return serve. If they didn't, neither we nor the players would ever consider the underhand serve as a realistic option in the first place.
In fact, saying that the underhand serve is disrespectful(even if it is applied in the opening point) is unfair imo. If a player is to be allowed to stand 20 meters behind the baseline when returning serve, then surely the server should also be allowed to adjust his own tactics accordingly?
sredna42
Hall of Fame
LOL cry some more
sredna42
Hall of Fame
Group thinking herd animals like this are a big part of the problems with tennis
cant wait to see Nick play nads again
I couldn't disagree more if I tried.
First off, serving underhand is still a tennis shot. Lying about needing a medical is pure gamesmanship.
So are you really suggesting that a strategic decision employing a legitimate shot from the 1st point is *worse* than desperation gamesmanship designed to rattle an opponent?
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Definitely an underhanded strategy
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Why? One is breaking the rules, the other is totally within the rules and it's just too bad for the other player that they don't think outside the box.
Right. Here's a simple test: if you applied truth serum to players who do both, who would get in trouble:
Why did you serve underhand?
My opponent wasn't expecting it and I thought I could get a cheap point?
Why did you call for a medical timeout?
Oh, I wasn't really injured. I just needed a few minutes to calm down, and I was hoping that the interruption would stop my opponent's rhythm. So I said my leg was bothering me.
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Taking medical break within the rules is definitely not breaking rules. Also, sometimes the spirit of sport should be considered and this is all about respecting your opponents, win or lose. He has unreturnable 1st serves and one of the best 2nd serves on tour. He doesn't need to resort to underarm serve. Certainly not from the 1st point. I'm surprized and somewhat disgusted by this attitude of 'don't you dare criticizing him'. Anyone is entitled to his own opinion and when someone does something that disgust you, you can speak for yourself and say "that's disgusting". NK is no sacred saint and I will criticize him if what he does is not right to my eyes.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Faking a time out certainly isn't within the rules even if you can't tell they're faking. An underarm serve isn't just legal, it's a valid tactic. Kyrgios can boom down serves, everyone knows that, so he has to keep them guessing
Not saying you can't criticise Nick but that's just intelligent tennis.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
100%.
SeeItHitIt
Professional
Aside from the underhand(ed?) serve, Nick appears to not exactly give 100% - the modern mark of Champions. I wonder if The Babe dogged it after a night of tube steaks and suds?.
tennishabit
Legend
no trouble if play w/in the rules
Why did you do that drop shot?
My opponent wasn't expecting it and I thought I could get a cheap point?
in a lot of other sports, such as volleyball basketball etcetcetc, in order to interrupt opponent's winning momentum the coach's calling timeout n quite ok why not tennis:?)))
no trouble if play w/in the rules
Why did you do that drop shot?
My opponent wasn't expecting it and I thought I could get a cheap point?
in a lot of other sports, such as volleyball basketball etcetcetc, in order to interrupt opponent's winning momentum the coach's calling timeout n quite ok why not tennis:?)))
Because it’s not in the rules.
In boxing, you punch your opponent in the face. Why not in basketball?
Wander
Hall of Fame
You have to understand that when people defend the use of underarm serve, it's not really about Nick Kyrgios at all. It's about breaking this ridiculous notion that there should be unspoken, unwritten "gentleman" rules in tennis that certain shots should not be used.
This whole idea in a professional sport is ludicrous. Especially when this isn't even something that could physically hurt your opponent unlike the apparently far less controversial manoeuvre of blasting a passing shot straight at the body of an opponent at the net.
Mark-Touch
Legend
And what's wrong with that?
stringertom
Bionic Poster
What did the speed gun read? Mad Skillz Kyrgios probably bombed it in at 220kph or more!
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
He has already done it against RAFA in Acapulco
TearTheRoofOff
G.O.A.T.
Although it's a Challangers match, there's this gem of a performance:
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
the tactics can only works once.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
No, I get it.
How good was it?
Until he wins a Masters 1000, he reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam or he arrives for the first time in the top 10, there is nothing to celebrate about this dude.
For a nice point videos, we already have Dimitrov and that is enough.
pyk64
New User
Agree...it's about the same as all junk balls - perfectly fine and drives some people crazy.
Mark-Touch
Legend
Yeah it's like someone who plays against a brutal ball basher all the time and when facing a pusher they complain that it's not 'respectful'. LOL!
Mark-Touch
Legend
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
For someone who gets what I said, you sure seem to be fixated on Kyrgios.
You dont get it, right?
Kyrgios it's a dog that barks but does not bite, you understand?
"The difference between mediocrity and excellence is often a matter of effort." Diana Waring
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Do you want to live in a world where the only way to make others respect you is through fist fights? I think sport field is a place where you learn to respect others and grow as a human as much as learning skills and get fit.
Mark-Touch
Legend
Relax, no player is ever going to start a fight because of under-handed serves!
On the contrary, if Kyrgios and others start winning more and more 'free points' using under-handed serves don't be surprised
to see your favorite player start to employ them!
On the contrary, if Kyrgios and others start winning more and more 'free points' using under-handed serves don't be surprised
to see your favorite player start to employ them!
Technology Ruined Tennis
Hall of Fame
Can't disrespect the sanctity of the sport whose ruling body, not-so-secretly, fundamentally altered the playing surface...
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