Serve is less effective as match progresses

[drgnpride]

at beginning of match i get a lot of easy points off my serve and it seems faster. not sure if opponents become more dialed in to my serve or if i lose stamina and pace during a match, later in match i try to hit harder but it seems counterproductive and i end up missing more first serves. how do you make your serve more effective later in match?

 

[tenniskid3119]

start placing it better?? build up your endurence/stamina??? thats all I got....

 

[lethalfang]

Most likely it's because your opponent has figured out your serves.
I definitely return better as the match progresses when I play against most amateur players, because most amateurs are pretty predictable in their serving routines and lack much variety.
First I'll just hope to block the serve back in play, then I'll hit better slices to prevent the server from hitting easy winners off my return, and finally I'll dial into his serves and get some easy points off my returns.

 

[dave333]

Probably they are getting used to whatever you're throwing at them. Really mix em up, all kinds of serves, all different places. Its really nasty if you can consistently go down the T or go really wide.

 

[SlapShot]

Move your serve around and use multiple spins. I almost always start the match hitting safe kickers to the backhand on both sides, and then 2-3 games in, I'll flatten a couple out, and then I'll start moving it around. You definitely need to develop multiple serves and be able to move them around. A standard serve into the body is going to stop being effective, regardless of the pace.

 

[Squall Leonheart]

Probably they are getting used to whatever you're throwing at them. Really mix em up, all kinds of serves, all different places. Its really nasty if you can consistently go down the T or go really wide.

Like Dave said, mix it up, keep your opponent guessing. Maybe they have figured out where your going to place the ball. You may want to try serving at something like 70-80%, and only going for your best serves at certain times to throw them off.

 

[Bodacious DVT]

i almost garentee its because your opponent is getting accustomed to it. try mixing it up. throw them off wide, serve and volley, kick, slice, flat, etc. sometimes i'll throw in a lefty serve just to get them weirded out. try some off pace serves too.

 

[fuzz nation]

My serve depends on the drive I get from my legs and if I get tired, it can drain some life out of my heater. Make sure you keep using your big muscle groups, even on your second serve.

If my opponent has a weaker backhand return, I'll just keep serving to it with different pace and spin so that when I finally decide to sneak one to the forehand side, he's leaning the other way or at least not camped out on it.

If you can't consistently serve to a weak side, try to keep your opponent guessing at least a little. If my first serve is a let, I'll hit a different pace/placement because I just gave him a fresh look at something. An off-pace first serve can be very effective when the receiver knows you can hit a flat bomb - they might be too far back to hit the shorter slice very well.

Disguise comes later after you've developed accuracy and consistency, but when you can eventually produce different serves with a motion that looks the same, returners will have more trouble even when they get used to timing your motion. Keep grooving it!

 

[LuckyR]

Try starting late service games with slices, first out wide, then spinning toward their bodies. The latter will be more effective since tired players are less motivated to move away from a ball then towards one. Then when you really need the point (later in the game) your flat serve will be more effective, even though it will be slower than earlier in the match because you will have gotten him used to slower serves so the relative increase in speed will be more suprising.

 

[Bodacious DVT]

also, you want to play the first couple games at around 80% power. this will cause you to cut down on unforced errors and will allow you to work into your serve, thus limiting your opponent's ability to become accustomed to it,

 

[zebano]

I can only really place in two spots (T and wide), but by varying my serve speeds, I can cover this up against 3.5/4.0 competition (all the 4.5s I've played have just crushed my serve after a few games).

 

[dunloplayah]

Most likely it's because your opponent has figured out your serves.
I definitely return better as the match progresses when I play against most amateur players, because most amateurs are pretty predictable in their serving routines and lack much variety.
First I'll just hope to block the serve back in play, then I'll hit better slices to prevent the server from hitting easy winners off my return, and finally I'll dial into his serves and get some easy points off my returns.

At first I thought it was my stamina, but as long as I hold my service motion and keep playing with the same accuracy and strengh...Lethalfang has the best answer here. I played someone tues. who was a newbie, and I got lots of points and love games from service only, but as we were in 2nd set, he figured me out and was returning, even zinging me with a few passing shots. But I'm glad I figured this out, I then started really mixing them up. I even sacrificed a first serve so he'd think i was going wide only to hit 2nd serve down the center! that worked about 4 times until he caught on. was that mean? ha ha

 

[GuyClinch]

You can mix it up even without hitting different spins - if you serve from different spots on the court and too different spots on the court those are some additional factors.. I consider spin serves pretty advanced. Call me crazy but I rarely see anyone below a 4.0 with a real effective spin serve.

Pete

 

[bad_call]

also, you want to play the first couple games at around 80% power. this will cause you to cut down on unforced errors and will allow you to work into your serve, thus limiting your opponent's ability to become accustomed to it,

good point here. i used this many a match with good results.