slice vs flat serve

[shogun90]

Hello,

My first serve is more of a slice serve than a flat serve. I hit it with a good amount of pace and have decent placement. I wonder if it would be more beneficial to hit more of a flat first serve. Do most of you use a flat first serve? I find hitting a flat serve feels odd compared to my natural slice serve.

 

[Sreeram]

Hello,

My first serve is more of a slice serve than a flat serve. I hit it with a good amount of pace and have decent placement. I wonder if it would be more beneficial to hit more of a flat first serve. Do most of you use a flat first serve? I find hitting a flat serve feels odd compared to my natural slice serve.

You definitely need to mix up flat serve with slice. I always underrated the power of slice serve, recently i injured my right tricep. I pains if i go flat at the ball in serve so i started mixing slice and topsin. People who found my serve easy when i mixed flat and topsip serves said that my serve has improved a lot now. I dont serve any ace with slice but I get many poor return.
But i have played against opponent who have good slice serve with place but always use slice serve as their 1st serve. I kind of read them after few games. So it is equally important to mix slice with other serves to keep them guessing. Just pure slice serve all the time is not good enough if your opponent has brains to read them.

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

Eventually you will want to have slice, "flat", and at least one variant of a topspin serve available to you. It's important to mix up the pace and placement, and when you rely on the slice it means that it's gonna be hard to get the receiver stretched on the backhand side, because the spin will bring the ball back to them. Also, never think about serving the ball completely flat, with no spin. You still want to hit up on the ball to get enough topspin to bring this faster serve back into the court.

 

[fuzz nation]

The most valuable first serves are ones that opponents can't predict because you vary their spin and placement, but they also land in the box. As you get more proficient, you'll probably be able to shade your serve from more flat to more sliced, depending on what you want to do with the ball. You may be able to constantly pick on let's say a weak backhand return, but against stronger returners, you can keep them more off balance by varying your pace, spin, and placement.

Our pals are right on the money in terms of the value of also eventually working on a topspin or kick serve. Spin serves with crazy bounces can land much more often than flat bombs and also induce lots of weak returns. Occasional flat serves can keep an opponent honest, while different degrees of slice can land at a higher percentage, yet keep 'em guessing.

 

[dominikk1985]

It's OK to play a big percentage slice serves, but you should also mix up speeds by hitting some flat ones. that's keeping the return player from standing too close to the baseline to cut the angle off.

 

[LeeD]

I seldom face a slice serve, maybe once every month or so.
Most of my buds have top/slice, top, kick, or flat heaters, and only the really old farts hit with a sidespin slice.
Last strong pure slice serve guy I faced COULD hit it over 100, but he chose to try those serves even on second serves, a sure sign of 3.5 level play.
Basically, anyone who can crank up some mph would never choose a sidespin slice serve as a mainstay in his game.

 

[goober]

Last strong pure slice serve guy I faced COULD hit it over 100, but he chose to try those serves even on second serves, a sure sign of 3.5 level play.

Hitting a 100+ mph slice serve for first and second serves is a sure sign of 3.5 play? :shock:

 

[LeeD]

Definetely 3.5 material.
Nobody can play the percentages and hit TWO 100mph sidespin slice serves.
Percentages equals strong 3.5 on a perfect serving day, and really poor 3.0 when the wind is blowing, the sun in your eyes, a hitch in your swing, a limp in your step.
You can UP the ante with last season's bump ups.

 

[SuperDuy]

Hitting a 100+ mph slice serve for first and second serves is a sure sign of 3.5 play? :shock:

He capitalized could because he didn't do it and stuck to his 3.5 level serve as he was not confident for the higher one showing his 3.5 mental level I guess he meant to say.

 

[Djokovicfan4life]

I seldom face a slice serve, maybe once every month or so.
Most of my buds have top/slice, top, kick, or flat heaters, and only the really old farts hit with a sidespin slice.
Last strong pure slice serve guy I faced COULD hit it over 100, but he chose to try those serves even on second serves, a sure sign of 3.5 level play.
Basically, anyone who can crank up some mph would never choose a sidespin slice serve as a mainstay in his game.

I think most people consider the hard slice with enough topspin to bring the ball in as a "slice serve" these days.

 

[LeeD]

I stand corrected then.
Me, I still go by "top/slice", my bread and butter second serve and occasional tentative first serve.
From there, it's pure top, top/twist/kicks, and flat heaters. I've lost my skill or luck at hitting the "deadball" first flat serve, so am content hitting pure flats into the body of the returner, rather than go for lines that I always miss on crucial points.
I DID hit one pure sidespin slice to a 4.5 today, and he crushed it back to me. My top/slices generally get up above his armpits, below his chin. I can twist it out over his eyes, but he steps in a cranks it. That sidespin/slice bounced right into his hitting zone, about waist high.

 

[SuperDuy]

I stand corrected then.
Me, I still go by "top/slice", my bread and butter second serve and occasional tentative first serve.
From there, it's pure top, top/twist/kicks, and flat heaters. I've lost my skill or luck at hitting the "deadball" first flat serve, so am content hitting pure flats into the body of the returner, rather than go for lines that I always miss on crucial points.
I DID hit one pure sidespin slice to a 4.5 today, and he crushed it back to me. My top/slices generally get up above his armpits, below his chin. I can twist it out over his eyes, but he steps in a cranks it. That sidespin/slice bounced right into his hitting zone, about waist high.

Hey LeeD did you ever go back to see Jeff?

http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=218056&page=6&fpart=1&vc=1

 

[LeeD]

Never needed to, as he quit windsurfing while I basically quit surfing, two guys heading in opposite directions.
He was blessed with living where he could see Mavericks break from in front of his parent's house.
I was blessed with living where I could see OBSF break when it's bigger than 6', from my bedroom window.
Of course, what JJR said was bull crap. He's an Oceanside surfer.

 

[DeShaun]

A good steady slice serve confuses lots of 3.0 returners. Keep your slice well oiled by practicing it regularly as you develop a flat serve. I lost touch with my slice nearly altogether while learning to hit a topspin serve, and I wouldn't want you to have to relearn your own slice.

 

[Power Player]

Hey LeeD did you ever go back to see Jeff?

http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=218056&page=6&fpart=1&vc=1

Dude, that is a fascinating thread. LeeD was getting called out by surfers for the exact same shenanigans he pulls here in 2003..lol!

 

[LeeD]

Yup, all the doubting Mary's exist in all sports.
They all shut up when ONE of them looked at his surfing book, Mavericks, by MattWarshaw, and saw my name prominantly stated as one of the big wave SF crew, and descriptions of the waves that day....6 times taller than a 6'3" guy dropping in almost.

 

[Power Player]

Yeah, you are consistent, that's for sure.Well to keep it Tennis related, I believe I now serve like you described.

Went from the slice to top/slice. Basically I am finishing through the ball with the racquet face headed to about 2 olock and tip pointed to the sideline..this leads to a follow through with the thumb and racquet tip pointed at the ground.

 

[racket-e]

As a lefty the slice to the backhand is naturally my main serve because it is both a challenge to return but it is also very consistent under pressure. I still mix up a lot of kick serves even for firsts because people are so focused on dealing with the slice.

I never had a fast flat serve until recently and i mix it in a lot now as well. It gets a lot of free points because my opponents get used to the other much slower spin serves and they dont expect a serve to come that fast and the no spin actually becomes an advantage because they expect spin.

 

[dominikk1985]

As a lefty the slice to the backhand is naturally my main serve because it is both a challenge to return but it is also very consistent under pressure. I still mix up a lot of kick serves even for firsts because people are so focused on dealing with the slice.

I never had a fast flat serve until recently and i mix it in a lot now as well. It gets a lot of free points because my opponents get used to the other much slower spin serves and they dont expect a serve to come that fast and the no spin actually becomes an advantage because they expect spin.

Same for me. I'm also a lefty and use a lot of slice serves. I mix that up with wide kicks and kicks ínto the body as well as some hard ones to mix up speed or go for the ace in "hitters counts".

 

[SuperDuy]

Hello,

My first serve is more of a slice serve than a flat serve. I hit it with a good amount of pace and have decent placement. I wonder if it would be more beneficial to hit more of a flat first serve. Do most of you use a flat first serve? I find hitting a flat serve feels odd compared to my natural slice serve.

You just have to get used to the actual mechanics of hitting a flat serve, once you have them down. The power and placement will come with PRACTICE.