Thinking about going "Full Monfils"

[Cindysphinx]

I am unhappy with my serve.

I have tried platform, but I don't like my leg drive. I have tried pinpoint, but the timing messes with my toss. My toss has deteriorated. Now it is too low, too far back, too far front, too far left. My DFs are up, my consistency is down

These are tough times for a shot that used to be effective and reliable.

Today, I tried something new. I lined up like Monfils, with feet close together. I tossed and hit.

This seemed to work well. Since there was no foot movement, my toss was more consistent. Because my balance was more precarious, I didn't feel like I could chase bad tosses. The only thing I had to think about was going up after the ball. The serves went in and had more action.

Before I commit to this change and go practice it, is there any reason why I shouldn't?

FWIW, I am a 4.0 senior doubles player who serves with continental. I hit mostly slice serves and sometimes a topspin serve. I do not try to hit a flat serves because I usually miss, so why bother?

 

[LeeD]

Since it's working, keep doing it.
There are other ATP servers using this footwork on their serves.
Just be aware. On windy days, wait for a lull in the wind.

 

[KineticChain]

to get the full monfils effect, you need to slide 20 feet on hard court every other shot

 

[TeamOB]

If it works, keep doing it! I tried the Monfils/Roddick motion once and had mixed results (my serve isn't great, so I often mess around with different motions trying to improve it). I felt that I could hit the ball a bit harder and my 1st serve % improved a bit (maybe due to the simpler motion). On the downside, I could not hit a kick! I simply could not hit a decent 2nd serve with this motion! If someone can figure this out please tell me so I can try it.

 

[LeeD]

You cannot teach a pig to fly!
Seems Monfils and Roddick have OK second serves.
Murray drags his backfoot, his second serve is OK.

 

[tennis tom]

... On the downside, I could not hit a kick! I simply could not hit a decent 2nd serve with this motion! If someone can figure this out please tell me so I can try it.

By kick, I'm assuming you mean a top-spin second serve. Throw the ball above your head to the 12:00 position on the imaginary clock--or above the button on the top of your hat. Practice hitting the edge of the frame of your racket--literally the edge of the frame of the racket. This will demonstrate the feel of the slicing action needed to get the top-spin necessary for the margin of safety to clear the net on the 2nd. This will feel weird and embarrassing to try in public. You are purposely shanking the serve with the edge of the racket. Practice this when there is no one around to watch or possibly hit by accident. Or practice this in a big empty space like a cow pasture or other such open field. Use old balls you don't mind losing into the street. This will give you the feel for it. Then try hitting with some string. Hit with the same racket head speed as for a first serve.

G'luck, practice makes perfect but you have to practice the right thing or you get perfect at doing the wrong technique, now hit a million balls.

 

[heninfan99]

I've tried the Monfils style and though it's hard to balance I get great support of my lower back.

 

[slice bh compliment]

... the full monfils ...

One of the most beloved movies of 1997. A middle aged woman in the rust belt decides to take matters into her own hands and becomes an afro-caribe-euro fashion/sports iconoclast along with her unlikely friends. The ending is both uproarious and hilarious.

Cue catchy seventies r and b song:
I believe in miracles
You changed yo' serve
that funky stance
(Such a funkay stance)

 

[goober]

Watching Monfils serve it looks like he starts in a pinpoint but he takes a small step with his left foot to the right every time he goes up in his service motion. The only issue I can see with a rec player is that starting in a pinpoint and going through your service motion requires more balance than a regular serve which you already noted. It also might be harder to get your momentum going forward when you are less balanced. But since it works better for you, no reason not to keep doing it IMO


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGtBSuckrLY&feature=kp

 

[NTRPolice]

If that seems to improve your serve you probably have a problem with your timing. I found out (from video) that when I do that, I actually toss my ball about 2 ft. lower, my back doesnt open/close fully, and my arm comes across my body more to compensate. Basically, it forces me to rush the entire swing.

BUT,

That also improved my second serve, because I dont over-swing. I can still get a good amount of spin and pace, but I do have a lot less racket head speed because I dont always get full extension/rotation/ect.

Power isnt everything.

Because you play seniors, and serve mostly slice, consistency and placement are going to be much more important than raw speed. If you can serve 75 mph all day, every day it would be great especially at your level. The only thing about a 75mph first/second is that "green light" 40-0 and 40-15 are going to make you feel kinda weak... haha. Basically what im going through right now.

 

[BretH]

"During the serve process the weight goes forward, just like throwing or kicking a ball. Why not start with your body weight on the back foot? This idea moves you only in one direction, keeping things simple. Why rock back to the back foot to then rock forward to the front foot?"

http://www.revolutionarytennis.com/step12_1.html

 

[TahoeTennis]

 

[sureshs]

You cannot teach a pig to fly!
Seems Monfils and Roddick have OK second serves.
Murray drags his backfoot, his second serve is OK.

Are you calling Cindy a pig?

 

[LeeD]

Twas in reply to it's above post, where the poster said HE couldn't hit a good second serve with narrow platform.

 

[Sander001]

Only full if you:

 

[sureshs]

Didn't Cindy once create a thread about Monfils being a clown? And now she wants to emulate him?

 

[anubis]

I am unhappy with my serve.

I have tried platform, but I don't like my leg drive. I have tried pinpoint, but the timing messes with my toss. My toss has deteriorated. Now it is too low, too far back, too far front, too far left. My DFs are up, my consistency is down

These are tough times for a shot that used to be effective and reliable.

Today, I tried something new. I lined up like Monfils, with feet close together. I tossed and hit.

This seemed to work well. Since there was no foot movement, my toss was more consistent. Because my balance was more precarious, I didn't feel like I could chase bad tosses. The only thing I had to think about was going up after the ball. The serves went in and had more action.

Before I commit to this change and go practice it, is there any reason why I shouldn't?

FWIW, I am a 4.0 senior doubles player who serves with continental. I hit mostly slice serves and sometimes a topspin serve. I do not try to hit a flat serves because I usually miss, so why bother?

Double faults:
1. If you're hitting into the net too frequently: keep your tossing arm up, high in the air for a longer period of time. The more quickly you pull your arm down, the more often you'll pull the serve into the net.

2. IF you're hitting long too frequently, then two things: a.) toss the ball further forward, so if you didn't hit it, it would land at least 6 inches into the court. b.) hit with more topspin. The spin helps to pull the ball down and into the service box. True, you take some MPH's off, but sometimes consistency is more important than serving bombs.

 

[sureshs]

Oh I finally understood the thread title! It is supposed to be a spin on going "Full Monty" which means stripping

 

[Bash and Crash]

Cindy if it's working keep it up. But a note on the pinpoint, if the slide or step up is affecting your toss you are moving back foot up too soon. Toss, then slide the foot up, check out this Isner clip.

http://youtu.be/fcSJAHXHDvM

 

[TennisCJC]

Cindy if it's working keep it up. But a note on the pinpoint, if the slide or step up is affecting your toss you are moving back foot up too soon. Toss, then slide the foot up, check out this Isner clip.

http://youtu.be/fcSJAHXHDvM

Good point. I am at work and cannot watch Isner clip but I have seen Ferrer do this. Ferrer keeps his weight on back foot until ball has left tossing hand and then slides up into pinpoint stance. I have noticed Federer doing this in practice too in his platform stance - Federer keeps weight back until ball has left tossing hand and then shifts balance to more on front foot. I actually have been working on keeping the weight back like this in my platform stance.

 

[86golf]

Cindy, your stance is just a personal preference and shouldn't dictate whether you serve well, double fault, miss your targets etc. there is something else going on likely.

Hate to say this, but club playing ladies have some of the strangest service motions I've ever seen, even line 1 4.0 ladies. But the reality is, you don't need textbook form to effectively start a point. I know several 4.5 men that don't even get off the ground on their serve due to knee tendinitis but can hit their spots with good pace so your comment about leg drive is overrated.

Post a video and let's see what's going on.

 

[Nostradamus]

copy Andy Roddick. he has technically best simplist motion out there

 

[rh310]

I am unhappy with my serve.

I have tried platform, but I don't like my leg drive. I have tried pinpoint, but the timing messes with my toss. My toss has deteriorated. Now it is too low, too far back, too far front, too far left. My DFs are up, my consistency is down

These are tough times for a shot that used to be effective and reliable.

Today, I tried something new. I lined up like Monfils, with feet close together. I tossed and hit.

This seemed to work well. Since there was no foot movement, my toss was more consistent. Because my balance was more precarious, I didn't feel like I could chase bad tosses. The only thing I had to think about was going up after the ball. The serves went in and had more action.

Sounds like you solved your problem, then.

Go play tennis.

 

[ttbrowne]

I have also tried the Monfils serve. I don't have the arm strength to pull it off. His right arm comes to a stopping point, albeit brief, before he hits the ball. That takes some arm, baby.

 

[LeeD]

Monfils is 6'4" tall, long limbs, super dynamic.
If he would care to modify his motion to most conventional, his service speeds would "probably" improve quite a bit.
Like Tomic, don't copy his motion, unless you are 6'5" and need a weaker serve.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Hair too? Gotta have video.

Since you've admitted your 'out of your 20s' this might be a good move for long term shoulder health even if it's just a push on serve quality. Good luck.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Monfils is 6'4" tall, long limbs, super dynamic.
If he would care to modify his motion to most conventional, his service speeds would "probably" improve quite a bit.
Like Tomic, don't copy his motion, unless you are 6'5" and need a weaker serve.

I trust his coaches and his methods, but at the same time i sometimes wonder if you take the physical tools of monfils and add the serving technique of a sampras or a filapoussis. This would be interesting and explosive.

Then you take that and build a frankenpro by somehow adding the coolness and smoothness of a federer or edberg, and fifty or sixty percent of the intensity of a rafa or a connors. This would be a champion to shatter the murrdalovic hegemony.

 

[JW10S]

Monfils' serve is modeled after Roddick's. Tarik Benhabiles was Roddick's coach when he was a junior and when he 1st started on the pro tour. Benhabiles, who is French, then went on the coach Monfils. They both have abbreviated take backs and start with their feet close together. Monfils' serve motion is smoother while Roddick's serve is, for lack of a better word, more violent.

 

[Gut4Tennis]

Cindy if you come to my private courts, I'll give you 2 free 1hr serve lessons

 

[sovertennis]

copy Andy Roddick. he has technically best simplist motion out there

For a middle aged woman (or man, even)? Doubtful.

Cindy, watch Sara Errani. She's simplified her service motion considerably. If you're looking to develop an adequate, reliable serve, it may work for you. Good luck.

 

[Bdarb]

If you were sliding your foot forward before, this is a good solution. It takes movement out of your motion and simplifies it to it's most basic form. Seems smart to me, as long as it's working for you.

Similarly, I used to slide my foot up but my toss could be sporatic and as I tired through the match the motion could alter. My coach told me to just keep my feet apart (he likened it to Federer) and copying this motion has helped my consistency tremendously.

 

[RetroSpin]

One of the most beloved movies of 1997. A middle aged woman in the rust belt decides to take matters into her own hands and becomes an afro-caribe-euro fashion/sports iconoclast along with her unlikely friends. The ending is both uproarious and hilarious.

Cue catchy seventies r and b song:
I believe in miracles
You changed yo' serve
that funky stance
(Such a funkay stance)

Could this be the new hit show for the Tennis Channel? Seinfeld meets Montgomery County USTA league?

 

[tennis tom]

For a middle aged woman (or man, even)? Doubtful.

Cindy, watch Sara Errani. She's simplified her service motion considerably. If you're looking to develop an adequate, reliable serve, it may work for you. Good luck.

If you're referring to her back-scratch, I believe she's injured, her motion resembles how beginners are correctly taught to serve, starting with the racket in the back-scratch position.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Sounds like you solved your problem, then.

Go play tennis.

You sound like The Christ when he saved the woman from the men trying to stone her. Let those without sin cast the first stone..... Go and sin no more.

Let those with a serve motion as perfect as sampras make fun of the 4.0 ladies. Go and fault no more.

 

[sureshs]

Cindy if you come to my private courts, I'll give you 2 free 1hr serve lessons

She is still not going to go Full Monty for you

 

[Cindysphinx]

Well, I am still a hot mess.

When I get in a match, I don't think about my feet when I am serving. So I haven't a clue about whether I am full Monfils or something else entirely.

I'm not DF'ing, but I'm not accomplishing much with my serve nowadays. It is kind of sad.

 

[rh310]

You sound like The Christ when he saved the woman from the men trying to stone her. Let those without sin cast the first stone..... Go and sin no more.

Let those with a serve motion as perfect as sampras make fun of the 4.0 ladies. Go and fault no more.

You know, I really was going to say something like, "Go hence and be fruitful with thy tennis."

I haven't read much of the thread except for the OP. Who's making fun of the 4.0 ladies?