Note that your first step to the ball or for your recovery is
not usually a
cross (over) step. The first step is usually a
step-out (or, sometimes, a gravity step). The cross-over step is usually preceded by a step-out with the outside foot. The outside foot is the one that is closest to the direction that you are going to move. Sometimes this step-out is small or very quick so it might not detected prior to the cross-over step unless you look closely.
If pulled out wide, you might employ a flow movement, a mogul move or a gravity step for a quicker recovery. (See prev post for more about these). If you are not pulled very wide, you would just use regular side steps for recovery. If you are pulled very wide, you might need a couple of sprint steps before switching to your regular recovery steps.
I do not hit as many deep shots cross court as I should I must confess. I never thought of that as a way to help me to get to more balls, but it makes sense now that you mention it. It takes the ball more time to cross the net as the distance is longer therefore giving me more time. That is what you are getting at here correct ? This makes sense, dont know why I didnt think of it during the match ...
This can give you more time, especially if you hit higher so that it spends more time in the air. However, this is not really the point I was getting at. It has more to do with court geometry (coverage), the angle of possible returns, and the
Wardlaw Directionals.
For the following examples assume that you are close to the baseline (and are not moving up toward the net). If you hit a shot to the middle of your opponent's court, your ideal recovery position would be the middle of your own court (at the baseline). If you hit down the line from a position that is close to one of your deep corners, your ideal recovery position would be past the middle of your court since your opponent can respond with a shot that goes wide to the other side. (However, they can't hit it wide to the side that you just hit from).
If you hit a x-court shot, you do not need to recover all the way back to the middle. You only need to take a few steps to recover to an ideal position. In this case, your opponent can hit your shot back x-court or they can go down the line. However, they cannot make you run wide on the other side.
To see this in action, take a look at Federer's (and Hewitt's) shots in the following 45 shot rally. As long as these 2 players hit x-court, they do not need to come all the way to the middle -- they only need to take a few steps to get into position for the reply. Roger does not come to the middle until after his 4th shot (which has gone to the middle of Lleyton's side). When Roger hits a DTL shot, notice that he recovers to a point that is past the middle of his side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Def7iMP8G0M
If your x-court shots are deep or challenging, your opponent is likely to hit a x-court reply. If your x-court shot is short or weak, then your opponent is more likely to hit DTL or move you around more. (I will try to get to your other questions in another post).
.