Marco Bitran - Double(s) Cross

By Stanley Clayton

The net person's main job is to guard the line. She has to make certain that the ball is not successfully hit down the alley. Most of the time, she would become a little paranoid about leaving the alley to poach at the middle of the net. Normally, if the serve is fast and hit near the center of the service box, then the fear of down the line return is muted because of the angle created by the serve. However, most hackers have slow to moderate serves which are hit to the middle of the service box. This serve gives the returner confidence to go cross-court or down the line. As a consequence of the returner's choices, the net person is rendered virtually motionless against the return.

I have my own solution to this problem. I am not sure if it is an original idea, but it makes perfect sense to me. It protects against the down the lines, most of the down the middles, and most of the lobs. Only a perfectly timed down the middle or a well hit lob deep to the server's side wins outright.

The maneuver is simple, but brilliant. The server hits the ball anywhere in the service box. Before the ball hits in the box, the net person moves directly over to the server-side box. At the same time, the server moves at a diagonal so that she makes it to the middle of the back line of the net person-side box. The players cover both lines and most other shots during the transition to and while reaching their final positions. The crisscrossing of the players protects against most down the middle shots. The timing of the down the middle pass would have to be picture perfect to win the point. Of course a deep lob to the server's side would be disastrous. However, if a player could consistently make that lob shot, then he deserves to win the match.

I have field tested this maneuver and it has worked beautifully. I experienced a high winning percentage as long as the maneuver was done without compromise. Once I had a partner, who as a server, deviated from the plan and ran along the baseline in the direction of the net person's court. This deviation opened up numerous passing lanes. Even when the server reached and returned the ball, the advantage at the net was lost to the returning team. The results of his actions severely lowered my winning percentage. If you follow this maneuver to the letter, then you and your doubles partner should be difficult to beat!

Marco Bitran - How to Hit a Federer Forehand From Your Own Backyard

By Nea Khanna

If you've been following tennis for the last 10 years, you should be familiar with the name Roger Federer. No? OK, let's see if this jogs your memory a bit: 77 career titles. 17 Grand Slam titles. World Number 1 for 302 weeks. Often seen in expensive watch commercials.

Still, no? I hate to break this to you, but, it looks like you've been watching the wrong sport for the last 10 years. Before you read further, may I suggest YouTubing Roger Federer for a while?

For the rest of you, Federer no doubt embodies all that is perfect about tennis (at least for now; you never know what kind of ball-hitting machine the future throws up). His game is complete: a powerful, precise serve; a fluid backhand; and -here it comes - an atomic bomb of a forehand.

A beautiful atomic bomb, too. Simple, clean, exquisite, and most importantly, effective. So, the question is can you develop your own version of the Roger Federer forehand?

Since Fed is more of an advanced player (advanced as in "Second to God"), his forehand may not suit novice players. But the basics of his forehand are strong, and it will do no harm for us to explore it in detail here. You might just pick up a few tricks.

So let's get studying!

1. The grip

The grip is the most important, yet underrated part of your game. We're not talking about what the racquet handle is made of, but the way you hold the racquet. There are 4 types of grips: Continental, Eastern, Semi-western and Western. Today, we'll look into the Eastern Forehand Grip because that's the one Roger generally uses.

Wait, Roger who?

Roger Fed... hey, aren't you the guy who's supposed to be YouTubing right now?

Sorry about that. Back to the Eastern Grip. Hold the racquet handle in such a way that the base knuckle of your index finger is on bevel 3 of your racquet. Identifying the bevels is very simple: Hold your racquet in such a way so that the face is pointing sideways. Now the bevel that is pointing up is bevel 1. You move the racquet in an anti-clockwise direction, and the next bevel in line is bevel 2. The next one is bevel 3. Got it?

This illustration will help you understand the 8 bevels of a racquet better.

This is generally considered the easiest grip for learning the forehand. It's also very easy to switch quickly to other grips from the Eastern grip, so it's a good choice for players who like to serve and volley. You can also create shots with top spin and also play flatter, penetrating strokes.

2. The Backswing

For players who are just starting out, coaches usually drop the ball from a static height. This enables the player to develop his/her forehand (or backhand) and also, sub-consciously, solidify his/her elbow and wrist angular positions on impact. What you need to know is that during a shot, your wrist and elbow positions are going to be relatively stable; what's going to vary is your elbow and wrist angular velocity. This is influenced by a number of factors: ball speed, bounce, top spin, difference in frictional characteristics of the surface etc.

So what does Federer do?

When he sees the ball coming, he rotates his full upper body along with his racquet to his forehand side (till the racquet reaches his takeback height). Notice that he never takes his racquet behind his body. It's precisely because he gets his body into the swing. Once his upper body is fully turned, he can then unleash tremendous amounts of energy into his shot. Think of it as a rubber band in a stretched position. It's got a lot of energy waiting to be released. This is known as the Stretch Shortening Cycle.

3. The release

By now the ball has bounced on the ground. People watching have their hearts in their mouth. The Swiss is cool: he lets the racquet down from the takeback height. Now, he's got his whole body into the motion, so there's more power involved than just his arm. Just relax and let all that built up potential energy go to war.

4. Ka-boom!

Next up, contact. Federer's contact point is not that different from the contact points of most other players. What's important is the backswing.

5. The follow through

Federer usually ends his forehand across his shoulder, just like most of the pros out there. This is known as the Windshield Wiper finish and is different from the traditional follow through which ends over the shoulder of the player.

With that we've come to end of the Federer forehand. Remember, the most important part of his shot is the core rotation i.e the upper body turn which goes into the backswing.

Federer's basics are solid, so you focus on strengthening yours. Also, concentrate on maintaining a strong, balanced posture throughout your shots. You'll be fine.

And ah! Here comes Mr. Roger Who, back from his YouTube exploits. Sorry, dude, school's out, but feel free to go right back up and read this article.

I'll see you soon!

The author works for Live Your Sport, an online sports and fitness equipment store, and is a contributor to their sports and fitness blog, 'The Source'

Marco Bitran - Fix My Serve: Three Places You Can Aim Your Serve

By Junior Pswarai

There are three places that you can send a ball into by the service box, if you are looking to fix your serve by improving it then by knowing which 3 areas that you can help you attack at your opponents weaker sides.

However, even if you do find out the weaker side then don't continuously hit to this side, you want to mix it up so that you don't allow them to build a rhythm - so that you can keep them on their toes and ready to make mistakes which therefore can keep you in control of the game.

Each of the 3 areas that you go onto hitting the ball to have their advantages and as mentioned there will be one which creates a weakness for your opponent so make sure that you keep it varied from out wide, down the middle and straight at your opponent.

Wide

If you realize that your opponent isn't too fast on their feet then placing your shot out wide is highly effective, this will lead to them having to try and reach the ball in time and even if they do they may provide a weak return which you will be able to hit back to the other side as a winning stroke.

However there is a downside to this shot which is that you are making yourself open to a return, if your opponent manages to get to the ball they can in fact return it across court as well. This return might be easier as well due to the fact that the ball will slow down since it has further to travel so beware of this.

Going down the middle

If you choose to go down the middle then you won't encounter the problem of losing speed as the court is shorter across the middle than traveling all the way across making this a great shot for powerfully placed shots with some spin as well.

This reduces the chances of returning due to the angle but you can expect more of your opponents to return the ball back down the middle. If they manage to return this can put you in the position to place a controlled volley onto their weaker side which can help to win the point.

Serving at the body of your opponent

This is a great shot that you can do which can cause your opponent to make plenty of mistakes. If you serve it fast they will have to back away or get themselves into an angle however a position like this can be uncomfortable for them and can cause them to create a weak return if they are even able to get it past the net giving you the upper hand if done correctly.

Whatever you do however don't hit the ball toward their back or forehand as this is an area where it is simple for them to get into a position to return the ball, you will want to aim straight for the body so that they will have trouble placing themselves in a decent position for a return to take place.

These are 3 different types that you should mix up and learn to use to fix your serve as they can create a lot of trouble for your opponent if they are done correctly.

It's simple to fix your serve by improving plenty aspects of it so you want to make sure that you know as much as you can see as knowledge is power. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran - How To Serve In Tennis Properly: The Power of The First Serve

By Junior Pswarai

When it comes down to how to serve in tennis properly you are going to want to focus on the first serve, by being able to create a strong foundation on this you won't have to put pressure on yourself for the second and increase the chance of double faulting. This doesn't mean to smash a serve in as hard as possible, there are different ways that you can create a good first serve.

Firstly, many people need to understand is that you don't exercise a lot to create something powerful and tricky for your opponent, strength is generated from all over the body not just from the arms so make sure that if you are exercising you go for the full body as this will help you generate the power and the speed that you are going to need.

Mix up the serves

One thing that will hinder your chances are throwing the same stroke over and over again and it may not lead to a double fault but it can lead to making the return for your opponent a lot easier putting you off in a worst off position.

As you may already know you have the option of 4 different types of shots that you can make; the kick, topspin, flat and then the slice.

Instead of just hitting the same one over again you need to mix it up as this can throw your opponent off if they have it in their mind that you're hitting the same one over and over again.

Adding some power into it

Don't blindly just hit a powerful serve, you want to add placement with it. Placement is highly important when it comes down to power, if you can add power and placement you will be able to find that it is harder for your opponents to be able to hit.

As mentioned don't just blindly hit it, if you can't control it then you want to slow it down slightly and build up control and only after this you can speed up and add power. The main thing you want to focus on is control and placement before you focus on putting more power into your shot than you can handle.

Keeping your opponent from attacking

Smaller players who can't generate much power might don't rely too much on their power but instead they have options such as spin and placement to make sure that they aren't able to return and put you into a defensive position.

You will want to focus on deeper shots if you aren't using as much power due to the fact that less power whilst hitting it shallow can lead to your opponent being able to return back more powerful returns which isn't something that you will want to go through.

Switch up between powerfully controlled shots and then slower ones as well but make sure that they are controlled and also that you think of the placement. If you want to know how to serve in tennis properly then this is something that you are going to have to keep in mind to keep your opponent on their toes.

If you want to serve in tennis properly there are a variety of things that you can do and a variety of things that you can improve on, all you need to be able to do is learn more about the serve. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran: Improve Your Playing Techniques for Excellent Performance During a Tennis Match

By Alina Brown

If you wish to improve your performance as a tennis player, it is vital that you should spend a lot of time to learn the important techniques and methodologies that are associated with this type of sport. Even if you think that you have learned all the techniques that are related to this type of sport, it is advisable that you should not miss any scope to improve those techniques time and again. This article will highlight on a few essential tips that you should follow to learn different techniques to improve your performance during a tennis match.

Change your current techniques

If you wish to show good performance as a tennis player, it is vital that you should try to bring about some sort of change in your playing techniques. Whether you wish to change your stroke or you wish to change your backhand technique, it is vital that you should be able to bring about change as quickly as possible.

Practice a lot

It is important to remember that you cannot change your playing techniques of this type of sport within two or three days. In fact, if you wish to change your technique, it is vital that you should practice them on a regular basis. In the beginning, you find it quite difficult to adopt the new technique but after a certain point of time you will realize that if you learn the new technique and if you practice it for at least two or three hours every day then there is every possibility that you will show excellent performance as a tennis player.

Repeat the techniques time and again

If you practice the correct technique of this kind of sport it is quite obvious that you should be able to improve your overall performance on the court. All you need to do is to repeat the technique that you have learned at least three or four times to score good points on tennis court. If you repeat the new techniques for fifteen or twenty days regularly, it is obvious that you will increase your expertise and you will get rid of your poor techniques within a short period of time.

Practice like a professional

If you wish to play like your favorite tennis player, it is advisable that you should get involved in long hours of practice session. For example, if you practice for two or three hours on the court, it is vital that you should practice this type of sport with full concentration and intensity. It is vital that you should watch the popular videos that highlight the performance of popular tennis players in the best possible way. Your objective is to follow the techniques they adopt to throw a challenge to their opponents, the way they serve the tennis balls, the way they make use of their backhands and so on. According to recent studies, many popular tennis players keep specific goals that they wish to achieve within specific time to show their excellent performance during important tennis matches.

Euro School of Tennis is a famous training institute that is dedicated in offering effective tennis lesson to children and adults at reasonable rates. If you want to join an excellent private tennis classes then you should immediately get in touch with this institute without any delay.
 

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Marco Bitran enjoys playing, instructing and writing about tennis. He also writes and publishes a blog about tennis equipment.