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Krajicek serve motion
Krajicek's service motion is my preferred service rock for my students if I can get them into it. Unlike the Sampras front to back, he starts on the front foot and rocks from front to back to front. I always describe this as the "Michael Stich" motion. It was/is my motion as well, but no one is interested in that.
To me, the lynchpin and essential element of consistent and effective rhythm on the serve is the rock. Krajicek's rock is a little more difficult to learn than the simple back to front, but in reality, once you learn it, it is simpler and does a better job of holding the serve together than the simple back to front. I've been upset with USTA national coaches because they've taken over some of my students and switched them from this motion to a "more simple" back to front. I never force a kid to change to this motion, but if I think they have a future I will give them a chance at it. If they adopt it on their own, I'm really happy. I'm very hesitant to change someone from back to front to this front-to-back-to front rock unless they want to do it, but if they start with no other motion, I will start the kids out this way.
The beauty of this motion is the way it synchronises. Hands down/weight back, then hands up/weight forward. The key to understanding this rock and getting it to work is to never let the weight get back past 50/50. In the back to front, you start with a much larger percent of your weight on the back foot and just go forward. I insist my students learn to toss and catch in rhythm over and over almost metronomically. In fact, I have them count: 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, hands down, hands up, weight back, weight forward, ... tossing and catching the ball repeatedly. Obviously, when they really go after the serve the ball is too far forward to catch and retrace the motion back to the beginning, but it can be effectively practiced just short of that. In fact, I make them do drills like toss and catch, toss and hit, toss and catch, toss and hit in sequence with two balls without stopping while maintaining the rhythm. If they can do this, then there is a chance they may be able to maintain their rhythm when they go up to hit the ball with match pressure. This is the element that is missing in the serves of Safina, Sharapova and Ivanovic. Especially, in Sharapova; she used to have a nice rhythm where the rock synchronised with her toss. I don't like the short motion, but if you do use it, you have to maintain the rhythm of the rock and the toss. If you look at her old serve on this site, you'll see her toss synchronises with her rock. But if you watch her serve now, her toss motion is so abbreviated that it is totally unrelated to her rock and weight transfer and she can't repeat it under pressure. There is little or no relationship between her rock and her toss now. I was really surprised to hear Lansdorp say he didn't know what was up with her serve. To me, that lack of coordination and synchronisation of the toss and rock is at the core of the problem with her loss of feel for what used to be a pretty good service motion.
Anyway, if you are trying to copy Krajicek's serve, check out Stich's as well. An even more effortless motion. Both Wimbledon winners in 90's. The key is to let the arms swing free and not let the weight get too far back(not past 50/50) and start the hands high enough that gravity helps your backswing. Just remember hands down/ weight back; hands up/weight forward. This rhythm will hold the motion together better than any other rock. Notice also that there is no extreme knee bend or jump, yet these guys effortlessly served well into the 130's with good consistency while not being bothered by late match fatigue.
don brosseau
Originally posted by airforce1
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To me, the lynchpin and essential element of consistent and effective rhythm on the serve is the rock. Krajicek's rock is a little more difficult to learn than the simple back to front, but in reality, once you learn it, it is simpler and does a better job of holding the serve together than the simple back to front. I've been upset with USTA national coaches because they've taken over some of my students and switched them from this motion to a "more simple" back to front. I never force a kid to change to this motion, but if I think they have a future I will give them a chance at it. If they adopt it on their own, I'm really happy. I'm very hesitant to change someone from back to front to this front-to-back-to front rock unless they want to do it, but if they start with no other motion, I will start the kids out this way.
The beauty of this motion is the way it synchronises. Hands down/weight back, then hands up/weight forward. The key to understanding this rock and getting it to work is to never let the weight get back past 50/50. In the back to front, you start with a much larger percent of your weight on the back foot and just go forward. I insist my students learn to toss and catch in rhythm over and over almost metronomically. In fact, I have them count: 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, hands down, hands up, weight back, weight forward, ... tossing and catching the ball repeatedly. Obviously, when they really go after the serve the ball is too far forward to catch and retrace the motion back to the beginning, but it can be effectively practiced just short of that. In fact, I make them do drills like toss and catch, toss and hit, toss and catch, toss and hit in sequence with two balls without stopping while maintaining the rhythm. If they can do this, then there is a chance they may be able to maintain their rhythm when they go up to hit the ball with match pressure. This is the element that is missing in the serves of Safina, Sharapova and Ivanovic. Especially, in Sharapova; she used to have a nice rhythm where the rock synchronised with her toss. I don't like the short motion, but if you do use it, you have to maintain the rhythm of the rock and the toss. If you look at her old serve on this site, you'll see her toss synchronises with her rock. But if you watch her serve now, her toss motion is so abbreviated that it is totally unrelated to her rock and weight transfer and she can't repeat it under pressure. There is little or no relationship between her rock and her toss now. I was really surprised to hear Lansdorp say he didn't know what was up with her serve. To me, that lack of coordination and synchronisation of the toss and rock is at the core of the problem with her loss of feel for what used to be a pretty good service motion.
Anyway, if you are trying to copy Krajicek's serve, check out Stich's as well. An even more effortless motion. Both Wimbledon winners in 90's. The key is to let the arms swing free and not let the weight get too far back(not past 50/50) and start the hands high enough that gravity helps your backswing. Just remember hands down/ weight back; hands up/weight forward. This rhythm will hold the motion together better than any other rock. Notice also that there is no extreme knee bend or jump, yet these guys effortlessly served well into the 130's with good consistency while not being bothered by late match fatigue.
don brosseau
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