A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

Length of Hips Turn

Vic Braden spoke of snapping hips in an emergency in which ball is almost past you. Geoffrey Williams-- in his tennis writings-- suggests that anyone should try to rotate their hips as fast as the pros. I'd like to add length to my previous hips turn as well.

A tennis player goes for length when he splays his back foot in a "unit turn." A batter in baseball does this when he lifts his front leg and turns that knee inward. He does it when he steps out closed and then practically rotates his back knee past and through his front knee. He's doing it if the toes of his front foot then lay down rubber while rotating a couple inches more.

What I just described is a single hips turn, fast. I'd like to see the whole thing accomplished and over by the time my racket tip reaches low point in my one hand drive backhand.

If I do that there will remain only one confusion in that or any backhand. Is achievement of low point as element of dynamic forward swing the same as pulling knob toward ball or are they successive steps in a sweet, liquid, one-piece swing?

[bottle]

Backhand Slice: Sweep off the Top of a Table

Says Trey Waltke. Which is great advice. But since there is double roll in this shot, and the second roll turns the front edge of the racket down one can continue the edge downward through a bit of hand pressing and then finish more to the right before coming up.

Now we have two options off of the same initial forward action, and a third if we make the early part of the forward stroke higher and steeper down to the ball too.

And a growing list of options that comes with exploration of this shot.

The actual quote from Waltke's classical lesson in TennisPlayer: "more like you're sweeping off the top of a table with the racket face."

[bottle]

Backing Off From Home Run Swings

It is Mike Agassi who became the foremost spokesman in tennis for the non-reinforcement of poorly designed strokes.

If people listened to him, there would be no tennis since first design is always bad not to mention twenty-first and thirty-eighth.

Andre has written, with good help, about his relationship with his father.

Famously, Andre is known to have hit the ball badly and hard until one day it started to go in.

At 74, I don't think I want to follow Andre's childhood example.

Building on my skunk tail slice, I shall continue to develop my home run swing on backhand side. Already it is in place though not completely tested in battle. So I think I'll back off a bit to let the stew simmer.

But none of this is a retreat from discovered form, which first and foremost is circular. One could think of a certain sized wedge of pie. Or of the famous clock faces that don't help people in tennis, just help their nightmares after reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Or of a dial capable of one-eighth turns-- that might be good. I refer to equal one-eighth turns of the racket during its time behind the back and when it's passing the body and when it's out front. Keeping these turns at equal size seems a good idea to me. I count three on each slice, three on each drive.

Skunk tail slice begins with the racket upright. Drive backhand begins at baseball's launch position, 45 degrees of difference. The grip for the two shots is different as well. Other than that, the two strokes are the same.

Admittedly however I have made a huge infusion of energy into the drive what with its modification to hips turn-- longer, faster and much more in discernible sequence. The delayed shoulders are finally released to do their home run thing.

For a few days I'll use my old more practiced hips turn, putting emphasis on the 45-degree-on-a-dial increments in racket tip position, i.e., dwell on arm rather than body work just to see what will happen.

Followed by a return to home run form.

Note: Tennis instruction fails in teaching people to hit very soft and very hard. The best thing I've ever read on hitting a drop shot is by a poet. The best thing I've ever read on hitting hard is by a batting coach in baseball.

[bottle]

A Message to Sam Querrey

Sorry, Sam, that you're telling everybody that your lousy tennis is due to your broken engagement but I think you're right to point out the connection. If you want to quickly shoot up the rankings, here's what you do.

Go to CZECH. While there, consult with Radek Stepanek. He will teach you how to handle women better.

I have never yet met a woman who didn't dislike it when I talked about tennis too much even if she were an engaged player herself.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sam+querrey+engaged&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS519US519&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&source=iu&imgil=yG3g3DikuuSr8M%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcThq8hWP9NnMquruws7owAQerjjE8U7UAGnd7ssOm4bYG78_k8-%253B477%253B449%253BqjKlTmc6genorM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fennvy.com%25252Fsam-querreys-girlfriend%25252F&sa=X&ei=h0LZUua4DuHhygGdnIGQAw&ved=0CDYQ9QEwAw&biw=1040&bih=670#q=sam%20querrey%20girlfriend%20emily%20mcpherson&revid=365060576&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=QvzO-h6jdZfmMM%253A%3BOMFYUg6U74GAhM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww4.pictures.zimbio.com%252Fgi%252FSam%25252BQuerrey%25252BEmily%25252BMcPherson%25252B2013%25252BBNP%25252BParibas%25252B5Ld68i_LALzl.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.zimbio.com%252Fphotos%252FSam%252BQuerrey%252FEmily%252BMcPherson%3B406%3B594

[bottle]

Repressed Hips: The Swiss Kid's Backhand of Stanislas Wawrinka

Alternate Titles: Stan Wawrinka vs. Barry Bonds, Hippies vs. Straights, Keeping a Master Class Shallow, Bow Legs vs. Pigeon Toes

Obviously, if I have a USTA subscription, I have attended MASTER CLASS on page 62 of the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of TENNIS.

Each time I receive my copy of TENNIS I turn directly to MASTER CLASS since the rest of the magazine can bore me quite a lot. The common denominator is low don't you know.

Also, I have always liked the author Lynne Rolley, one of the few women pros attracted to intricacies of form although she will tell you that kids just want to have fun.

In an article on topspin serve she said once to hit the bottom of the ball. Pretty simple, right? And simple is good. As I already said, Lynne Rolley shows an unusual attraction to form, and in case you think I am being wise-ass, know that the most simple observation in tennis is frequently the best.

Big one-handers have often splayed the front foot-- Adriano Panatta and Gustavo Kuerten come to mind.

The splayed front foot is a holdover from classical tennis in which linear travel is an important part of every stroke. A baseball slugger, more interested in torquing the hips, strides closed. (J. Donald Budge, who was a slugger in both baseball and tennis, is a person who comes to mind in that respect.)

However, there are baseball basics in Wawrinka's backhand.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/stanislas_wawrinka/sw_backhand/sw_bh_center/sw_bh_center.html?SWBHCenterNeutralStanceSide1.mp4

See his "launch position" and how much hand there is behind the knob and how he keeps his head between his legs and brakes with his front leg and "squishes the bug" (no-no for back heel) only at the end for recovery to center of the court.

GOLF MAGAZINE or GOLF DIGEST or GOLF REGURGITATED or something like that once did a cover piece on Ricky Fowler, another swinging athlete who doesn't use much lower body. And the same dental office magazine, if I've covered its name, ran basic instruction advising its readers to use less hips while taking the club head back in order to derive more elastic power at the gut to torque the shoulders.

(And how did Kuerten ruin his hips anyway? Could it be that his upcoming splayed foot didn't allow enough freedom of hips in the backward direction?)

In skiing, too, there are those who keep shoulders faced squarely down the slope and those pursuing opposite technique who always have turned the shoulders a lot, e.g., Jean Claude Killy of France. Such big shoulder turns used to be called "christies" and still are suitable for deep powder and very long skiis.

The most powerful swings in baseball and golf, as I understand it, incorporate elements of both approaches to technique at the same time. Fowler is neither Nicklaus or Woods, and Wawrinka though a wonderful player is no J. Donald Budge.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=lau%27s+laws+on+hitting&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=18381128347&ref=pd_sl_2cnidk6cbc_e

[bottle]

Wawrinka Cont'd

It isn't just that Wawrinka's backhand is terrific and therefore worth study but that it is recorded at TennisPlayer in Dartfish configuration, at least on my computer.

This means you can glom on the button crossing in front of you and manually work the stroke back and forth until you understand it better.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/stanislas_wawrinka/sw_backhand/sw_bh_center/sw_bh_center.html?SWBHCenterOpenStanceFront2.mp4

This opportunity makes me think that Wawrinka uses hips rotation, but a minimal amount, and in a phenomenon discussed by Ivan Lendl in relation to Lendl's forehand-- no standard kinetic chain sequence of hips, then shoulders but rather shoulders first just naturally tugging the hips around.

Also, Wawrinka may straighten his arm at different times or perhaps a static photo sequence such as the current one of his backhand at TENNIS simply does not show exactly when he straightens.

A while ago I came to believe that forward body rotation of any kind is wasting itself if used to straighten the arm-- better to help cock upper body through straightening arm as you step out-- if you step out-- and my personal preference is to tock racket head down an eighth of a turn at the same time.

I see all new information on Wawrinka as an opening of options for those exploring one hand backhand-- not an invitation I welcome just when I'm getting happy with what I've discovered, but knowledge never stands still for anybody nor should.

The Wawrinkan backhand like any great one hander is liquid and one-piece and sweet.

[bottle]

Ads on Both Radio and TV

Say, hey, it's Janet Lehman impersonating Dustin Hoffman playing Mrs. Doubtfire. Who would want to be a bully after watching her?

[bottle]

Pull Hitting Off Back Foot With Delayed Shoulders As Lead Arm Pulls Knob At Ball

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/stanislas_wawrinka/sw_backhand/sw_bh_center/sw_bh_center.html?SWBHCenterOpenStanceSide1.mp4

[bottle]

Ambiguity in the Term "Great Extension"

People speak of great extension whenever someone hits a solid ground stroke.

The trouble with this is that "great extension" seldom means the same thing twice.

If Stan Wawrinka's extension was THE GREATEST, his fully revolved shoulders would line up with his straight arm on a beeline with the departing ball.

Such is not the case.

The line between his shoulder balls is ahead of the line formed by his arm as the ball departs. To see this, just click in the slot through which the button runs from left to right. The button will come to your cursor. Then pull the button back and forth manually until you see what is described in the first sentence of this paragraph. This will be educational, I promise!

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/strokearchive/pro_men/stanislas_wawrinka/sw_backhand/sw_bh_center/sw_bh_center.html?SWBHCenterOpenStanceSide3.mp4

Then comes a followthrough formed both from loose motion at the shoulder and a clenching together of the shoulderblades.

This followthrough takes the racket first after the departing ball and then across that line until the racket points backward at the rear fence.

Note: If there is added brush up the ball (added beyond brush provided naturally by uppercut in the racket trajectory), this happens before the just defined followthrough begins. The baseball guys would say however that any such rollover diminishes extension and would be right.

[bottle]

Agonized Reappraisal

[QUOTE=bottle;24686]
A while ago I came to believe that forward body rotation of any kind is wasting itself if used to straighten the arm-- better to help cock upper body through straightening arm as you step out-- if you step out-- and my personal preference is to tock racket head down an eighth of a turn at the same time.

Did I really mean this? I'd be inclined evenly to spread out straightening of the arm from launch position and step-out to end of spear if I could play tennis today.

I'd like to crunch some backhands as a week ago from a great palm sandwich. I'd like to hit some fat grip home run underspin per Charley Lau Jr.'s cited batters, than just slightly alter these swings until there is almost no spin of any kind and then alter again for mild topspin and then again for heavy topspin.

Last night, thanks to all the recently received information on Wawrinka's backhand, I had to try and hit that way-- that's just the way I am. The backhands worked and were marginally effective but all in all I'd have to say were mediocre. No surprise considering all the emphasis I'd been putting on bigger hips turn prior to the sudden re-assertion of Wawrinka.

To be abandoned: shoulders maximized/hips minimized backhands great for Wawrinka. To be added: different level backswings for different balls. To be noticed: Wawrinka's "extension" if extension in his case means his racket tip rolled over toward the net even though his arm is far from being fully extended and only so extends in followthrough phase morphing into racket flying up over his right shoulder toward the fence behind him.

[bottle]

Two Points

1) You wanna hit it hard-- don't brush. You wanna hit more topspin slow down the hand and roll the racket head forward instead (1htsbh). You get the same amount of extension either way if you have a loose definition of same.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=lau%27s+laws+on+hitting&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=18381128347&ref=pd_sl_2cnidk6cbc_e

2) Look how close the kid's bat is to his right shoulder-- almost touching it!

[bottle]

And a Third

3) For same aim you can pull handle more to right for the flat shot. And pull it less to the right for topspin since the arm is to roll over.

[bottle]

Swing Strings, Not Hand, at the Target

Swing hand and knob at Speaker Boehner standing to right of net post and by right fence next to you and then behind. (He's standing in all of those places.)

By sending knob round about like this you can maintain a flat hand swing without racket changing pitch. Not if you first sufficiently used hands but not shoulders to pull knob at ball as hips fully whirled (in a 1hfbh).

I see no reason not to direct all the energy of those whirling hips-- through slamming on the front leg brake-- at side fence.

Racket head will then fly with good extension and a lot more speed at the target.

[bottle]

Boppety-Bop

You may be too far out front with your plans, Bottle.

That could be true. Besides, I hit myself in the head.

It was at the weekly tennis social at Eastside, a gentle time of good food and conviviality.

Me in my seventies and my partner in his fifties were up 2-0 over a pair of big hitters in their early twenties.

Then we made the mistake of dropping a game. My partner (partner for the first and perhaps only time) lost all confidence not in himself but in me. He could see the writing on the wall.

So he started to take my shots for me. I had noticed in the hits and warmups of previous weeks that he was an extremely consistent player, so I gave him the ad court, second mistake. Now he came charging over into my deuce court screaming "Mine!" as I was preparing a backhand.

Well, I could see the logic of this even though I like to hit my backhand a lot. Let ad player take anything down the middle if it's on his forehand. So I sprang out of the way.

Next time, however, I was serving from ad court and was relaxed, setting up for a short forehand. I hear that word "Mine!"-- a land mine. He is 18 inches away. Hit ball? Hit him? "Him!" my friends say.

No, I hit the ball. With a squashed loop that was pure invention. I made the shot for a winner but the frame flew up and hit me just over the left eye.

There were a lot of medical types milling around saying stuff like, "It's a boxer's cut over bone. They stop the fight for that."

Everybody agreed I should drive myself to the ER since there was a lot of blood on the court. This happened just before dinner.

The PA who examined me said "the lack" wasn't too deep.

"You have three choices," he said. "A couple of stitches, glue, or do nothing in which case it will take longer to heal. I recommend the glue."

I'm glad I'm old enough to have good insurance.

At one of the parties that Hope and I always attend, somebody looked at the neat caterpillar of purple super glue over my left eye and said, "How cool is that!"

[bottle]

Goosey-Gander, B-Hand, F-Hand

I haven't even had the chance to try swinging at side fence for a flat hand backhand, yet already I want to swing sideways in my forehand once again.

The principle of pulling knob at ball as hips explode long has got to work but ought to start sooner on my forehand.

So there I am with racket high with thumb under twiddle having occurred and wrist laid up. What comes next? Patting the dog, right?

Real force in the arm work has started from bottom of the pat, right? No more.

The pull can start at the top same as on a backhand where guide hand is first above hitting hand and then behind it with that transformation entirely natural.

And similar to backhand I'll take a little more bend out of arm also at the top.

If you live by motto you know that love means you never have to say you're sorry and extension never means the same thing twice.

But if I'm going to lengthen at back I'll shorten at front. Besides, my wrist lays back half as much as that of Roger Federer. I'm going to scissor to pull across. I used to try that a lot. This time it ought to send the strings right through the ball.

It's when you roll over AND scissor-- both at once-- that you limit extension. You can also limit extension this way without a scissor. Roll over has a time and place but it's well after the hit if you're trying to go through the ball more. The whole idea of Lau's laws in baseball is to have flat hand swings, i.e., the lead hand stays palm down. And the lead hand does the work even in a two handed swing in which top hand never leaves the bat. But most Lau batters do get rid of that top hand at a convenient place for more extension. Converted to a two-hander in tennis, this philosophy completely reverses the prevailing motto that a two-hander for a right hander is a left hand forehand. (Forgive the five "hands" in one sentence.) If this baseball wisdom could prevail in tennis, it would mark the revenge of the one-hander, establishing that a basic two-handed swing should really be a one-hander! For now that seems an axiom in baseball, that the best swings at the plate are one-handers, and the other hand is just on there for a while as guidance.