A New Year's Serve

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J. Donald Budge on Doubles

Talk too much rather than too little.

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What Could be More Fun than...

A stroke idea that doesn't work one time but does appear to work the next time one tries it.

Today the courts were clear of snow and water for the first time in months.

The stroke idea was to put more of a serve behind one's neck. This idea comes from a reflection of "the serve doctor" or one of the serve doctors that an old-fashioned serve did just that...i.e, did it more than a modern serve does.

If that is true, more old-fashioned serves may be the way to go for a rotorded server, to compensate for the poor direction of spin generated by too short a runway.

I found myself serving a basket of balls out on a court with no net.

I think I began to come by the new idea there but didn't really get a feel for it until later when I was serving against a bangboard.

Funny how that can work. One gets a sense of the quality (or lack thereof) of one's spin from the way the ball ricochets off of the board.

The feeling was of body bend directing more to the side rather than back at rear fence.

The bend then became quite simply melded into the focused effort to put more of the service action behind one's neck.

These serves, tried before perhaps only once, didn't feel bad back then during service solitaire but felt weak in competitition and came apart and got clobbered.

Today they began to feel strong. I attribute this to body bend and upward racket path all being part of a blended effort to put more of the serve behind one's neck and back. One follows the single idea in this and goes relentlessly at it.

I think that horizontal rotation of the shoulders and what is commonly known as "cartwheel" are corollaries that vary to each other in inverse proportion.

Continuous experiment through variance of the proportion could produce some positive effect.

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Orpheus Shot

I'm disappointed when I come up with a new shot to try-- something different from the shots I usually use-- then get to my self-feed court but forget, probably because I have too much else on my mind.

But a shot I definitely do have on my mind is a spin-off from my McEnrueful, which is the essence of solid connection between one's bod and one's arm.

Grip is composite, just a smidge to left of eastern forehand. The wrist however, which is imitation John McEnroe, is perfectly straight. There is no mondo or wrist layback early, late or a little at a time whatsoever.

Can and should one try topspin from this arrangement? Certainly. But where does such an idea come from?

From tennis players who have the gift of gab. Like Brent Abel who has worked with Doug King and Tom Stow.

Like most teaching pros, Brent Abel would like to sell you something. In the process-- I'm thinking primarily of his daily series on doubles on YouTube "What's the Right Shot?"-- he usually will say invaluable things before he comes to his pitch.

Invaluable because part of an articulated philosophy that is consistent and true.

For instance, that despite what everybody thinks, you can even hit topspin from a continental grip.

From a continental grip? That's to the left of my composite! So I surely can do it from my composite. And in fact remember one singles tournament opponent from long ago, John Miller of northwest Virginia, who passed me sensationally from a very low racket probably in a full continental grip.

The McEnrueful gets the racket low in a very solid way. The hips revolving forward lower the hitting shoulder behind them. Then comes some very aeronautical banking to keep one's arm and bod in the same rock solid connection.

Racket already is low. But now we'd like to produce a soft angle. So arm gets to take a solo. Another way of putting this is that elbow in the middle lifts upward thus taking both halves of set arm to either side with it.

Target is one of just above the net. One needn't aim far away from one's opponent.

Brent Abel is partial to multi-grip tennis. Preponderance of his forehands are eastern grip. For a high ball he will westernize a bit and use more wiper.

The provocative idea here is different means of producing topspin with milder grips. And with eastern grip-- this is my personal take-away-- one can either throw elbow or use the wiper but probably not both. And with a semiwestern use more wipe every time.

A perspective, isn't it? And not what you hear or read every day, the first tenet of which is eschew composite and continental grips as useless relics of the bygone past.

Balderdash.

Is the racket lowering from hips accompanied by any further adjustment? Seems likely.

Well this, my elusive see see, will be a difficult shot to master since racket and oncoming ball must intersect in front and out to side at the exact right moment.

The arm lift should be smooth, slow and confident rather than spasmodic.

Best ball will be of sufficient height to permit some racket lift both before and after contact.

The preparation must be sufficient to engender inside out pathway up to the ball.

Racket to scrape ball will go up the whole way. The sideways-ness of this will minimize any alteration of pitch as racket sweeps et pitch as it sweeps upward.

This is an Orpheus or Lott's Wife shot.

You can't look.

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Multiplication of Options if one is a Believer in Multi-Grip Tennis and Capable of Transferring Thought from one Grip to Another

The word "capable" will carry too much judgment and personal opprobium for defensive souls to accept. So just leave them out of the present discussion and have it out on a self-feed court alone with oneself.

The goal as so often: the almost impossible see see or high short angle, not the same as a short angle forehand passing shot. That one barely clears the net and needn't be hit away from one's opponent.

But one can perhaps use the same grip, in my case a strong eastern or even mild semiwestern.

My yesterday's experiment was long arm composite grip with extra closing of racket best accomplished (I found) on the up of a down and up McEnrueful backswing.

The outcome of this was lifted stiff or barred arm with hand on top of racket: Who wants that?

Better just to keep arm barred but with a grip that puts hand UNDER the racket, which equals fewer moving parts in setting up the shot.

Maybe the answer will be a full western grip-- how can I know before I get to the court?

Whatever the grip, the shot will at first feel strange-- a shot with McEnrueful rhythm and mechanics but hit with a different grip. Along with extra straightening of the arm as forward hips rotation takes the hitting shoulder down.

Clearly, I have talked about this shot a lot. That is because all other self-feed experiments have led to some kind of accommodation, e.g., the serve isn't great but not horrible either. Only this shot, the see see, is the holdout.

Well, I would rather see the see see work than hear myself talk about it more.

Hence the thoughts above.

P.S. Today, I broke my usual rule, went to a coffee shop and then the self-feed court FIRST before I typed anything.

I ended the practice with nine see sees. Before that I alternated see sees with other shots.

Now I add to the concept. Let fingers adjust the racket to strong eastern grip-- racket to hand rather than hand to racket. Wrist to stay straight as in a composite grip McEnrueful. No further adjustment to racket pitch is necessary as racket goes down and up.

But rear shoulder goes down (in answer to forward hips rotation) while arm straightens an extra amount and thus gets racket lower than in a McEnrueful.

The barred arm now is a log, so I suppose one could ask, why not just get arm barred during the down and up?

I'll try that next time but right now think that would make the shot too awkward and mechanical for too long a time.

For now I prefer the organic backswing feel of a slightly bent arm going up.

Then rhythm for straightening arm as the shoulder drops down.

From there the shot IS mechanical: a straight armed bowl to front and side but all on the up and up.

There isn't any further lowering of the arm. One wouldn't want that.

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Reconsideration of How of Grip Change

Wait a minute. The pitch on a see see with composite grip wasn't that bad. You changed grip to put more hand under racket-- that was the reason for the change. So follow up on that. Change grip by holding racket steady with left hand and put more right palm under the racket.

Compare now the aeronautical banking in a McEnrueful with that of the see see. In the McEnrueful the arm stays fixed. The AB (aeronautical banking) helps put a push on the ball.

In the see see one straightens the arm an extra amount as forward hips rotation lowers the shoulder. The hit then is comprised of careful arm lift and careful AB. Neither this AB or the arm lift should be fast.

Is one making good use of whatever speed the oncoming ball has? I think so.

The slow AB could be thought of as more of a device to keep the arm lift going to outside for longer.

Only great smoothness, deliberate, can accomplish this.

Such slowness indicates that the duration of the see see is greater than that of the McEnrueful.

Allow extra time therefore.

To summarize: The function of AB in the McEnrueful is to add push to the shot. The function of AB in the see see is to allow the racket rise to proceed on an inside out path for a long time thus creating a small range of good contact points rather than a one and only locus that is often impossible because too exact.

AB/UBR (upper bod rotation) also gets to go farther. Anything for a better percentage of success with this shot.

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The Mind Races ahead to Orchestration before the New Shot even is Worked into one's Game

Old age is not long enough for anything else. The new idea is incorporated into one's master plan-- an act of faith. Determination of whether the new shot is good, great or miserable can be temporarily delayed.

The see see, spin-off of the McEnrueful, is hit much the same way but with essential differences.

The see see, spin-off of one's waiting grip for topspin forehands, can be hit in the midst of a bunch of them.

Or can be hit in the midst of a bunch of McEnruefuls, thus deriving physicality from that trough.

One should happily seize the functional variety in this. (No, don't just hit the same old boring shot.)

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More on See See

The opportunity for keeping the straight inside out pathway of one's level section then lift of racket grows even longer if one is willing to step forward with one's rear foot as one produces the shot.

This is almost like an extra hip turn. So you get hips, shoulders, then more hips.

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Joseph Campbell Didn't Say, "Follow Your Dream Unless It's Tennis."

He said, "Follow your dream."

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Serve

Spaghetti arm.
Spaghettier arm.
Spaghettiest arm.

Loose grip.
Looser grip.
Loosest grip.

High toss.
Higher toss.
Highest toss (for me).

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Undisguised (Abbreviated) See See

1) Start with composite grip as if to hit a McEnrueful.

2) Turn but keep left hand holding racket for longer time than in a McEnrueful.

3) Turn palm under handle during this period.

4) The rhythm of the turning under becomes part of the rhythm of the short lowering of the racket.

5) The racket lowering continues from forward hips rotation and extra straightening of arm.

6) Proceed as in any disguised version of the same shot.

7) For reverse see see hit shot the same way but with laid back wrist.

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Service Progression

Have taken a lot of sequence out so put some back in; specifically, on toss start upward trip of ball from arm only, then chime in around the time of release with body bend to give the toss a bit more oomph.

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Reflection on Cardio Drills

If I am the guy who figures out stuff too much, then cardio drills are perfect for me.

The trouble however is that most players don't figure out stuff enough.

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Intense Session with Younger Players

Great night in the warmup with Marella Diakonov, USPTA pro and one of the active 5.5 players in this area.

She doesn't fool around, keeps things moving, is firm with her students.

But I didn't hit one of my newly designed see sees, not one.

Did hit one see see service return as a normal forehand. "What an angle!" somebody said.

It's a cardio drill, and my changing partner and I won more than our share of the points and games (which wasn't true a week ago).

To me as oldest guy by far, this felt good.

Was the first time in these drills, which somebody else decided to pay for, I was really "on." It happens to the worst of us, don't you know. And maybe when somebody else pays for you, you try harder. It's sort of like when somebody bets on you in pool which has happened to me just once in my life.

So I didn't try the new see see. Things were going too well. I didn't want to make myself self-conscious. That would have happened if I tried and made the first bowled strong eastern ever. (Part of the challenge is that I am really lousy at bowling.)

But those shots will come. Next week perhaps.

All other attempts at boldness were rewarded. I'll need to stay calm when I finally try the new see see and make it.

Was so glad I had a nap just before the session-- made a big difference.

Was almost surly. Played a little as if I had something to prove.

Marella, though positive, didn't say much. But she knew. We need to be able to say to ourselves that we are playing well, right? So maybe it's what I think, not Marella.

But Bill Grant, friend and nuclear engineer, let me know that I did play well.

And then the tennis social began. (I like the word "social" better than "mixer.")

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See See Gets Simpler Yet

Snow melted enough on Saturday for me to get in a little self-feed. Conclusion: Don't disguise see see. Abbreviate it. Straight down and bowl, but take racket out a little in a tiny spiral. Want a narrow frame for this shot. In some of the earlier iterations this player (I) mentioned some level tract. No level tract.

The racket goes simply down. Then it's ready to bowl up on outer edge of the ball. Give ball a glancing blow to create some topspin but also a break toward side fence.

Shot worked better from strong eastern grip wait position, the one am apt to use for my most staple deep forehands. I suppose I'm announcing it too soon by taking racket straight down, then extending the arm some more in tandem with forward hips.

On the other hand will hit other shots from same wait, including one that puts racket low relatively early for a passing shot that looks similar through the early check points.

For the abbreviated see sees then hips next shoulders next hips again as rear foot walks through.

The walk through is on same inside out path that sends racket and weight all on one direction past the ball, not through it.

This is an "all brush and no weight" shot.

I said before the duration of the see see was greater than that of other shots.

That no longer is true.

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And Simpler Yet

Why retain any bend in arm as racket spirals almost straight down? You (I) have waited to straighten arm an extra bit as hitting shoulder drives down from forward rotation of the hips. Why? Conceptualitis. Or blind habit.

You don't have that added complication on a McEnrueful so why should you impose it on a see see?

Just fully straighten arm as racket goes down. Gravity can do it all.

Now the mechanics are closer to a McEnrueful. Arm is already straight when shoulder drives down, that's true, but the only difference from the yesterday's see see, which was working pretty well, is that there is less to do just before the actual stroke-- a good thing.

One more item for someone who wants to understand this specialty shot which is going to be very good.

The design changes now have it being hit from strong eastern wait grip.

Fine, but a specific racket pitch goes along with this.

The pitch will be exactly the same as for the McEnrueful wait position held in a composite grip.

Strong eastern now but with same slightly open racket pitch.

Self-feed exercise: Five McEnruefuls interspersed with five see sees.

If any of the see sees goes too high or too low, change the grip for the next one at wait position.

That beats changing the stroke pattern in any way.