A New Year's Serve

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Steve Johnson vs. Kevin Anderson-- a One-Shot Lesson on TV

Kevin has pulled Steve way off the court. Steve is a mile or maybe ten miles outside of the net on his forehand side. There is no way he is going to make this shot. But he is fast to it. And his racket head begins to swirl downward. He looks like a Weird Sister stirring counterclockwise in a pot of stew with eye of newt as one ingredient.

He leads with his elbow but in what direction? Let us say the right fence post. And as the racket tip swirls down, it closes an unbelievable amount.

His upper and lower arm is at right angle to itself, but skewed. His elbow is way higher than his racket tip. Will he be able to put his strings on the ball much less on the outside of the ball? Doubtful.

Now comes a small loop but in what direction? Again toward the right fence post. And a flick. But from what? Forearm, upper arm, 3) radial deviation of the hand? I vote for 3) .

The soft topspin shot lands inside of the sideline as Kevin Anderson watches.

What a chance this is for a see see hit under different circumstances but exactly the same way.

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A Brute Wearing Brut but Using a Surgical Incision Upward to Hit his See See

I guess I should apologize for pursuing my see see like a Kochroach pursuing Hillary Clinton.

On the other hand there are strong financial (and military) cords on Hillary, too.

On the other hand again I want to play good tennis and this is one way of doing it. Give me a great see see-- the key to everything.

Using bent arm strategy, keep a stiff upper lip, chest out, gut and elbow in!

Well, I don't know about the first parts, but elbow in offers unimaginable possibility.

Already, before I even have tried the Steve Johnson influenced see see of the previous post, I am on to the next thing, a brute strength see see.

Elbow in provides stability. As we already discovered, it enables upper arm rotation to close a gate without affecting racket head pitch. But we want to close the strings! We want to rotate (twist) the upper arm! We want to maintain stability! We want it all, and the answer, since we were not really born as a farm gate, lies in unbridled strength.

Ask first: Is the elbow brushing one's side actually attached to one's side? Of course not. There is not a farm gate hinge down there. The elbow is free to rotate any way it wants. If you keep it in however, there is more stability than if you let it prematurely fly.

So simply crank harder to bring the racket tip around. Maintain right angle in arm-- that's important-- but crank harder than you would to keep racket face at constant angle.

Footwork the same: dit-dit-dit and the cross. Relaxed ulnar deviation during the cross sets up kinetic radial deviation after the crank. The progression is from brute strength to extreme delicacy. The radial deviation is like a surgeon or painter drawing a loose but confident straight line.

Note: I should see in a while whether I want to release (throw) elbow just as I brush or afterward or halfway through. Answer from hitting garage door before going to court: All three, along with a fourth, which involves starting release of elbow just before the brush.

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Third Possibility to Take to Court

I simply don't have enough ideas (weak joke). I guess the man through the fence was right. Get the use of a ball machine. Or employ brute strength? That's no answer, Escher. You didn't mean that anyway. You meant roll the forearm as you bring the racket around as if on a farm gate. The forearm roll makes the racket tip go farther than your farm gate guided hand. Or for same purpose you could turn the free-wheeling elbow in two directions at once. I wonder if that would make any difference.

Many of these experiments, it would seem, work fine in self-feed but fizzle the moment one uses them in actual play.

Arm work is too delayed. That must be the reason. Also, four steps is one too many. Let's adapt the arm work to the three steps of dit-dit-dit.

The inchworm variation we choose, culled from watching Stan Smith's square stance forehands in the old VHS TENNIS OUR WAY but a little different from what we saw there:

First step with left leg, say, puts that foot close in front of the other. This is the time to key racket on 90-degree bent arm to right with elbow brushing side all the way. The foot and arm work was not perfectly in tandem? Why not? Try shorter or longer arm work? Get the two simultaneous elements to happen at exact same speed.

Second step, with right foot can just be in place-- just unweight it and set it down. Other times when doing this you may want to splay it. Forget that for now. Well, you just did something dramatic with foot, re-planted it on a slant, at the end of Betelgeuse the hypotenuse. Time then to do something undramatic-- you step in place. Similarly the arm work was pretty dramatic when you consider that most people just cling to their racket like a security blanket while asking their body to do all the work. Dramatic, undramatic-- a good pattern. Undramatic can be with hand only: ulnar deviation.

Time now to be more dramatic again. Wind racket (close farm gate) to left as you step to left. Hey, in which direction does this foot go? Forward, sideways, backward? "Find the ball." Then comes elbow release and brush (with radial deviation). The elbow release with arm still bent but with no added twist by you should close the racket face the precise amount you need. But to achieve that effect the shoulders will have to be somewhat closed to the target. For sadly or interestingly, I guess, elbow going straight out on a perpendicular from the two shoulders opens racket face, and elbow going out to left of that closes the racket face. Where are you in the court? Nearer toward net means shoulders more closed. Farther back means get them more open.

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Home, Home on the Range, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

A slightly different correspondence between foot and arm is required. And first step doesn't have to be so long, doesn't always have to be Betelgeuse the Hypotenuse. The dit-dit-dit can gradually rearrange the body more toward the target while one keeps in mind the idea that shoulders at contact will remain in various degrees of being closed. One wants a good swing but not to hit through the ball, not in this particular skill shot.

If default or wait position puts elbow slightly out from body, one will have to bring it in. How? When? During first step.

The idea is to get racket tip around, so tell it, "Racket tip, you get around!" Elbow coming in at same time takes it farther around. That is the first step.

During second step racket tip gets farther around with elbow already in.

Third step is when ulnar deviation occurs-- hard to remember if you have never before assigned U.D. its own time slot.

The forward swing is now ready to begin. It was necessary to give this part longer length than first imagined.

Racket farm gates before one releases the elbow, which can go in a number of subtle directions though always somewhat toward the target. Elbow goes out before the brush.

I'd like to try out this very tender see see this morning in actual doubles. On the other hand I'd like to try to win which may dictate that I play the backhand side. Maybe I can hit one down the alley, early, to keep the opponents honest.

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Elbow Only but with Smarter Variation in Hand Pressure

Conscious before unconscious before semi-conscious.

Am talking about a see see (who would have thought it).

The stroke begins with elbow lightly touching side.

Because of previous investment, the footwork consists of one left-right-left skip and one cross.

The racket slowly loads ("keys," you could say) throughout the ditditdit&cross footwork. But hand tightens somewhat on the cross to prevent mondo.

The racket now is in position to hit the shot. There is no reason to reverse-key it.
The elbow, pointed down, shoots toward the ball. This gets the racket tip around farther than any other way while in the same instant making the strings zip up. The elbow probably twists naturally a little in this case but doesn't-- unusually-- threaten stability. It naturally closes the racket face just a little. Hand pressure lightens for contact. Naturally.

Subtractions include ulnar and radial deviation. They have gone into the delete file. Rain will keep me from performing this experiment for a while.

Note: Can envision a three beat version of this. Left foot moves a little. Right foot moves a little. Elbow hits the ball with slight additive of pressure from right leg whether extending or not. Dit-dit-dit. Winner. Should work on one step, two step, three step, four step, and five step etc. variations. Much depends on which foot moved first. Does this sound like a dance class? If so, I hope it's a good dance class. Fred Astaire knew what he was doing on a tennis court, it has been said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R1pqjNvYlk

https://www.google.com/search?q=fred+astaire+tennis&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS519US519&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCMHRi_e45cgCFcZJJgod6EYH1A&biw=853&bih=474

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A Self-Feed Program to Make the New Shot Work

# 1 Hit some double-bend forehands. Laying back hand on wrist gradually during the backswing is a nice option with elbow to stay in. Keep elbow in for about half of the forward swing too with racket to re-trace its tight radial path.

# 2 Now hit the same shot with a straight wrist to notice the change in aim. Just don't lay back the wrist.

# 3 Now hit the same shot (# 2 this time) but don't keep elbow in during forward part of the swing. Release it through the hit instead.

# 4 Add forearm roll to the elbow swoosh. There can be no sequence in this. Life is too slow for that.

# 5 Employ the footwork that will take # 4 suddenly and sharply more sideways.

Observations: See see is the end. The shots in between may prove interesting to one or not.

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To "Rotorded" Servers (those with inflexibility in the shoulder)

Why couldn't you exaggerate highness of elbow to achieve racket lowness then lower the elbow to re-establish its alignment with the shoulders line? Feels like part of a throw to me.

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Actually I got some speed but think I can do better through holding the elbow back and high with left hand and imagining racket and all the rest of the serve.

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Mixed Up Serve

"Bottom" and "top" edges are internal orientation terms established at address. The meaning of them does not change even though top becomes bottom, bottom top etc.

So here is the edge described serve for tonight's tennis social (mixer), the only time anyone takes their tennis seriously.

bottom
top
top
top
bottom
top
top

A disquisition can be written on each of the seven edge descriptions but don't do it.

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Edgy Stuff

"Bottom" and "top" edges are internal orientation terms established at address. The meaning of them does not change even though top becomes bottom, bottom top etc.

So here is the edge described serve for tonight's tennis social (mixer), the only time anyone takes their tennis seriously.

bottom
top
top
top
bottom
top
top

A disquisition can be written on each of the seven edge descriptions but don't do it.

Ah, the precious surface of things. A tennis player has to know when to hold em when to fold em I mean when to be superficial and when not?

I can recite this 7-category mantra in bed, in fact did so this morning and Hope didn't even do or say anything nasty as one would expect.

Trying it out for the first time on the court last night, I held serve every time through three different partners and sets of opponents. I could tell right off that it would work. But the serves got better as the night wore on. Why? Because I stopped thinking categories and let everything get smoother which created some new emphasis, i.e., a little faster here, slower there, faster here-- especially the second "bottom" which is a tight coin on edge if you can hold your elbow back.

I know that to value words in tennis is often considered unfashionable or worse. I'll go along with this to an extent. But the rough evenness of the categories as starter got me organized, it really did.

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Bumpety-Bump on the Cage Wire One-Hander

My interest in the possible footwork of various see sees (FH topspin angles) has renewed my interest in swing or jitterbug rhythms.

Or vice-versa. In jitterbug one can stand with feet parallel to net (oh, sorry for putting up a net) then shift weight from left foot to right foot to left foot; then from right foot to left foot to right foot followed by rockstep on left foot and call it Chattanooga choo-choo and do it again.

That's ditditdit, ditditdit, rockstep, ditditdit, ditditdit, rockstep.

But if one is too old and slow for that, one can just go weight, weight, rockstep.

I find compromise in bouncing on each foot, going down twice (on each foot). That's still three micro-beats but psychologically two.

Some of my somewhat comparable see sees, as they develop, are turning into a bumpety-bump. That would be leftrightleft and a cross. One dreams of naturally pitching forward onto the end of the cross step in perfect balance, and if one can't dream this one can't do it.

The syllables of "bumpety" correspond to ditditdit in this case. In a repeating one hand backhand as demonstrated on the opening page of this Tennis Player issue, one can't discover such literal correspondence.

But, there still is the overall feel of a bumpety-bump-- a unit turn and quick prop-step and a smooth step-out from there.

One needs to do this rhythmically or not at all. If one can't do it I guess one is best off with a simple unit turn and step across-- this is going to happen in emergencies anyway. Be honest though: Which of these two footworks is better?

I like to try the more subtle maneuver integrated with a flying grip change that takes racket as high as I'm going to permit it to go.

Then, to steal Doug King's image of a Pacific Ocean wave about to crash (It's all right: he gave me permission) there is a last instant pause in which I try to pull racket hand down from hand on throat which prefers to strangle the racket rather than let it go.

That to be in the moderately high point of a great one hander. The loopy and beautiful swing starts from there.

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Risky Wristy Behavior

My present understanding of this subject starts with Stotty's advice about mondo or flip, that if one has the talent to do it, do it, if not, don't.

He got me to thinking: What about laying wrist back gradually as part of a level forehand backswing? That's good for a very fast ball. Transition then can come from body only. The hips are turning but they are traveling toward the net at the same time, and this flattish shot will therefore carry enough topspin for control.

Now comes a slower ball with somebody lurking at the net and waiting to knock off one's reply. If you didn't already beat that person by hitting a hard well-aimed shot very early the option still remains for deceptive delay.

The success of this will come from good "read": One can have taken back the wrist or rather hand from wrist after the shoulders are turned. This will pretty much freeze anybody, especially if you don't do it all the time.

Now comes the simpleton's choice of wanting to hit the biggest forehand he can. I'm all for a big 3/4 loop (by using the fraction I mean to suggest a backward racket path somewhat to the outside). I see leading with elbow for immediate springing of the racket head way back. Here is the extension that tennis aficionados so admire. That extension will continue to the side and then to the front with body and arm a single unit and this firm process including a mondo that happens when it wants; finally, some further arm work will enter the picture whether the body twist continues or not.

Would such orchestration be bad? I can't see why. For cc topspin angle, incidentally, I don't have the talent for any kind of wrist layback and plan to keep wrist straight to make the challenge easier.

Note: Add simultaneous downward forearm roll to any of the basic wrist laybacks for spinnier, more slow traveling variation.

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Self-Education on the Forehand Side

One culinary theory (mine) says you ought to tap an egg four times down against a flat surface before you crack it on the fifth. Hold the egg by its ends. Go "onetwothreefourFIVE."

Sit down on a chair and cross your legs and press elbow into your side and imitate the special egg-cracking rhythm.

Using right-angled elbow as a pivot point, wag your hand back and forth so that it finds the top of your knee four times.

The four forward halves of this routine should be the same length. Use same length of hand travel a fifth time only push the elbow forward instead of using it as a pivot point.

Now look down at where the hand is. Farther around past the knee in a more crosscourt direction with palm closed a bit more.

Did you twist elbow up to achieve this happy result? You'd better not. That would almost be the definition of destabilizing a forehand. You might hit a few great forehands that way but miss more.

No one should want to be fooling around with pitch overly much just as one makes contact with a tennis ball except maybe during the all-trusting tight vertical circle produced by UAR (upper arm rotation) in a good serve.

But fear of destabilization like fear of terrorism can quickly get overdone and turn one into a gibbering idiot.

In ground strokes in tennis, one can successfully roll over or under the ball a little if one does it in a natural rather than mechanical way.

But one shouldn't do it all the time. And how the shoulders are set will very much affect one's pitch at contact.

The more the two shoulders face the net the more elbow going out will open the strings. Many instructors teach this method as a way of achieving vertical racket for contact.

If shoulders are extremely closed, racket face will severely close too as part of a cramped swing that may hit one in the head. (I have a scar.)

If one does something in between one may not change pitch at all. The point is that one now has more control over one's pitch and aim through simple expansion of consciousness.

I see a bunch of new stroke possibilities. Some will have to do with when one decides to release the elbow. In the middle of body turn? Before body turn? Toward the end of body turn? After body turn as in a see see?

I have thoughts on those questions but not yet on these ones: Should one always start elbow right away as one's arm swing or keep it in as pivot point in an either/or? Or do a little wagging first before the release? Would that even be workable? Haven't explored that at all.

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Elimination of Counter-Roll from Forearm in a See See

That is my current course of action. I think I want just a bit of forearm roll, not the full available range and strength of motion, and this approach combined with recent discovery about elbow release is easier to time.

It seems that a good see see regardless of feet arrangement (to an extent) is hoving into view.

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Build Tension for "Cut the Wire" During One-Hander Prop

Tony Roche is the one teaching pro I've ever encountered whether in spoken or written form who frequently uses the expressions "prop" and "prop step" to explain what rear foot in a ground stroke should start out by doing.

To follow Doug King's rule that tennis ideas ought to go free, that any instructor should feel free to steal from any other without attribution (the reason I laugh out loud when the more legal minded Tennis Player posters start talking about copyright infringement) I don't see why one can't use front foot too as a prop step or perhaps outrigger in a one hand topspin backhand.

I see this happening after a quick flying grip change to top of the backswing-- so quick that it allows hand and racket to pause there in the case of an unhurried shot.

Right then with racket head still is the time to build tension between the hands and set one's outrigger in one's bumpety-bump stepout.