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A letter to Robin Söderling's father…written in April of 2011
Attn: Bo Söderling
Re: Your son Robin’s service game
From: Steve Navarro
Dear Sir...
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your son on the fantastic achievements that you have accomplished in the game of tennis. It is rather amazing that a boy can come from a small town in Sweden to become one of the top tennis players in the world. Six years ago, just before moving to Sweden from the United States I watched Robin playing on the television and I said to my friend who was watching with me…”This kid can play!”
I called you the other day after watching your son Robin lose in the finals of the Båstad tournament. It was a rather dramatic ending to double fault on match point, a cardinal sin in tennis, to lose the tournament. I don’t think that enough can be made of this unfortunate ending and if I were close to Robin it would be my job to inform him that perhaps it is a sign. The sign is that his service motion is inadequate and that sometimes it will produce bad results under pressure and it is not the consistent weapon that it potentially should be. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he can change that…if he wants to.
My partner, Frans Jonsson and I watched Robin practicing Monday and Tuesday of the tournament and both of us were very impressed with his incredible ability to hit the ball from the baseline. We watched a number of matches and judging from what we saw on the practice court the tournament was Robins to win. As the tournament unfolded it became apparent it was not going to be as easy as it appeared on the practice court. Every single player in that tournament had nothing to lose when they played Robin…it is a chance for them to climb the ladder and only serves to motivate them. Robin, on the other hand, has everything to lose and in this case if his opponent can successfully slow down his momentum and drag him down…it is to their advantage. Several of his opponents almost did exactly that until, finally, the Spaniard accomplished it in the finals.
So the question is always “why?” I think. Why did he struggle with inferior opponents and why the double fault on match point? To me the answer is fairly obvious…the service motion is inadequate to the task. If the motion is faulty…less than perfect, it is more likely to fail when nerves are into play, when the situation is tight, when the conditions are less than perfect. The machine may break down when you need it most. Not always…but more likely to, as it did in this case.
In my opinion, considering your sons size and athletic ability nothing short of the best serve in the game should be the goal for Robin and certainly it is the one facet in his game where room for improvement (potential) may be found. Obviously, at his level he should have his sights on the number one ranking in the world and clearly it is within his sight. But the problem is that perhaps instead of getting closer to this goal it may be difficult to maintain his position if he does not do something to lift his game…and his confidence.
Please consider the following as my analysis of the importance of the service game and how it is achievable for Robin. In my opinion, if he were to take the steps to dramatically improve his service technique and tactics his chances to win any given tennis match will greatly improve. He will be better equipped to play those players who are ranked considerably lower than him more efficiently and he will be better equipped to challenge those players that are on his level or ranked higher. I think he can have a higher standard of play on a consistent basis.
Bill Tilden on the serve-
Before I go into the actual stroke production of the service I must impress on the pupil several generalities about the service. Power and control in service come from the free use of the racquet head, and can never be gained by the wild gyrations and acrobatic writhing in which you see so many players indulge. All of the great services that I have ever seen have been hit with ease, simplicity, apparently little body movement and no violent contortion.
And…
The method of tossing high in the air and then hitting the ball, as it is falling has several disadvantages. It destroys the coordinated rhythm of arms and swing of racquet so necessary for control. Its only advantage is that it allows the player to take a tremendous swing, but such a swing is not needed if you control your racquet head. (Robin’s technique)
By using the proper method by starting the swing and then tossing to the racquet you gain surprise since the ball is in the air so short a time that your opponent cannot anticipate just when it will be hit. You gain control because the toss has less time to deflect and a shorter distance to go until hit. Most importantly, you attain perfect rhythm, since the toss arm and the racquet arm go up together and keep the body balanced and ready to hit as hard or as easily as wished. (Federer, McEnroe, Becker, Sampras, Pancho Gonzales come to mind)
A description of the Pancho Gonzales serve…
The Gonzales service is a natural action that epitomizes grace, power, control and placement. The top players sigh when they see the smooth, easy action. There is no trace of a hitch and no unnecessary movements. I have never seen a serve so beautifully executed. The toss is no higher than it has to be and it is timed so that he is fully stretched when he hits it. The backswing is CONTINUOUS and the motion of the backswing blends into the hit and continues into the follow-through without a pause..
Service Theory and Application
When building the service game of a tennis player we must have the foundation of a perfect motion to build upon. Once this is accomplished we can begin to explore spinning the ball. We will need to be able to spin the ball with slice spin, over spin and with American twist (kick spin), plus have the ability to hit the ball without spin, the flat serve or smash. With a perfect motion and the ability to spin the ball we can embark on service tactics which is practically a book in itself. Service should always be used to place your opponent on the defensive but there are more ways to do it than by merely trying to blast him off the court. The total service should be almost equal proportions speed, spin and placement but these proportions should vary with each individual serve.
When a tennis player has the ability to serve the ball accurately with the aforementioned spins to 4 or 5 targets in each the deuce and advantage courts you have a vast number of options for all of the different circumstances that are possible during the course of a tennis match. In this manner one can dominate their service game consistently and this puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the opponent to hold their serve. They know that if they lose their own service game it is going to be a real challenge to break back. Currently only the serve of Roger Federer among the present day players comes to mind when considering these aspects of the service game.
Once the service game is addressed and all of the fundamentals are a firm and solid core of the tennis player’s service game many other facets of the game are enhanced. Suddenly with a dominant serve the forehand and backhand get better. Suddenly there are opportunities to approach the net to quickly finish points, which by the way, I think it is a shame that a player of Robin’s size and stature has not been explored. This would be the other aspect of Robin’s potential that I would advise to take careful consideration of the possibilities. That is, how to efficiently handle balls in the middle court and effectively transition from the backcourt to the net.
So, if I were on Robin’s team…in his corner so to speak, I would immediately begin to work on this aspect of his game in order that he might reach the full potential of his ability. First the service motion, then perfect spinning the ball and finally develop sound tactics. I can understand that he has a competent coach and a nice compliment of people advising him but perhaps what he really needs now is a…service guru. You know, to help him climb to the top of the mountain. Good Luck!
Respectfully
Steve Navarro aka don_budge
Attn: Bo Söderling
Re: Your son Robin’s service game
From: Steve Navarro
Dear Sir...
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your son on the fantastic achievements that you have accomplished in the game of tennis. It is rather amazing that a boy can come from a small town in Sweden to become one of the top tennis players in the world. Six years ago, just before moving to Sweden from the United States I watched Robin playing on the television and I said to my friend who was watching with me…”This kid can play!”
I called you the other day after watching your son Robin lose in the finals of the Båstad tournament. It was a rather dramatic ending to double fault on match point, a cardinal sin in tennis, to lose the tournament. I don’t think that enough can be made of this unfortunate ending and if I were close to Robin it would be my job to inform him that perhaps it is a sign. The sign is that his service motion is inadequate and that sometimes it will produce bad results under pressure and it is not the consistent weapon that it potentially should be. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he can change that…if he wants to.
My partner, Frans Jonsson and I watched Robin practicing Monday and Tuesday of the tournament and both of us were very impressed with his incredible ability to hit the ball from the baseline. We watched a number of matches and judging from what we saw on the practice court the tournament was Robins to win. As the tournament unfolded it became apparent it was not going to be as easy as it appeared on the practice court. Every single player in that tournament had nothing to lose when they played Robin…it is a chance for them to climb the ladder and only serves to motivate them. Robin, on the other hand, has everything to lose and in this case if his opponent can successfully slow down his momentum and drag him down…it is to their advantage. Several of his opponents almost did exactly that until, finally, the Spaniard accomplished it in the finals.
So the question is always “why?” I think. Why did he struggle with inferior opponents and why the double fault on match point? To me the answer is fairly obvious…the service motion is inadequate to the task. If the motion is faulty…less than perfect, it is more likely to fail when nerves are into play, when the situation is tight, when the conditions are less than perfect. The machine may break down when you need it most. Not always…but more likely to, as it did in this case.
In my opinion, considering your sons size and athletic ability nothing short of the best serve in the game should be the goal for Robin and certainly it is the one facet in his game where room for improvement (potential) may be found. Obviously, at his level he should have his sights on the number one ranking in the world and clearly it is within his sight. But the problem is that perhaps instead of getting closer to this goal it may be difficult to maintain his position if he does not do something to lift his game…and his confidence.
Please consider the following as my analysis of the importance of the service game and how it is achievable for Robin. In my opinion, if he were to take the steps to dramatically improve his service technique and tactics his chances to win any given tennis match will greatly improve. He will be better equipped to play those players who are ranked considerably lower than him more efficiently and he will be better equipped to challenge those players that are on his level or ranked higher. I think he can have a higher standard of play on a consistent basis.
Bill Tilden on the serve-
Before I go into the actual stroke production of the service I must impress on the pupil several generalities about the service. Power and control in service come from the free use of the racquet head, and can never be gained by the wild gyrations and acrobatic writhing in which you see so many players indulge. All of the great services that I have ever seen have been hit with ease, simplicity, apparently little body movement and no violent contortion.
And…
The method of tossing high in the air and then hitting the ball, as it is falling has several disadvantages. It destroys the coordinated rhythm of arms and swing of racquet so necessary for control. Its only advantage is that it allows the player to take a tremendous swing, but such a swing is not needed if you control your racquet head. (Robin’s technique)
By using the proper method by starting the swing and then tossing to the racquet you gain surprise since the ball is in the air so short a time that your opponent cannot anticipate just when it will be hit. You gain control because the toss has less time to deflect and a shorter distance to go until hit. Most importantly, you attain perfect rhythm, since the toss arm and the racquet arm go up together and keep the body balanced and ready to hit as hard or as easily as wished. (Federer, McEnroe, Becker, Sampras, Pancho Gonzales come to mind)
A description of the Pancho Gonzales serve…
The Gonzales service is a natural action that epitomizes grace, power, control and placement. The top players sigh when they see the smooth, easy action. There is no trace of a hitch and no unnecessary movements. I have never seen a serve so beautifully executed. The toss is no higher than it has to be and it is timed so that he is fully stretched when he hits it. The backswing is CONTINUOUS and the motion of the backswing blends into the hit and continues into the follow-through without a pause..
Service Theory and Application
When building the service game of a tennis player we must have the foundation of a perfect motion to build upon. Once this is accomplished we can begin to explore spinning the ball. We will need to be able to spin the ball with slice spin, over spin and with American twist (kick spin), plus have the ability to hit the ball without spin, the flat serve or smash. With a perfect motion and the ability to spin the ball we can embark on service tactics which is practically a book in itself. Service should always be used to place your opponent on the defensive but there are more ways to do it than by merely trying to blast him off the court. The total service should be almost equal proportions speed, spin and placement but these proportions should vary with each individual serve.
When a tennis player has the ability to serve the ball accurately with the aforementioned spins to 4 or 5 targets in each the deuce and advantage courts you have a vast number of options for all of the different circumstances that are possible during the course of a tennis match. In this manner one can dominate their service game consistently and this puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the opponent to hold their serve. They know that if they lose their own service game it is going to be a real challenge to break back. Currently only the serve of Roger Federer among the present day players comes to mind when considering these aspects of the service game.
Once the service game is addressed and all of the fundamentals are a firm and solid core of the tennis player’s service game many other facets of the game are enhanced. Suddenly with a dominant serve the forehand and backhand get better. Suddenly there are opportunities to approach the net to quickly finish points, which by the way, I think it is a shame that a player of Robin’s size and stature has not been explored. This would be the other aspect of Robin’s potential that I would advise to take careful consideration of the possibilities. That is, how to efficiently handle balls in the middle court and effectively transition from the backcourt to the net.
So, if I were on Robin’s team…in his corner so to speak, I would immediately begin to work on this aspect of his game in order that he might reach the full potential of his ability. First the service motion, then perfect spinning the ball and finally develop sound tactics. I can understand that he has a competent coach and a nice compliment of people advising him but perhaps what he really needs now is a…service guru. You know, to help him climb to the top of the mountain. Good Luck!
Respectfully
Steve Navarro aka don_budge
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