I remember playing one match where I used this stroke a great deal. Owing to its success—my opponent never even attempted to reach it—I won ace after ace. At the end of the match my opponent indignantly upbraided me. "I cannot admire your length," she protested. Neither did she think it was "fair to play sneaks," adding, "Anybody could win if they cared to play like that." In her opinion it wasn't tennis! I'm afraid I did not take this censure very seriously. As the object of the game is to put the ball as far out of reach of your opponent as possible, I could not see what difference there was between making her run from side to side of the base-line or to the net and back again. Both methods as regards placing are just as good tennis, and should be used judiciously in turn. But this sort of argument did not appeal to my opponent; she still thought any one could win who cared to play that "unsporting game." Perhaps the incident caused her to think a little, and it may be she tried the stroke in her next match. If so, I am quite sure she did not find it so easy to play accurately as she had imagined.
The danger of this stroke is that unless it is just in the right spot, instead of giving you an advantage it will be a very easy ball for your opponent to score off. If it is short, it will find the net; if hit too far, it becomes a bad-length ball and will get the punishment it deserves. It is difficult to explain how this stroke should be played. I think it is best to stand very close to the ball and get rather in front of it, drawing the racket across it from right to left—stroking the ball, as it were, rather than hitting it. It requires a delicate touch, and can be very deceptively played. Your opponent is kept in the dark until the last moment, when the ace has probably been won.
The Service.—I should, as a rule, advise an overhead service. At the same time, an underhand cut service is very useful as a change. Variety of stroke and tactics should always be encouraged.
For an overhead service stand sideways to the net, with your left foot just behind the base-line, the left shoulder facing the net, and the right foot a little to the right of and behind the left. Throw the ball high up over your right ear, bend your body well back and your right shoulder down. Raise the racket at the same time as you throw up the ball, hit it with the centre of your racket, bringing your body forward with all its weight on to the ball, and transferring your weight from the right foot to the left at the moment of impact. Bring your racket right through, and finish a little to the left of your left knee. At the time you throw the ball into the air the left shoulder must be facing the net, and as your racket hits the ball and follows through to your left knee your body should be brought round to face the net.
BEGINNING OF SERVICE | MIDDLE OF SERVICE |
Do not at first attempt a fast service; keep your ardour down until you have gained a mastery of the ball and can vary its direction. Place is always better than pace; this applies, generally speaking, to other strokes besides the service. Try to cultivate a second service which bears a likeness to the first. That is to say, if you have served a fault (and the best players in the world cannot be absolutely sure that their first delivery will not pitch just over the side-line or service-line or hit the top of the net), do not be contented with a soft and guileless second which has no length and which gives your opponent an excellent chance of making a winning drive. Most players are weaker on their backhand. Remember that fact and place your ball accordingly. It is a good plan, when serving from the right-hand court, to aim for the spot where the centre line bisects the service-line. Length and direction will both be good, and in nine cases out of ten your opponent will be required to move to make the return—always a point in your favour.
Remember that variety in service, as in tactics and general play, is essential. However fast your service may be, if its pace and placing are stereotyped, a good deal of its efficacy is lost, since your adversary knows what to expect, where to stand, and the kind of stroke suitable for return. It is better to possess a variety of slow services, if they have good length, than to own one fast service which has no particular merit except speed. And, of course, the faster the ball comes off the racket the more liable is it to go astray. Another reason why you should temper zeal with discretion is that a vigorous service will tire you out like nothing else, and in a long match stamina should be judiciously preserved. You never know when an extra spurt may not be required to turn the scale in your favour. I have often noticed the difference in length and sting between the service of some players at the beginning of the match and in the third set, and I am sure that one of the reasons why so many matches are ultimately lost after a promising start is the decline in the service, in its sustained vigour and in its length.
By the way, why do many lady players, even those who compete at open tournaments, stand several feet behind the base-line when serving? Are they aware that the length of their service is probably just so many feet short of what it ought to be and that they voluntarily give themselves an extra journey to recover short returns, even if they reach them at all? You will never find expert players, who appreciate what I may call the geometry of the court, penalise themselves in this manner. Yet the habit, for some reason or other, would appear to be on the increase.