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  1. #1
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    Roddick's abbreviated serve

    I would like to know what people think of the abbreviated serve employed by Roddick.

    Here's a slow motion analysis:


  2. #2
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    I think I wish I can serve like him!

  3. #3
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    I think it looks really awkward but Roddicks serve is basically the best so I guess he's comfortable with it. Back when I first started playing tennis I used something similar, but I was serving with a semi western grip

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by andylo View Post
    I think I wish I can serve like him!
    that makes two of us

    Quote Originally Posted by clock- View Post
    I think it looks really awkward but Roddicks serve is basically the best so I guess he's comfortable with it. Back when I first started playing tennis I used something similar, but I was serving with a semi western grip
    i see what you're saying. he puts everything together so quickly that it looks difficult to pull off. however, i do sometimes wonder what the extra loop (non-abbreviated or conventional service motion) is for when the racquet ends up in the same location.

    what im saying is why are we told to lift the racquet further away from our body when the actual serve thrust motion doesnt begin until the arm is in the L shape?

  5. #5
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    Well for me it gives me time to make sure I'm doing everything right, but at the pro level I doubt they need that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by clock- View Post
    Well for me it gives me time to make sure I'm doing everything right, but at the pro level I doubt they need that.
    i hear ya

  7. #7
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    I don't particularly like his service motion. I don't dislike the abbreviation, but I don't like how he drops his racquet arm down low again after he takes it up. He sacrifices alot of control for power. When he gets it in, it is obviously hard to return, but the placement is poor and that is why many players are able to start reading it and have begun to return his serve better. He does not place it well. Mainly because he is taking such a huge cut at it that his control is sacrificed. Example: My uncle was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers back in the 1960's. He could take a garbage can and set it up 60 yards away and ring it consistently 4 and 5 times in a row. He would do that with one step and then a throw. Now, he could throw the ball 96 or so yards. I never saw him ring the trash can over 90 yards. His motion was compromised when he had to have a big wind up and his control suffered. If Roddick would back off the power just a hair and hit the corners with excellent placement, he would serve that much better. Plus, taking huge cuts like that in matches wears you down. I am certainly not saying he doesn't have a great serve, but I actually think it could be better with a little more control.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lawn Tennis View Post
    that makes two of us



    i see what you're saying. he puts everything together so quickly that it looks difficult to pull off. however, i do sometimes wonder what the extra loop (non-abbreviated or conventional service motion) is for when the racquet ends up in the same location.

    what im saying is why are we told to lift the racquet further away from our body when the actual serve thrust motion doesnt begin until the arm is in the L shape?
    To clear some of this up, think about throwing a football (or any kind of ball). Watch the best pitchers. You are throwing the racquet instead of a ball. The down then up motion creates some momentum and gets the body in time, but the big thing is the hand needs to at some point get close to the ear. Not right on it, but somewhere near it. Racquet needs to be up at that point so it can snap down and then snap back up into the ball. The reason I say get the hand somewhere near the ear is because it helps you know where the racquet is and gives you a reference point. Roddick's hand is closer to his right shoulder, but that is because he dips his shoulders so far down. Don't overthink any of this too much. You will get analysis paralysis and then you will have issues with your serve. Think control over power for now. You are only as good as your best second serve. If you can't get the ball in the court, what good is a 120+ mph serve? Look at Agassi. He hit kick and slice serves his whole career. How many more Grand Slams does he have than Roddick? Same with Stefan Edberg and Jimmy Conners. McEnroe didn't murder serves either. He placed them in the corners.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    To clear some of this up, think about throwing a football (or any kind of ball). Watch the best pitchers. You are throwing the racquet instead of a ball. The down then up motion creates some momentum and gets the body in time, but the big thing is the hand needs to at some point get close to the ear. Not right on it, but somewhere near it. Racquet needs to be up at that point so it can snap down and then snap back up into the ball. The reason I say get the hand somewhere near the ear is because it helps you know where the racquet is and gives you a reference point. Roddick's hand is closer to his right shoulder, but that is because he dips his shoulders so far down. Don't overthink any of this too much. You will get analysis paralysis and then you will have issues with your serve. Think control over power for now. You are only as good as your best second serve. If you can't get the ball in the court, what good is a 120+ mph serve? Look at Agassi. He hit kick and slice serves his whole career. How many more Grand Slams does he have than Roddick? Same with Stefan Edberg and Jimmy Conners. McEnroe didn't murder serves either. He placed them in the corners.
    Okay, TK. Your emphasis on placement over pace has convinced me. I guess maybe we should be thinking of the serve as "a way to start the point to our advantage" rather than as "a way to end the point with a winner".

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lawn Tennis View Post
    Okay, TK. Your emphasis on placement over pace has convinced me. I guess maybe we should be thinking of the serve as "a way to start the point to our advantage" rather than as "a way to end the point with a winner".
    Righto! If you think about hitting winners all the time, you will disappoint yourself when you play better players. Think about hitting good shots and if a winner occurs in the process, so be it and move on. I assure you that placing the ball where you want it will get you plenty of free points, whether it be a winner or not. It's better to be constantly good rather than be occassionally great. Consistancy is the key. Pros just practice and play enough to where they can constantly hit good shots. Federer does not have the biggest shots, but he plays good tennis over and over and minimizes his bad days. That is the difference between a Monfils (who hits a big ball) and Federer (who consistantly hits solid shots, but not huge ones).

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    Righto! If you think about hitting winners all the time, you will disappoint yourself when you play better players. Think about hitting good shots and if a winner occurs in the process, so be it and move on. I assure you that placing the ball where you want it will get you plenty of free points, whether it be a winner or not. It's better to be constantly good rather than be occassionally great. Consistancy is the key. Pros just practice and play enough to where they can constantly hit good shots. Federer does not have the biggest shots, but he plays good tennis over and over and minimizes his bad days. That is the difference between a Monfils (who hits a big ball) and Federer (who consistantly hits solid shots, but not huge ones).
    Good point

  12. #12
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    I understand that placement is more important then just power, but I'm wondering, TK, when you were a pro, how did you manage to accelerate your serves more/ add more spin.
    I've hear about supination (sp.?), but I'm not really sure how that works.

    OH, and LT, that cobra sere is certainly helping, ty

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by 03White View Post
    OH, and LT, that cobra sere is certainly helping, ty
    Awesome! Yeah, isn't it great.. your accuracy and overall serve will suffer for a little, but only to become twice as good in the long run. I think it was BJK who said that, in tennis, she was always willing to take a step back so that later on she could take two steps forward. And this is a good example.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by 03White View Post
    I understand that placement is more important then just power, but I'm wondering, TK, when you were a pro, how did you manage to accelerate your serves more/ add more spin.
    I've hear about supination (sp.?), but I'm not really sure how that works.

    OH, and LT, that cobra sere is certainly helping, ty
    Have a loose wrist and make sure you have a continental grip. I would swing just as hard at the ball as if I were going to hit it 120 mph. I just tried to brush up very hard on the ball and I had a very big turn. You have to really turn on the kick serves or you will pull out of the shot and your arm will follow bringing the racquet across the ball which will not let you add that heavy upward spin. Don't worry about all of the terms and such. Just brush the back of the ball hard and hit up. Think of the words up and around. The ball needs to arc up and over the net. The toss needs to be around the 11:30 position. It all begins with the toss.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by tennisking1 View Post
    Have a loose wrist and make sure you have a continental grip. I would swing just as hard at the ball as if I were going to hit it 120 mph. I just tried to brush up very hard on the ball and I had a very big turn. You have to really turn on the kick serves or you will pull out of the shot and your arm will follow bringing the racquet across the ball which will not let you add that heavy upward spin. Don't worry about all of the terms and such. Just brush the back of the ball hard and hit up. Think of the words up and around. The ball needs to arc up and over the net. The toss needs to be around the 11:30 position. It all begins with the toss.
    Hey, when you say to really turn on the kick serve, i know you mean the shoulders.. but how much of the torso turns? is it the whole body following the shoulders or just torso?

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