Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Having A Weapon!


The tennis weapons are generally a forehand, backhand or serve. When my friend recently played in a tournament, winning his first match and losing the second, he told me, "I need a weapon." I don't think he was asking me about guns, knives or a taser, but something he could do on the court to trouble his opponent.

Could great defense be a weapon? Consistancy? Mixing UP a serve that tops out at 75 mph? Yup. All of those can be weapons. I even quipped initially to him that "correct scorekeeping" could be a weapon because when you play people my age (50!) and I say to him while I'm serving, 30 - all? he can reply, "No, LOVE 40!"

QUICKNESS can also be a weapon as can TENACITY. An opponent who seemingly gets to EVERYTHING causes you to overhit or go for too much with that volley or overhead or try and finish a point too early.
We can't all have Roddick's serve, Rafa's quickness or Soderling's (flat) forehand, but can all become better at one thing and maybe even be known for it.