Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-01
GIVES GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
ON LOBS, CHOPS AND SPINS
Maurice Mclaughlin Tells of the Great
Value of the Different Strokes, Espe-
cially in Important Match Play.
BY MAURICE E. McLoUGHLIN.
Americas Creates. Tennis Player.

Americas Greatest Tennis Player.
The lob, except perhaps for the
smash, easily leads the tennis strokes
neglected by the average player Like
the half-volley, it is almost entirely
defensive stroke, and yet 1t is very
difficult to master. l am making more
use of 1t in late years than l USED 10,
for have discovered. through study OF
opponents, that n properly timed loo Is
every bit as effective, and sometimes
more SO, than beautiful passing shot:
When l was substituted for Larheu
against Brookes at Christchurch, N. ~,
in 1911, my sighting of the loo 'oiu
against me. 1 have greater respect
for it now.
Personally 1 am believer in prac-
ticirg a lob with the idea OF Getlihs
the proper length and height, ana OIL
acouiring the feel of such stroke.
Good. consistent lobbing is largely
matter of "touch"-which means inc
feel of the wrist and arm Whe1 .ne
RIGHT amount of force is behlnd the
bail. ! do not believe in putting very
much cut on a lob. A simpler anu
more accurate method of making .ne
ball drop straightcr is to !oo hishe,,
Putting cut on ball Simply auus d"
element of uncertainty to the snoe.
The high, deep lob naturally is the
ideal one. However. there are eAS ,.pa
lions when you wish the bail 10 oouilu
away ia ster after it has passed over
ynnr opponent's head, the idea pelhs
to prevent his having time 10 ruI
around the ball Such a lob is played
with a fiatter trajectory. just -pes o
inhb,nr is more in use now than for
merly. and has become more OF a Hie
art. chiefly for this reason. II - e+
cause Of the increased amount oa me-
playing tl-at we see IN '"e
amount of lobbing.
Internationally the best lobeer
know of is Beals Wright. Nat bro"i.,
one Of southern California;s s stals' Of
strote Wright is the only player l
have known who has converteo sns
lob into an offensive stroke. nc na
done this by cleveriy mixing a ms his
chop strokes. by which he draws ., ms
onDonent closer to the net, ana tnen'
apparently with the same stroke' plas
ing a high, deep lob Thus the lasle
often sails over his opp 1 aa1iharate-
" pop the ball up into the arr eve"
when in perfect position. :,
During his famous hve-set natcn III
Melbourne. in 1908, win StooAeS Wr;qht
iohbed constantly, and to this, In ereae
measure. he owed his triumph. hetu Ja
that contest the American had COM
peted against Brookes ~ hin,
Tournaments, and had defeated Nun, l
believe. In three out OF hve matches'
and always through superior stratesy.
Knowing that Brookes possessed noo
too great stamina. ana a,, IN tI hv cIeye-
maneuyering to the point OF eAh"us
tion-and knowing also tnat tne
tipodean was his master In the ma
ter of strokins-Wrlsnt niap NysIbonrne
struggle which had for its sole op1eS'
the firing of his rival. AS he laconlcai,
" expressed it afterward' pia'eo
for his stomach! ,.h
Wright aIternated a high, deep loo
with a short chop over the net, Keep
ing Brookes first craning skywaru IN
the back court and then bent douois IN
a sprint up to the net, for III, tne rivsi
two sets Brookes outFlayed his rlvai
in every department of the game aha
in the third he was well in the ieaa.
Then, suddenly. he began to tlre, ms
game faded. and the American eset 4ta
M the score. eventually winning inc
set. From that time Brookes, although
in distress, put up so superb an eAhi
bition of stroking and placement la,
Wright. despite his superior phSsIe;;
condition. took the last two sets only
after long and grueling struggles.
In like manner the former American
champion disposed of Wilding, the New
Zealander. Wilding played a brilliant
game. but Wright succeeded in out
pointing him by employing every trick
Of the trade. Wright had no great
ground strokes. He wonderfully de-
veloped his telling chop. however. ana
made it count tremendously by varying
its length and speed. as illustrated He
was especially efficient at chopping
short over the net. This faculty. with
his attacking lob. gave him complete
If unique-armory of strokes. lie
was always in direct contrast to Lar
ned, who gained his victories by stead
lily outstroking his opponents.
Wallace Johnson of Philadelphia also
commands we'll played chops OF vary
ing length. Certainly they put base
line or play-back opponent in an un-
enviable position. But. of course. the
entire effect of the chop stroke is lost
unless the ball is allowed to bound,
and it is-alasi-one of the easiest for
the net player to volley, mainly for
the reason 1 have already given-that
q chop balls fight through the air Is
very true and that il does not tend to
drop as fast. owing to it's underspin.
I should hesitate to advise the begin
ner to experiment very much with the
various kinds of spin that are put on
the ball. Too much of that is bound to
be detrimental to the development of
sound tennis strokes. A certain amount,
of course, Is essential for the execu-
ton of the various shots that require
it, but it is very easy to form the habit
of putting excessive spin on the ball,
which is a great mistake.
l know of Il certain player who de-
cided that his forehand drive needed
more top spin. Instead of trying to
bring this change about slowly he
played with fire" and began getting
excessive lift on his drive. The con-
sequence is that his drive now is all
top spin and has little or no forward
speed The whole effect of his stroke
Is entirely lost
The cardinal point to remember in
getting top spin on service and other
strokes is to reason out just what po-
sition produces it and how the racket
must come on the ball to produce the
desired effect. Top spin in a tennis
stroke may he compared to the follow
shots in billiards. To produce this last
we must cue the ball above center,
thus imparting top spin to it. In a ten
mis- stroke, likewise. we know that to
put top spin on the ball the face of the
racket must move across it in a certain
manner. The wrist in this shot plays
a larger part than almost any other
portion of the arm. All forms of con-
troll of the ball are more natural on the
forehand side. and, therefore, it fol-
lows that the backhand lends itself less
easily to top.
Underwriting is bad habit for 4 be-
ginner to fall into and / should up-
hesitatingly advise him to put in the
time in acquiring top" by preference
At the same time, as I have already
observed, he must be careful not to
develop it too far. A slice volley is I'M
questionably a good stroke to develop.