Evening star., 1915-06-27
SERVICE A MORE OFFENSIVE
STROKE IN TENNIS THAN EVER
Its Value Much Greater Than Formerly
Considered Important to Get Receiver
Upon the Defensive.

dency on the part of beginners to
slow down noticeably upon their
ond ball. Sometimes the difference is
iudicrous. Meanwhile your opponent
has gained confidence and is in posi-
tlon to treat that ladylike stroke in
the way YOU will least care for.
Cultivate a second ball of good pace,
and use your head about it just as
strenuously about your first bail
But don't miss getting your first ball
in If you can possibly help it, should
say that it saves tremendous amount
OF energy. for you can allow about 80
per cent of your energy expended to
service alone.
In serving you can only have one foot
off the sround-in the case of right
hand players il is the right foot-and
this foot must not cross the base line
| until after the ball is dispatched. You
must fall into no such habit that of
taking a step or skip before swinging
or hitting the ball. For this You will
he foot faulted in any match. and ii is
easy enough 10 avoid. With the best
players in the rush for the net after
serving. the great danger of foot fault
ing is the swinging in OF the foot that
is i'll the air over the line before the
impact of ball and racket
The va rious great players employ diff
ferent individual methods of avoiding
this tendency. Williams drags the toe
of his right foot on the ground just
before he swings in thus retardinE
that foot for a fraction of a second and
very neatly keeping within the rules.
Personally | kick back my right foot
from the knee as the right leg swings
in, which thus places the foot itself. if
not the entire leg, behind the line
Getting to the Net After Serving.
In a match game [ generally follow
/ every service to the net, this is part
of my general plan of attack. Getting
to the net after serving is so much a
! part of the service itself that ] never
! think about ii. This brings me, how
ever to the next step In ones service.
The stroke is completed. and the body
should be thrown forward after the
/ flight of the ball In the modern game
! the server has distinct advantage in
I commanding the ensuing rally. pro
vided his service is at all effective; for
il he has outmaueuvered his opponent
with pace enough and clever enough
! placing he can usually reach the net
| ana hold it, before the other man. His
| stroke has thrown him into running
! start" before his opponent has moved.
| He can either take advantage of this
! play back at the base line. But in
! all good modern American play the
! overwhelming rule is TO the net
| To waver somewhere in mid court
| between the two extremes is usually
! fatal you run a great risk of shots
i dropped at your feet, and crosscourt
shots pass much wider. But if you so
| as you can and Volley from Well within
/
/ the service line. OF course. there are
| times when it is foolhardv to rush for
/ the net. when your service has gone
! wrong in some way, when Eol are up
| against deadly lobS which ma Ike moth
. ing of your service. and so on But
with every new opponent you Will have
! to meet and solve some such problem.
! Try. in general 10 control your body
| so that. though full-tilt for the net.
! YOU may yet reserve a minimum or
! n g
/ that tries 10 eaten you badly out.
| The True American Service.
AS of particular interest to all tennis
! players, I wish l" attemp' 10 .lIalyze
+ the true American service and the
American reverse service
! Mechanically speaking, the W hole eX-
/ planation of these services is that the
j axis which the bali spins is tilted
! over at an angle of, roughly, - de
| grees. IN the ''American. this is pro-
/ dilced by the racket moving across the
| ball, both from bottom to top and from
/ left 20 right at the time. The
i ball has forward spin from server to
! receiver, and lso an impetus from left
! to right. which makes it rotate on an
axis tilted over as stated.
( 1t swcrNes in flight from risilt to
! left. but breaks back" ON the bound
| from left TO risLt-speak king from the
servers point of view. The receiver
! sees il curving, naturally. from hIs left
TO his right. and is surprised that it
breaks directly opposite The reason
Tor TINS bound is. as Mr. Vaile has so
well put il, that the ball is spinning
! in a plane which lies over at am angle
/ OF 10 degrees, and when it strikes the
| earth II strives very hard to stay in
J the plane of its rotation" Also this
Dal takes an ezra TIC curry" upon break
{ ing, and IS particularly hard to meet
squareiy "ith the racket.
! f'nndN hnely eNempiItitS the Reverse
American. He keeps the ball much
more in front of him than one does
! III the Overhead Reverse Also he
throws II up well 10 the right The ball
1 is hit as the racket goes UP and arross
! from right TO left. just the opposite
things happen TO ii that occur in the
American TWIST. /, too breaks back
on the hound only in the opposite di-
rection
The American Twist
! The finish and follow through of the
+ American Twist service are made on
! the right hand side. ! finish il with
! the top of my racket pointed almost
/ vertically toward the ground and with
/ its back face toward the net The
wrist is twisted over TO the side next
| my body SO that the under side of my
! forearm is turned to the right Fur
ther than this, my fist is twisted back
J to the right from nay wrist SO that the
| edge OF mI racket Is not toward the
| net. but its side. !, is Il finish that has
simply worked itself ou1 naturally for
! my physique.
! GENERALLY speaking. the other serv-
! ices finish across the iodE'' either