Tennis has all variables in the spectrum of skills, tactics and
strategies. In the rainbow of possibilities the attack stands
out as one of the most interesting ones to me. After long years
of playing the game myself, observing others play and teaching,
I am lead to believe that you can not teach the attack nor be an
attacker if your personality does not match it. We could go into
a long argument about this and it would take plenty of our time
and energy (you can always email me with your prespective on
this). At the end, we would conclude that personality, inborn
special skills, abilities and environment are the most important
factors inherent to the development of a good all round
attacking player. Therefore I will start with what I think is
the general mosaic of the all around attacking player.
Attackers are:
- Bold
- Aggressive
- Risk takers (all or nothing types)
- Gamblers
- Opportunistic
- Fearless
- Creative and imaginative
- Persistent
- Unrelenting
- Predator
- Dominating
- Corageous
- Fierce competitors
Examples of all time great attackers:
Pancho Gonzalez “Although his high-speed serve, so effortlessly
delivered, was a trademark, Gonzalez, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder,
was a splendid athlete and tactician who excelled at defense,
too. “My legs, retrieving, lobs and change-of-pace service
returns meant as much or more to me than my power,” he once
said, “but people overlooked that because of the reputation of
my serve.”
Althea Gibson “Gibson was a big hitter with an awesome serve.
She liked to attack, but developed consistency at the baseline”
Margareth Court “Court was primarily an attacker, basing her
game on a heavy serve and volley, and relying on athleticism and
endurance. She could conquer with groundstrokes, though..”
Maria Ester Bueno ” As the So Paulo Swallow, she was slim, tall
(5-foot-7) and quick, swooping to the net to conquer with
piercing volleys. She was a blend of power and touch, a woman of
superb movement and rhythms.”
Billie Jean King “An aggressive, emotional player who has often
said, “You have to love to guts it out to win,” Billie Jean
specialized in serve-and-volley tactics, aided by quickness and
a highly competitive nature.”
Evone Goolagong “She was a natural, a free-flowing right-hander
blessed with speed, lightning reflexes and a carefree
temperament.”
Martina Navratilova “Despite her upbringing on slow clay in the
small town of Revnice, outside of Prague, she has always been a
tornado-like attacker, a net-rusher”
Lew Hoad ” Hoad, a strapping 5-foot-8, 175-pounder with a
gorilla chest and iron wrists, may have been the strongest man
to play tennis in the world class. He blistered the ball and
became impatient with rallying, preferring to hit for winners.
It was a flamboyant style, and made for some bad errors when he
wasn’t in tune. But when his power was focused along with his
concentration, Hoad came on like a tidal wave. He was strong
enough to use topspin as an offensive drive. He was assault
minded, but had enough control to win the French title on slow
clay in 1956.”
Roy Emerson ” Fitness was his hallmark. He trained hard and was
always ready for strenuous matches and tournaments. Although
primarily a serve-and volleyer, he could adapt to the rigors of
slow courts”
Rod Laver “Few champions have been as devastating and dominant
as Laver was as amateur and pro during the 1960s. An incessant
attacker, he was nevertheless a complete player who glowed in
backcourt and at the net. Laver’s 5-foot-81/2, 145 pound body
seemed to dangle from a massive left arm that belonged to a
gorilla, an arm with which he bludgeoned the ball and was able
to impart ferocious topspin. Although others had used topspin,
Laver may have inspired a wave of heavy-hitting topspin
practitioners of the 1970s such as Bjorn Borg and Guillermo
Vilas. The stroke became basic after Laver. ”
John Newcombe ” Newcombe’s serve, forehand and volley were the
backbone of his attacking game, was at its best on grass. His
heavy serve was possibly the best of his era. Grass was the
setting for his foremost singles wins, the three Wimbledon plus
two U.S. Championships at Forest Hi 1967 and 1973. “You’re only
as good as: second serve and first volley,” was the motto of
this intelligent, fun-loving Aussie, and he lived up to it. ”
Arthur Ashe “Although Ashe was always a winner, a man of strong
character, poised and able to overcome racial blocks, it took
him a while to harness his power, groove, his groundstrokes and
become a thoughtful player, comfortable on all surfaces.”
John McEnroe “A 5-foot-11, 170-pound left-hander, McEnroe stands
as perhaps the most skilled–and controversial–of all players.
Brilliant in doubles and singles, he was distinguished by
shotmaking artistry, competitive fire and a volatile temper…..
A magnificent volleyer with a feathery touch, he was an attacker
whose fast court style netted four U.S. Open and three Wimbledon
singles. But he had the baselining strength to have done well on
clay at the French, a title he might have won at his zenith in
1984. In the final he led Ivan Lendl, 2-0 in sets only to be
distracted by temperamental outbursts, and was beaten, 3-6, 2-6,
6-4, 7-5, 7-5.”
Boris Becker “Becker’s game featured a big serve, heavy
groundstrokes and penetrating volleys. A crowd favorite at
Wimbledon, he reached the finals seven times in 10 years”
….and Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras,
Tim Henman and Roger Federer to name a few.
*You can find these biographies at
http://www.tennisfame.com/enshrinees_atoz.html
What makes the pure attackers such a rare breed? I could argue
that they have to develop the whole spectrum of skills in the
tennis game, while others limit themselves to just using a small
part of it. In addition they have to be faster, jump higher,
react faster at all times, need more intensity, concentration
and produce a lot more bursts of high energy and speed when they
play. Finally, they have to be more resistant, stronger, train
harder, more intense, more explosive with more demanding
programs and play a more precise game. All in all they are
simply better developed athletes and players.
Let us look at some situations we commonly see at the pro level:
While a baseliner can afford to patiently hit cross court balls
6 to 8 feet from the side lines in order to get the openings
needed, an attacker has to take a much higher degree of risk and
precision by playing a lot closer to the same lines and many
times by just a few inches.
While a baseliner will comfortably place his powerful kick
second serves 2 feet or even 5 feet from the service box lines,
a serve and volley player will have to go for the line or the
minimal margin possible plus he will have to play a forcing
service that often is as powerful as a 1st service with more
spin.
How many times do we see baseliners ramming the ball cross court
as hard as they can at the attacker to obtain an easy volley
with no consideration on placement? As in contrast the attacker
will have to play his volley with pin point accuracy, thus if he
wants to get a chance at a second volley or win the point.
To prepare his attacks the all round player needs to develop a
baseline game that often matches and surpasses the quality of
the baseline players game specialists. In many cases this plus
the fact that they need more physical maturity, is the reason
why many attacking players tend to be late “bloomers” on the
ATP/WTA circuit.
In addition to the many other facets of the all round serve and
volley attacking game this is why it is such a pleasure to watch
a serve and volley attacking player, because we are watching
ultimate tennis, win or loose by inches, risk and excitement at
all instances!
All of these demands, physical, mental and psychological are not
for the faint at heart, so the great majority of tennis players
go the easy way, the baseline game! Nevertheless by doing so
they forego the most exciting part of the game of tennis,
sometimes the most rewarding as well, which is the attack!
Now, if you are not an attacker yet, I hope I may have gotten
you interested in it. In my next article, I will elaborate on
each trait of the all round player plus I will give you some
tips on how to develop a solid attacking game. For comments or
ideas about this article please email the author Sergio Cruz
Copyright © 1999-2005 Tenniscruz.com®. All rights reserved.
Sérgio Cruz is an ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player
from Portugal and former Coach Jim Courier ATP World Ranking # 1
cruz@tenniscruz.com http://www.tenniscruz.com
