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 São 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.
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.
