Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 210, 24 November 1927, Page 8

Lawn Tennis and How to Play It

By RENE LACOSTE (Exclusive to THE SUN) VII. SERVICE

Well begun is half done. The beginning of every rally in lawn tennis is the service. If you are the server it is the beginning of your attack, and in every kind of battle a successful first attack is the first step toward victory. The American supremacy on the courts since the war is largely through a supremacy in service. Tilden, when he serves, makes a better use of every inch of his height and every ounce of his strength than the English and French players; Johnston, small and light as he is, produces a remarkably reliable delivery because of his perfect swing and timing. Everybody can learn a good service. In the service, you have everything in your favour. There are no difficult conditions caused by your opponent’s play, you can choose your own time, place your feet carefully, strike the ball exactly as you want to strike it. If you miss the service, therefore, it is entirely your own fault. If you have not: a good service, you must learn to acquire one, going each day on to an empty court with a dozen old balls, and practising service, from each side of the court alternatively. In the United States, last summer, I was dissatisfied with my service and accordingly I practised it, not only on the courts at Germantown or Forest Hills, but also in the. evening when I practised the swing in my room. Unfortunately, there was an electric light just over my head and, fearing to strike it, I got into the habit of swinging with a bent arm. Because of this, when on the court, I began striking the ball too low and my service became worse and worse. Luckily, I discovered what was amiss through seeing a photograph which someone had taken of me on the court, and in two days, by practising correctly, I had got out of the bad habit. But the electric light, alas, was broken! AVOID SPIN AT FIRST A real artist at the game, like Mishu, can worry his opponents with freak underarm services, but I do not advise you to try to do likewise. Unorthodox services rarely pay. Indeed, at first, you must not even try to use too much spin in your service. Spin is necessary for keeping the strong service of a short play within the court, and it is vp liable in deceiving the receiver by changing the bounce of the ball. But you will learn the strokes of the game much more quickly if you first become perfect without spin and study that afterwards. If you want to serve correctly you must place your feet with as much care as is used by Patterson or Tilden or Brugnon. You must place your left foot close to the base line, with your right eight or twelve inches farther back. You should imitate Johnston, the player with the most perfect technique in starting the service swing with all your weight on the right foot and the left foot barely touching tbe ground. And, of course, you must NEVER face the net.

Let us consider how you should hold your racquet for the service. Put it down flat on a table;, then bring your hand over it, as if you were going to grip the handle, but instead of lifting it merely put your fingers round it until their tips' touch the table. Then raise the racquet with the left hand, keeping the fingers of the right hand where they are. Bring the thumb and also the palm of the hand where they most naturally fall on to the handle. Then you will be holding the racquet with a very good service grip, very similar to that used by Patterson and Tilden and others of the best of the experts.

Many players In service place the forefinger along the handle. Personally, I put my thumb along the handle. But that is a matter for personal choice. Do what suits you best. And above all remember to cqpy Johnston once again in contracting your muscles and gathering together all your strength from the moment you grip your racquet, TRAJECTORY OF THE RACQUET HEAD In an orthodox service, the swing brings the racquet first up from the waiting position, over the right shoulder, low behind the back, and then upward and forward to strike the ball as high as possible. That is the service swing, and it must be a swing: that is to say it must be one harmonious movement, played, as Suzanne Lenglen and Patterson play it, with the help of tho whole body and without any sudden change of direction. At the beginning of the swing, the racquet is generally lying on your left hand, with its striking surface turned to the ground. The first upward movement is slow. The head of the racquet drops and is drawn back, slightly to the right: then, describing an arc of a circle, it comes up and forward, slightly toward the left. As the racquet is brought up over the shoulder, you can make a slight pause in the swing. Richards, Gobert and several other experts start their service swing from that point, hoping by I shortening the swing to be more accurate and to secure better timing. On tile other hand, Suzanne Lenglen, Tildan, Patterson, Brugnon and the majority of the experts play their service wift'iout any pause, but simply as one harmonious -whole. As the racquet is brought downwards! behind your back, the elbow and wrist «are bent to allow the head of the raequed to fall as far as possible. Whet# the handle is in a verticle position behind the back, you begin to it upward again, the head of the racquet coming straight to strike the ball as high as possible, the elbow and wrist then being straight. The frv'st’ axiom of a good service, followed by every expert, is to strike the* ball as high as you can reach. TVien follow through more or less straight behind the ball, and finally bringl down the racquet once again to its waiting position. CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION „ SEASON’S ARRANGEMENTS The annual meeting of the Auckland Catholic L.T.A. was .marked by a good attendance of representatives from all affiliated clubs. The following officers and others were elected for the ensuing season: President, Mr. V. A. Coek; vicepresident, Mr. Watt; secretary, Mr. J. O’Sullivan; treasurer, ,Mr. J. Jeffries; Ladder Committee, Messrs. De Coek, O’Sullivan and Jeffries, secretary. The Good Shepherd C\ub emerged victorious from the last season’s interclub competitions, winning* both the A and B grades, and in conseq&uence holds the Hugh Wright Cup and the Association Cup. The Ponsonby Club is

now the holder of the Ford Challenge Shield by virtue of a decisive defeat at the close of last season of the then holders, the Good Shepherd Club, by 10 matches to three. The singles, doubles and combines ladders, recently instituted, have proved a great success. All on the ladders have shown great activity during the past few weeks, doubtless in view of the near approach of a match with the Wellington Catholic Tennis Association, which has been arranged

to take place in Wellington at Christmas time. This, is a return match, Auckland being very desirous of reversing its defeat last Easter by 17 matches to 15. The sole selector, Mr. V. A. De Coek, has a very busy time ahead of him during the next few weeks. •’This year’s inter-club competition is to commence on Saturday, December 3, when the following matches are to be played:—A grade: Otahuhu Shepherd, at Good Shepherd; Onehunga v. Ponsonby, at Ponsonby; Devonport v. St. Patrick’s, at St. -Patrick’s.

B grade: Ponsonby No. 1 v. Onehunga, at Onehunga; Devonport v. Good Shepherd, at Devonport; Ponsonby No. 2 v. St. Benedict’s, at St. Benedict’s; St. Patrick’s v. Otahuhu, at Otahuhu. In view of the enthusiasm displayed, the season is expected to be easily the most successful one experienced in the history of the association, and this may he considered very largely due to the inauguration of matches with other Catholic associations.