Liverpool FC Forum

[ConnO'var]

Unbelievable match. I thought Roger was well and truly fecked. What a way to end the tournament. The 2 best players in the game at the mo, battling it out on the best centre court, in the best tournament (IMO) producing the best tennis throughout the whole of the tournament.

Kudos to bicep boy...... no one can take this from him. He well and truly deserved it... and that sticks in me craw just a little as I'm not a fan of his style of tennis.

By far the best final I've seen in a while.

[ConnO'var]

Conn the tennis coach.

I've a question for you, could you explain what a 'kick serve is and how you do it. I played this fella on Monday night, and correct me if im wrong but isnt it when the ball bounces high off the surface from the serve. They were pretty awkward to deal with ... How do you do it ?

I just saw Federer beat Safin, but I hope Nadal wins Wimbledon.

Tennis coach? No chance. I know the theory but am poor at the execution, Bam..... or so the wife tells me.

Sorry for the late reply but was preoccupied the last few days. If you're asking how to do the serve, then it's fairly straightforward in concept but extremely difficult to do. The standard sidespin is achieved by hitting the ball at 3 or 4 o'clock with the ball thrown exactly above your forehead. A kick serve, on the other hand is much more difficult to master. You need to hit the ball at 10 or 11 o'clock and brush the ball upwards. This puts topspin as well as sidespin on the ball. The topspin causes the ball to kick-up and the sidespin causes it to swerve outwards. The combination of the kick and the swerve is what makes this serve so difficult to deal with.

The problem with this particular serve is that the ball toss is very important. You have to toss it so that you hit the ball as it's rising (instead of at the apex of the toss) and you toss it in an unatural position. The ball needs to be tossed slightly behind you to be really effective. So if you don't do it right, you'll put a hell of a lot of strain on your lower back.... if you do get the technique right, the strain will be on your knees. So, if you've got a bit of a belly on ya, I'd strongly advise against doing it too often. You'll pay for it the next day, GUARANTEED..

In the pros, you see the kick serve used often as a 2nd serve rather than a 1st. The reason is the accuracy of the serve is difficult to judge as you're imparting two types of spin on the ball. So most people will serve it away from the lines and take away a wee bit of pace for better control, relying instead on the kick and spin to force the receiver into a defensive return. Against the weekend warrior, it's a more than useful weapon.

How do you return it? You don't! Hit and Hope mate. But in all seriousness...practice.... and anticipation of the location of the bounce is about all you can do. Whatever shot your choose, I'd suggest to never attempt to block it back. The ball will pop up like a balloon giving your opponent an easy kill. Play the shot like you would, returning a normal top-spin.... the key really is to make sure you can get there in time!

[ConnO'var]

I am currently mid argument with me mate who thinks that this final hasnt been that exciting as serve an volley is more exciting.
Correct me if i am wrong...as i am no tennis expert but isnt serve and volley the tactic used by big strong players who have a good serve to win the point easily and quickly ?

I thought baseline tennis would get the crowds more excited, am i wrong ?

You're both right Ace.. Both forms, when utilised by experts, are a joy to watch....

When 2 serve and volleyers are on form, the game becomes almost a dance.... such is the grace and skill on display. When two baseliners are on show, the match becomes a battle of wills, grit and stamina.... Both are equally compelling in my view... though I veer ever so slightly towards the serve and volley type match...... Edberg v Becker probably being the best matches of the ilk I've seen.

You need to be more than just big and strong with a huge serve to be an effective volleyer..... You need soft hands and a good touch.

Serve and volley is not normally seen these days... the art seems to be dying out.... coincidentally with the reduction in the number of single handed backhanders... grace and finesse is being sacrificed for power on both wings. Hence not many players are too comfortable at the net these days.

This is why I'm not a huge fan of Nadal. I certainly admire his tenacity, power, and unparalleled retrieving ability and boundless energy.... but his game relies on these and not so much on touch. You can only use the tools in your box and you must play to your strengths and nobody does that better than him at the mo. I'd imagine nobody relishes facing him on the court right now as it's much harder to hit a clear winner off him and you know that 99 times out of a 100 that the ball is coming back with interest. Beast of a player.

But his legs will slow down in the not too distant future and than where will he be and what will he have to compensate? If you base your game on fitness and power to the exclusion of all else, you'll have no plan B when you need it. Talent and mental fortitude, like he has doesn't come too often.... I hope that the other elements are brought into his game plan as he matures.

[bigmick]

When I used to have the boozer in Wimbledon, I went down there a fair bit during the tournament and like all sports when watched live, the players are unbelieveably good. Even the young birds don't half tw@t it, while the blokes are on a different planet. I had a go meself like everyone else down the council courts when I was a kid (for the two weeks of wimbledon we were bang into it) and i had this hunch that I'd be able to giver one of the girls a decent run for their money    . On the telly it just looks like they pat it back, but not when you're there it doesn't.

I saw Henman play a few times and I can tell you, even Tiger Tim was a fecking brilliant player.

[66-1112520797]

Conn the tennis coach.

I've a question for you, could you explain what a 'kick serve is and how you do it. I played this fella on Monday night, and correct me if im wrong but isnt it when the ball bounces high off the surface from the serve. They were pretty awkward to deal with ... How do you do it ?

I just saw Federer beat Safin, but I hope Nadal wins Wimbledon.

Tennis coach? No chance. I know the theory but am poor at the execution, Bam..... or so the wife tells me.

Sorry for the late reply but was preoccupied the last few days. If you're asking how to do the serve, then it's fairly straightforward in concept but extremely difficult to do. The standard sidespin is achieved by hitting the ball at 3 or 4 o'clock with the ball thrown exactly above your forehead. A kick serve, on the other hand is much more difficult to master. You need to hit the ball at 10 or 11 o'clock and brush the ball upwards. This puts topspin as well as sidespin on the ball. The topspin causes the ball to kick-up and the sidespin causes it to swerve outwards. The combination of the kick and the swerve is what makes this serve so difficult to deal with.

The problem with this particular serve is that the ball toss is very important. You have to toss it so that you hit the ball as it's rising (instead of at the apex of the toss) and you toss it in an unatural position. The ball needs to be tossed slightly behind you to be really effective. So if you don't do it right, you'll put a hell of a lot of strain on your lower back.... if you do get the technique right, the strain will be on your knees. So, if you've got a bit of a belly on ya, I'd strongly advise against doing it too often. You'll pay for it the next day, GUARANTEED..

In the pros, you see the kick serve used often as a 2nd serve rather than a 1st. The reason is the accuracy of the serve is difficult to judge as you're imparting two types of spin on the ball. So most people will serve it away from the lines and take away a wee bit of pace for better control, relying instead on the kick and spin to force the receiver into a defensive return. Against the weekend warrior, it's a more than useful weapon.

How do you return it? You don't! Hit and Hope mate. But in all seriousness...practice.... and anticipation of the location of the bounce is about all you can do. Whatever shot your choose, I'd suggest to never attempt to block it back. The ball will pop up like a balloon giving your opponent an easy kill. Play the shot like you would, returning a normal top-spin.... the key really is to make sure you can get there in time!

Thanks for that Conn, I think I'll stick with the under arm serve then. 

[bigmick]

As an aside I did have a little nudge before it started on Nadal at 3.75. I just figured he was bound to reach the final and then he'd be about evens so it was a bit of value. As it was once he got there I was fairly confident he'd win so I left it. Usually when you do that the fecker loses but not this time which is a touch.

[stmichael]

best tennis match i've ever seen

[Sabre]

Do you know what ive just put 2 and 2 together and maybe Sabre can clarify this but isnt Nadal the nephew of the other Nadal who played For Barcelona. Remember him they used to call him the beast of Barcelona , i think he played for Real Mallorca aswell

Yes, and for Real Mallorca B too, I saw his debut in my town. I'm a bit surprised he was known as the "beast" in England. Very sober midfielder first, (holding midfielder), then a sober CB, good player.

Curiously enough we knew that Nadal de footie player had a nephew that was good at tennis, back then he was the nephew of Nadal, now the important man is the nephew not the player.

[stmichael]

Do you know what ive just put 2 and 2 together and maybe Sabre can clarify this but isnt Nadal the nephew of the other Nadal who played For Barcelona. Remember him they used to call him the beast of Barcelona , i think he played for Real Mallorca aswell

Yes, and for Real Mallorca B too, I saw his debut in my town. I'm a bit surprised he was known as the "beast" in England. Very sober midfielder first, (holding midfielder), then a sober CB, good player.

Curiously enough we knew that Nadal de footie player had a nephew that was good at tennis, back then he was the nephew of Nadal, now the important man is the nephew not the player.

i remember him for being the guy who missed the decisive penalty for spain against england in euro 96 

[The Manhattan Project]

Chelsea have offered 39M for Nadal.

[metalhead]

The game lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes.

but what a contested final it was

[The Manhattan Project]

Why don't they have floodlights at Wimbledon?

[LFC2007]

best tennis match i've ever seen

Agreed, just unbelievable.

Federer's missed break points cost him early on but his serve and forehand kept him in it.

I thought he lacked a lot of confidence in his backhand throughout the game, he never really opened up with it, apart from a few important occasions e.g. saving Championship point.

Nadal's ability to cover the court, his strength in the passing shot, his overall strength and consistency in the rally invariably forces his opponent to play clear winners. There's always one more shot in him, and for his opponent, coming into the net is very risky as he seems to be able to return near enough any shot with strength.

Federer's serve kept him in the game I thought, there were a number of occasions where he was 0-30 down, even 0-40 and he had to pull it back with consecutive aces.

No other player in the world would've been able to maintain the same level of intensity and focus that Nadal showed after Federer had won the two tiebreaks.

Federer hasn't looked as silky and as consistent as he did a few years ago.

He likes to hit the ball at a lower point than he was permitted, which I think was partly down to the immense spin Nadal put on the ball, but also the state of the court - it bounced higher than usual and these two factors affected his rhythm, leading to more unforced errors.

[Judge]

best tennis match ever

sounds like something said from the simpsons

[The Manhattan Project]

They should add another Grand Slam.


The Chinese Open!!!!!