The most common and costly tactical mistake in pro tennis today is hitting approach shots crosscourt or diagonally − rather than down the line. Andy Roddick is often guilty of this malpractice, but in the deciding set of the deciding match in the 2007 first-round Davis Cup tie between the United States and the Czech Republic, he was the beneficiary. On the first point of the fourth-set tiebreaker, Tomas Berdych stroked a backhand crosscourt approach that Roddick returned into the open court for a down-the-line winner. That mini-break point helped Roddick win the tiebreaker 7-4 and the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6.
Click photo: Martina Hingis' classic net game.
A day earlier, Amelie Mauresmo and Nadia Petrova were tied 7-7 in the third-set tiebreaker in the Open Graz de France semifinals. Mauresmo, normally a high-percentage player, approached net with a weak, slice crosscourt forehand that Petrova nonchalantly cracked crosscourt for a winner. The Russian belted another winner on the next point to take the match 5-7, 6-4, 7-6.
Even considering the pressure on these big points, tactical blunders from elite players are shocking.
Here are six reasons why, with occasional exceptions, you should approach net down the line and not crosscourt:
When you approach crosscourt and you arrive in position late, you leave an entire half of the court open for hard-to-miss passing shots.
Click photo: Too often, Andy Roddick approaches the net crosscourt.
When you approach crosscourt too fast and/or too far, you are highly
vulnerable to a routine crosscourt passing shot into the half of the court
you just vacated. It’s quite difficult for you to reverse direction
suddenly to reach it.
When you run crosscourt, or diagonally, you have to cover a greater distance
to arrive at the ideal “center of possible returns” position in the forecourt.
Because it takes longer to run this greater distance, you often do not get as
close to the net as you would like to for your crucial first volley.
The time element also hurts the crosscourt approach in another way. Because the ball is in the air longer, your opponent has more time to run to it. That extra time enables him to set up better with his footwork, balance, and swing to attack passing shots with greater power, placement, and spin.
If your crosscourt approach shot does not land very deep (viz., within five feet of the baseline) and very accurately (viz., within three feet of the singles
sideline), it bounces relatively near the middle of the court, the worst
possible place. In this undesirable scenario, your opponent A) is moving
forward, rather than backward and/or sideways, and B) has several favorable
passing shot options: crosscourt, down-the-line, sharp crosscourt with lots of
topspin, or a bullet aimed at your right hip (if you’re right-handed).
Correct footwork is vital when volleying. It’s much easier to do a split-
step just before your opponent is about to hit a passing shot or lob when your
body is facing (viz., parallel to) the net. However, when you approach
crosscourt, your body is at a diagonal angle to the net. That misalignment
forces you to turn your body to prepare for your first volley. That maneuver
not only takes time but also results in a temporary loss of balance.
Click photo: Justine Henin powers through this forehand approach to set up the easy volley winner.
It’s important to note three exceptions to the rule when crosscourt approach shots do succeed. First, whenever you can hit a crosscourt approach into a big opening for a winner or near-winner, go for it. That advantage more than offsets the aforementioned disadvantages. Second, you can sometimes justify approaching crosscourt if an opponent is hampered by a very weak forehand or backhand that you can confidently exploit. Third, wrong-footing a speedy opponent with a crosscourt approach can work on occasion.
While approaching down the line is necessary the vast majority of times, it is not sufficient to win points with regularity. Here are five other characteristics of successful approach shots.
They are hit deep. If you can stroke them so the ball lands about three feet inside the baseline, it will give you excellent depth and enough margin for
error. That depth gives you more time to move forward (closer) to the net.
It will also reduce the odds that your opponent can pass you with a
crosscourt passing shot, thus inducing him to try for the more difficult down-
the-line passing shot that you are well-positioned to volley. Finally, if your
shot lands extremely deep (viz., just inside the baseline), your opponent may
be forced to half-volley it or hit the ball off his back foot, causing a loss of
both power and control.
Click photo: Agassi takes this approach early setting up an easy volley.
They are hit with power. Try to hit your approach shots as forcefully as you can without being wild and reckless. You certainly do not want to make unforced errors on approach shots, but timid approach shots rarely succeed.
They are hit with accuracy. The more you can make your opponent run and stretch and lunge, the better. You are a threat by being at net, but the odds really increase in your favor when your foe can barely get to your approach.
They are hit on the rise. Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Justine Henin epitomize the alert, aggressive attacker who pounces on short balls and forces opponents into passing shot errors because they are so rushed.
Click photo: Safin can power this short approach crosscourt because it will either be a winner or elicit a very weak response.
They are hit with underspin on the backhand. One-handed slice backhands, when properly struck, make the ball whiz through the air quickly and then skid fast and very low, particularly on grass, hard, and indoor carpet surfaces. Trying to hit a passing shot from inches above the court is very difficult for even the most talented athletes with the soundest strokes. Low-skidding approach shots are especially effective against players with Western forehands and two-handed backhands. John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova were renowned for their superb slice approach shots, and Mac sometimes added a touch of sidespin to make them even more vicious.
In an era when serve-and-volleyers are almost extinct, you can still “groundstroke and volley” effectively. Put heavy pressure on your opponents with tactically smart and well-executed approach shots, the vital link between the backcourt and the forecourt.
As French star Henri Cochet sagely advised in the 1937 instruction book,
Tennis, Its Technique and Its Psychology, “A match is more easily won by a judicious combination of driving and volleying than by using one of these methods to the exclusion of the other.”
Award-winning tennis writer Paul Fein's book, Tennis Confidential: Today's Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies , published by Brassey's, Inc., was listed No. 1 among tennis books by Amazon.com and BN.com. Information about the book and how to order it can be found at: www.tennisconfidential.com . His second book, You Can Quote Me on That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights, and Zingers , was published by Potomac Books, Inc. (formerly Brassey's, Inc.) in February 2005. For more information, visit www.tennisquotes.com
