Tom Stow and the
"All Court Forcing Game"
Part 4: Taking the Ball Early

by Jim McLennan, Senior Editor, TennisONE

To see other articles in the Stow Series, go to:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Stow Reprint

Taking the Ball Early - -The Key to the All Court Forcing Game

As you become familiar with Tom Stow's All Court Forcing Game (published within the Overview Section of the TennisOne Library), you can see that the major tenet of the Stow school of thinking is to put constant, unrelenting pressure on your opponent:

• The ground strokes must be deep and accurately placed (so the opponent cannot pursue the counterattack);
  
  
• The serve must be accurate and deep (so again the opponent cannot go on the offensive);
  
  
• When the opponent hits short, then the Stow attacking style truly comes into play. Stow schooled his pupils (and I am one), to hit the approach shot flat and at the top of the bounce. This sets up the end-game of the Stow attacking strategy: a volley that is not blocked but shoots off the court, and an overhead that is masterful in its finality. With the combination of the heavy, flat approach shot, the "conked" volley, and the deadly overhead, there are no windows for the opponent to pursue a successful counterattack.

The key shot in this repertoire--whether for Connors, McEnroe, Edberg, or you at the club level--is the ability to punish the short shots of your opponent. And note, this does not mean waiting for the absolutely shortest groundstroke and then coming to the net. It means attacking each and every ball that is not extremely deep, each and every ball that your opponent does not hit well. In short, attack at each and every opportunity, thereby creating unrelenting, constant pressure, and breaking the opponent down.

Watching club players, or even tournament juniors (from my all court forcing bias) it appears that nearly every ball is attackable, somehow short and sitting up waiting to be hit. When you can take this ball early, meet it as it is rising, and meet it at a contact point above the level of the net, the opportunities are unlimited. But it takes both practice and sound technique to meet this ball squarely in order to penetrate the opponent's court. And no, this is not the chip and charge, for the chip is not conked or hit flat enough, and is therefore not punishing enough (even the "chip and charge" phrase has a desperate ring to it).

In order to practice hitting a flat approach shot, set up the ball machine on the baseline, and program it so the ball bounces at or just beyond the opposite service line. Now take a moment to just watch how the ball bounces, and specifically notice the top of the bounce, the point at which the ball has come up from its bounce and the arc flattens and it is just about to descend. The ideal contact point is a fraction of a second before the ball hits its peak or just at the peak. Study where this "peak" occurs, and then position yourself on the court so you can easily hit the ball at its peak.

If initially you feel rushed, then you must prepare sooner, so the racquet is "waiting" at the level of contact. This pause is imperative, for it enables an unhurried swing. Next you may notice that many of your "top of the bounce hits" are going well long. This is where the flat stroke comes into play. Most groundstrokes are played from behind the baseline, and when you are in the habit of letting the ball drop, this descending ball requires a definite "up swing" both to counter the effect of the descending ball and to carry the ball deep into the opponent's court. But when playing well within the baseline, this type of "lift" will send the ball well out of court.

Practice measuring the backswing, preplanning the level of contact, and setting the racquet at just that height on the backswing. When the ball rises into this contact zone, pull the trigger with a flat stroke. You will find a "conk" much the same as the one you may now be learning when you swing up at descending balls.

As a student learning the nuances of the penetrating approach, I found the opponent's second serve the ideal practice opportunity. When I waited too long to hit the second serve, I was well back of the baseline and contact was lower than the net. When I rushed it, the hit felt like a half volley, and again this is below the level of the net. When I chipped it, the opponent had far too many options. But when I played the ball early and conked it with a flat stroke, I felt much more in control of the point.

Positioning on Approach Shot

In general, approach shots should be played deep and down the line. This enables you to take up a good volleying position (well inside the service line) and in the middle of the opponent's angle of return. This means you position yourself to cover almost all down the line passing shots (you have
to concede the perfect shots your opponent might make) and most of the cross court passing shots. You can give your opponent more room to pass cross court because this is a more difficult, lower percentage shot than the down-the line passing shot, and if he tries the cross court pass, you have more time to try to cover it


Rob Your Opponent of Time

As you approach the net, your opponent hopes to counter with a passing shot. What he needs is an opening--which you deprive him of with a down the line approach and proper volleying positioning. The other thing your opponent needs is time, time to setup and execute the passing shot. The modern topspinners, including Chang and Courier, often hit the approach with so much topspin that this high bouncing ball provides additional time for opponents to execute the passing shot (not to mention providing them a higher point of contact). Contrast this with the low, shooting drives of Conners or McEnroe, and you see again the concept of Stow that the approach should be a flat drive which robs your opponent of time and creates the maximum pressure.