[Bernard Black]

I've noticed this shot hardly ever gets used these days. I see far too often players going for heavy top-spin returns, quite often hitting it long or shanking it, basically gifting 1 or 2 free points each return game.

Surely against the really big servers out there you've got to be looking to get that serve back consistently, at least just to make him play another shot. I pretty much always look to block a heavy first serve, but always attack the second serve.

What do you guys reckon? Good tactic, or likely to get pummelled doing this at very high levels of tennis?

 

[Kolya]

Federer uses it a lot.

Kohlschreiber and Davydenko used it well against Roddick.

 

[Bernard Black]

Federer uses it a lot.

Kohlschreiber and Davydenko used it well against Roddick.

Yeah, this is what baffles me even more. It obviously works for Federer against big servers, he blocks the return back and practically toys with them during the rally.

I just don't see many amateurs using it. It doesn't seem to me to be a difficult technique to learn.

 

[Action Jackson]

I use this return a lot, especially when I am playing big serving buffoons. It's a good tactic as long as you time it well and use their pace off the serve.

It's probably not macho enough to do it these days.

 

[FootWork]

i would say that it depends on the match you're playing. if you're opponent has a big serve and is not very consistent. then it's the way to go, but if the serve is just mediocre, then you should attack it. and i agree with whoever said be defensive on the first serve and offensive on the second, that is deffinitly the right way to go.