Each and everyone of us have a passion to learn and to excel as the the day progresses.so its time to learn some interesting concepts of sports.today it is a fine day and not a bad idea to learn The Serves of John Isner and Goran Ivanisevic.
John Isner
1. TOSSING ARM
Today you see most pros lift their tossing arms fi rst rather than both arms together. That’s a big change from the past and something club players should experiment with. Your hitting arm has to catch up to the ball eventually, so when your tossing arm goes up fi rst, it forces you to swing faster through the “back scratch” phase of the motion. Notice the extension on Isner’s tossing arm—it’s straight. He hasn’t fl icked the ball into the air with his wrist. In fact, this isn’t a “toss” at all. I tell my students to “place” the ball or “lay it up there” with no spin, just the way Isner has done here.
2. HEAD
Isner’s eyes are on the target and his head is still, but what I see most—and this is the key to a great serve—is calmness. It looks like he’s just moseying along, but we know what’s coming. The best serves are rhythmic and relaxed; the server just lets it happen. It’s like water fl owing out of a fountain—I call it liquid power.
3. SHOULDERS
Isner’s shoulders and hips are going to rotate away from the net a bit more than you see in this picture, which captures him at a slightly earlier point in his delivery than Ivanisevic in the opposite photo.
4. RACQUET ARM
Isner’s strings are tilted slightly downward, toward the court, as he begins his take-back. With some players, this is even more pronounced. If the palm of your hitting hand points down, you can take the racquet back more naturally. Remember to use a Continental grip so it’s easier to produce spin and pronate your arm.
5. STANCE
We’ve seen enough good servers to know that a lot of different stances can succeed. But whether you keep both feet in place or move your back foot up to meet your front one, there are some basic elements to every good stance. Isner’s right foot is a little behind his left foot, which points diagonally toward the net post. This almost-sideways position allows him to coil more and get his racquet moving faster. Club players tend to face the net too soon; when your body opens up early, you lose energy and power.
Goran Ivanisevic
1. TOSSING ARM
vanisevic was the perfect example of “liquid power.” He fl owed up and into a serve faster than anyone in the game in the last 20 years. Not only was his serve hard, it was on you in a blink and was very tough to read. It was deceptive because of Ivanisevic’s low toss—he hit the ball just before it reached its peak. To get to a ball that quickly, you have to be rhythmic, loose, and fast. The tossing arm leads the way.
2. HEAD
Ivanisevic’s eyes, like Isner’s, are on the ball, though his head doesn’t look as relaxed because he’s closer to making con-tact and getting ready to exhale. His head doesn’t jerk or twist, because he’s placed the ball well out in front of him.
3. SHOULDERS
Ivanisevic’s left shoulder is rotated far behind him. He’s also leaning into the court. There’s going to be some serious uncoiling here, and that translates into racquet-head speed. Here’s something club players need to remember when working on their shoulder turns: Don’t force it. You don’t want to make your shoulder turn; you have to learn to let it turn. Forcing things creates tension, and tension kills your serve. Try taking your racquet back without tossing a ball to get a feel for the motion.
4. RACQUET ARM
You’ve probably been told quite often to “get your elbow up” when you serve. Then what should we make of the fact that you can’t see Ivanisevic’s hitting elbow in this picture because it’s dropped so low? The most important thing is that you lift your elbow up when you lower your racquet head and begin to accelerate into the ball. It’s OK to drop your arm when you start your motion, as long as your movement is fl uid and you pass through the “elbow up” phase without staying there for a long time.
5. STANCE
Stances are little more than idiosyncrasies. They don’t have a lot to do with the moment of truth, but it’s sometimes good to try different stances because it might help you solve some other, more important problem.
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