Each point begins with a serve and, once the ball has been hit, the game has begun. To serve, stand outside the court, behind the baseline – you must be positioned somewhere between the centre mark (imagine that it goes all the way to the back of the court) and the singles’ sideline, although many players choose to stand close to the centre mark so they can get to the centre of the court quickly, ready for their return.
The ball must be hit over the net and travel diagonally across the court, bouncing in the opposite service box. For the first point, stand on the right-hand side of the centre line and serve into their deuce service box; for the second point, serve from the left-hand side into what is known as the advantage service box.
The same player serves until the game has been won, then the other player becomes the server. Each player takes it in turn to serve until the match has been won, although in a tie-break situation special serving rules apply.
Balls that touch any part of the line are considered in, but if the ball falls outside the lines, the serve is a fault and the player has another opportunity to serve. Other faults include: missing the ball as you swing, moving past the centre mark (or imaginary sideline), standing on the actual baseline or stepping inside the court before you hit the ball. If you fault on both your first and second serves, it’s a double fault – you’ve just given your opponent a point. If the ball touches the net, but still lands inside the service box, a “let serve” is called – the player is given the opportunity to do it again, whether it was a first or second serve.
A simple serve
To begin, simply concentrate on hitting a ball that goes over the net and into the service box. Once you can do this consistently, you need to start thinking about where to place your serve to gain a tactical advantage.
Focus on where you want the ball to go and aim your racket strings in that direction. Think about your opponent’s weaknesses – if you know they have a weak backhand for instance, serve to that part of the court. Do mix it up though – if you become too predictable you give your opponent time to plan their return – and weigh up their weaknesses against your strengths. You may want to force them to play a backhand, thus receiving a weaker return, but if you can’t consistently get the ball in when you aim for that part of the court, is it worth losing a serve for? This is where your first and second serves come in.
First and second serves
You get two chances to get your serve in, so you can take more risks with your first attempt. The first serve is the time to have a go at playing to your opponent’s weaker side, even if you are not so skilled at that direction of serve. Alternatively, you can try to win the point in one shot with a serve that is more powerful and carries more slice (more about this in tomorrow’s guide). However, fault on your second serve and your opponent is given a point. Because of this, second serves are typically more cautious.
Direction of serve
When serving, you can aim for three broad areas within the service box: out wide, into their body, or down the middle. If you direct your serve to the outside of the court, you force your opponent to move out wide. This will open up space on the court for your return: if they can’t get to the ball, you have “passed” them and you win the point. Stay at the baseline once you have served, and remember to get into the ready position as quickly as possible.
Although this sounds like a perfect tactic, the risk is that you give your opponent an angle from which they can hit a winning return. Avoid this by serving into their body: you won’t open up any space on the court, but it will ensure their return won’t be too far out of your reach.
Good serving is about keeping your opponent guessing, so hit some serves down the middle too: it will make your wide serves more effective.
Serve-volley
Another serving option is the serve-volley, an aggressive tactic that puts your opponent under pressure. Serve to the middle of the service box to avoid giving them an angle, then charge towards the net. Once at the net, keep your knees bent and your eyes on the ball. Volley their return back at them, ideally to their weakest side.
Tim Henman on the importance of placement and variation
The serve is the one shot where you can put the ball exactly where you want it: in every other shot you are reacting to where your opponent has put it. It should be the easiest shot to play, but the act of throwing the ball up and coordinating your service motion is rather difficult.
One mistake amateur players make is trying too hard. They force it and, unfortunately, tension is a real killer: you should be as relaxed as possible. Rather than looking like you are going to throttle the racket, grip it loosely – so if someone pulled it, it would come out of your hand. Less is more: you’ll find that when your body is loose you’ll hit your fastest and best serves.
Placement and variation is so important. I did a lot of target practice in training to help me: we would put ball cans on different parts of the court and I would try to knock them over with my serve. But don’t just do 10 at one target, then 10 at the next: vary it so that it is as close to match play as possible – go two at the middle, one out wide, one into the body, another out wide …
I tended to serve and volley a lot – I would place my ball toss a little further in front of me than usual to give me momentum to get to the net. But don’t place it too far in front of you, because it looks like you are trying to get to the net before you have even served, and you give away your tactics. The serve-volley seems to be a dying art; I think it would be a shame if everyone ended up playing at the baseline.
One of my best serving weeks was in Basel in 2001, when I won the tournament. I only lost my serve twice in five matches, including a best-of-five-sets final against Federer. If you can hold your serve like that, it makes you much more relaxed about your return game.
Technically, I admire Federer’s serve – it’s such a simple action, there’s not a lot that can go wrong. His variation is fantastic, too – his ball toss is always in the same place yet he can hit so many different serves. It’s very difficult for his opponents to read. But I’d say the best serve I ever faced was against Ivo Karlović, the 6ft 10in Croatian. I played him at the US Open in 2004 and he served 43 aces – although I still won, I hasten to add. When you face someone like that you can’t get frustrated. You have to hope that they make mistakes, that they miss some first serves, and you have to take opportunities when they come.
• Tim Henman will be part of the BBC commentary team for Wimbledon 2009 (22 June-5 July). Coverage is live and exclusive across BBC1, BBC2, BBC HD, Red Button, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Online, plus BBC iPlayer
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