(By Larry Hodges)

Returning serves is all about ball control. In a rally, the incoming shot is usually more predictable than a serve, which has a much wider range of variation – topspin, sidespin, backspin, at all speeds, amounts of spin, directions, and depths. To control your return of serve, shorten your stroke. This cuts down on power, but the shorter swing gives you more control. Unless the server messes up and pops the serve up or goes long in a way that you can easily loop, receive is all about control – placement, depth, height, spin, and variation. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive and attack the serve, only that you should focus on consistent attacks (unless it’s a weak serve). If you take away his serve advantage by getting into a neutral rally, you are on track to win.

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