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The Main Uses of the Drive - To Open your Opponent's Court and Manoeuvre him out of Position Navigation   Browse Other Pages Homepage A Viewpoint on the Game How It Began A Viewpoint on the Game 2 A Viewpoint on the Game 3 Concentration; Practice Condition, Physical and Mental Keep Your Eye on the Ball Footwork and Weight Control Women's Tennis The Grips The Service The Drive The Chop and the Slice The Volley The Subtle Shots Courage Your Opponent's Weaknesses General Tactics Outside Conditions Pressure on Your Opponent Doubles and Mixed Doubles The Coaching Job Legendary Tennis Players Olympic Tennis Does Youth Rule Tennis Hall of Fame Amateurism to Open Tennis Some Defects in Tennis Doping Olympic Review Technology and Sport The Slice Service Flat Serve The American Twist The Drive The Backhand Drive Drive - The Main Uses The Volley Net Position The Volley Position The Overhead Smash The Half-Volley The Drop Shot The Mechanics of the Slice The Main Uses of a Slice The Grips Doubles and Mixed Doubles To Open the Court Doubles In Europe and US Legendary Tennis Players (1940's) Questions in Australian Tennis History of Australian Tennis History of Australian Tennis 2 History of Australian Tennis Players Women's Tennis in Australia Australian Tennis: Nature Ages of Tennis Players The Careers of Women Players Here one finds the exact reverse of the rules for use of the drive for clean winners. In using the drive as an opening or manoeuvring shot, you should never take an unnecessary chance; always allow a wide margin of safety over the net and a reasonable one to the side- and backlines. This drive should always carry good average pace, fast enough to ensure that your opponent must run to reach it, but not so fast as to risk error or even to win outright. You use the medium-pace drive to tire your opponent and to force errors. I am a great believer in setting a definite rhythm to a point of this type and holding it until you have your opening. Only when the opening is clearly made and the chance to win outright is there do you lift the pace to great speed or drop it to a soft, slow drive. The most effective way to open your opponent's court is to hit alternately to the forehand and backhand, attempting to widen the angle with each drive until you see that the distance is sufficiently great to allow for the winner. Once you have swung your opponent wide enough so that he is chasing back and forth, then comes the killing drive. There are four ways to win the point-two of them at great speed, two of them with slow, soft drives. The best way to win with speed is to hit to the farthest corner of the court on the opposite side-the hard, deep cross-court. The fast, deep, straight drive is not so good since, if your opponent can stop and turn, he will probably reach it. On the other hand, the best soft, slow drive for the winner is the short, straight one, for on that your opponent must not only stop but turn and run forward as well. The slow, sharply angled cross-court is not quite so good,-since your opponent is already moving across the court and may be able to come forward in time to reach it. Above all, remember that no matter how regular you may be in your method of opening your opponent's court by the corner-to-corner method, you must vary your kill shot, or your opponent will be set for it. It does not matter if he knows you are going to run him back and forth across the court. There is nothing much he can do to prevent it, if you keep your depth and direction, but do not advertise how you are going to make your kill by using the same shot all the time. 1. To return service (both attack and defence). 2. To make passing shots against the net player (attack). 3. To advance to the net behind a forcing shot (attack). 4. To hit clean winners (attack). 5. To open your opponent's court and manoeuvre him out of position (subtle attack). 6. To get yourself out of trouble when you are forced into bad position (defence).  Next Page:  The Chop and the Slice