Time is the most valuable commodity in Tennis.
With present day tennis getting more and more physical, power and playing the ball early have become very important parts in many players tactics. In the last decade, with the improvement in equipment, the effectiveness of top spin and training techniques that produce faster and stronger athletes, tennis has lost its flavor of finesse and the serve and volley game.
On the other hand, there has been an array of aggressive and defensive baseliners. While coaches and tennis reserachers are still on the search to find the volley that can consistently counter heavy passing shots, the idea of “taking the ball out of the air” and “moving up to the bounce to play the ball on the rise” have become increasingly popular with today’s game plan.
The concept “Make Time and Take Time” talks about shot selection with respect to one’s court position and that of their opponents.
Make Time – what shot would you take to give you a chance to recover and eventually neutralize? A shot with a lot of hang time (or height) gives you the time you need to recover and hitting the ball to the middle of the court takes away the opportunity for your opponent to produce effective angles.
Take Time – Move up to the front court and make earlier shots thereby reducing any chance of recovery by your opponent. This is especially important if your opponent hits a great “make shot.” By taking the ball as early as you can, preferable out of the air, you’ve taken away your opponents recovery time which often results in a weaker shot from your opponent.
Top players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have time and again produced great defenisve skills which quickly turns to put them in an offensive position. For the young player, it is very important to be able to learn and use both aspects of the game.
