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13:08 GMT, Monday, 26 June 2006 14:08 UK

Judy Murray's grass-court drills

Judy Murray
LTA performance manager and Andy's mother

Judy Murray outlines some point-winning plays used at Wimbledon and that you can use on the grass court.

THE SLICE SERVE

The slice serve can be very effective on grass courts.

Grass court plays

When serving wide, try to create extra angle to take your opponent further off the court by adjusting your position on the baseline.

Move a step or half-step to your right (points A and B) and aim at a target two feet up from the service line.

When you become proficient at hitting this target, you can experiment with serve and volley.

Follow the path of the serve to find the best net position.

Remember to split step as your opponent prepares for the return and move diagonally forward to volley into the space.

A short-angled volley on grass is the usually the most effective.

BACKHAND APPROACH

Grass court plays

Use of slice on the backhand as an approach shot is often seen on grass.

If the ball bounces in the target area (A) and is attackable, try to slice it down the line.

This will allow you to take control of the point.

Lean on the ball and try and make it skid fast and low, deep into the opponent's forehand.

This will force your opponent to hit up and you can then make them volley into the space.

This is a tactic often used by Tim Henman.

The volley point (C) on the graphic is the best position after a down-the-line approach.

You can volley on either the forehand or backhand side.

BODY SERVE

Grass court plays

The body serve with slice can also win lots of points on grass.

A good body serve will usually produce a weak return to the centre of the court.

Of course you need to have more power in this serve to give your opponent less time to react and move into a position to hit the ball.

Be ready to come forward to pounce on any short returns and choose between a wrong-footing second shot back behind your opponent, or into the space.




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Related to this story:

Playing on grass (13 Jun 06 |  Skills )
Judy Murray's clay-court drills (25 Apr 06 |  Skills )
Judy Murray's hard-court drills (25 Aug 06 |  Skills )
Slice serve (12 Sep 05 |  Skills )
Backhand slice (13 Sep 05 |  Skills )
Volleying (13 Sep 05 |  Skills )

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International Tennis Federation
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