TENNIS ATP SHOT GUIDE – With Novak Djokovic winning the ATP Finals and Switzerland clinching their first Davis Cup the men’s season is over for 2014. Before the new season starts, at Ubitennis.com we decided to look back and select the best shots and other fundamentals of the 2014 season.

With Novak Djokovic winning the ATP Finals and Switzerland clinching their first Davis Cup the men’s season is over for 2014. For the start of the 2015 season tennis fans will have to wait a bit more than a month as the players first rest and then they train for the new year.

Before the new season starts, at Ubitennis.com we decided to look back and select the best shots and other fundamentals of the 2014 season. We will look at the serve, forehand, backhand, slice, volleys, passing shots, footwork, mental toughness, overall aggressiveness, overall defence and all good but no excellence. This week we will examine the volleys and the passing shots

Click here for Part 1: (Serve and Forehand)

Click here for Part 2: (Volleys and Passing Shots)

Volleys

For the past ten years, probably even more, the volleys have become more rare, but over the past couple of seasons they are making a comeback. Attacking players have realised that they need to end points at the net because of the improved defensive capabilities of their opponents and going forwards to end the rally with a volley is the best way to break down their opponent’s resistance. There are no serve & volley players left on tour, some like Federer do go to the net after their serve, but it’s a tactic used to mix things up, it isn’t the rule that Edberg, Becker or McEnroe followed.

1) Roger Federer: The Swiss is the best natural net player on tour. At the start of his career Roger Federer used to get to the net very often, but as he collected Grand Slam title after Grand Slam title, he realised he could win from the base line so the need to approach the net and take risks diminished. In the last year or so Federer has started to attack the net more often showing us his quality at the net. His major defect in this area of play is that his approach shots are not necessarily good enough.

2) Feliciano Lopez: the left-handed Spaniard is, like Federer, a player that often employs the serve & volley tactics. In the earlier part of his career running to the net as soon as possible used to be a mantra, but in this second part of his career he descends to the net with less of a frenzy making his shots easier and therefore more effective. In terms of style he is up there with Roger Federer, but his approach play from the baseline isn’t as good as the Swiss’ so he is passed more often.

3) Grigor Dimitrov: the Bulgarian is known more for his forehand and backhand that are stylish and bare close resemblance to Federer’s shots. This season Dimitrov has work hard on his volleys giving him confidence to descend more often and to close rallies he controls with his ground strokes. There is room for improvement.

Andy Murray by Art Seitz

4) Andy Murray: this was far from a good season for the British player. Andy Murray has struggled to find his best form causing him to drop in confidence and as a consequence he has returned to his defensive style of play. Yet when he is confident and on the offensive, Murray does get to the net often to end rallies to great effect. He has one of the best touches at the net on tour, it’s a shame we don’t get to see his volleys more often.

5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: just like Murray, also Tsonga had a disappointing season except for the Master 1000 title he collected in Toronto. Tsonga used to go to the net as often as possible and often without a proper plan or approach by his own admission. Now he has tried to get some consistency by reducing his runs to the net, but it is not working out. When the Frenchman is at the net he is very difficult to pass, he is tall, he covers most of the net and he has fast reflexes with a good touch. To win the Rogers Cup Tsonga showed that at the net he is one of the best players around.

Passing Shots

As players are starting to attack the net more often, passing shots are becoming important once again. This particular type of shot is different from a ground stroke as they don’t need to be deep, but they have to pass close to the net and dip right afterward. Also power is relatively important, what is key for this shot is precision, quick thinking and great footwork to get to the position to make the passing shot.

1) Novak Djokovic: the best defensive player on tour is also the best passer of the game. Djokovic gets to any approach shot thrown his way and even in precarious conditions he manages to pull off some stunning passing shots finding incredible angles. The key to the Serb’s passing shots is his incredible coordination and his speed that allows him to produce some outstanding passing shots leaving his opponents stranded or incredulous.

2) Andy Murray: also for the 2013 Wimbledon Champion the success in this particular aspect of the game is due mainly to his excellent defensive skills as well as his technique. Murray moves well and he is also capable of finding unlikely angles with his shots, particularly his backhand. His opponents need to attack well and on his forehand if they want to succeed at the net.

3) Rafael Nadal: the best player ever on clay is very good at passing players who attempt to defeat him by going to the net. Just like Nole and Murray also Nadal has quick feet and some excellent defensive skills. The reason he is behind the other two is because getting to the net is the best way to try and defeat Rafa, but it’s risky. Nadal’s passing shots made Federer more wary of getting to the net, but the alternative is lose long rallies that cost a lot of energy. Unlike Murray, Nadal’s weaker side is the backhand when producing passing shots.

http://youtu.be/4wB5g84zM3A

4) Kei Nishikori: the US Open finalist is a classic Bollettieri player, nearly useless when going to the net but deadly with his passing shots. Unlike the previous three Nishikori does not slip back behind the baseline, but he stands on it looking to hit the ball early. His timing allows the Japanese player to hit the passing shots early meaning that he often catches the volleyer unprepared.

David Ferrer by Ike Leus

5) David Ferrer: also this Spanish player can produce some excellent passing shots and also he depends on his fast legs to pass his opponents. Ferrer will chase down any ball coming over the net and he often reaches where the majority of other players never even try to go and this means that he can surprise his opponent. Ferrer rarely produces incredible angles, but if the player at the net leaves the slightest gap in his net coverage, he will find it with pinpoint precision.