Roland Garros Tennis Lessons - Marcos Daniel - The Drop Shot!

As I was watching the resume of Roland Garros something became evident to me, tennis pros are rediscovering the drop shot!

Ever since the final of Madrid between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, where all were able to see that the drop shot could be used as a weapon even against Nadal, I think the tight knit family that is the ATP Tour realized the benefits of the drop-shot and now everyone is aboard!

Marcos Daniel BRA against Rafael Nadal demonstrated that you can make the 'best player in the world' look mundane with an innocuous drop-shot.  Roger Federer went even further finished off Alberto Martin SP with a forehand drop-shot!

This to me is a very welcome course of events, since no one has the guts to serve and volley (once in a while), at least the drop-shot and a little cat and mouse play will stop me from turning off the TV.  Sorry but, I just can not take the endless cross court rallying and boring baseline play!

Any way the DROP-SHOT!

In response to an intentional low sliced short ball from Nadal, Daniel counters with a drop shot.

In the video sequence you will learn from Marcos Daniel BRA how to counter a short ball with a drop-shot:

- Because with his peripherial view by keeping his head (eyes) looking forwards while watching the ball, Daniel realizes that Nadal has backed up from a dominant position inside the court to a defensive one behind the baseline. (capital error, Nadal should have moved to the net!)

- Showing excellent tactical sense from his own court positioning relative to his opponents, Daniel chooses the best shot out of 5 possible ones (attack cross or down the line deep, attack deep down the middle at Nadals feet, cross court drop shot and drop shot down the line). He chose the down the line drop shot.

Why was this the best choice?

- All the other choices would have left Daniel open to easy passing shots and three of them would barely request Nadal to move.

- The drop shot up the line went against the flow of Nadals backward movement and made it very difficult for Nadal to start a forwards run.

- Even if Nadal had reached the drop shot, he had no angles to pass a Daniel Marcus poised and ready to volley.

Besides respecting all fundamental aspects of an excellent tactical choice, Daniel kept moving forward after hitting the drop shot, which is a must in my view.

The drop shot is a great weapon when used wisely and sparingly, overused can go against you.

Some basic rules of the drop shot:

- Do not telegraph your drop shot to your opponent! Disguise the shot so that he/she will realize it is a drop-shot only at the last moment of contact.

- Drop-shot only when you are inside the court, your opponent will have less time to get to the ball.

- Drop-shot when you have your opponent either pinned several feet behind the baseline or wide out of the court.

- Always follow the line of the ball (you just drop-shot) to the net and cover for an eventual volley.

Video Copyright Eurosport

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