Yes, Wimbledon is in the hearts of every little boy and girl the moment they first step on a tennis court whether they know it or not.

Of course you may think, what about the Spanish, is it not Roland Garros and the clay they dream about? Go ask Manolo Santana or Rafael Nadal and they will tell you how so much more special that Wimbledon Cup is than all others.

No matter where you are in the world, if you walk near a grass tennis court at day break and see the little droplets of water scintillating like gold caressed by the splendor of the soft yellow sun through the morning dew, the ghosts of centuries of tennis invade the place and the distinct sound of grass court play envelopes you.

What about Wimbledon? Is it the mystic, is it the lore of tall tales of glories past, is it the tradition or the plain facts of the history of Wimbledon?

It is all of that and lawn tennis or grass court play!

No other tennis surface challenges the tennis player to the outer limits of his abilities rather then grass courts.

- You never know when you are going to get a bad bounce.

- If there is a bad bounce will you be fast enough to get the racket to still strike the ball?

- A place where winners can become frames and frames can become winners!?

- Spins take a totally different dimension on this surface.

- The under spin or slice can dive right into your ankles. Or it can die and sit up like a dead duck for a winning forehand, but not so fast! That ball is hanging in the air as if in slow motion and if you do not hurry and go to it the opportunity is lost!

- The topspin should bounce high and true, but it does not always, sometimes it will travel like a rocket others the ball will grab and twirl the grass turning a forward bounce into a side ways bounce, others will bounce true with a fade, others... who knows...?

- You can serve big you can serve small, you can serve a kick, a twist, a slice, a flat, hard or soft, what ever you do, get your first serve in as much as you can, because your second serve is going to be punished!

- The slice service wide in the deuce court for right handers and on the add court for left handers is a great weapon and a 'must' develop.

- Volleys are also a must, bad volleys can be great because they do not bounce, but solid volleys, angle volleys, drop volleys, short volleys, high volleys, half-volleys all kinds of volleys, the more you hit the ball in the air the lesser the chances of a bad bounce.

- The slice backhand and forehand play a gargantuan role on grass, with balls skidding as low as your ankles imagine what it will do to anyones passing shot?

- The drop shot well played is a weapon like on any other surface, but here with a bonus/twist the ball may not bounce at all! Nevertheless drop-shots should be followed to the net at all times!

- The lob can be fatal both ways, first if improperly used or short and a weapon at the right time and deep, Manolo Santana was a master (topspin lob) and so was Lleyton Hewitt.

- The best players on grass are often the ones with the largest variety of shots and the greatest ability to adapt to ever changing conditions and situations. So stroke and mental flexibility are paramount to success in lawn tennis play.

One last thing, Wimbledon is not at every mans reach, experiment in your garden if you do not have a chance to do it somewhere else on a real tennis court (hey, I take no blame for moms, fathers, husbands or wives protests for lawn damage!), I highly recommend it, it will raise the spirit of tennis in you, it did it for me and I became a fan forever!

Wimbledon Tennis Lessons - high backhand volley!

Wimbledon Tennis Lessons - Winning Forehand!

Tennis Instruction: The Basics of How to Hit a Volley

How to master your tennis forehand volley!

Back From Wimbledon Tennis Lessons! to Tennis Cruz Main Page

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