|
At left is Geoff Mora's final takeoff position as he
launches up into his powerful serve. However, his serve
would be even more powerful if he launched from close to the
baseline as shown (with trick photography) at right.
The effective velocity of his serve would increase, as would
his downward angle over the net. These changes would
readily translate into match results for Mora as he pounds out
his nimble all-court game in Open tournaments.
And Mora shouldn't even have to do anything
differently, except stand forward into the court at the onset.
He would then scoot that lead foot back as he normally does
(see first action photo above)
and it would end up just behind the baseline with the other
foot at liftoff. No reasonable opponent would object.
The ITF, however, might be a bit starchy in
its view and slow to accommodate such an unusual maneuver in
its rules. In which case, Mora, would still be wise to
takeoff from close to the baseline, even if it means
converting his reverse pre-step to the
more conventional forward direction. Mora is a
gifted player with an excellent serve, but acquiring a normal
pre-step would not be difficult and would also make his
delivery more of a weapon for reasons other than those
discussed here.
|
