Moving in on Sharapova
It looked a little like a junior girls match at times in Arthur Ashe Stadium today during the Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska match at the 2007 U.S. Open. During Sharapova’s service games, Radwanska would frequently move in three and sometimes four feet inside the baseline as Sharapova was preparing to hit her second serve. This aggressive, challenging tactic is done by many juniors when they sense that their opponents are lacking confidence in their serve and might double
fault. Sometimes opponents move in, sometimes they move around to prepare to tee off on a forehand and other times, they dance around – the goal is to challenge and distract the server. As a player, you are taught to totally disregard your opponent’s movements, etc. when you are preparing to serve. Surprisingly, Sharapova seemed quite rattled by Radwanska’s tactics and served up 12 double faults in the match winning only 23% of the points on her second serve. Sharapova’s mental strength has carried her through many matches, but she is still clearly struggling with her serve when she’s under pressure.
|
