Shining Moment for the Slice
In this era of power tennis, the primary focus always seems to be on heavy topspin shots such as Rafael Nadal’s looping forehand. Nonetheless, on the grass courts at Wimbledon, the slice seems to emerge, albeit for probably only two weeks, as a very effective shot. Andy Roddick has hit many sliced backhands and even a couple sliced forehands to both change the pace and also provide his opponents, who prefer returning powerful
shots, with little pace so that they need to generate all the power. Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Ivo Karlovic play the slice effectively on clay and hard, but on the grass their heavily sliced backhands stay lower and skid faster than on other surfaces. This change of pace can be challenging for the players who prefer a more consistent rhythm. In addition, opponents can be drawn into net unwittingly and then passed more easily. For the players choosing to approach the net on grass, the sliced approach shot can be even more effective than on other surfaces because of how low it stays, forcing the opponent to have to generate enough topspin to get the ball over the net, but also not too much so it sits up for an easy volley. Slice is now the “change that refreshes”…
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