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Date: January 10, 2007
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Topic: Personal Video Tennis Training:  
How to quickly & dramatically improve any of your strokes... 

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Video Tip Transcription

Hi, Brent Abel here, WebTennis.net, and Happy New Year.  Here we are early part of January, 2007.  We've got a beautiful day out here in northern California.  It is a little bit cold, but we've got lots of sunshine, and I really want to help you kind of get back into it. 

One of the things I want to do is to make sure that in your ready position, when you are back on the baseline, is that you are not creeping too far over towards a semi-western, or even worse case. a full western grip in your ready position. 

We talk a lot about classic strokes and sort of the fundamental type of tennis, and we want to make sure that you can play this sport for the rest of your life, and you know that I'm really specific on grips, I'm really specific on swing shapes, but  I don't have a problem if you get a specific ball, a certain ball, during a rally or during a point, where, if you want to slide over and go a little semi-western to get a hair more top spin on that forehand, I don't have a problem with it. 

In fact, from time to time, I do that myself, but the thing I want to make sure that you don't get into is that you don't start using that semi-western, four-hand grip in your ready position, and the reasons are obvious.   

I mean, what I see so often is I see players in the ready position.  They kind of lay the racquet down, rather than having it on the verticals. 

They lay the racquet down and their hand naturally starts to kind of get around into more of a closed racquet-face position and contact. 

And the problem with this, unless you get that certain ball that kind of lands nice out in front of you where it's got a little time to bounce up and get in your "strike zone", if you're always setting up with this forehand grip and you get a deep ball, it is so tough with this closed racquet face to naturally be able to sort of go down and pick up that  really tough ball that lands deep from your opponent, maybe even has some pace, and that's a ball that you want to do more what I call, which is sort of receive the ball. 

Receiving the ball is more about being able to provide the ball bounce with your racket face. 

Right after the ball bounces, let that ball have sort of a nice little stable surface to come in and rebound out off.  If you've always set up with a closed racquet face because you've got that semi or full western forehand grip, this is so tough to be able to handle that shot. 

The other thing too is lots of times you get a short ball, and if you're already locked into a semi-western grip, if you go running up to the service line or even up in the front of that close to the net and you've got a closed racquet face, you've got a real problem.  You really need to be set up in your ready position here back on the baseline, either in a continental grip or an eastern forehand grip. 

All right?  So, I hope this has helped.  Again, Happy New Year to you and to your family.  And any questions be sure to send an e-mail, Brent@WebTennis.net .  Thanks very much.