AboutChris Lewis Expertise I can answer questions related to tennis development -- both junior and senior -- including advice on various approaches to coaching, training and competition. I can also offer advice on the technical, tactical, mental and physical aspects of your tennis game, from beginner level through to aspiring professional.
I am able to give you advice on your tennis equipment; e.g., how to choose a tennis racquet best suited for your game, what to consider when purchasing a pair of tennis shoes, or what types of strings are most appropriate for your stage of development or your level of play.
As a former professional player, I can also offer practical advice on anything related to tennis as a potential career.
Experience
Playing Experience:
Former tour professional (1975 - 1986)
Ranked number 1 junior player in the world (1975)
Wimbledon Finalist, 1983 (losing to John McEnroe)
Coached By:
Harry Hopman - Legendary Australian Coach with the best Davis Cup winning record in history.
Tony Roche - Former World number 2, and former coach of Ivan Lendl, Pat Rafter, & Roger Federer. Current coach of Lleyton Hewitt.
Coaching Experience:
Coach of Carl-Uwe Steeb (1989-90) - World number 14
Coach of Ivan Lendl (1991-93)
Coach/Manager of Auckland Tennis Inc's Junior Development Program (1997-2005), which produced players who won US Open Junior, Orange Bowl and Australian Open Junior titles
Currently coaching some of the US's most promising young junior players (at the Woodbridge Tennis Academy in Irvine, Southern California)
Administrative Experience:
Chairman of Tennis New Zealand's (TNZ) High Performance Board 2000-2002
TNZ board member 2000-2002.
Business Experience:
Owner of Tennis-Experts, the online tennis equipment specialists.
Publications:
Regular columnist for New Zealand Herald (Highest circulation New Zealand newspaper)
Expert: Chris Lewis Date: 5/21/2008 Subject: returning slices and backspin
Question Hello
Help, My tennis partner relies (successfully so) on slice shots, I have a very hard time getting pace on returning those shots. I ending playing His game. I end up playing an almost defense game. I have learned to beat him sometimes. But I can rarely get the balling I have a strong forehand but hardly get to use it as everything coming over the net spins away from me?
Any thoughts or suggestions I would great appreciate.
Thanks
Troy
Also I am trying to develop a two handed backhand needless to say, It is extremly difficult for me to return his slice shots with it.
Answer Hi Troy,
In many ways, countering an effective slice is more difficult than countering topspin, particularly if you're playing on a fast surface. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that a ball hit with slice bounces much lower than topspin shots, and the second is that the slice spin on your opponent's ball causes the ball to travel downwards on impact with your strings.
Consequently, if you don't pay enough attention to clearing the net with your own shot, you'll make far more unforced errors into the net than when playing against topspin. On the other hand, because of the difficulty of getting your racquet adequately underneath a low bouncing slice, it's easy to hit long because you haven't been able to generate enough topspin to prevent the ball from sailing over the baseline.
What happens then is that you start playing a tentative, defensive game because you lack the confidence to hit with pace.
To overcome this, I strongly recommend that you become more familiar with both the bounce of a slice, and the way that a ball hit with slice behaves when it makes contact with your strings. If you can, find a player with a good slice who is prepared to practice, say, 30 minutes of hitting his slice down the line to your forehand, with you working on hitting progressively harder shots as you become more familiar with his slice. Repeat the drill with your opponent now hitting crosscourt to your backhand.
Although drilling like this can be relatively boring, you'll get the payoff when you find that you can use your big forehand against slice shots that previously gave you problems.
On a strategic note, players who slice the ball often have trouble with high bouncing balls to the backhand. The next time you play this particular opponent, see if you can neutralize his backhand slice by hitting high to his backhand, and wait for a relatively weak shot that you can attack with your forehand.
As for the transition to a two-handed backhand, from a competitive perspective, it depends where you want to put your emphasis, on winning or on development. If it's winning, at every practical opportunity, run around your backhand to hit forehands. Your two-handed backhand won't develop as quickly; however, you'll win more matches (in the short term). If you want to put the emphasis on developing your two-hander, don't run around it as much. You'll lose more often in the short term, but you'll develop a more well rounded game in the long term.
