For the past decade, I have traveled up to the Tennis Hall of Fame Championships to photograph. I am a credentialed photographer, and sell my images primarily to European outlets. I have had the pleasure of photographing many ATP pros at this "Mini-Wimbledon" event that is played on grass. Not surprisingly, there are many pros who have big serves that elect to play this great tournament. After his success at Wimbledon, I was very eager to see Ivo Karlovic play at Newport.
 
What I learned from my experience can help any player develop a better, first serve!!!
 
Indeed, in the matches in which I photographed Ivo, he used the same service motion and about the same amount of pace for both first and second serves. This is not surprising given the fact that his serve is so devastating and that the surface in Newport is grass. On one second serve, I looked at the radar, speed gun posting. It registered 129 mph!!!
 
Most of us would love to have a more powerful first serve. This is not to say that any of us will be able to reach the 100 plus mph pace that Karlovic is able to generate. Still, each of us can add an extra 5, 10 or 15 mph to our first serve if we employ the Ivo's technique.
 
I have incorporated some images in this month's column, to make sure that the principles associated with Ivo Karlovic's serve are clear to the reader.
 
No two people serve exactly the same... well, this may be a bit overstated. So, these principles may need to be modified to accommodate your own unique service motion. However, adopting these principles will pay dividends with respect to power output! Some time spent on the practice court, some video analysis to assure your form is as it should be, and I am sure that you will be "popping" serves far better than you imagined possible.
 
Before I go any further, it is important to realize that Ivo Karlovic is 6 feet 10 inches tall!!! I suspect that most of my readers are not. But as we go through the individual components in Ivo's serve, I will attempt to help you recognize things in a way that will help you to receive the maximum benefit. I assure the reader that a big, flat, first serve is capable... even if you are 5 feet 8 inches tall.
 
Ivo Karlovic has minimal spin off of his serves. His is a true "flat" serve. Flat serves travel through the air at a faster rate and when they bounce they will often "skip" a bit. In truth, every serve has some spin on the ball. The flat serve simply has far less spin than the spins on a slice or kick serve. On fast surfaces like grass (or carpets and "non gritty" hard courts), the flat serve is probably the most effective first serve.
 
Still, a powerful flat serve is only useful if the ball lands within the service box. Ivo is capable of "painting" the lines with his serves. My guess is that most of us mere mortals need to allow for a little more margin for error. Placement is always more important than power in every stroke in this great game of ours.
 
The best grip for hitting a powerful, flat serve is undoubtedly the continental grip. In that this is the perfect grip for volleying and given the fact that Ivo follows his serve to the net, it is not surprising that Ivo uses the continental grip. One can use an eastern backhand grip (or something in between a continental and eastern backhand grip) and have an effective flat serve. The key factor is that one must be able to break the wrist at and after the moment of impact. Eastern forehand grips are often used for serves (Boris Becker was an exception) for just this reason.
 
Here is a close-up of Ivo's serve grip.
 

 
Really, this is a continental grip that has a very slight turn in the direction of a backhand grip. However, most of Ivo's palm is above the top of the racquet handle. His wrist is a little bit bent as he sets up to serve. I suspect this bend in his wrist is just an idiosyncrasy and is simply a part of his service ritual. I do not see it having a purpose. Whenever a person serves, the first step (after bouncing a few balls) is to take what I call the paused posture or pose. The player wants to look at where he/she wishes to place the serve, and wants to use these moments to mentally and physically prepare to execute a perfect serve. It is often best to have most of your weight on the back foot in these "poses." Lifting up the front foot will assure that the weight is on the back foot... or at least... that your weight is evenly balanced.
 
Here is an image of Ivo's paused posture/pose.
 

 
Ivo pauses for a second or so before he executes his service motion. Some players may place more weight on their back foot than Ivo when doing this "setup." Still, Ivo does lift his front foot to be sure that his weight is not leaning forward. Good serving requires a back to front weight transfer. This paused posture/pose helps assure that the motion will include this needed weight transfer.
 
In addition, you should note that Ivo is positioning his body sideways to the net and opponent. I have not seen many players who do not naturally assume this stance. If you are using an eastern forehand grip, you will necessarily need a more open stance where you are facing the net. (I do not recommend this.) You can always tell a player who is using an eastern forehand grip because in some way, the service motion will resemble what is a "badminton-like" service motion. John McEnroe serves with his back to the net. This is most unusual. In interviews, he stated that he developed this service motion to prevent strain on his back. I am not sure how or why this works for him, and I have not seen anyone else adopt this stance when serving. So, I do not recommend this.
 
Probably the most important ingredient in having a truly powerful serve is to be relaxed throughout the service motion and to NOT attempt to "muscle" the ball!!!
 
Ivo's service motion is very relaxed! He is a very fit man, and has well developed muscles. However, it is not his muscles that make his serve so powerful. While photographing Ivo, I became aware of a somewhat unusual practice that he employs while beginning his actual service "motion." He actually opens his hand on his racquet handle! He does this on every serve. I am quite confident that this is a technique he uses to make sure that his arm, shoulder and hand are completely relaxed through the service motion. The only time he truly grips his racquet handle tightly is at the very moment of impact during the serve.
 
Here are two images of Karlovic as he begins his service motion. In the second image, you will see that I have enlarged the grip. You will notice that his hand is seemingly completely open. He holds the racquet with only his thumb and the upper part of his index finger!
 
 
 
I am not suggesting to the reader that she/he model this open hand "grip." But, I do believe that having a very relaxed hand while going up to make contact with the ball actually will increase power. I know of players who simply grip the racquet handle with three fingers and leave the little finger or "pinkie" loose to help relax their overall grip.
 
To illustrate my point on relaxing, try the following. Take a crushed up piece of paper that has been shaped into a ball. Now, while keeping your arm tense and muscles strained throw this paper ball across the room. Now, repeat this experiment only this time do the entire motion with a fast but relaxed motion. Which ball went farther?
 
Racquet head speed is the essence of every powerful shot in our great game! More often than not, a player needs to have a relaxed arm, relaxed shoulder and relaxed hand to generate maximum racquet speed. The time to grip really tightly is a fraction of a second before making contact and at the moment of impact. After making contact, the player wants to again relax all of his/his upper body.
 
The overall service motion is of critical importance in generating power. There needs to be an overall "harmony" or "synchronous" nature to the way in which we move as we serve. Most will refer to this as the kinetic chain. When all moving parts are working in a relaxed, integrated and efficient manner, the serve power is automatically amplified.
 
You may want to video yourself serving and examine each of the following components in your overall service motion. There should be an effortless, seamless, flow to your service motion. Looking at yourself on video (easily done with modern smart phones and a willing assistant) will help you change what may be any "hitch" in your service motion.
 
The key elements upon which to focus are:

1. Toss height and consistency.
2. Foot movement.
3. Body rotation at the waist and with respect to the shoulders.
4. Knee bending and possibly going airborne.
5. Weight transfer forward.
6. Hitting up on the ball.
7. Pronation.
8. Crossing the body with racquet follow through.
9. Landing inside the baseline.