I enjoyed watching Federer – Nadal semifinals match at the Masters tournament in Shanghai last night.

There were a couple of situations where I noticed how Roger outthought Rafael.

Photo by Andrew Wong / Getty Images

The most evident was the situation at 4:4 at 15:30 on Federer’s serve.

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Here are 3 questions and answers about tennis grips that I received recently.

1. What grip do you hold when you are returning a serve (backhand, forehand or in between)?

I generally don’t teach that. I leave it up to the player to find what is comfortable for them.

I personally hold a forehand grip since I find changing to backhand grip easier and faster than vice versa. And I play a one-handed backhand.

Most players with a two-handed backhand also use a forehand grip since it’s easy for them to switch to a continental grip with their dominant hand.

Some players with a one-handed backhand like to have their backhand grip ready since they receive more serves to the backhand than to the forehand side.

Another option is to use a continental grip which allows you to block fast serves on either side and you don’t have to change the grip much if you change to either a forehand or backhand grip.

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I need to avoid a paralysing effect when it comes to the overhead smash.

I can do it very well if relaxed, but this is not the usual case. I tend to sabotage it.

Sometimes we paralyze, when our mind fights between two ideas.

This happens with smash because the first idea is to hit hard. You’ve seen in it on TV and overhead smash is supposedly an easy shot.

That’s of course far from the truth. In fact, it’s probably THE most difficult shot.

Why?

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My ten year old son has been playing tennis for about a year and a half. He has always done well in team sports like basketball and baseball, but seems to be experiencing major frustration with tennis?

Last evening, I went to watch him play for the first time since last summer at his insistence. I sat very close to his court, but did not respond to poor shots.

To my surprise, he did not handle his temper very well on the court. He banged his racket and threw it numerous time in frustration. He also became enraged that I was watching him and tried to get me to move out of sight.

I have not had any complaints about his behavior in class, but he is very strong-willed and does not like to lose. His tennis pro made an announcement before the next round of play indicating a player would be asked to leave the center for throwing their racket or showing any sign of unsportsman-like behavior.

He did much better during his next two matches, but he won and I stayed out of sight.

I am just at a loss of what to do with my son. One pro at the center offered to get me a copy of a sixteen second rule?

It has to do with what my son should do in between points? Any suggestions from you would be greatly appreciated.

Why do young tennis players behave badly on a tennis court?

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Reaction speed is one of the keys to playing great tennis at a higher level, where the balls fly much faster.

Quick reactions are also important at all levels of tennis doubles, where there are ball exchanges at the net when players volley at each other at shorter distances.

If your reactions are fast, you’ll have more time left to:

• get to the ball,
• make the right decision,
• balance yourself before the stroke
• perform your stroke

So how can you improve your reactions in tennis?

There are a number of steps this equation, and the first one is anticipation. (more…)

When I am under pressure I return the ball short as if somehow I was paralysed.

This is not the norm but occurs more frequently with my backhand.

How can I overcome it?

The most probable cause for freezing is again the lack of decision. Perhaps you are not clear on what to do under pressure.

I assume that under pressure you mean that you are in a defensive position – far behind the baseline or out of the court or on the run.

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