Notable techniques at the Australia Open

Looking back at the Australia Open, especially at the final between Serene Williams who had won her fifth Australia Open title and Justine Henin the former World No. 1. There is much to learn from the match. One thing in particular is the strong forehand technique of Serene Williams. It was fast and powerful that the opponent could not run to return it. 

However, besides that behind those power and speed, there was an element of intelligent forehand technique. She saw where the opponent is standing and knowing that point, she encompasses it with power and speed and shot back accurately at the other side of the court. There was little time for the opponent to react to that. Justine Henin played smart too one when she managed to trick the champion and won by a lob which she did not seems to expect it at the moment.


For the final of the men's match between the two top quality players World No. 1 and many times grand slam champion Roger Federer and Andy Murray, one important thing about the game is that Roger Federer just keep on returning and serving real well that Andy does not have any space to score. To do that in fact Roger Federer has lots of stamina in the match. He just leave no air for Andy to breathe so how can he have the time to think to counter or use his wits in the game? Very interesting matches at the Australia Open indeed.

The defensive tennis lob technique

The defensive tennis lob is usually played when you are out of position and needed some time to recover. For such a technique to be performed, one needs pretty much practice, the nimble factor and the accuracy. Do be aware of this technique as I have seen before someone using it and made a small error resulting in giving the opportunity to the opponent to strike back. Here are the some of the steps to perform a defensive lob:

The grip

Use the same grips as you do for forehand and backhand shots.

Preparation and backswing

Prepare as if you were hitting a ground stroke and bring the head of the racket below the height of the ball and at the same time bend well at your knees. Open the racket face slightly and rest your weight on the back foot.

Forward swing and contact

Bring the racket forward in a low-high swing. As you do this you will gradually extend the knees forward and upward. At the same time ensure the racket face is slightly open.

Follow through

Make the path of the racket on the basic lob from low to high. You may make the follow through upwards, to give the ball height over the net. Hit it with some slice to give the ball more height if you are playing the defensive lob.

The tennis lob

As the name implies and as I playback the times when I am constantly under attack and at the point where I am almost out of control especially on my blind side, I utilize this move to buy myself time to recover in position.

Tilted at about 45 degrees to a waist level attack on the up-bounce to my back hand, a lob is executed with a spin if desired and manageable. Lifting the opponent's head to gaze at the ball over his head breaks his attacking momentum and draws from him more effort to continue the game. As for me, I recover from my awkward stance and plan my next counter to his.

Using this same move, I can use it on the attack to catch him off position if he is awaiting near the net. He cannot smash on the unreachable lob but only retreats to the baseline with his back facing me. His return will be weaker and I assume a better position to deliver my next move to a near certain victory.