The Art of Lawn Tennis | Page 6

me.
From a long and, many times, sad experience over a period of some ten
years of tournament tennis, I believe the following order of
development produces the quickest and most lasting results:
1. Concentration on the game.
2. Keep the eye on the ball.
3. Foot-work and weight-control.
4. Strokes.
5. Court position.
6. Court generalship or match play.
7. Tennis psychology.
Tennis is a game of intimate personal relation. You constantly find

yourself meeting some definite idea of your opponent. The personal
equation is the basis of tennis success. A great player not only knows
himself, in both strength and weakness, but he must study is opponent
at all times. In order to be able to do this a player must not be hampered
by a glaring weakness in the fundamentals of his own game, or he will
be so occupied trying to hide it that he will have no time to worry his
opponent. The fundamental weakness of Gerald Patterson's backhand
stroke is so apparent that any player within his class dwarfs Patterson's
style by continually pounding at it. The Patterson overhead and service
are first class, yet both are rendered impotent, once a man has solved
the method of returning low to the backhand, for Patterson seldom
succeeds in taking the offensive again in that point.
I am trying to make clear the importance of such first principles as I
will now explain.
CONCENTRATION
Tennis is played primarily with the mind. The most perfect racquet
technique in the world will not suffice if the directing mind is
wandering. There are many causes of a wandering mind in a tennis
match. The chief one is lack of interest in the game. No one should play
tennis with an idea of real success unless he cares sufficiently about the
game to be willing to do the drudgery necessary in learning the game
correctly. Give it up at once unless you are willing to work. Conditions
of play or the noises in the gallery often confuse and bewilder
experienced match-players playing under new surroundings. Complete
concentration on the matter in hand is the only cure for a wandering
mind, and the sooner the lesson is learned the more rapid the
improvement of the player. An amusing example, to all but the player
affected, occurred at the finals of the Delaware State Singles
Championship at Wilmington. I was playing Joseph J. Armstrong. The
Championship Court borders the No. 1 hole of the famous golf course.
The score stood at one set all and 3-4 and 30-40, Armstrong serving.
He served a fault and started a second delivery. Just as he commenced
his swing, a loud and very lusty "Fore!" rang out from the links.
Armstrong unconsciously looked away and served his delivery to the
backstop and the game to me. The umpire refused to "let" call and the
incident closed. Yet a wandering mind in that case meant the loss of a
set.

The surest way to hold a match in mind is to play for every set, every
game in the set, every point in the game and, finally, every shot in the
point. A set is merely a conglomeration of made and missed shots, and
the man who does not miss is the ultimate victor.
Please do not think I am advocating "pat-ball." I am not. I believe in
playing for your shot every time you have an opening. I do not believe
in trying to win the point every time you hit the ball. Never allow your
concentration on any game to become so great that you do not at all
times know the score and play to it. I mean both point score and game
score. In my explanation of match play in a later chapter I am going
into a detailed account of playing to the score. It is as vital in tennis as
it is in bridge, and all bridge players know that the score is the
determining factor in your mode of bidding. Let me urge again
concentration. Practise seriously. Do not fool on the court, as it is the
worst enemy to progress. Carelessness or laziness only results in
retrogression, never progress.
Let me turn now to the first principle of all ball games, whether tennis,
golf, cricket, baseball, polo, or football.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!
Just a few statistics to show you how vital it is that the eye must be kept
on the ball UNTIL THE MOMENT OF STRIKING IT.
About 85 per cent of the points in tennis are errors, and the remainder
earned points. As the standard of play rises the percentage of errors
drops until, in the average high-class tournament match, 60 per cent are
errors and 40 per cent aces. Any average superior to this is