“Even for me it is too hard to hit it exactly like so. So for me it is important that I hit the ball at all.“
So true, yet I think the frame of reference for the ‘at all’ is quite far from my own here.
And seeing these serves, I think Schlager really did manage to up JO’s serve. Incredible.
There’s this JO interview in which he dwells upon this topic — and poo-poos Ma Lin’s serves as nothing special really. “They’re just backspin”, he said dismissively, if I recall correctly.
Service is my weakness, reception another. Deep down I don’t care much, since it’s all about winning points efficiently rather than about having fun playing. Serve and receive practice I do, but with long teeth.
If I cared much about winning matches, I’d probably spend a substantial part of my training practicing serves. I don’t, and gladly embrace the ensuing mediocrity with just a faint little sting of remorse. That final remnant of dying pride, nirvana’s last obstacle.