Mostly drop shots are played with a reduced swing as it's a delicate shot that needs a delicate touch. But in this case, Karim Darwish was deceiving to prepare a hard-paced drive, raising the racket-head relatively high (nevertheless keeping the elbow near to the hip) and swinging quickly. And exactly these two factors explain why the shot didn't come perfect (quick / high swing = less control), but also why it was still a winner, as the deception of the drive made Gregory Gaultier stuck slightly on the 'T'. Why did Darwish play it this way whereas in earlier samples (I.) that we have discussed here (II.) he played the drop with a compact, reduced swing? Because in opposition to the previous examples, the present one wasn't a 'reaction (volley)-drop', there was more time to execute the shot (and also for the opponent to observe the preparation of the shot), therefore it needed deception, to keep the opponent behind him stuck on the 'T', away from the front-wall. Whereas the quality of a reaction-drop with the reduced swing is rather depending on footwork (balance), the full-backswing deceiving drop is technically extremely difficult and even on pro level, only a few players are capable to use it successfully.
