THE 'HIGH' DROP: DAVID PALMER vs. GREGORY GAULTIER

Okay, this, of course, is a beautiful crazy rally that does not require much comment. However, I would like to point out a maybe even insignificant detail, David Palmer's drop shot at 0:33 (even if it didn't make him win the rally this time); many players would have gone for the inch-perfect drop just above the tin, but Palmer chooses to play it about 50 cm higher looking rather to make it fade into the side-wall. He does that often, as the drop-shot played as such a high-percentage-shot and not as a clear winner will make the opponent run desperately to retrieve the ball which then generally ends in a stroke or an easy loose ball to put away. (Click here to see another nice example this time on the volley and dropping it at 0:11 even at the heights of the service line (!) against Willstrop in an earlier post). I do agree that it's a bit of a conservative thinking with the likes of Ramy and Shabana on the tour, but it's still intelligent and efficient not only in the short term (in order of winning the point) but also in mid-terms (making your opponent spend a lots of energy and showing him that you don't necessarily have to go for winners to beat him).

THE SHOT AFTER THE BACK-WALL BOAST I.: DAVID PALMER

In general, getting to the the front-wall after a back-wall boast fast and early is essential; you'll have more time to hear (and in some case even to see at some degree) how much your opponent follows up on the court, whilst you hold your shot, to decide if it is better to drop it or go for the drive/kill. Or - as David Palmer, and even more often, James Willstrop like to do it - you just take it immediately on the volley, either to drop it or drive it with second bounce into the side or back-wall nick. In the rally below, the two big men run the diagonal a couple of times in some furious fashion (mainly poor James). At the end Palmer wins the point by faking to take Willstrop's back-wall boast on the volley - and by dropping it then softly after the bounce. The fake volley made Willstrop stop on his track for a split of a second, which made the drop easier and more secure to play for Palmer. Note also how nicely the two tall men clear mutually to allow a direct path to the ball.