Alright guys, here’s the deal. Been trying to fix my stupid tennis serve forever. Felt like throwing noodles at a wall – messy and useless. So I was moping around YouTube last night, smashing the replay button on Novak Djokovic highlights, you know? Dude’s serve looks effortless. Like butter. Total opposite of my wobbly mess.
The “Why Bother” Phase
Honestly, was kinda ready to just say “screw it, serve underhand.” But then one video popped up titled “Djokovic Serve Secrets.” Clicked faster than you can say “double fault.” Figured, what’s the harm? Might as well see how badly I’ll mess this up.
Started simple. Novak talks about this thing called “balance.” Yeah. Felt obvious. I mean, duh, stand still, right? But when I actually stood there on my crappy patio pretending to be him? Whole different story. Felt like Bambi on ice. Legs shaking, shoulders tight. Embarrassing. How can standing still be so freaking hard?
The “Let’s Pretend I’m Novak” Phase (Spoiler: I Wasn’t)
Decided to break it down. Novak has this rock-solid platform before he even moves. So, grabbed an old towel (clean-ish), rolled it up, stood on it barefoot. Idea was to feel stable. First try? Nearly ate concrete. Felt like an idiot standing on a towel in my yard. Neighbor probably thinks I finally snapped.
Next up: The toss. Novak makes it look like he’s placing the ball on a shelf. Mine? Random lottery. Saw something about keeping your arm straight, tossing out in front, not like, over your head. Tried that. Five tosses later:
- One bounced off my head.
- Two sailed over into Mrs. Henderson’s roses.
- One landed almost behind me. How?!
- One was actually decent. Quickly ruined it by whiffing the racket completely. Air swing. Cool.
Then the “coil.” Novak coils up like a spring and BOOM. I tried turning my shoulder. Felt stiff. Awkward. Like trying to scratch my back with oven mitts on. Forgot to bend my knees half the time. Just stood there stiff, trying to coil my upper body alone. Looked less like a tennis pro, more like a rusty Tin Man needing oil.
The “Okay, Maybe One Tiny Spark” Phase
Kept slogging. Focused on only one thing: that coil-and-snap feeling. Not thinking about power, just trying to feel the twist, then unwinding it kinda fast. Used a few old practice balls I found in the garage – probably bought them at Walgreens ten years ago. Who cares.
Toss the ball (sorta forward), bend knees (kinda), coil shoulders (try hard), push up, and just try to snap through. Forgot about where it went, just tried to feel that chain reaction.
And then… click. Just once. After like 50 tries. It wasn’t graceful. Or powerful. Or landing in. BUT. The contact felt different. Solid. Like I actually hit through the ball instead of tapping it. A tiny shockwave went up my arm – the good kind. It even made a satisfying thwack noise I hadn’t heard before. Almost yelled.
Of course, the next ten were back to patty-cake pats or wild sprays. But that one ball? Proved the old champ might be onto something. My elbow didn’t hurt after. That’s progress, right? Still served mostly into the net or the fence later. But man, chasing that thwack feeling again is weirdly addictive.
Gonna leave that rolled-up towel by the back door. Novak probably never tripped on his.
