Serve Clones: How to Serve JUST Like Andy Roddick EP 2.

[@c.edwards1814]

Both videos are great. Been working with my youngest son on Roddick's serve for 2 years now, and this definitely helps. The format is friendly, honest and lacks the arrogance that most coaches have (and most coaches won't even attempt what they teach). Too bad you're not in my area, because I'd gladly enroll him in your school. Most walk-on coaches in this part of the country are all talk, and when they ask to coach him, I say, "beat me in one set and you can have him;" strangely, nobody has taken me up on the offer (and I suck). Glad you lead by example.

[@c.edwards1814]

Oh, one request--please. Once had a guy use a "reverse serve" on me when I was younger (that's what they called it in that country). *Really* messed with my head, and I lost the match. I think Rosol does one, but nobody explains it.

[@twinwankel]

Your serve has a lot of topspin and was not flat. Just look at the trajectory of that big serve. That's why you hit the fence so high. I think Roddick's low hitch move is the same thing as lagging your racket at low position ala Sampras or Isner or even Karlovic. Basically Roddick is trying to get past the trophy position as fast as he can. Its because his toss starts at a very high position that he has no time to swing downward in his takeback. So he simply abbreviates his takeback without having any pause in his trophy. However he puts tremendous stress on his body by jerking his torso after this hitch position. His power source IMO is his leg drive, lightning bolt service time and his incredible rack drop that helps him develop tremendous racket head speed. Everything else is just dressing. I wouldn't recommend players use this serve motion because you could damage your back jerking your body like this. Roddick retired very early due to back problems. He should have played at least 5 years longer if he had a more conventional serve. Of course, one could argue that his MPH serve and ranking would drop but then he might have developed a better volley or ground game. He depended on his serve too much.

[@thanhn2001]

This move will save your shoulders. I play volleyball and the hitting mechanics are similar. There we're told to activate the rhomboid for more power. So it's definitely something everyone should do, not just Roddick. But it's not about driving the elbow down but it's pulling it back. The elbow dropping down is more about keeping it in line with the shoulders if you draw a line from one shoulder the the next. Elbow above the shoulder line is a weak position.

[@kevinbrowne9298]

OK, I tried -- let me emphasize TRY -- to mimic Roddick's serve ala our fearless leader Pete at Crunch Time Coaching. While my form, rhythm & contact are a mere ghost of the real deal, this much I can say: it's a simpler motion than, say, Federer's &, despite my flaws, I hit some MASSIVE BOMBS. Far bigger than usual & perhaps bigger than any I EVER hit before. Here's another kicker -- the opponents, circa 5.0 level, some of whom luv to return pace / speed / power, nonetheless seemed stunned & flatfooted AFTER they successfully returned a huge serve of mine. This allowed me to basically clean up points by deploying a One-Two combination (1. Big Serve; 2. Put-away winner on my second shot). Something about facing that kind of intimidating force just froze their game momentarily, gave them a sense of relief / mission accomplished that they even got the serve back in play, which then made them vulnerable to the next shot. Pete, what do you think about combining / blending Roddick's 'Elbow Jab' (where his racquet is predominately vertical) with Federer's 'Power Secret' (his near-horizontal racquet in the trophy pose leading into a kind of lasso whip action)?

[@PeterFreemantennis]

First of all this made my day and I am so proud of you. Next I like the idea of combining Fed and Roddick...the secret power source works for sure....I have not done video 3 yet because I am a bit banged up...so I am curious to see if I can do the elbow jab and jump...I find trying to copy Roddick 's serve very unnatural...but I certainly surprised myself in video 2... I am glad it is working for u! That is really cool

[@kevinbrowne9298]

Just following in your trailblazing footsteps, bro. Hope you're not too banged up. Godspeed. I've an overall comment on the Roddick serve (& what I dub 'fast twitch serves' generally) but let's reserve that until after your Episode 3 comes out. In the interim, you're right, Pete, that ppl accustomed to the cradling rock-a-bye baby pendulum start will feel Roddick's initial move on his serve to be unnatural, even strange. Beyond his tossing motion though, the rest of it is fairly familiar if extreme (e.g., the deep knee bend; the over-arching non-tossing arm; the elbow jab / shoulder cock). These are techniques incorporated in many pro players' serve mechanics; just not as pronounced as Roddick's.

[@coffeedude2024]

Hi Pete great video! I think the thing people need to becareful of is dropping the hitting elbow below the tossing shoulder and suffering from a very low elbow. This will limit range and result in poor racket drop because you'll loose range in your shoulder. The reason why Roddick gets such a low elbow is because he really pushes his left gip into the court and gets massive pelvic tilt hence the low shoulder. I think this move is fine but I would do shadows infront of the mirror to make sure the hitting elbow isn't getting tucked in ti close to the body. However if you get the timing right, you can hit massive serves with this motion!

[@nivonis393]

I think it depends on your individual build and the body mechanics that go with your individual measurements like over head reach. My personal opinion is you want to be proficient in as many different types of serves as possible. I am the same height as Andy, but I have longer arms because I have narrow shoulders. I want to accomplish this serve to see if maybe I can beat his record. Once you get the torque right in your body from the elbow drop you can definitely feel a power difference from a traditional back swing

[@user-jv9qz2bu1r]

Pete I have a question for you or the board - how was Roddick's slice serve? I think if he had a wicked slice or even Plus Slice to go along with this big Flat Serve he would have been an even more effective server.

[@THEFITNESS411]

Roddick best serve ever 💪 Power and accuracy 👍🎾

[@oldslatzy]

Driving the elbow that far down/back will recruit a lot of powerful "pull" muscles such as the tires major/minor and longed tricep, which have very strong type 2 fibers, aka lots of power so I think the farther you can drive that elbow with control the more heat you get out of your cannon

[@JimArthurVanWyck]

Another truly interesting video. What do I think about the move in the video (pushing elbow down)?? I think it helps deepen and exagerate the shoulder-over-shoulder cartwheel action that is essential in all great serves. I'm totally going to try it. Here's a question for Pete... do you think the "roddick move" also keeps the racket and elbow in close, as I think that's also an element to successfully exploding up and out shoulder over shoulder...

[@PeterFreemantennis]

thanks Jim...let me know how it goes..it feels odd for sure...as far as bringing elbow in towards the body? Is that watch you mean? I think you want to be careful. It all depends on how close...I think in the beginning of Djoker's career he was in TOO close and it messed up his serve. Here is Andy from the side and you can see he does not bring his elbow too close in kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYvFqX6rgaqDldE...I think it is his extreme lag and how far he brings the tossing arm back that creates this huge upward explosion into the ball

[@kevinbrowne9298]

Jim Arthur Van Wyck's take (below) sounds about right to me, i.e., that what you, Pete, describe as an "elbow jab" engages the shoulder more. Roddick probably has an agent (&/or Decker does). You should contact them & ask if he'd like to comment on your astute, not to mention flattering, analysis of his serve. Even money says he'll jump on it.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

that would be awesome!!! thanks for the suggestion

[@c.edwards1814]

Good proposition, Kevin. I've always wondered about that myself. IMO--best serve: Roddick; forehand: Soderling; single-back: Wawrinka, double: ????; grit: Conners and Hewitt; footwork/strategy/all-around game: Federer, and last, the most important, the *entertainment/sportsmanship*: Santoro, Dolgopolov, Perry and the rest . . . Now, I'm a bit dated, but there is one thing that has never been repeated and will take a long for anyone to come close to: Roddick's serve (the absolute power/intensity/efficiency of it). It's uniquely his, and very hard to copy because of his body structure and especially, his temperament (er . . . temper). It's one-of-a-kind, and that's why it's taken 3 years for my son and I to work on it and still not get it right. Roddick is highly intelligent, temperamental, edgy, fidgety, hyperactive, quirky and . . . . He might want to ask his old sponsors and coaches back (Bobolat, Reebok), go on a beer-only diet and do a paid-for, online set of "How You'll Never Serve Like Me, But . . . . (all your money will go to my foundation)."

[@lynyrdskynyrd9742]

Roscoe Tanner... old crappy racket that he could produce a monster serve.

[@gordogordo1698]

When Roddick first came onto the tour, so many experts said that Roddick would develop shoulder problems because of his motion. Roddick did eventually retire with a bad shoulder but not before he made millions of dollars and had amazed most of us wanna be big servers. Were the experts right about this motion causing problems? Can you develop that massive power without the jerky motion (ala Serena) or without growing a couple of feet (Karlavic, Isner, etc)? Thanks for this video!

[@PeterFreemantennis]

good question...I think for sure you can develop good power and avoid injury with solid fundamentals...That being said putting your body in extreme positions can be beneficial if you are a good enough athlete...AKA Roddick and Nadal...but you run the risk of injury of course...but is it worth it if you can make millions with your out of the box style...I say YES

[@coffeedude2024]

I there are only 3 faster servers than Roddick...John Isner, Ivo Karlovic and Sam Groth who hit a 163mph serve. I've heard that Sam Groths serve is terrifying to face and has a violence to it. Interestingly, Sam has a similiar motion to Roddick. Might be cool to do a serve clone video of his serve too!

[@davitong]

"Jab down violently" is Roddick utilizing Newton's law of physics: Action and reaction are equal and opposite!

[@saxmachine73]

coach - Roddick's serve is all about bending the knees. you not even close. while andy max bend is 90 degree your is more toward 160 degree. you can't fully explode if you don't get andy's bending the knees. sorry mate.

[@PeterFreemantennis]

Ido Moria I appreciate ur input but I was not working on knee bend in this video...if you watch video 1 you can see i have a deep knee bend...this was all about 1 move...not enough players focus on 1 move... they try and get it all at once which is a big mistake...the purpose of these videos are not to say I can serve as good as Andy but show people how to learn and practice new techniques that maybe don't come natural to them