Over the years, we have seen many different service motions and routines. Pete Sampras lifted his left foot before he served, John McEnroe had an extra-wide stance and tilted heavily forward before starting the service motion and Andy Roddick, with his feet nearly touching, cocks his dominant arm and abbreviates the explosive motion. Then along came Alexandr Dolgopolov, the skinny 5-foot- 11 Ukrainian has one of the most unorthodox service motions of them all. But despite the varying styles of Sampras, McEnroe, Roddick and Dolgopolov, the serves have similarities – they all have sound mechanics and are very effective.

As the Ukrainian’s serve is dissected, it’s discovered that his oddities are his greatest weapon.

 

 

Dolgopolov has all the basic elements of a great serve: knee bend, shoulder rotation, elevation into the serve and a smooth follow-through. Traditionally, his motion would be considered too fast, but because he’s comfortable with the tempo, the pace is fine. “I had a normal technique growing up,” says Dolgopolov. “I just started jumping out hitting the ball faster. I think it’s pretty effective because my opponent can’t really read the serve.” He adds that no one taught him this serve technique. He acquired it himself.

 

Much like a baseball pitcher with an awkward delivery, Dolgopolov’s motion confuses and distracts the opposition. “Dolgopolov has great physical talent – live arm, very fast, explosive, screws his opponent up with the violence of his attack,” says coach and former top ATP player Allen Fox.

 

 

Touring pros say Dolgopolov’s unique style makes returning serves difficult. His toss, incidentally, is also out of the ordinary because it is very low. The ball toss is just high enough to get a good knee bend and elevate to the ball at precisely the moment it reaches its apex. Most servers, on the contrary, allow the ball to drop slightly after it reaches the apex before making contact. Andy Murray says Dolgopolov is tricky. “He’s just unorthodox, very different to how most guys play. Obviously it’s tough to get into a rhythm. But he’s also a very, very good player, definitely not someone to be underestimated.”

 

Dolgopolov comes from a family of athletes. His mother, Elena, was a gymnast who earned a gold and silver medal at the European Championships and his father, Oleksandr, was a former ATP pro and coached Alexandr from a young age until 2008. Alex has a good pedigree for sport and aspires to be World No. 1. Murray says to watch out for Dolgopolov, “With his game style, he’s going to give a lot of guys problems in the future.”

 

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Pros and Cons

 

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Serve Elements