So, I got kind of obsessed with Mischa Zverev’s game for a bit. You know, his brother Alexander gets all the headlines, hits the ball super hard from the back. But Mischa, he does that old-school serve and volley thing. You just don’t see it much anymore, and honestly, I thought it looked pretty cool. Different.
I play tennis down at the local club, nothing serious, mostly baseline stuff like everyone else these days. But watching Mischa float into the net, looking all graceful, I thought, maybe I could try that? Add a little spice to my game, surprise folks.
Getting Started (and Failing)
First time I went out to specifically practice this, it was a disaster. Seriously. I’d hit my serve, which isn’t exactly a cannon, and then just sprint towards the net like a headless chicken. The ball would come back, usually whizzing past me before I even got set, or it’d be right at my feet and I’d trip over myself trying to volley. It felt super awkward. My timing was all wrong. Mostly, I just gave my opponent easy points.
Okay, Time to Actually Watch Him
I realized just wanting to play like Mischa wasn’t enough. Shocker, right? So, I pulled up some videos. Didn’t just watch the highlights, but tried to really look at what he was doing.
- How he moved immediately after the serve.
- Where he aimed his serves to set up the volley. Usually wide or maybe kick serves.
- That little split-step thing he does just as the opponent hits the ball.
- How he didn’t just whack the volley, but often angled it or used touch.
It looked way more complicated up close than it did from afar.
Breaking It Down
So, back to the practice court. I decided to break it down. Forget winning points, just focus on the steps.
First, the serve placement. I spent a whole session just trying to hit serves wide enough or with enough spin to give myself a split second longer to get in. Turns out, my regular flat serve down the middle wasn’t cutting it for serve and volley.
Then, the net movement. Without even serving, I just practiced running in from the baseline, doing the split step, and trying to react. It felt weird, my legs weren’t used to that kind of forward burst right after the service motion.
Finally, the volleys. Got a buddy to just feed me balls while I stood at the net. Man, my volleys were rusty. Needed a lot of work just getting the racket face square, punching through the ball, not swinging like a groundstroke. Tried to practice different kinds: block volleys, touch volleys, low volleys. It’s a whole different technique.
Trying to Combine It
Putting it all together was the real challenge. Serve, sprint, split-step, volley. Each part had to flow into the next. I tried it again in some casual hitting. Sometimes, maybe one out of ten times, it worked! I’d hit a decent serve, get in, and punch a volley for a winner. Felt amazing!
But mostly? Still got passed, or dumped the volley into the net, or just felt completely out of position. It’s tiring too! Way more physically demanding than just hanging back at the baseline.
My Takeaway
So, what did I learn? Well, playing like Mischa Zverev is incredibly hard. It’s not just a tactic you switch on. It’s a whole different way of playing tennis that needs years of practice, specific skills, and probably better reflexes and hands than I have!
I have massive respect for guys like him who stick to that style. It’s an art form, really. Will I be serve-and-volleying like him anytime soon? Absolutely not. But maybe, just maybe, I’ll throw it in once in a while now, just for fun. And I definitely appreciate watching him play a lot more now, knowing how tough it actually is.
