So, I was thinking about Mischa Zverev the other day. Remember him? The older Zverev brother, the one with that old-school serve-and-volley game. You just don’t see that much anymore, everyone’s banging it from the baseline.
Watching him play, especially against guys who just stand way back, it looked kinda smart, you know? Get to the net, cut off the angles, quick points. Looked easier on the body too, less running side-to-side. So, I thought, hey, maybe I should give that a try. My baseline game wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire anyway.
My Brilliant Plan
I actually went out and practiced it. For a few weeks, that was my mission. Get the serve in – didn’t even have to be that hard, just well-placed – and then just rush the net like a madman. Seemed simple enough watching Mischa do it.
Well, let me tell you, simple it was not.
- First off, my serves weren’t landing where I wanted. They either went out, or they sat up nicely for my opponent to smack back.
- Second, that sprint to the net after serving? Man, you gotta be quick and balanced. I mostly just stumbled forward.
- Third, the volleys. Oh god, the volleys. They came back faster than I expected, or slower, or with weird spin. Half the time I was just flailing, lucky to get the racket on the ball. More often than not, I’d either punch it into the net or pop it up for an easy winner for the other guy.
- Getting passed down the line or lobbed over felt just embarrassing after all that effort to get to the net.
It was exhausting. Not less running, just different running. Short, sharp bursts that left me gasping. And the concentration needed for the volley? Way higher than just grinding from the back.
Reality Bites
It kinda reminded me of this time I tried fixing the plumbing under the sink myself. Watched a couple of videos online, looked like a piece of cake. Guy in the video made it seem like child’s play. Fifteen minutes, tops, he said. Three hours later, my kitchen floor was flooded, I was soaked, swearing like crazy, and the drip was somehow worse than before. Had to call a plumber anyway, cost me double because it was an ’emergency’ by then. Looked easy, execution was a nightmare.
Same thing with trying to play like Mischa Zverev. It looks elegant, maybe even simple, when a pro does it. But trying it yourself? You realize the timing, the touch, the anticipation involved… it’s nuts. It’s a whole different level of skill that you just don’t appreciate from the couch.
So yeah, my serve-and-volley experiment didn’t last long. Gained a whole new respect for Mischa, though. And for plumbers. I went back to just pushing the ball around from the baseline. It’s not pretty, but at least I know what I’m doing, mostly. Sometimes it’s better to stick to what you know, even if it’s not fancy.
