Don't know much about tennis? Here are some tennis basics

Beyond court etiquette, the sport can become unruly when the players like to raise a racket. Time you got acquainted with some tennis basics and a few interesting players.

Beyond court etiquette, the sport can become unruly when the players like to raise a racket. Time you got acquainted with some tennis basics and a few interesting players.

Love All

Don’t get fooled into an atmosphere of conviviality when a match begins at ‘Love All’. The love in tennis is neither romantic nor platonic. In the sport, the word indicates a score of zero. ‘Love All’ refers to the score when neither you nor your opponent has managed a point. When a player wins four points, a game is generally over. The first point won is 15 points, followed by 30, 40 and Game respectively, marking the end of the game.

To serve, with power

In every game, one player serves and the other returns service. Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic among men and Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Victoria Azarenka among women are considered among the great returners of all time.

Stroke sense

A serve that returners can’t manage to touch is termed an ‘ace’. A volley is a shot that you hit before the ball bounces, usually at the net and a lob is played generally over the rival’s head when your opponent comes forward and stands at the net.

Fun lingo

A ‘tennis elbow’ is not a player trying to elbow his way into the Delhi Metro or the 6.15 ki Virar local. It is an inflammation of the tendons of the elbow caused by overuse of the muscles of the forearm. A ‘drop shot’ isn’t a vaccination for a deadly disease. It is a delicate tennis stroke played slightly over the net, with the goal

of making your opponent rush to the net. Famous exponents of the stroke include Rod Laver, Ramanathan Krishnan and Novak Djokovic.

Djoke is on you!

Speaking of the Wimbledon champion, besides being one of the fittest players in the world and on his way to being an all time great, Djokovic, aka Djoker, is one of the funniest players on the tennis circuit. At press conferences, he loves to imitate, guess who, his 2015 losing finalist Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who won the ladies championship!

Tailpiece: Old courtside joke: Why don’t fish make good tennis players? Coz they don’t like coming to the net!

From HT Brunch, August 2

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch