1. Hit through the line of the ball.
Davydenko doesn’t have the extreme grips and wide-open stances that are commonplace in today’s pro game. In fact, his style is reminiscent of what you saw on tour 10 to 15 years ago. One thing I particularly like about his game is how he hits through the ball on both his forehand and backhand. Davydenko extends his racquet through the point of contact and toward his intended target beautifully. I call this hitting through the line of the ball, and it does several things for you. First, by keeping the racquet aligned with the ball longer, you increase your chances of making solid contact, and that goes hand in hand with lowering your number of mishits and errors. Davydenko is one of the more consistent players in the men’s game, and I think that’s due in part to this aspect of his technique. Also, by hitting through the ball you maximize your chances of hitting penetrating shots. The trade-off is that you hit with less topspin. Davydenko hits with moderate topspin on both sides, whereas many of his peers hit with heavy topspin.
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2. Be aggressive with your footwork.*
Davydenko is a baseliner, but he’s not what I would consider a steady baseliner who hangs back and waits for errors from his opponents. Instead, he’s a power baseliner who likes to make things happen. He’s similar to Andre Agassi in this respect, though he isn’t as powerful as Agassi and doesn’t take the ball quite as early. But Davydenko’s best traits are his foot speed, fitness, footwork (he sets up well), and court positioning (he stays close to or inside the baseline), all of which put him in position to take charge of a point. These are all qualities you can improve without changing your strokes. As players, many of us tend to let the ball come to us. Follow Davydenko’s lead and learn to use your feet to go after the ball aggressively.
3. Take the ball early.
This is a common theme in today’s game, and Davydenko is a model for how to do it. Because of his superior foot speed and footwork, as well as his excellent hand-eye coordination, he’s among the very best at taking the ball early. This tactic works at any level. It’s tough to learn, but it pays dividends in the long run. By hitting the ball on the rise you don’t have to be as exacting with your placement as you are when you take it later because you’re robbing your opponent of reaction time. (Just don’t forget that you’re taking your own time away, too.) Plus, by taking the ball sooner you push your opponent back and set yourself up to use angles with maximum impact, while simultaneously minimizing the targets available to your opponent.