Roberta Vinci’s farewell announcement hit some tennis fans hard – but above all the lovers of one of the most beautiful strokes in tennis history.
Now who’s left, please, tennis fans of the fine blade? Okay, Roger Federer of course, Feliciano Lopez maybe, even though he is already thinking about the time after that and will soon become Tournament Director in Madrid. But else? Looks pretty bad about the good old slice and his friends. Because like Roberta Vinci nobody has played the slice for a long time.
When Vinci reaches out, no technical blow follows – poetry in motion, the whole performance a small work of art, momentum and elegance paired with heart; an Italian slice that, if he could sing, would hum the most beautiful Italian arias, no trained butcher’s slice as the rest of the tour hacks him off. And if you’ve got him on, like Vinci, you may move your opponent and play him off, on good days even powerhitter like Serena Williams.
Of course, we, the common club players who were punished with a one-handed backhand, always had a special relationship with the slice. Let’s admit it: Most of the time we slice because we can’t do anything else, because for 10,20,30 years we have never solved the secret of a solid one-handed backhand despite countless hours of coaching.
Of course, if we had learned the two-handed backhand as a child, we would have been better by a few classes. Because what else could we do with it all: Winners, for example! In the match!!! Not only the random backhand longline hammer, which we manage to do in training exactly once a year. But: The slice is perfect for changing the tempo – and many players can’t cope with that.
But of course, we have always tried to implement the del Potro school: circulating around where and when we can and trying to dictate with the forehand to let our own backhand out of play, if the opponent allows it. And play against more powerful opponents or even lefties… Oh, let’s forget it.
In spite of all weaknesses: There is hardly a more elegant stroke than the backhand slice; especially if it is played fine. And with practice: a quite dangerous and unpleasant one. Let us think of Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Karsten Braasch…. Or the great Ken Rosewall, who once answered the question why he never played backhand topspin:”Because I’ve never needed one before.”
How’s the tour going on without Roberta Vinci? Questionable. Until the tournament in Rome, we still have time to watch Vinci at work, even though she has to go through the qualification mills as the current number 117 in the world.
Kristina Mladenovic offers a little hope for the future. She has also listed the slice – and is now trying to emulate her great slice model Vinci. Let’s see what happens!