Using The Wide Serve On The Deuce Court

When Roger Federer played Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final in 2012 he came onto the court with some very specific goals and strategies. One of these revolved around his serve location on the deuce court. Specifically he came out with the intent of serving an amazingly large percentage of his serves wide to the Murray forehand. This is nothing new – in his first round win against Paire in the Australian Open yesterday Federer put 13 serves out wide on the deuce court compared to just 2 down the middle. But it does beg the question: why does Federer put so many serves out into the forehand of his right-handed opponents on the deuce court? Today we’re going to break down exactly what Federer’s goal with this serve is, and show you how you can put it to good use in your own matches.
(more…)