THE DOUBLE GAME.
I do not intend to discuss different ways of playing the double game,
such as one man at the net and the other back, &c., because at the
present time there is only one style of game among good players.
Both men should stand a yard or two yards in front of the service-line,
and each near enough to his own side-line to prevent his being passed
on that side. I do not mean that each player should have a spot in the
court where he should stand, for then it would be easy to put the ball
between the two players or outside of either of them.
When waiting for the return of the service, the player on that side
should keep well out to defend his own side-line, and his partner (the
server) should come up near enough to the middle-line to prevent the
ball from passing between them. This principle applies more or less to
all cases where the return is to come from a spot near a side-line.
When the ball is in the middle of the court, each player of the other
side should stand about the middle of his own court, and, as in the
single game, should fall back a little if he expects a lob, and come
forward a little to meet a low ball.
One great difference between the single and double games is that in the
double the court is more fully covered, as there are only eighteen feet
for each player to defend, instead of twenty-seven. The result is that
it is much more difficult to place a ball where it cannot be reached,
and one has to hit harder to kill than in the single game.
It is hard to say just where the server should stand to serve, but it
should not be so near the middle as in the single game, because he has
more space to cover on one side and none on the other. Perhaps the best
place is about the middle of his own half of the base-line, but it is
rather a matter of taste.
His partner should stand on the other side of the court just in front
of the service-line, and near enough to the side-line to make it
impossible for the ball to pass him on that side. There is hardly
anything that discourages a player so much as to see his partner leave
his side-line unprotected.
The server should follow up his service at once, so as to volley the
return. If he serves a fault, let him serve again very slowly and up
in the air, so as to give himself time to get to the service-line and
into position before the return can reach him. If he serves a ball of
medium pace he will probably have to volley while on the run, and the
return may strike the ground in front of him so that he will have to
half-volley.
The striker-out takes the service in about the same position as in the
single game. His partner should stand a little behind the service-line,
and near the middle of his court, so as to have a chance of saving the
ball should the striker-out make a weak return of the service. If the
service is well returned, he should run forward into his place, which
is about a yard in front of the service-line, and near enough to his
own side-line to protect it. If the first service is a fault, he should
go forward at once, as his partner should have no trouble in dealing
with the second service, and he himself needs to be in his own place
for the opponent’s first return.
Where should the return of the service be placed? A fast service
should always be placed across court, because the server’s partner is
standing in front of the striker-out, and has a much better chance
to make a severe volley than the server who is running up. A second
service can be played in several ways. The server has no doubt followed
up his service, and if he has served slowly enough he will be up to
the service-line, and both sides of the court will be covered. Still,
one can often put the ball between the two players so that neither
can get it easily, and I fancy this stroke most for a return of the
second service. You sometimes, of course, get a chance to play down
the side-line, because your opponent on that side has come in too far
toward the middle of the court.
If there seems to be no opening, one may be able to make a slow stroke
that will drop enough to force a half-volley. If such a stroke is
too difficult, the best thing to do is to hit directly at one of the
opponents, for a ball that comes directly at one’s body is seldom as
easy to volley as a ball a little to one side.
You can also try playing to the side of the court so as to force one of
your opponents out to the side-line, and thus make a gap between him
and his partner.
A very pretty stroke off the second service is to play the ball very
slowly directly across the court almost parallel with the net. The
ball should strike just inside the side-line. This can be done only
when the service bounds high and not far back in the court. It is an
essential part of the stroke that it should be made slowly, or the ball
must go out of court. The server has not time to get forward before the
ball touches the ground, and if he returns it at all it will usually be
by a half-volley.
When all four players are in position for volleying, one is often
puzzled where to put the ball, as there seems to be no place left
vacant for it. The same principles apply here as in the return of the
second service, except that the server has had time to place himself.
You must work for an opening by driving one of your opponents out of
place, or you must try to make one of them half-volley, which may give
a chance for a smash, or must simply keep on returning the balls and
trust that a mistake will give you the opportunity to kill which he
cannot make for yourself.
Against weaker players one can well afford to take no risks and wait
for a chance, but against better players this will not prove a winning
game, and it will pay to try to make an opening better than to wait for
one.
A player should try to keep far enough forward to volley before the
ball can drop, for if he is forced to half-volley he is almost sure to
give his opponent a chance to kill.
One can smash more safely in the double game, because the court is
larger. It is also necessary to volley harder to kill than in the
single game, as the court is more fully covered.
Should you make a weak stroke from the back of the court, as, for
instance, a short lob, both you and your partner should fall back to or
behind the base-line and try to save the ball.
The great difficulty of the double game is to divide the play properly
between the two partners. The question is not of letting each one play
the same number of balls, but simply of allowing each to take those
which he can play to the greatest advantage.
With both men in position for volleying, each player of course takes
the balls on his own side; the trouble is simply about those between
them. The simplest rule and the best is to let the partner who
played the last ball play the next. He knows best where the return
will probably come, and his eye is in for it. I fully believe in the
teaching of the Champion, that a player should be allowed to finish
a rest if he can. That does not mean that he is to rush all over the
court, but that he is to take all the doubtful balls. A player feels
the wisdom of this rule when he has been watching his partner play
several strokes in succession, and is suddenly called on to take a fast
volley himself. He does not know where nor when it is coming nearly as
well as if he had played the ball before it.
This shows us another principle of double play. Keep hammering at
one man, if he is at a disadvantage, as thus you can probably gain
something with each stroke. If, however, he is on equal terms with you,
after he has played several strokes hit hard at his partner, who is
often unprepared.
It is well to have some understanding between the two partners as to
which shall take doubtful balls, where the principle before explained
does not apply. If one player is better than his partner it is right
to allow him to play all such balls.
If the sun is across the court, one player can see such balls much more
clearly than the other, and this should be recognised and arranged for
beforehand.
The two players are seldom at the same distance from the net, and if
there is a chance to smash a ball the more forward player should take
it, if the ball comes near him. With high balls, the player to whom
they come forehanded is usually the one who should take them, and that,
of course, is the one on the left side.
On the other hand, with low diagonal strokes, it is best to let the
player towards whom the ball is crossing the court, play it. It is
usually within the other player’s reach, but he will probably find it
a difficult stroke, and will gain nothing by taking it himself. For
instance, if the service is returned from the right court into the
right court on the other side, the left-hand player can usually reach
and return it, but he will do better to leave it for his partner who is
coming forward to meet it. Cases of this kind occur constantly and lead
to a great deal of trouble.
This brings me to the practice called “Poaching,” _i.e._, taking balls
that should be played by one’s partner.
You may often see a ball which you feel sure that you can play better
than your partner, although it is not on your own side of the court. My
advice would always be—“Don’t touch such a ball!” To reach it you must
go across the court, and your own side is left unprotected, so that if
you fail to kill the ball you probably lose the rest. Moreover, if your
partner is as good a player as yourself, he ought to be left to play
the ball; if he is not good, it is a mistake to let him see that you
do not trust him. It will cost you more strokes than you will gain by
taking his balls.
The only time that it seems right to me to cross is when there has been
a very weak return made, and you feel sure that you can kill the ball,
and at the same time feel sure that your partner is too far back to
reach it in time to do the same thing.
With this exception, never go in front of your partner; it destroys his
confidence, and he never knows when he will be called upon to play.
There are a great many balls between the two players which one of
them can certainly play better than the other, and yet the wrong one
will often take them. In such cases it is simply a mistake; it is not
poaching in the real sense of the word. One often takes such balls
instinctively, and often, too, one is a bit farther forward than one’s
partner, and cannot tell if it is safe to leave the balls to him.
There is certainly a lot of poaching done, and a sufficient reason for
avoiding it is that it really does not pay.
On the other hand there is a lot of nonsense talked about poaching,
where it is simply jealousy between the two players.
When a player cannot forgive his partner for taking a ball that he
should have left to him, especially where it is simply a mistake of
judgment, he is not himself a fit partner to play with.
Another great mistake is to find fault with your partner’s play.
It never does any good, and it either makes him lose his temper or
discourages him. If he misses an easy stroke, remember that you might
have done the same, and if he makes a good one give him the credit of
it.
If your partner is going to play a stroke, keep away a little and give
him room. If he hears you coming up behind he may think that you mean
to take the ball, and, in any case, hearing you so near may take off
his attention.
Be careful to play up as well as you can all through a double match.
You may be able to pull yourself together after some slack play, but
you may have got your partner so discouraged that he cannot play at
all, so that you will lose the match and it will be nobody’s fault but
your own.
This applies also in cases where your partner lacks endurance. Remember
that he may be of little assistance to you at the end of a long match,
and you should never by any carelessness of your own, give your
opponents a chance to prolong the game.