Welcome to the first post of MyServe -- very sporadic posts from a middle-aged guy about tennis (and rarely, other racket sports), with a specific focus to oddities, quirks, and assorted unusual tidbits which usually generate little attention from tennis magazines and websites.
As for me, I'm one from among the millions who were swept up in the tennis craze of the 1970s, when Billie Jean and Bobbie Riggs attracted the attention of players and non-players alike in their seminal pop/sports-culture event. Starting the game "late" at age 14, and being of average athletic talent at best, I knew I needed a shortcut to quikcly become even a little bit competitive, and the odd strokes of a young Swede named Bjorn Borg appealed to me -- particularly, his then-unusual topspin forehand, and his Western forehand grip which had been largely forgotten for several decades. For many years -- drop by a library, check tennis instruction books of the 50s through the 70s -- tennis dogma called for an Eastern or Continental grip only, and closed stances. The Western grip was considered antiquated and obsolete, and no "properly trained" player hit forehands from an open stance. Borg changed that.
More to follow, though after the second post here, subsequent posts probably will be a once-every-couple-of-weeks thing. Thanks for dropping by !
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