Power versus Consistency
Power without consistency is futile. Consistency without power is impossible. I know that last contradicts the most closely held myth of tennis - that inconsistency increases with the application of power. Your mother told you that. Your doubles partners tell you that. Your coaches, teammates, spouses, even uninterested observers tell you that when you are missing your shots. They all say "Just get the ball in play!" That word "Just" means "Just stop trying to ape the 'good' players and remember what you are. Don't take a full swing, don't hit with pace or authority, don't put your weight into the ball. Just stick your racket out and shove the ball into the court, or, better yet, don't even shove!" For many, many years I wanted to believe all that. It is enticing to think that one could achieve consistency so easily. But every time I tried under hitting in a match, I watched as my percentages fell into the toilet. The evidence for the "Just stop hitting so hard..." school seems solid; there are a lot of "pushers" out there and they seem more consistent and win lots of matches. They also make it look so easy! Don't swing, don't hit hard, run around a lot... none of it seems to take any talent at all. The key word here is "seems". After half a century of playing and often loosing to these "placement players" I finally realized that everything we believe about them is wrong. What they are is very talented, very expert "short strokers".
Short Stroking
Short strokes are modified strokes that have less backswing, less racket head speed and result in less pace on the ball. They are in every other way just as complete, complex and deadly as the longer strokes we associate with big hitters like the pros. Short strokes require excellent footwork, strength, quickness, hand-eye coordination, and all of the other traits that characterize the super-talented. They may be a bit less flashy than longer strokes but require no less practice or effort to hit. Short stroking is categorically not easier than full stroking. In many ways, the preparation and timing are more critical, and the need for strength is greater for short stroking. They are certainly not an ad hoc fallback for a long stroker who is having a bad day. They are also not intrinsically more consistent. That is an illusion because short strokers tend to involve themselves in longer rallies. Big hitters like Nadal are fully capable of hypnotizing their opponents with a panoply of serial strokes, hitting hard, deep and down the middle. Short strokers are also fully capable of hitting winners, hitting the short angles that balls with less pace make possible. The bottom line is this. Power and pace do not promote inconsistency, and without power, one cannot create the stored force that makes for excellent control and consistency.