A few years ago, during a Wimbledon final, when the Federer reign was still intact, I remember watching a replay of a forehand half-volley from the baseline that looked sublime. Roger took a blistering deep ball and turned a defensive situation into a winner with ease, a trademark of his genius as a player.

In recreational play this situation is far too common: you are on the baseline, the approaching ball is extremely deep, may or may not fall in, and the slightest hesitation occurs when deciding what to do. Many players wait for the bounce to decide; sometimes you rush back with an excessive backswing, but a third option will always be best - stay put, turn to the side and wait for the ball. Prepare, pause, then hit. For this shot a compact and simple swing forward works best. Roger makes a difficult situation look easy by using the entire body to move through the shot, rather than trying to swing out of trouble.

While Roger has been in the limelight in many discussions of phenomenal play, we must peer into the glory days of the 70's for the best baseline half-volley ... none other than Johnny "Mad Mac" McEnroe.

Prepare, simply defined, means turn to your side, position the racket at the desired contact zone, and do it before the bounce! Late preparation is a kissing cousin to bad timing and off-balance shots. So when you don't have a moment to spare, PREPARE.

Errors in this situation usually come from one of the following...

• The player waits for the ball to bounce before getting ready, often accompanied by the curious comment of knowing that "the ball was going out" long before it lands. Riiiiiiight
   
• Or they rush back quickly with their racket arm fully extended from their body. But as we know, this causes an overly aggressive hit, rife with bad timing and poor balance. So why work 8 days a week to yield such inconsistent results?

Strategically, this technique has great results, particularly in the doubles arena. By staying on the baseline, you maintain good court position for the next shot. Also, by going for the compact motion, a player has better control of aim and desired net clearance. My favorite aspect of this shot is that you always "borrow" pace from the opponent's ball, thereby having more in the tank for the remainder of the rally, and ultimately the match.

So there we have it. By finding those moments in a tennis match to apply the "less is more" doctrine, we can increase our efficiency, lower our errors, and hopefully put a few less Advil in the body. As a final note, one promising player who has taken this concept into his shots with great success? None other than Braveheart's own fiery Andy Murray!

Spring has sprung along the gulf coast, so get your rackets restrung, get those new shoes you've been thinking about, and have fun on the courts!