Few things are more costly in a doubles match than indecision. When an opportunity to attack arises, a team needs to see it and act immediately. In the May 1982 issue, former pro Dick Stockton and all-time great college coach Clarence Mabry showed readers when to attack. They took one point of a mixed doubles match that pitted Peter Fleming and Billie Jean King against Roy Emerson and Anne White, and showed how to take control of a point when returning serve. First, attack the second serve with an inside-out forehand to the server, who is serve-and-volleying. If the return is good enough to jam the server, as Fleming’s return did to Emerson, be ready to pounce. Fleming knows the best play is between two opponents, but he sees Emerson crowding the line and hits yet another forehand inside out. King moves in and hits a volley wide to White, who hits a weak reply to Fleming.
Here Stockton and Mabry point out that Fleming could have won the point even sooner if he had anticipated the weak reply and moved in for a volley. Instead, he opted for a crosscourt backhand winner with Emerson on the defensive.
