A tall and flickering talent from Kazakhstan, Bublik, like Kyrgios, has a thunderous first serve that only makes his underhanded efforts all the more unsettling for the opposition.

It is the tennis equivalent of a changeup from a flame-throwing relief pitcher, but Bublik knows he cannot go to it too often, or the element of surprise is gone.

He has been deploying it once or twice a match in recent tournaments. At the German Open last week, he aced Felix Auger-Aliassime with one in a first-round victory and aced Cristian Garin with another in a quarterfinal defeat, as Garin voiced his displeasure with the tactic.

In Paris, he aced Gaël Monfils in the first round and Sonego at 4-5 in the opening set, before missing another underhand serve in the tiebreaker.

Bublik actually prefers the term “underarm serve,” which has its supporters.

“To be honest, serving a good underarm serve is very tough,” Bublik said. “I really practice.”

That does seem the path forward, particularly after watching McDonald’s unsuccessful effort.

“Mackie’s was terrible,” said Paul Annacone, the veteran coach and Tennis Channel analyst. “I think you should practice it a bit if you are going to use it. I do believe a good underarm serve is warranted in today’s game.”

With leading players like Nadal and Dominic Thiem and rising players like Sonego often standing back by the line umpires to return, there is certainly room for a serve that is designed to function like a drop shot. Not only do underarm serves land closer to the net, they often pose a timing challenge, because the server does not make a long, high toss and instead flicks the ball forward at a moment when a windup would usually begin.

Source: New York Times

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