Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

Many years ago I was watching a boxing bout on TV. During the fight the commentator  made the statement “In boxing the jab is everything, from the jab comes everything”. It seems that in boxing the jab does many things and the fighter who can dominate with the jab has an enormous advantage.  The jab establishes distance, allowing one fighter to control the space between himself and his opponent.  The boxing jab is also used as a first step from which other punches follow.  A jab can be followed by a hook, an upper-cut or another jab. What the commentator also said that day was that the fighter who dominates with the jab will control the fight. The boxing jab is a "stepping stone" to other combinations I began to wonder what the tennis equivalent was to the boxing jab.  I believe the cross-court is the tennis “Jab”.  The cross-court is used as a way to set up the point.  Whenever the cross-court is strong enough it will create the first step to attack.  A wide cross