18 January 2013
Exclusive coaching tips from Pete Sampras: How to hit a slam dunk:
Play some basketball. "You have to be athletic to play this shot. I think the fact that I had played a lot of basketball was the key to this, as it meant that I was a good jumper. Jumping up for a slam dunk isn't that different to jumping up for a basketball shot. To play this shot, you have to know how to jump."
Intimidate your opponent with a slam dunk (but make sure you're going to win the point): "I used to play the shot for a whole bunch of reasons, and one of them was intimidation. It's sending out a message to your opponent that says, 'I'm moving well, I'm feeling good, and you're not going to get anything past me' today. I also played the shot because it was fun. The crowd used to like it, and get into it, and I enjoyed that. But I only played the shot when I knew that I was going to win the point with it. The most important thing for me was always winning the point, and I didn't want to risk losing the point. There were times when I had to play the shot, but most of the time I chose to hit the slam dunk."
Before you can slam dunk, you need to be able to hit a good overhead and a good serve. And then you have to practise. "If you're a beginner, don't try this at home. It's not an easy shot to play as it's all about timing, and getting the timing of the jump and the swing right. There's a lot that can go wrong. I can't recommend that beginners try this shot. When I was growing up, I messed around with this shot. I would suggest that you mess around with the shot on the practice court and get comfortable with it before you try it in matches, as you don't want to get it wrong."
Serve and volley if you want to play this shot more often. "The more you go into net, the more often you'll have opportunities to slam dunk."