Personally, I believe that Williams at his best is the
greatest tennis player in the world, past or present.
Unfortunately, that best is seldom seen, and then not for a
consistent performance. He is always dangerous, and his range of
variation is the greatest among any of the leading players.
Williams' service is generally a fast slice, although he at times
uses an American twist. He is erratic in his delivery, scoring
many aces, but piling up enormous numbers of double-faults. His
ground strokes are made off the rising bound of the ball. They
are flat or slightly sliced. Never topped, But sometimes pulled.
Williams' margin of safety is so small that unless his shot is
perfectly hit it is useless. He hits hard at all times and makes
tremendous numbers of earned points, yet his errors always exceed
them, except when he strikes one of his "super" days.
His volleying is very hard, crisp, and decisive, coupled with an
occasional stop volley. His use of the half volley is unequalled
in modern tennis. His overhead is severe and ordinarily reliable,
although he will take serious slumps overhead. He is a past
master of his own style strokes, but it is an unorthodox game
that should not be copied by the average player.
He is never willing to alter his game for safety's sake, and
defeats himself in sheer defiance by hitting throughout a match
when his strokes are not working. He is greatly praised for this
unwillingness to alter his game in defeat.
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