A throwback enthralls

A throwback is on the march in Paris this week. He's had a terrible year, having to go back onto the Challenger tour to pick up some ranking points, and he hasn't been doing it very well. His world ranking is around 120 which doesn't get him into the main draw of most ATP tournaments, just the Grand Slams. Neither in singles nor in doubles can he win any more matches. It's Michael Llodra.

In other articles I've questioned the selection of certain wild cards, but this one has been a great choice. Llodra has had his moments. He's been well up the World rankings in singles and doubles, and has served his country very well in Davis Cup. Without having the charisma and confidence of a real shot-maker, he is a shot-maker, which is a delicate combination. I can see why he hasn't been able to win matches where there hasn't been an appreciative public behind him. His brand of tennis needs a public. Llodra doesn't communicate enormously with this public, he doesn't smile easily, and his face tends to show strain rather than adventure and daring. You can see that his game costs him immense concentration and discipline, despite the fact that his game is so beautifully simple, natural and stylish. A throwback because the modern game rarely puts this all together.

Above all Llodra is a throwback. His style of tennis is dead, and only Stepanek in the modern game comes close to the Llodra style, but even he has made his game more conformist, and for that, continues to have success.

Conform

Llodra is sticking with his throwback game, and it isn't serving him well. If we just ignore the fact that his shot-making game needs an adoring public, it also needs opponents who can't work him out. And that isn't the case - mostly. Until this week. And only through a wild card in his own capital city is he able to bring his game onto a court that encourages him.

First he is indoors. There is no wind, no sun, no funny bounces. Llodra plays one/two tennis, short rally combinations, that require a sharp mind and reflexes. Llodra has played so little this year he cannot be tired, so maybe this is why he has done so well this week.

Then, the Llodra game is based around an irresistible, regular, left-handers, slice serve. He doesn't hit many aces, he doesn't go for speed at all. It's all about swinging the ball into a right-hander's backhand corner, or, with the same slice, swinging it into the right-hander's forehand, blocking his swing. If he does hit a flatter serve it'll be directed at the right-hander's forehand; and he'll start this well wide as the opponent is expecting yet another swinging ball.

Understand spin

Third, Llodra comes to net whenever he can, and why not? He has glorious volleys, whether coming forwards in a winning cause, or digging up those good returns and getting the ball back in play, and keeping nevertheless position at net.

Fourth, not to be ignored, is his baseline game. A simple shoulder turn, hitting flat and spin with the greatest of ease, with a solid block shot, and underspins so useful for approaches. This means that if he's against a big baseline hitter, Llodra is standing further into the court than most players, using a simple swing to get the ball back early, not afraid to hit softer, floated balls that unwary opponents make mistakes on as they worry about the threat of him coming in. Worse, as mentioned, Llodra is a shot-maker, so these simple, early ball groundstrokes can, and do, produce plenty of winners. All it needs is for Llodra to sense a chance, to see a glimpse of a chance, and he pulls the trigger and sends in more than his share of baseline winners - a quick decision, a quick trigger-pull.

Execute

There've been players like this before in France, so the public know and appreciate Llodra, a player of adventure, style, technical beauty and efficiency. In the days when I was learning tennis Leconte and Noah were both compulsive and irresistible volleyers, with the same easy-on-the-eye technique.Others with only slightly less prestige in this category, were Santoro, Forget, Clément, Pioline, and, to pick some contemporaries of Llodra - Mahut,Tsonga, Monfils, all of whom will understand Llodra's game and spirit perfectly, just can't quite do it quite like him. For all of these players, you can tolerate their mental fragilities, because they produce stacks of beauty in their shot-making.

I don't often write articles as I'm being inspired, and, in fact, throwback Llodra has just beaten del Potro, and will tomorrow play a quarter final that I hope he wins.

Thing of beauty

He may be a throwback, but for the purist, Llodra is joy. He's 32 now, so his career is in its swansong. He has had a wonderful career, and could, yes, let's admit it, he should have achieved a lot more. But, playing like this, he is one of the great tennis players. Not one of the great champions - for that you need to be mentally stronger than Llodra is. But he is a great player. Show him to your kids on video.

This Form cannot be submitted until the missing fields (labelled below in red) have been filled in
ATP WTA Coach at a click
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
First Name*
Last Name
E-Mail Address*
Country*	CountryUnited StatesCanada----------------AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntiguaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribadiNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoFederated States of MicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMontenegroMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaS. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls.Saint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamUS Virgin IslandsWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenYugoslavia (former)ZaireZambiaZimbabwe
Please enter the word that you see below.