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The shots that begin every point in a tennis match are the serve and the return of serve.

The server gets two chances to put the ball into play. At the lower club levels, it is very often a very aggressive flat serve on the first attempt, followed on the second serve by a less aggressively struck moon ball that is sure to go in high over the net and fall softly into the service box.

As the skill level of a player improves to the 3.5 and 4.0 level, the first serve is often hit hard but tempered by a bit of top spin or slice in order to gain more consistency and better placement. But the second delivery is still usually more of a safety-oriented push than a rip.

At the 4.5 level and above, the second serve is played with vicious top spin to keep the returner at bay and still ensure a safe margin over the net with a certain and predictable curve to pull the ball down unerringly into the service box.

The higher level player hits the second serve very aggressively but with the focus on consistency and reliability.

The thing the 2.5–3.5 and 4.5 players have in common is the understanding that the second ball must be put safely into play even though they go about it in very different ways.

What I don’t see on the return of serve at lower levels is an all-consuming desire to put the ball safely into play.

On the return of serve you get only one chance to succeed and you must prioritize just that — succeed in putting the ball safely into play.

I’m sure you’re thinking that that is a pretty simplistic observation and I agree completely. So my question to you is this: How often to you practice your return of serve?

I bet that most of you never do it as a separate, dedicated, skill-developing practice module.

Sure, you hit forehands and backhands in the warmup before you play a match, but that is not serve return practice.

Set aside time in your tennis practice to have a friend or a local pro serve balls to you at different speeds with different spins and varying placements.

Ambition and fear cause return errors and to desensitize yourself to those opposing evils your practice must duplicate the match play environment.

The server gets two chances you only get one, so you better practice your returning skills twice as hard if you want to be a great competitor!

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Howie Burnett is a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association and tennis director at the Island Country Club on Marco Island. Burnett welcomes questions on strokes, tactics or etiquette. To reach him, call the tennis shop at 394-4464 or e-mail him at islandclubtennis@hotmail.com.