Kei Nishikori, possibly the politest of all tennis players, and maybe even the most respectful of all global athletes, is contemplating doing something quite subversive at the All England Club this summer: hitting an underarm serve.
This is a new Nishikori, Kei the Provocateur, who hit an underarm serve the other day while playing an exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club in London. It's a tactic that some in tennis don't consider to be in the spirit of the sport, an affront to fair play, as much underhand as underarm.
Nishikori, a quarter-finalist at last summer's Championships, has clearly been influenced by his coach Michael Chang, who hit the most celebrated underarm serve of all, in a fourth round match against Ivan Lendl at Roland-Garros in 1989.
Thirty years on, that shot is still talked about as an example of how to disturb an opponent's mental equilibrium. Perhaps it's surprising that it's taken so long for this modern generation - Nick Kyrgios is a fan of the underarm serve - to appreciate that it can be an extremely effective play, unsettling your opponent for that point, as well as for the rest of the afternoon as they worry you might use it again.
"I steal it from Michael. Maybe I'll do it, if I have a chance, if somebody is really staying back," said Nishikori, who opens his tournament against a Brazilian qualifier, Thiago Monteiro, who is going to be careful that he doesn't stand too far back to receive. The further the South American is behind the baseline, the greater the temptation for Nishikori to go for it.
"I don't think it's going to happen on grass, but I saw many guys are trying it and they win the point. I may do it, I may not. It depends on who I'm playing. But, yeah, if I get a chance, I will."
While Nishikori was beaten heavily in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros - he gathered just five games against Rafael Nadal - and withdrew from a grass court tournament in Halle in Germany, the Japanese is feeling rejuvenated ahead of The Championships.
"I really wanted to play in Halle, but my elbow wasn't quite 100 per cent and I didn't want to risk too much. But now I'm feeling physically very good. I'm rested after getting [time] off."
