Andy Murray surprised many by using an underarm serve at
Wimbledon but he explained after the match that it was by design.
Speaking about it, Murray admitted it's a viable strategic option in certain moments of a match:
“He changed his return position. That's why I did it. He was standing very close to return [initially], he was struggling a little bit on the first-serve return. So he stepped probably two meters further back. As soon as I saw him step further back, I threw the underarm serve in."
The Briton deployed the tactic when serving with a 2-1 lead in the third set against the World No. 74. Duckworth scampered forward and was able to return the ball but was subsequently undone by a Murray lob. Murray added:
“I personally have no issue with players using it. I never have. Certainly, more and more players have started returning
from further, further behind the baseline now to give themselves the
advantage to return. The underarm serve is a way of saying, if you're going to step back there, then I'm going to possibly throw that in.”