Closed stance on the serve?

Mental note to myself: serve works much better if I step back with my right foot while keeping it almost parallel to the baseline. The ball should be above me, not too in front, so that I get a feel of rotating around the imaginary axis going through my spine and my head. I get nice kick serves this way, and it feels like I can hit them as hard as I want.

Case closed

On Saturday I made a small discovery. I was practicing with a ball machine, hitting forehands off high deep balls. I was frustrated because I was expending a lot of effort only to see my shots land very short on the other side, or tap the net. I then decided to hit with a closed stance and stay closed all the way through the shot. Magic! It was amazing. I tried it in a match the next day and it worked wonders. I am now trying to hit every forehand I can from a closed stance. I think the secret is that setting up in a closed stance, with the left foot in front, forces a good shoulder turn, which helps generate power. I also think that the pros are able to hit with power from the open stance because they still get excellent trunk and shoulder rotation. For now, I'll hit from the closed stance and get used to the shoulder rotation, and overtime will try to get the same feel when hitting with the open stance.

Best tennis advice...

...for myself:

1. 10 steps between shots: I read in Tennis magazine that pros make 10-12 steps between shots. Tried it out and it works like magic. Much better than telling yourself to move your feet.

2. "Frame your shots" -- something I read in a TennisOne article. Imagine that your upper body is a frame moving as a whole through the shot, as if you're holding a beach ball. Helps me tremendously to hit deep and heavy forehands. Also works for forehand volleys.

3. Serve: set your right foot farther back. This is the opposite of pointing. I get a much better kick on the serve and use less effort.

4. Backhand slice, and volleys off a slow floating ball: let the racquet head drop to almost horizontal, and use the momentum of the racket to hit slices and volleys with a bite.

Enough for now, already too much to remember.