beating your opponent.

[chris1992]

basically, there is this guy who is stronger than me has more stamina than me and is generally a better player. hes extremely arrogant and reckons he can win 6-0 6-0 in a match. i want to prove him wrong. i generally play from the baseline and would love to give him a match and dare i say, win it. any ideas on how i could go about it. he is extremely consistent and doesnt miss many balls and has good mentality. On the other hand, i am less consistent, have a weaker serve and tend to go for big shots.

now its pretty obvious hes better than me, but im desperate to put pressure on him and give him a match.

any tips on doing this, mentally, physically? it is pretty much a federer (him) vs me(roddick) match (i.e i dont have much chance?

[Dunlopkid]

Unless he is just insanely better than you, you have a chance. Roddick had match points against Fed in Shanghai last year. Play the ball not the player.

[babolat15]

come in to the match with a ton of confidence, imagine you were the best player in the world, dont be afraid to go for your shots, and just play hard, if you win thats great, if you lose you lose so what.

[gbeast]

Well, if this kid is faster, more athletic, and better it would be hard but, you just need to remember to use good strategy. Look for any kind of weakness or something to take advantage of. If there is some stroke that he likes to hit and it puts you in a position you are good in, keep positioning him for that stroke. Believe you can win and dont get frustrated by his arrogance or him winning.

I once beat this kid in a pro-set when losing 2-5 after breaking my good racquets strings and using the bad one. I won because I stayed focused and he told me he forgot to wear socks and there was a small round metal thing on the inside of his shoe. He said it was driving him crazy and it hurt.(this kid was also very arrogant) I decided right then to run him as much as I could and he became self-destructing.
(another semi-pointless story by me)

[Forehand Forever]

Well, if this kid is faster, more athletic, and better it would be hard but, you just need to remember to use good strategy. Look for any kind of weakness or something to take advantage of. If there is some stroke that he likes to hit and it puts you in a position you are good in, keep positioning him for that stroke. Believe you can win and dont get frustrated by his arrogance or him winning.

I once beat this kid in a pro-set when losing 2-5 after breaking my good racquets strings and using the bad one. I won because I stayed focused and he told me he forgot to wear socks and there was a small round metal thing on the inside of his shoe. He said it was driving him crazy and it hurt.(this kid was also very arrogant) I decided right then to run him as much as I could and he became self-destructing.
(another semi-pointless story by me)


not pointless, that was good you used his disability to an advantage. If only I thought of stuff like that when I play my matches. I'm thinking of keeping a notebook to help me remember things in my bag.

[tennishead93]

for the mental part listen to linkin parks forgotten to get pumped up. helps me

[Tikiman53]

My advice is to be confident, and go for your shots as long as they're not ridiculous. I mean, know your limits, but don't be afraid to reach them. Also, place your shots whenever you can. When I play, I only hit down the line when I'm ahead and am willing to take a risk or I just take a bit off of it and put a lot of spin on the ball. This is pretty basic, yeah, I know, but I also keep reminding myself that hitting cross court makes the court longer and the net lower.

Hope I helped

[cujays]

get him out of his grove
make him play your game

[xtremerunnerars]

I usually charge for this kind of advice, but:

Win more points than he does.



LOL seriously though, that's an approach I take when I'm stuck playing someone who should beat me. If you start thinking about games and sets off the bat it can get ugly very quickly.

[DraGoNoFfiR3]

for the mental part listen to linkin parks forgotten to get pumped up. helps me

bad song. bad advice.

[TennisNinja]

How's your net game and his net game? I know a guy with great groundstrokes, but when I move up to the net, he tightens up and starts messing up a lot, even though I don't have the best volleys in the world. There are also some people that love taking hard shots at the net, but can't take low shots, even if they're really soft.

I'd be patient and look for opprotunities to end the point quickly. Try and take charge early, but don't get to confident if you're up. Stay in the game even if your down and fight, fight, fight.