Need Advice on How to Handle Lobs

[kenshireen]

I have always been told that the side that breaks the lob loses the point. I was in a doubles match. One guy on the other team was hitting deep lobs with topspin. He was very quick and I would lob back to the opposite corner and he would lob again. I tried a few OH (took the ball on the fly) buy he kept getting to them. Finally I netted my OH. This was an intermediate level doubles match and I had never come across somebody who kept lobbing all the time.
What are some strategies I could have employed other than to keep lobbing back.

Thanks, Ken

[finchy]

practice on deep smashes i guess. or slice it wide and hope he pops it up short.

[thehustler]

Take your time and line up a better shot than a lob. If someone lobs me and I have time I line up a forehand if it's deep and just try to put it where he can't lob it. If I don't have much time I just try to get it back, almost another lob so I have time to recover and get ready for the next shot. If the lob is short I might fake an overhead and go with a drop shot. I just think about what I would hate for someone to do to me and do it to them. That usually seems to work rather well. HTH.

[Max G.]

Well, in doubles, you can try to go at the net player's feet if you can't put it away.

If they're both back at the baseline, you have to try to angle it away from them.

[Mahboob Khan]

If he is lobbing all the time, it means that your shots are not penetrating and/or angular enough:

-- Work on your serve, return of serve;
-- Work on your ground strokes to make them accurate, deep, and powerful.
-- Work on your overhead smash. It should be a potent weapon. If they are able to run down your smashes, it means that your overhead smashes need lots of work. If you are able to put away those lobs for winners, he will not dare to lob you again, or at least will be selective enough in lobbing.

Do you see many lobs in the Pros' double matches? Not many, right? That's because at the professional level, they got killer overhead smashes!

[skuludo]

If your opponent is really dumb you can try a single line formation. The front guy handles the short lobs and the person behind you can take care of deep smashes. If this fails seal the lob by bringing the lober up to net. Hit a drop shot where once the ball lands it will never pass the service line ever. Should be quite easy doing a drop shot off a lob. You may consider doing a drop shot on the rise as well.

[kenshireen]

[quote="Mahboob Khan"]If he is lobbing all the time, it means that your shots are not penetrating and/or angular enough:

-- Work on your serve, return of serve;
-- Work on your ground strokes to make them accurate, deep, and powerful.
-- Work on your overhead smash. It should be a potent weapon. If they are able to run down your smashes, it means that your overhead smashes need lots of work. If you are able to put away those lobs for winners, he will not dare to lob you again, or at least will be selective enough in lobbing.

Question on the OH.. should you let it bounce first if it is a very high lob or take it in the air?

[Mahboob Khan]

Easier/shorter lobs should be handled out of the air (before bounce). However, high lob, it is better to let it bounce, and then smash it.

Short lob, hit short (slam dunk);

Deep lob, hit deep.

[kevhen]

You can return his lobs with lobs or hit the overhead. If his lob is deep, the lob is the better play or at least take some off the overhead and keep it in play. On short lobs, you want to just hammer these and bounce them over their heads if you can. You may want to get that master lobber off the baseline with some short balls or dropshots. Good doubles players at the 3.5-4.0 level have great lobs so you need a great lob or great overhead to overcome them.

[Camilio Pascual]

It can also depend on the surface. I let a lot of lobs bounce on clay because they lose a lot more enegy than on a hard court.