How to pin a S&V'er at the baseline?

[Golden Retriever]

I have played this S&V'er who has a great serve and very good touch volleys. Usually the point finishes within one or two exchanges. Once he takes the net the point is over. If I could pin him at the baseline then I still have a chance.

His only weaknesses are 1. can't serve wide consistently 2. inconsistent (but big) groundstrokes. 3. backhand.

On the other hand he has a big serve, big forehand, amazing touch volley, dropshot that practically stops once it bounces, forehand slice with lots of pace and moves extremely fast. He can cover his backhand weakness by running around it all day.

As for me, I am a baseline topspin basher who can do everything well but not great. My weapon is forehand and sometimes the serve. My weakness is movement and anticipation.

[Jonnyf]

Maybe if you stand closer to the T on Return of serve then you eliminate his heater down the T and make him serve his weak wide serve. You'll have to pounce however, when/if he gives you a weak one

[Geezer Guy]

Well, you can't "pin" him to the baseline because he's already left the baseline and is probably to the serviceline before you even hit the ball.

You can make him return to the baseline with a well-placed lob (over his left shoulder), although this can be a tough shot off a hard serve. If you can block that hard serve back down the line you may be able to pass him, although again THAT can be tough if he serves mostly down the T.

Actually, I don't know why I'm bothering to answer. I have more trouble with good S&V's than any other type of opponent.

[JeffH1]

on my back hand, I've gotten fairly good at volleying (punch volley?) back the serve. This of course creates a low ball with back spin which stays low on the bounce (oponents knee level). When my form is right, the ball just rockets off my PD. Federer returns like this often with (duhh) great success. If it works for you, you'll find that it puts the oponent on defence right away. I'm not as good with it on my FH, but it has worked.

[Ash Doyle]

JeffH1, what you are refering to is a chipped return. A volleyed return would be illegal.

[THE ANIMAL]

Work on your return of serve and go deep for his feet.

[Marius_Hancu]

Work on your return of serve and go deep for his feet.

or DTL, which is a smaller % though.

[racingdad23]

Cant put the ball on his shoelaces if he's already halfway to the net. When he is coming to the net he is cutting down your return angles. Slice and dice him out of postion. Since he is coming to the net anyway...control his position. Make him break laterally and reach for the ball which will open the court up for the quick counterpunch.

[kevhen]

Lob to his backhand side???? Move in on the return and take it earlier, block it back if you have to but make him hit from a deeper volley position so you can get an easier second shot to pass or lob with.

Work on your passing shots when practicing with a partner at net. Keep them low and fairly close to the lines (or into the body). Mix up spins if you can too but mainly just focus on developing consistently low passing shots that you can hit when under some pressure.

[mucat]

To pin someone at the baseline, think Agassi, you have to hit the ball deep, with good pace, but depth is more important. Or if you have a good enough volley, attack his backhand then come to the net, take the net away from him, make him hit passing shots all day.

Usually, when I see my opponent coming to the net, which mean I have to hit a passing shot, I step up, take the ball as early as possible, this way, it cut down the time and increase the angle you can hit. Maybe you can try this too.

[LoveThisGame]

Whether you chip, hit down the line or lob, you first must take care to watch the ball well and not let his "dancing" or movement grab attention of your eyes. That should be obvious, but can easily happen, particularly if you feel rushed.

[dmastous]

You need to keep your return low so it bounces at his feet when he's coming in. If you can get a lot of spin you can hit harder, but the idea is to keep the return low and make him hit his volley below the level of the net.
If you can get him off the serve/volley tactic keep the ball deep with topspin to pin him at the baseline, or come to the net before him if you are comfortable doing that.

[scotus]

There is no way to pin a S&V player to the baseline, unless you continue to pass him with your service return or successfully lob him. If he thinks his S&V does not work for you, he may stay at the baseline. But this will take an amazing return game on your part. Since your opponent has a great serve, I don't see this happening.

[timmyboy]

if you have good volleys, block the return back dtl and approach. that was the concept i learned today during coach session. block it down the line (screw power on that shot. u don't need it.) and keep your form at net. i'm not sure how to deal with a short one though. i'm not sure. lob at the backhand after the second volley would be my best bet.

Serve and volley is a tough style and if done well, could cause trouble to the returner, because breaking them would be hard. look at Sampras, Rafter, etc. make sure that your hold your own serve just as consistently after working on countering a serve and volleyer, because a break can mean hell to you. make sure you hold consistently, because eventually, the server might slip and let one go to you (I find snv ers lose about 1/4 on their serve if you guys are at the same level.). If so, you better hold or else it'd be a grudge match again.

[1171]

I would do a super hard Lendl, straight at him early in the match. A few times early in the match.

If I intimidate him, ie hit him, fine. I did not invite him to the net in the first place. A hard hit shot is very hard to control by the net person, will create good opening for your second shot.

Lendl is the man. "I did not invite you to the net!!".

None of those slice/dice, lob backhand mickey mouse shots.

[vkartikv]

Being an s&v player myself, the worst thing that could happen is for my opponent to come out warm and fresh and hit a couple of returns right at me (not to try to pass, but hard shots directed at my body) as soon as the match begins. This can be intimidating and stays in the back of my mind when I come to the net, making me more tentative and prone to errors.

It is not possible to restrict an s&v player to the baseline, especially on his serve. Most of us have service actions that have too much momentum to keep us at the baseline. So try to hit some crisp returns at the server's body (just above the net) right at the beginning of the match. If you start slow against an s&v player, you are looking at a very short day at the office...

[andfor]

It does not look as if anyone has suggested the following. The best way to pin a S&Ver to the baseline is to beat him to the net first. Most serve and volley players do not like to hit passing shots. Look to use your big FH and pound it to his BH and come in when the opportunity or short ball presents itself. As suggested you could also try to come in behind your return of serve on his 2nd serve. Mix in a little Serve and Volley yourself when your up in your service game. Good luck.

[JeffH1]

chipped return. A volleyed return would be illegal.
Of course! For the life of me, I couldn't remember the term. Thanks!

[JaisBane]

I would do a super hard Lendl, straight at him early in the match. A few times early in the match.

If I intimidate him, ie hit him, fine. I did not invite him to the net in the first place. A hard hit shot is very hard to control by the net person, will create good opening for your second shot.

Lendl is the man. "I did not invite you to the net!!".

None of those slice/dice, lob backhand mickey mouse shots.

Heh, guys like you are what make serve and volley exciting. For me, there's no greater rush in tennis than when someone rips a passing shot straight at me and make a last second dodge and hit a drop volley off of my hip.

As for how to pin a s&v'er on the baseline? You can't off their 1st serve unless you manage to break them down mentally and make them abandon their A game. S&V'ers are extremely stubborn, though, so your best bet is to put pressure on their first serve and force them to hit more 2nd serves. Trying to block the ball back deep off the first serve is generally a bad idea, a good s&v'er should be at or past the service line by the time your return reaches them and if you're trying to return deep then you'll just make that first transition volley easier for them. Instead you should try to add topspin and take off pace so that the ball is bouncing by the time they reach it. Once you get good at that, start trying to hit angles. The corner of the service box is always a good choice. It's very difficult to hit a good lob off a hard 1st serve and a s&v'er should have a good enough overhead to kill it easily. Chipping is a bad idea as well, the ball floats so it's easy to volley and get close to the net quickly. The shoe-topper neutralizes the attack of the s&v, and it usually gives you a weaker volley that you can attack.

If you can do that, it will force your opponent to take more risk on his first serve, which should give you more looks at his second serve. He will also probably take more chances on his second serve. You should attack the second serve because it is unlikely he will try to s&v with it. If he does, then you should be able to pass him outright unless he has an excellent second serve. You should also try moving closer to the T and standing back a little, this will take some of the heat off his first serve and will make him more likely to try and use his weaker slice. It's also a good idea to try and prolong any rallies you have, he will be slower on his next trip to the net and his serve may lose some pop. It also puts even more pressure on him to finish points quickly and errors will start creeping in the longer you can keep him on the court. Trying body shots will work on some players, but others thrive off them and it's not the best way to make friends either.

These are guidelines that you can use against any s&v'er, but above-all you should find the holes in his game and probe them relentlessly. If his forehand volley is weaker the make all your passing shots to the forehand. If he needs pace then don't give him any. If he has a bad overhead then lob him all day. Try lots of tactics and when one works, stick to it. One last way to keep a s&v'er away from the net, take it first.

[LoveThisGame]

Excellent contribution!

[Rickson]

Net players won't approach on deep balls. As a net player, I always look for short balls to approach on so if you want to keep the net player away, hit the ball deep. If the net guy dares approach on a deep ball, he'd have so much court to cover that by the time he gets to the net, he'll be off balance so get ready for a good passing shot or a lob. Either way, he won't be in as good a volley position as if he approached on a short ball so remember to keep those balls deep.