High school tennis: How to beat...

[shojun25]

First off, I am a 3.5 all-round player. I play high school tennis (as posted on the title) and going to play singles 1 for my team. I have consistent (but weak) topspin seve for my second serve and a fairly medium-paced topspin-slice serve for my first serve. Im an aggressive net player, i like to play in "No Man's Land" cuz i like to hit balls on the rise, i have a decent forhand, and a strong backhand. also, im a lefty.

There is a player who is going to play singles 2 in my high school team. he is about the same level as i am, but more CONSISTENT than i, but he doesn't play net well (he can return most of the balls when he's playing net though so don't suggest lure him at net), he has great STAMINA and SPEED, and his groundstrokes are ok. His first serve is a backspin/flat serve that goes in 50% of the time, but his second serve is just a dink. He does fluid groundstokes, not taps.

When we play a set, usually he beats me. When he plays someone else (usually someone weaker than him), he loses. I don't want to say that he is a pusher/counter-puncher because there has been many posts that says _____ about both player types. Usually, i attack his second serve to get most of my points. He is really consistent and does very FEW errors. My coach still puts me in singles 1 cuz i have more of an aggressive playing style than him. I can only beat him 2 out of 5 times. Question is: HOW DO YOU BEAT THIS SPECIFIC PLAYER. WE ARE ONLY PLAYING HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS. Please be as harsh critisism, but do not be offensive.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Kabob190]

im pretty sure your supposed to hit right at the guy if he has good speed. takes his speed out of the equation

 

[shojun25]

yeah, i do that when he is playing net, i try to "intimidate" him if you know what i mean.

 

[Milano]

I would say to try and over power him. Is he small (no offense to small people), but if he is, then you might be able to lure him to the net and then over power him, or find a spin that he doesn't like. What I mean is, I have a friend who hates slices, so as long as I slice, lol, he never hits them right.

 

[shojun25]

thanks for the advice Milano, i do try to places he doesn't like. and no, he isn't short. usually, he can't get some backspin, but that doesn't stop him. his backhand is pretty inconsistent though, but his speed lets him switch to his forehand sometimes.

 

[krprunitennis2]

You ever tried playing like people he can't beat? Well, doesn't skill also involve copycats? Try hitting like people weaker than him, but only during against this guy.

If you want an honorable win, don't do that. XD

You said your serve had slices in them, right? Even if it is weak, maybe you can hit a good slice a wee bit wide, then (you also said that you like to hit shots on the rise and you have an agressive net play) either go up to the net and put away the volley/hit a quick shot on the rise, to the open court.

Speed has some limitations(unless your opponent can read your shots). Maybe you can stay really agressive and hit shots on the rise, cross court, cross court, Agassi style( I think). Make him run more and more. Don't let him rest on points by keeping sharp angles.

I'm just trying whatever here try what you want best.

 

[dacrymn]

High, deep, topspinny shots. Like hitting it right at him, speed won't really matter in that situation. You said he isn't especially good on groundstrokes, so don't worry bout him hitting an angled winner or anything. Just do that, and alternate left and right to tire him. I don't know if it'll work, but meh.

P.s. :what's your sig. from?
________
how to make a vaporizer

 

[shojun25]

You ever tried playing like people he can't beat? Well, doesn't skill also involve copycats? Try hitting like people weaker than him, but only during against this guy.

If you want an honorable win, don't do that. XD

You said your serve had slices in them, right? Even if it is weak, maybe you can hit a good slice a wee bit wide, then (you also said that you like to hit shots on the rise and you have an agressive net play) either go up to the net and put away the volley/hit a quick shot on the rise, to the open court.

Speed has some limitations(unless your opponent can read your shots). Maybe you can stay really agressive and hit shots on the rise, cross court, cross court, Agassi style( I think). Make him run more and more. Don't let him rest on points by keeping sharp angles.

I'm just trying whatever here try what you want best.

Yes, I've played people he can't beat and i can beat them pretty easily. with the slice technique, i do that only in ad-courts (lefty, remember ) but he recovers pretty fast. sometimes, i end my score with volleys so i might do that more often. Thank you for your time and for the great advice.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

Even if this #2 guy, who you want to beat, did not exist, you should still be trying to improve your game.

Obviously, you are tough, motivated, and aggressive, but to beat another 3.5 player you need to build yourself into a 4.0 player.

Work on your serves. Develop a stronger 1st serve to help win some free points. Try to work on a reliable kick serve for your second serve.

Get some books on singles strategy and percentage play- you will recoginize patterns that you see the pros use all the time. Learn these strategies.

Spend less time playing games and more time practicing and drilling- so that in the heat of a match all the shots will come without thought or hesitation. Become even more consitant than the guy you want to beat.

As to that guy, press him on his serve- hit sharp topspin drives crosscourt, or down the line, avois just blocking the ball back down the middle. Keep him moving. If you can run him wide or deep, dropshot and follow your ball to the net. On his first serve, take a short backswing and use the ball's momentun to send it back deep.

If you like to come to the net, make sure you come in behind a strong approach shot- possibly a low slice with very little pace to his backhand. You need to give yourself time to get to the net behind your stroke.

Since he is consistant, try to vary your shots to throw him off and prevent him grooving to one particular shot. Flatten your ball to steal away his time and make him rush his shots, use topspin to open up angles, loopy topspin to pin him behind the baseline, slice for a change of pace.

Watch when he plays those guys who beat him, and take notes about how they win points-- then do those same things.

Learn to lob. Bring him to net and lob- especially the topspin lob. If he gets it back, bring him back to the net and repeat until his legs begin to go.

Don't just hit balls back. Always have a plan or reason for every ball you hit.

Take short balls and hit placements into the open court for winners- follow to the net, just in case.

 

[shojun25]

High, deep, topspinny shots. Like hitting it right at him, speed won't really matter in that situation. You said he isn't especially good on groundstrokes, so don't worry bout him hitting an angled winner or anything. Just do that, and alternate left and right to tire him. I don't know if it'll work, but meh.

P.s. :what's your sig. from?

hehe, sig. from Prince of Tennis (Tezuka's phrase if you know who im talking about). Its nihongo (Japanese).

anyways... your advice is pretty helpful. im gonna try to remember that. this is probably why he lost with some guys he played because i see some of his opponents' shot near his feet. thank you very much or arigato gozaimasu.

 

[shojun25]

Bagumbawalla, thank you for posting all your comments. Most of them are stuff that i have tried to do, but some of them are helpful.

I use my serves to maintain the match in my pace, not as a winning hit (for me, power + serve = inconsistent serves). I practice with him in occasions and i learn his bad habits. I guess you can say that i get too depressed when i begin to lose, and i begin to lose my motivation to win. I lose my focus after a while and thats when i lose the set.

For me to become a 4.0, I have to be more consistant, better serves and footwork, and to beat him. I guess that you can say I have gotten distracted, but for me to improve, i have to beat him first.

 

[freeballer16]

the key to winning in high school tennis is hit deep lobs everytime...no one in high school is use to this kind of game

 

[Hot Sauce]

Capitalize on that dinky second serve of his.

 

[dacrymn]

Capitalize on that dinky second serve of his.

Whoa, careful about that. If you're gonna do that, make sure you practice that shot. I know it sounds dumb, but every time I try to do that I hit it out, into the net, or lose my confidence after a while and hit wimpy shots back. If you practice those, you should be fine, however. If you'll notice, a majority of kids screw up their first few "dinky serve" returns.
________
Honda Aircraft Company

 

[krprunitennis2]

the key to winning in high school tennis is hit deep lobs everytime...no one in high school is use to this kind of game

>=P not for Eagle Rock and Belmont.

Eagle Rock can blast those balls on the rise and we have many great lobbers and drop shot-ters(?).

Belmont smashes everything, and we don't want to die.

 

[shojun25]

Capitalize on that dinky second serve of his.

I get some winners off of his dinky serves. But like Dacrymn said, some of my "winners" go out every so often.

By the way guys, thanks for posting great stuff here. All of them have been very helpful.

 

[shojun25]

ehhh... would like more advices please

 

[spadesss]

you hold serve.
put more energy and being aggresive when returning serve. attack his 1st and 2nd serve. i highly recommend going to the net on his 2nd serves.
players get tight when they can't hold serve.
since coach label you as the aggresive one, you have to make things happen.
try to end points quickly as he is fit and can go all day with his steadiness.

 

[nViATi]

If he has a weak backhand just hit everything to his backhand. Don't give him even a SINGLE forehand the entire match. That's how I played my sophomore year. Worked pretty well

 

[kevhen]

Cut out the mistakes and playing in no-man's land unless you get a short weak ball that you can attack. Rally patiently until you get that ball.

 

[shojun25]

Cut out the mistakes and playing in no-man's land unless you get a short weak ball that you can attack. Rally patiently until you get that ball.

its pretty hard to stop doing "unforced errors" cuz they are "unforced"

 

[retrowagen]

1 hour of intense wall work a day will increase your groundstroke consistency.

You might consider cross training - doing some sort of cardio training - to increase your stamina and overall fitness, so that that isn't a factor. I like to go on long bike rides, which incorporate sprints and periods of heavy exertion.

Play soccer with friends to help your footwork

And don't let the mental worries about solving the problem of this guy get to you. Go out there with a really positive outlook, like "You may have great stamina, but today, I'm gonna outlast you" and "you may have some shots that hurt me, but I'm gonna be patient and play top quality tennis and we'll see who comes out on top!"