Mental strength key to beating pushers

[Gram Parsons]

Hey.

Just played only my third competitive match against a classic pusher.
It was windy, and he was lobbing balls up, slicing, and they were going everywhere, and my natural game completely broke down.

There was no pace to work with, and I ended up, at times, pushing back, especially against his lobs. He gave me maybe 5 cheap points all game

I tried getting into the net more, but he lobbed it up, and I never realised how hard overheads are when the wind is whipping up, i missed so many, so ended up retreating behind lobs.
If I posted a video I reckon people would say it was 3.0 standard at best!


I hit maybe 10 clean winners the whole match - poor since I got plenty of mid court balls, but he was a fine retriever, I had to applaud him at times.

I won the game though - 6-3, 6-4. The reason - mental toughness. I never thought I was going to lose, I just made sure I made him play, and tried to kill points whereever I could.
You just can't let it get to you, you know they can't hurt you, you know you probably should put balls away and if you don't its annoying, but its all about winning. And its your mind that's the key in those games.

 

[Tennis_Monk]

Congrats on your win. But it takes more than mental toughness to beat pusher. Mind is key against any opponent. Tennis , in my terms, is Chess game. You have to use your strengths to corner and defeat the opponent.

 

[Gram Parsons]

Interesting philosophy.

Unfortunately my mind wasn't working that effectively. I did moonball a few times with some success.

Not so much a game of chess, just pure grim faced grit. It's slightly tortorous to play, but the feeling after is great.

 

[jaredknight]

post the video

 

[Gram Parsons]

Sorry, no vid. I wish there was.

I meant that if I had one to post, it would be horrendous to watch. Horrendous.

Still, I won. And I can say i've beaten a pusher. Good for the confidence in itself.

I'm just surprised it took me my third ever match to play one.

 

[Tennis_Monk]

ARe you saying this is your 3 match of all time playing a pusher?.
If so , you deserve more credit. Beating pushers is a night mare for many players and it often takes few matches before one can beat them.

(I didnt have that problem. Guess why? I started out as a pusher!!)

 

[Bagumbawalla]

There are all kinds of players out there-- big hitters, serve and vollyers, junkballers, all-round players, flat strokers, spin artists and so forth. Every type of player has his/her strengths and weaknesses. It is important to play all types of players and not just friends who have strokes you like.

Having said that, mental toughness is only one apect of the game- but an important one. When we are ranked into levels of play, you have to figure that, though the players have different styles, they are all on, basically, the same level. So, sometimes the player who is just a bit more willing to scramble for that extra point- get the ball back one more time- will be the victor.

But having said THAT, some other aspects of the game that come into play are endurance and overall fitness, knowlwdge of the game and court strategy, the ability to anticipate the opponents shots, having well practiced and reliable strokes that don't break down under pressure, and having a wide variety of sshots to call on and use against these players in different situations.

So, though mental toughness is important- PRACTICE is (in my opinion) is really the key-- being prepared for any kind of player and being confident in your strokes and tactics will win you more games than being mentally tough, but under-prepared and unfit.

 

[Tennis_Monk]

Interesting philosophy.

Unfortunately my mind wasn't working that effectively. I did moonball a few times with some success.

Not so much a game of chess, just pure grim faced grit. It's slightly tortorous to play, but the feeling after is great.

In the game of chess, you have some weapons (queen, Bishop, Rooks, Pawns etc) and use that to tie down Opponent weapons and win the game.

In tennis you have some weapons (Serve, Fh, BH, stamina, Cross court shots etc) . You use that to overcome opponents weapons.

Eg: In order to hit a cross court winner, you first have to get opponent out of position by hitting a series of various shots (cross court rallies, drop shots etc).