Slice-y Dice-y

[jc4.0]

I wish I had a great slice. I can manage a reasonable backhand slice and can chip off either side - but the kind of wicked slice I play against sometimes is such a weapon that I keep trying to develop a similar shot.

Until I get there though - I was wondering if anyone has a good defense against the Slicer - the guy who slices almost every ball, forehand or backhand. Often, I can't even tell whether the ball will drop inches over the net, with a nasty sidespin; or will sling low and hard over the net, landing near the baseline, drilling into the court with ridiculous backspin. Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce at all, it just skids - so you have to practically get down on all fours to make contact.

I try to take these out of the air to avoid that unpredictable bounce; but if you hit this ball too aggressively, it's likely to fly out. It's impossible to "take the shot away" from the Slicer, because they can slice just about anything.

I know I have to live with the slice, but is there a way to neutralize it?

 

[Cindysphinx]

I'm seeing a lot more good slice these days, especially at 8.0 mixed. That seems to be the go-to shot for a lot of 4.0 men and women. Their slice can get me into trouble because I use a SW grip on the FH, so low balls can be a liability.

I'm dealing with it by remembering that a slice will not come to you the way a topspin ball will. You have to go to it. So I try to remember to move up the court right away, get low, and don't try to do too much with it.

I am also learning to slice myself. I test drove my slice service return in a 3.5 ladies social match yesterday. I sliced returns as much as I could and hit slices whenever I figured I was in good position. The results were amazing. I could see my ball landing shorter than players expected and staying below net level. My opponents usually netted these balls.

So. Move up quickly, and keep working on your own slice, I'd say.

 

[Jim A]

As someone who, relatively speaking, has always had a good bh slice:

topspin to the bh side makes it much harder to be aggressive as its tough to catch the ball before its around the shoulder...that will give a bit of a floated slice back and allow you take control..

now I play a guy who slices nearly everything what I've found is..
1. i want to keep him in the middle of the court. If I allow him to be close to the lines he can hide his intention and I'm out of luck
2. I move him up/back instead of side to side. A deep topspin ball to move him back and short slice does more. You'll get a short ball to put away..
3. He still has to play to your game. Let him adapt as well
4. if all else fails get low, bend those knees and get after it ...

 

[OrangePower]

topspin to the bh side makes it much harder to be aggressive as its tough to catch the ball before its around the shoulder...that will give a bit of a floated slice back and allow you take control..

+1

I remember playing a slicemaster in a singles league match when I was a 4.0 a few years ago. I knew the guy had a winning record, but as we were warming up and I saw his strokes, I was thinking that I would blow him away.

Fast-forward 45 mins and I'm down a set and a break (2-6, 1-3). The more aggressive I tried to be, the more he seemed to like it! And I was making way more errors than winners.

So I went to plan B - deep, high-bouncing topspin shots, mostly to the backhand but with a few to the forehand to keep him honest. His slice strokes were neutralized when he was forced to hit at shoulder level, and I ended up winning the match. It was very ugly, but you have to do what you have to do...

 

[spot]

keep the ball deep. Its very difficult to slice effectively from significantly behind the baseline. When you give up a lot of short balls you are begging for someone to slice against you.