Is the drop shot worth it?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by saltair

Pretty fun to drop shot fast guys a couple times as a set up. They may get to the ball, and you may or may not win the point. Play the shot again purposely telegraphing whats coming, watch them break early and then just drive a slice deep. Nice to keep them off balance and guessing.

This play is probably more effective than the drop shot itself but you have to hit a few droppers to set it up.

[OTMPut]

a djoker drop shot is risky (from the back of the court); on the other hand a federer drop shot is very effective (mid court shot, prepare for an offensive forehand and change in the last moment to a dropper; of course you will have to crush a few forehands to set up this play).

[MNPlayer]

I think some of the confusion about the drop shot is because, while it is hit softly, it is an aggressive shot. Most of the time we associate aggressive play with hitting hard. But a strategy that depends on hitting softly and very accurately (like a drop shot) is just as aggressive - if you mess up even a little bit you will most likely lose the point.

Since the drop shot is an aggressive play, you should only use it when you are in good position and inside the baseline - similar to when you would go for other aggressive shots like approaches.

I saw Douggo's posting earlier in this thread. I still remember when he and I played a few years back and he was killing me with drop shots!

[Douggo]

Originally Posted by MNPlayer

I saw Douggo's posting earlier in this thread. I still remember when he and I played a few years back and he was killing me with drop shots!

You're too kind. My memory of it was more like bringing nail clippers to a gunfight.