Played a "very consistent player" today...

[luishcorreia]

Well.... A pusher really. Great guy.. Bit his game is boring as hell.

Played him last week and lost 2-6, 6-4,6-2... Almost had him after winning the first set and at 4-4 in the second. When he feels things are getting bad he starts with the moonballs. He attacks nothing. Sometimes I leave balls in the middle of the court... And he just rolls them in.

Today I lost 6-4.6-4 with a different tactic. Tried to open up the court a bit more with angles. Serve wide to the deuce court. That as somewhat successful.

But in the end I think its more of a mental thing. I just do not have the patience ..lat week we played the 3 sets in 3 hours... Point after point I am taking all the risks, moving him side to side... For him just to get everything back. I eventually got for too much and end up making an error. When I stick with him, the point lasts like 30 shots...

So frustrating.

We are both 3.5 or 4.0

Some months ago I beat him 61. 60 in a fast court. Also sometime ago I had 5 match points against him but lost the match.

Whats a good tactic against him?

[anubis]

The least amount of points that someone has to get in order to win a set is 24. If he's being a pusher, then he's not hitting winners (unless you're at the net and he hits a defensive lob and you can't get to it). This means that his points are the result of your errors.

Are you saying that he just keeps the ball in play long enough for you to make a mistake?

Obviously his strength therefore is to keep the ball in play, which is not your strength. Your strength is less a rally with less than 3 shots. So you have to figure out how to make most of the points end in less than 3 shots.

This will not be done by playing a baseline game. You're going to have to incorporate more drop shots, more slices, spin, and other tactics to get you to the net and put away the shot easily.

If you hang back at the baseline the whole time, then the only way you'll beat him is if you become more consistent than he is.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by luishcorreia

>>
Well.... A pusher really. Great guy.. Bit his game is boring as hell.

....But in the end I think its more of a mental thing. I just do not have the patience ..lat week we played the 3 sets in 3 hours... Point after point I am taking all the risks, moving him side to side... For him just to get everything back. I eventually got for too much and end up making an error. When I stick with him, the point lasts like 30 shots...<<

If your match last 3 hrs and a point last 30 shots, you played like a pusher too, sorry.

[luishcorreia]

Originally Posted by Mick

If your match last 3 hrs and a point last 30 shots, you played like a pusher too, sorry.

Thats actually a good point. Sometimes i try to stick with baseline exchanges untill I get an opening. The problem is that he rolls the ball in.. But almost always with depth... And its hard to go on the offensive from there.

i know that more dropshots work well... And I do that when playing him. I also try to get to the net .. But my game at net is not very good....well... I guess hes just the better player...

[Mick]

Originally Posted by luishcorreia

Thats actually a good point. Sometimes i try to stick with baseline exchanges untill I get an opening. The problem is that he rolls the ball in.. But almost always with depth... And its hard to go on the offensive from there.

i know that more dropshots work well... And I do that when playing him. I also try to get to the net .. But my game at net is not very good....well... I guess hes just the better player...

well 6-4, 6-4 loss means that you had a chance of winning.
imo, you either have to develop bigger weapons and/or become more consistent than this guy. When playing against such players, it is important not to donate any points.

It's easy to give advices on a forum but out on the tennis courts, it's not easy to execute them successfully against players close to your level. Good luck next time

[LeeD]

Nice tough, evenly matched match! Great workout, and mental challenge, playing close sets like that.
Pushing does work, no doubt about it, so it's kudos to you for trying different strategies that will help make you better to overcome that opponent, while he stays the same, using his determination and legs to do his winning.

[mikeler]

Coming into net is the key to beating pushers.

[LeeD]

The lob is the pusher's best friend, especially on the sliced backhand side deep CC, using the longest court.

[luishcorreia]

Originally Posted by Mick

If your match last 3 hrs and a point last 30 shots, you played like a pusher too, sorry.

Thats actually a good point. Sometimes i try to stick with baseline exchanges untill I get an opening. The problem is that he rolls the ball in.. But almost always with depth... And its hard to go on the offensive from there.

i know that more dropshots work well... And I do that when playing him. I also try to get to the net .. But my game at net is not very good....well... I guess hes just the better player...

[the cat petter]

Mix up your shots. After 2 shots with top spin, maybe slice the ball or hit it flat, hit with top spin, slice, slice, topspin, you get the idea.
Another good way to beat a pusher is to go to the net. If your net game isn't good then you must improve it. Since a pusher usually doesn't hit hard, you have a chance of putting away the overhead or volley if your approach shot is good enough.

[luishcorreia]

I am an agressive baseliner. My game os based around getting a short ball where I can attack and do an aproach shot and go up to the net. Most of the times I force my opponent to commit an error or win the point directly. I maybe win 5 to 8 points a match at the net.

So, my quesiton is, how do I beat this guy playing at the baseline?

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by luishcorreia

I am an agressive baseliner. My game os based around getting a short ball where I can attack and do an aproach shot and go up to the net. Most of the times I force my opponent to commit an error or win the point directly. I maybe win 5 to 8 points a match at the net.

So, my quesiton is, how do I beat this guy playing at the baseline?

You won't beat this guy from the baseline. Listen to me now believe me later.

[tennisplayer1993]

Yea come into at net, I agree with the people who said that here. Thats the best way to throw off a pusher unless you're a big hitter, I wouldn't try hitting him off the court.

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by luishcorreia

Thats actually a good point. Sometimes i try to stick with baseline exchanges untill I get an opening. The problem is that he rolls the ball in.. But almost always with depth... And its hard to go on the offensive from there.

i know that more dropshots work well... And I do that when playing him. I also try to get to the net .. But my game at net is not very good....well... I guess hes just the better player...

This is the problem. If you are 3.5-4.0, your aggressive baseline game isn't going to be aggressive enough. Probably your only chance with this approach is will be to step in and take the ball super early. Not an easy game plan at 3.5.

If you don't have good approach shots, volleys and overheads, you are in for a long day and very likely a loss against this person.

[dominikk1985]

Originally Posted by tennisplayer1993

Yea come into at net, I agree with the people who said that here. Thats the best way to throw off a pusher unless you're a big hitter, I wouldn't try hitting him off the court.

I agree. below 4.0 some players can hit relatively hard but usually they don't have the consistency to bash away the opponent. they will hit some winners but make many more errors.

so if you have any kind of overhead (doesn't even need to be deadly) you should be fine by hitting a deep approach and then charge the net.

[Power Player]

There is no such thing as an aggressive baseliner at 3.5. You need to stop trying to hit hard and through a guy who gives you no pace.

I just played a pusher last week and barely lost a point. I play baseline tennis too. You need to hit very relaxed and just focus on making clean contact. Hit at 60% of your power and move the guy around.

Notice how when you dont get pace, you tend to make errors? He will too. Pushers love pace, so dont give it to them.

Hit relaxed balls that are placed well. Keep them safely in the court but attack his weak side and hit that corner. As soon as he starts running to get one, you need to move in. Take the next ball just as relaxed and put it to the other side. Move in some more. Take the next shot as a volley and put it away.


Thats how you beat a pusher.

[TheCheese]

Have you tried hitting massive topspin moonballs into his backhand corner?

Usually these kinds of players don't have the technique to handle these kind of shots and will give you a short ball.

[dominikk1985]

Originally Posted by LeeD

The lob is the pusher's best friend, especially on the sliced backhand side deep CC, using the longest court.

if the pusher is just playing lobs you could also stop in NML (what you usually shouldn't do). that way you can smash easier and if he does hit a soft passing shot you go 3 steps forward and volley it.


that of couse only works against that typical 3.0 pusher and not against a solid defensive player.

[Mick3391]

Originally Posted by luishcorreia

Well.... A pusher really. Great guy.. Bit his game is boring as hell.

Played him last week and lost 2-6, 6-4,6-2... Almost had him after winning the first set and at 4-4 in the second. When he feels things are getting bad he starts with the moonballs. He attacks nothing. Sometimes I leave balls in the middle of the court... And he just rolls them in.

Today I lost 6-4.6-4 with a different tactic. Tried to open up the court a bit more with angles. Serve wide to the deuce court. That as somewhat successful.

But in the end I think its more of a mental thing. I just do not have the patience ..lat week we played the 3 sets in 3 hours... Point after point I am taking all the risks, moving him side to side... For him just to get everything back. I eventually got for too much and end up making an error. When I stick with him, the point lasts like 30 shots...

So frustrating.

We are both 3.5 or 4.0

Some months ago I beat him 61. 60 in a fast court. Also sometime ago I had 5 match points against him but lost the match.

Whats a good tactic against him?

I'm not one to give advice, but sounds like you were playing his game to some extent. This is precisely the reason why we all should be all court players, progressively move to the net, finish off points quick, but you can't do that if you are trained solely as a baseliner, he'll give you headaches.

I use alot of boxing analogies as I think they are appropriate, don't sit back and see what your opponent will do to you, but force your will upon them, learn the net, learn to play in no mans land, tear him apart bit by bit, make him pay for a stupid lob.

Viva De Serve and Volley Bring it back

[Relinquis]

i agree with power player's strategy above.

I'd add chipping/charging his 2nd serve if it's weak.