Got beat by a guy hitting slice forehands

[martini1]

On top of doing S&V, how about giving him some drop shots and then lob? If the drop shot is done with some angle I doubt this guy can counter slice or drop you back like Nadal.

[guitarplayer]

I was in a 4.5 tournament 2 weeks ago. My quarter final match was against a pusher. He actually hit the ball hard with underspin. the ball came low and fast...and skidded or stayed low. It was much faster than the heavier topspin players I am used to. Reduced my reaction time. He went up 3-0. I realized trying to hit my hard topspin forehands with these low fast balls created errors on my part. It was 98 degrees and about 110 on the court. I knew I had to change my game plan and make him work and wear him down.

I returned many of his low slices with slices of my own. Decided to move him up and back, as that wears you down much faster than side to side. So I would slice a drop shot and bring him up. Then I would lob or pass. I got it tied up at 4 all. He went on to win the first set 6-4. However, my plan was paying off as he was wearing down. I continued this through the first 3 games of the second. I was up 3-0 and he was winded. His slices no longer had the bite and became sitters that I was able to smack with heavy topspin. I won the second 6-1. At 3-0 in the third, he could not continue. It worked, just be patient.

Here was the results in the paper.

[halalula1234]

I hate these type of players i dont even know why they play tennis....thats not tennis!

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Wuppy

And clearly I don't have the stamina to stand there hitting 45-shot rallys with a-holes who hit forehand slices on every shot.

Wait, he played smarter than you and beat you and he's an "a-hole"?

Wow, just wow!

Maybe work on your stamina or work on being more consistent than him? Consistency is what wins tennis matches. You're not Federer and you never will be no matter how hard you try. Better to become a more consistent player so you can beat guys like this in the future. And maybe start working on your forehand slice.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by halalula1234

I hate these type of players i dont even know why they play tennis....thats not tennis!

Yes, that is tennis. Tennis is out-smarting your opponent and hitting the ball so that it doesn't come back into the court, no matter how long that may take. Just because you don't see pros doing it on TV doesn't mean it's not tennis.

[chatt_town]

Dude,

That's painful to experience the first couple of times. I went through that. I've also watched others get done that way. Don't worry...I've watched 4.5's lose to people like that. My only suggestion is to learn an all court game. I'm not perfect at it but that's what I've tried to do. I'm one of those guys that will slice a ton if I think you don't like it. In doubles in mixed if the man is better server than I, I will make sure he serves in the sun and I will throw up lobs until his retna burns and falls on the ground. So I will do just about anything "legal" to win a match. The guy actually should be proud if he ran you in the ground. What people don't realize about tennis is this. Legs can be just as much of a weapon as a serve or a forehand. If he can hit 45 shots to win a point and you can't, then it's still the same result as you banging out a 120mph serve down the T. Now your way is more efficient in the end but nonetheless...the same result. Good luck in the future.

Originally Posted by Wuppy

Was in a match today against a pusher who stood back and hit slice backhands and forehands. 3 set match, he hit a grand total of 5 winners, one of which was a lob. All other points he got were either my double-faults or my other UEs. Beat him 6-1 in the first set, in the middle of the second set I became exhausted and he beat me 6-3 then he won 6-1 in the final set. I was so exhausted in the third that I couldn't remember the scores and double-faulted four straight times in the last game.

He said that in his previous match his wife came to watch and she counted a 45-shot rally he apparently had with another pusher. I guess they just stood back and hit slices to each other endlessly.

The only winners I hit off him were ones where I put it in the corners. Unfortuantely at 3.5 I'm not good enough to consistently hit corners and probably half the points I lost were hitting the ball slightly wide or long.

I find myself losing to this type of player a LOT. Obviously I need consistency but it seems like if you want to beat a pusher you really need to be better than he is by 0.5 or so. Two 3.5s going at it, one who's aggressive but not consistent and the other who is consistent but not aggressive.. the non-aggressive guy will win on the other's UEs. And clearly I don't have the stamina to stand there hitting 45-shot rallys with a-holes who hit forehand slices on every shot.

I mean really, what kind of man hits forehand slices regularly? Is that really something they're proud of? Hey honey, I beat this guy who was running me all over. I hit slices to him until the eventually missed his winning shots by 3 inches.

I think to myself, "What would Federer do to this guy?" Other than ace him repeatedly, Fed would start running him back and forth and then hit a 100mph forehand to the corner. I can't do that though.

[chatt_town]

Sure it is. The ball is coming back over the net. Why should he give you the ball you want to hit when you are constantly trying to give him something he can't hit back? That doesn't make any sense. I hear it all the time. "He just keeps the ball in play"....that is the dumbest thing you can say in tennis. I don't know a sport that doesn't have offense and defense and in some cases in even other sports...your defense even wins you games. What year was it the Ravens won the Superbowl. They spent most of the game playing just like this guy played you in Tennis. Think the Buccaneers also won a Superbowl playing defense.

Originally Posted by halalula1234

I hate these type of players i dont even know why they play tennis....thats not tennis!

[Nostradamus]

Would you be insulted if you got passed clean by slice forehand at net ?

[mightyrick]

Originally Posted by chatt_town

Sure it is. The ball is coming back over the net. Why should he give you the ball you want to hit when you are constantly trying to give him something he can't hit back? That doesn't make any sense. I hear it all the time. "He just keeps the ball in play"....that is the dumbest thing you can say in tennis. I don't know a sport that doesn't have offense and defense and in some cases in even other sports...your defense even wins you games. What year was it the Ravens won the Superbowl. They spent most of the game playing just like this guy played you in Tennis. Think the Buccaneers also won a Superbowl playing defense.

C'mon man. Please don't act like you don't know why people can't stand playing pushers. Yes, it is tennis. But it isn't FUN tennis and it isn't GOOD tennis. It is garbage tennis. It is tennis where after the match, you say to yourself... "I spend 20 dollars to play someone like this???"

The problem is that the professional pusher does not go for any shots when they have a chance. Nobody faults a player for "getting a ball back" when they're on the run. It's a guy who has an obvious play on a ball, but elects to just dink or lob it back.

It isn't dumb to despise these kinds of players. They are frustrating and most of us PAY MONEY and end up having to play these people. Some months, I have to play four pushers to get to a normal player. So frustrating.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by BMC9670

I've had success with serve and volley with these guys. If you have even a decent serve, I find they don't have the topspin return to put it at your feet and are not that good hitting passing shot winners. I've done it on both first and second serves and find it's often more effective on the second if you can get it to kick up a bit.

I second this strategy. With pushers or guys that don't hit with much pace, you can ruin their consistency strategy by serving and volleying AND by returning and volleying. They can't hit slices to you at the baseline all day long if you're never at the baseline! Come into the net and angle off a volley or hit a drop volley they can't get to. Force them to have to pass you with pace. They will likely start making errors. But you'll also have to work on your overhead because most of these pushers have great lobs.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by mightyrick

C'mon man. Please don't act like you don't know why people can't stand playing pushers. Yes, it is tennis. But it isn't FUN tennis and it isn't GOOD tennis. It is garbage tennis. It is tennis where after the match, you say to yourself... "I spend 20 dollars to play someone like this???"

The problem is that the professional pusher does not go for any shots when they have a chance. Nobody faults a player for "getting a ball back" when they're on the run. It's a guy who has an obvious play on a ball, but elects to just dink or lob it back.

It isn't dumb to despise these kinds of players. They are frustrating and most of us PAY MONEY and end up having to play these people. Some months, I have to play four pushers to get to a normal player. So frustrating.

Wait, isn't the objective of playing tennis matches to win the match? If "getting the ball back" wins matches, doesn't that meet the objective of playing tennis matches?

There's nothing wrong with playing it safe. It's called "percentage tennis". Only go for winners if you're reasonably sure you can make them. If not, why go for them and beat yourself? And if you can consistently hit winners, you'd be playing on the ATP Tour.

[mightyrick]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Wait, isn't the objective of playing tennis matches to win the match? If "getting the ball back" wins matches, doesn't that meet the objective of playing tennis matches?

No, my objective of playing tennis -- which is a game -- is to have fun. I am a recreational player. I do this for enjoyment. I also like to win, as well. But that isn't the primary component of why I play tennis.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by mightyrick

No, my objective of playing tennis -- which is a game -- is to have fun. I am a recreational player. I do this for enjoyment. I also like to win, as well. But that isn't the primary component of why I play tennis.

But it may be for your opponent. Some guys just want to win. You can't really criticize them for having a philosophy different than yours. And if you lose, you really don't have anything to complain about, right? Your opponent was trying to win more than you were.

[Failed]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Yes, that is tennis. Tennis is out-smarting your opponent and hitting the ball so that it doesn't come back into the court, no matter how long that may take. Just because you don't see pros doing it on TV doesn't mean it's not tennis.

And even if we do not see them doing it on TV it doesn't mean that it is because its a "cheap" strategy but it simply does not work on that level anymore. And the fact is, if on on a pro level on a certain day just hitting slices would win someone a match, the person wouldn't hesitate to use the slices.

[vil]

If you ever want to get to higher levels in tennis, you have to get through these obstacles called pushers. They stand in your way, just to remind you, you are not the player, you think you are. Plus makes you realise how many holes are still in your game. I know it's frustrating. You just had a few lessons with your coach,who told you how great your topspin forehand looks, blah blah, etc.. and next day you will lose to a guy who just piddle paddle balls over the net, with no style or technique, clumsily holding his racket but gets just about every ball back. Of course, this will have to affect you mentally and eventually you fall apart. These type of players should be the reason why you want to improve your tennis and become more versatile player who can switch to plan b or c or d. Pushers have no plans apart from getting the ball back.
Think about it.

[Avles]

It isn't dumb to despise these kinds of players. They are frustrating and most of us PAY MONEY and end up having to play these people. Some months, I have to play four pushers to get to a normal player. So frustrating.

Yes, it is pretty dumb. You're a 3.5, they're 3.5s. You all play at roughly the same level. They are playing by the same rules as you. So what is there to despise?

As far as paying money goes-- if you were paying that money directly to your opponents so they would show you a good time on the courts, you'd have all the right in the world to complain. I presume you're not doing that. Instead you're paying for the opportunity to compete with players at your level-- and so are they.

If you want to play better players, improve your level of play. If you don't want to spend money to play "pushers," play social tennis.

Or you could just try to have fun no matter what kind of player you're against. It might sound corny, but I honestly can't remember ever playing tennis and not having fun.

[Swissv2]

Originally Posted by guitarplayer

I was in a 4.5 tournament 2 weeks ago. My quarter final match was against a pusher. He actually hit the ball hard with underspin. the ball came low and fast...and skidded or stayed low. It was much faster than the heavier topspin players I am used to. Reduced my reaction time. He went up 3-0. I realized trying to hit my hard topspin forehands with these low fast balls created errors on my part. It was 98 degrees and about 110 on the court. I knew I had to change my game plan and make him work and wear him down.

I returned many of his low slices with slices of my own. Decided to move him up and back, as that wears you down much faster than side to side. So I would slice a drop shot and bring him up. Then I would lob or pass. I got it tied up at 4 all. He went on to win the first set 6-4. However, my plan was paying off as he was wearing down. I continued this through the first 3 games of the second. I was up 3-0 and he was winded. His slices no longer had the bite and became sitters that I was able to smack with heavy topspin. I won the second 6-1. At 3-0 in the third, he could not continue. It worked, just be patient.

Here was the results in the paper.

I have a similar story to you. played a chap yesterday that does exclusive slices and push shots, with no pace. His slice spun sideways. Instead of the front to back strategy you used (he was very quick, and easily got to the ball), I would be patient and move him to his forehand side, then punish his backhand side whenever I had the window of opportunity. His backhand side was weak, the ball popping up in the air leaving me a short ball to come in and finish the point.

nice game Rodney!

[Maui19]

I regularly play with two guys who only hit slice from both sides (well one guy can hit topspin FHs but is loath to do so). The trick with both these guys is to NOT hit balls that bounce up, such as balls with lots of top, particularly to the FH side because that makes hitting the slice much easier for them. (On the BH side it is easier to slice off a low ball.) If I keep the ball low to their FH, I see a lot more errors and soft balls.

One more note: you have to be careful with your volleys because they leave your racquet at a lower angle than you expect.

[Steady Eddy]

I remember the first time I played a guy who hit SLICE off the forehand. I was like, "I didn't even think there was such a thing as sliced forehands." But he was a good player and beat me.

So why do we find it more annoying to lose to a player like this? I think it's because we know that to an observer we both look like bad players. We don't mind losing if we look good losing.

[pkshooter]

Hate this type of player too... Thing is most of these types in my area are just real nice grandpa types. Playing with one of these people will ruin my forehand for weeks.