Help with singles strategy

[mrsandoo]

I just played in my first open tournament. I am a solid 4.5 player, so I went in with low expectations. I've heard of the quality of the game at open tournaments.

I ended up losing in the first round 4, 3, but I found it to be a satisfying loss regardless because I knew he played at a much higher level in the past.

One of the key reasons I lost was because after he probed my forehand a little bit, he went exclusively to my backhand. (He's a right hander, I am a left hander). And here was the problem. He only hit to my BH.

And I found myself in a situation where I could never set up my FH. Here are some things I tried.

1. Serve and volley to end the point quicker. It worked well, but I started getting punished on my second serve.

2. Hit BH down the line to his BH. The result? He would just hit it right back to me down the line. There were 10-15 shot rallies with both of us just going down the line on our BHs. Funny if I think about it.

I never tried hitting cross court with my BH (I prob should have) after a few DTL, but I did rush the net to volley and had mixed results.

So the question to all you pros is...

How can I set up my forehand against a right hander who keeps hitting to my BH? (I am lefty). What are some strategies I can employ to set up my FH winner?

I feel that even if my BH was good as my FH, the same thing would happen. I may win more points, but I wouldn't know how to set up my FH.

So at this point, I need strategic advice, not technical advice. Thanks!

[mrsandoo]

Please delete. I don't know why it made a second.

[Govnor]

If your BH was as good as your FH, he wouldn't have gone to it on every point. That is the root of the problem here. I'm not even at your level, but the one thing that anyone can do in situations like this is take an early gamble to get control of the point. It won't work all the time, but if you want them to hit the ball where you want it, they need to be out of their comfort zone. Make them run, make them stretch for it.

[Govnor]

You're in a tough spot though when someone has sniffed out a weakness and is hell bent on hitting it on every point.

[heftylefty]

You have to open up the court by playing to the righty's forehand, then running around your backhand to hit your forehand to his backhand. Your alternative is to shore up your backhand and engage him in a cross court rally until you get the ball you can run around.

I'm a lefty.