What to do when they hit angles?

[SStrikerR]

What's the best way to counter someone who uses the angles very well to draw you off the court? He doesn't hit very hard or miss very much either.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Get some rocket skates.

[LeeD]

Hit harder into their corners.
Hit with more topspin.
Hit with more slice.
Take the initiative, instead of sitting back and allowing him to hit his shots.

[VeeSe]

He's just opened it up for you to hit a similar angle.

[mikeler]

Hit right down the middle if all else fails.

[jakeytennis]

position yourself better. (get in the correct recovery sports)

get faster and quicker

anticipate better

guess which way if you have to (like pros do returning serves)

hit deeper to give your opponent less angles

if you hit to the middle, you give him less angles, but then its easier for him to hit to either side.

if you hit crosscourt, he can hit more angled crosscourt, but you also give him a harder down the line shot.

if he pulls you out really wide, you can lob it to give you more time to recover.

also, if he pulls you out wide, its usually better to hit it back cross court to give him less open court to hit a winner

but hitting down the line works too sometimes



i hope this helped

[Rogael Naderer]

Originally Posted by VeeSe

He's just opened it up for you to hit a similar angle.

Exactly, try taking the pace off, but go CC with spin.

Avoid going for winners down the line, they are trying to draw that from you.

As mikeler said, if all else fails, don't give him the angles in the 1st place, go down the middle.

What side does he produce his most difficult angles with? In rallies avoid it.

Try serving to the body and to his strong side to open up the weak side.

[KMV]

Either go for a shorter, more acute cross court or take the ball outside the court and hit down the line without changing direction..

Both work well - so unless its a winner, opponent has actually done u a favour and opened up the court for you

[SStrikerR]

Originally Posted by Rogael Naderer

Exactly, try taking the pace off, but go CC with spin.

Avoid going for winners down the line, they are trying to draw that from you.

As mikeler said, if all else fails, don't give him the angles in the 1st place, go down the middle.

What side does he produce his most difficult angles with? In rallies avoid it.

Try serving to the body and to his strong side to open up the weak side.

In theory, I'd agree. But there's a reason why I disagree. It's his game, not mine. I can hit similar angles, but he almost never missed, and they were inside the service box. I'm not going to beat him at his own game. You all make it sound so simple, yet he only lost 3 & 2 to the defending state champion a few months ago. Clearly he knows how to execute his game well.

As far as I remember he preferred cross court shots, and could hit his extreme angles from either side. My anticipation and speed are strengths of mine, and they're the only reason I managed to hang with him so long. My strokes have improved since then, which is why I'm now looking to develop my own game plan to use against him, instead of letting him dictate the match.

My idea was to try to keep him running as much as possible, and to look for an opportunity to come to net. My net game isn't the strongest, yet he isn't a big hitter. I think that his passes or lobs would be easier to put away than tryin to hit through him, as he is pretty quick as well. How should i keep him on the move though? Should I take as many shots as I can on the rise? Or should I try something else?

[boramiNYC]

remember how hingis got blown off the court by big hitters? that's the answer.

[fuzz nation]

Once we're drawn off the court to either side (outside of the sidelines), it's especially tough to try to land the ball by going down-the-line and placing the ball in a small triangular patch just inside the baseline... but it sure looks cool when they do it on tv, right?

Changing the direction on that ball from out wide makes it especially tough to hit it with much accuracy - a little late sends it wide, but sending it back through the middle of the court leaves your opponent with a good look at hitting though your open court.

Answering a sharp angle with at least as much angle back across the net is often a strong option. It's usually easiest to send the ball back down the same path it came from and if your shot pulls your opponent out wide, that essentially "returns the favor". Your wide shot denies the other guy a down-the-line response the same way that his angle denies you the same shot.

Keep this option in the basic plan that you use for your match and you won't need to panic when that nasty angle happens. Revisit your plan of attack throughout your match and when those wide balls come your way, you'll already know what to do with them.

And yes, I recommend getting to the net when you can. Remember that you can make your strongest transition forward by taking your opponent's short ball and placing your approach shot deep in the far end. A deep approach can neutralize an opponent by forcing him/her to back off and hit flat-footed, but that deep ball also denies your opponent much of an angle to try for a pass.

[always_crosscourt]

Abuse his backhand. If he's a 2-hander he almost definitely hits a flat shot and will not be able to create enough topspin to hit acute short angles. He will be forced to hit to the long part of the court - ie. a standard cross-court angle.

Even if he's a 1-hander, he'll struggle to get enough topspin to get angles on his backhand, unless he's an extreme-grip 1-hander, and those are very rare. And if he is, slice his backhand.

in fact, slicing in general (to either his bh or fh) will make it difficult for him to angle you off the court as much, because he has to hit even more topspin to counter your low slice if he wants to get the same angle. If he hits a lot of spin in general he probably has an extreme grip(s), so slice is doubly good as low balls will be awkward. Unless he's Nadal.

In summary: abuse his backhand, slice low to his backhand, slice low to his forehand, and keep hitting to the middle if all else fails.

[dominikk1985]

deep and hard up the middle is often a good receipt against angle guys. of course only if you have the consistency to pull it off.

sometimes hitting DTL approach shots can work however then you also open the court for a CC passing shot. so you should only do this when your approach is good or the opponent only angles well off one wing (usually FH).

It is also quite easy to counter angle the angle shot (an angle opens the court for the opponent too) however you have to consider that he then can counter angle you even more. you don't want to play his game so only use the counter angle occasionally.

[Relinquis]

if all of these strategies fail, try moonballing* a little bit. you never know, i'm surprised how many players it bothers when they don't expect it.

* not beginner moonballs, but the topspin kind.

[Jay_The_Nomad]

Hit deep.

It is hard to give you super angle if he is taking the ball behind the baseline. Hitting sharp angles is easier when your opponent steps into the court. So drive him back.

If he attempts to go for an angled shot from behind t he baseline, chancees are he will drop it short. So prepare to step in, hit the approach shot and attack the net. If he can hit the sharp angles from deep behind the baseline and yet get the ball bouncing past you then throw your hands up in the air and say too good.

[Mick3391]

Originally Posted by SStrikerR

What's the best way to counter someone who uses the angles very well to draw you off the court? He doesn't hit very hard or miss very much either.

Move and get the shots! Serious dictate to him so he can't make those shots if possible. If you give your opponent shots where he can't take the time to aim for the lines you aren't doing your job offensively.

If you are just doing average shots over the net, most decent players will give you killer angles, name of the game.

[Roy125]

Moonball it back and wait for a better ball.