best tactic for a good baseliner

[drummerboy]

Hi

Well I saw Rickson's post about the tactic about the slicers but I am having a problem with this guy who is really good from the baseline. He is tall and looks clumsy but he is moving well and he gets to every ball. He has good forehand and backhand and he has a great passing shots so he is hard to attack. I think that his weakness is net play. He is an excellent returner and he steps one meter in the court and slams the second serve so I got the trouble keeping my serve. I think that he doesn't like low slices aswell. I am really strugling with finding his weaknesses. How to play that kind of player? Thanks for the tips

drummerboy

[Rickson]

Try Federer's tactic, draw him close to the net with a slice backhand, then pass him or lob him.

Indeed. Or, if you're feeling confident, push him wide with a sharply angled groundie or volley, then put his return back to where he hit it from- he should be trying to recover, when he will have to scramble back to get the shot.
Try a few different tactics, or just develop a killer drop shot.

[Jack Romeo]

It's difficult to give advice to you because you didn't describe your own playing style, your own strengths and weaknesses.

[Jack Romeo]

It's difficult to give advice to you because you didn't describe your own playing style, your own strengths and weaknesses. Someone might suggest you hitting drop shots but if you don't have a good drop shot then the suggestion is useless.

[drummerboy]

You are right Jack. Sorry about that. Well I lost again to that guy today. I just couldn't find the cure. Well my shots are good forehand, bad dbl-handed backhand, average slice. I like to go to the net and my voley is average and I can hit some decent smashes. I go to the net when I get the short ball. My first serve is good but it lacks the percentage. Second serve is not so good lol. I never or very rarely play a drop shot. He is good with his shots and he was playing to my backhand all the time and waiting for the short ball and then took the initiative. I just couldn't develop my agressive style of play. Well I will stop the ********, he was playing better and I have a lot of work to do period.

Later
drummerboy

[K!ck5w3rvE]

Serve slices out wide to the deuce court and kickers out wide to the ad court to draw him out of position. Make sure you change it up though with a dew down the middle, to stop him getting a groove.

[Mahboob Khan]

It is quite obvious that you need to improve your game. You ought to have those tools which could be used against him in a match. Again, without technical stability you cannot implement any tactical advice. Improve your game:

-- Your serve should be a reliable one. Ability to serve flat, topspin, slice: out-wide, body, up the T.

-- Make sure that your return of serve is effective. Ability to go down the line on second serve.

-- Your ground strokes: cross-courts and down the lines. You should have the ability to hit winners off any short/easy/high balls. A good down the line shot depends on previous cross-court shot!

-- You should have the ability to have good approach shots down the line followed by volley-smash!

-- You should have the ability to pass -- cross-court and down the line.

-- You ought to have lobs -- defensive as well as offensive.

Acquire these abilities and then we will guide you how to beat this guy!

[C_Urala]

Mahboob Khan, I can say the same much shorter:
Become a federer!

best tactic for a baseliner = never miss, don't always be on the attack, often the best way to win a point from the back of the line is just playing safe shots and letting your opponent make the errors, only attack if there are the opportunites too.

[JohnThomas1]

Yeah it sounds like a class problem here. From your description of him he is one heck of a player. Basically you described him as a top notch baseliner, strong off both wings and a good mover. You state you have trouble with your backhand. This would make him very hard to beat from the baseline for you. You don't sound super confident on your net game either, and have already described his passing shots as great. You also think you need improvement on your serve. This makes it hard to attack him.

The good thing is you see a lot of area's you can improve your game in, and don't hold no punches in self analysis. I'd rather be overcritical of my strokes than anything, this gives a lot of area's to work on. Rather than look for his weaknesses i would be strengthening and rounding out my own game. The backhand would be a good place to start. Aim to get it up to your forehand standard so you can rally confidently with him off the ground. The serve can be one of the most easily improved strokes, and would let you get on that all important offensive you are seeking against him. I would be seeking advice on individual strokes from the likes of Mahboob Khan and BB on this board. They will give you excellent advice and set you on the right track. It definately seems like you need more game to rattle this guy, and your tennis can only improve for it.

[drummerboy]

Thanks guys. Mahboob you gave me some excellent advice. Will try to do some work on those things but if I would have all those things I think I could smoke every guy in our country. John Thomas I know I must improve my dbl-handed backhand. It's getting better but it is still in the pushing league for now. It's a lot of a mental thing also. You know that feeling when you get a ball to your weaker wing and all the muscles in your body become tensed and your eye focus deteriorates. Well he is not such a heck of a player but he has good both strokes. I can beat a lot of guys and my forehand can be realy deadly but my game still crumbles when I play this guy. Maybe I need to play more patiently with him.
I am still waiting for my revenge and boy is it gonna be sweet lol.

Cheers
drummerboy

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by DV7821P

best tactic for a baseliner = never miss, don't always be on the attack, often the best way to win a point from the back of the line is just playing safe shots and letting your opponent make the errors, only attack if there are the opportunites too.

This tactic will get you eaten up alive by a good baseline player. Waiting for an error is a good way to beat beginners, but an advanced player will hit winner after winner on you if you just hit to get the ball over the net.