The power of slice

Ripper

Ripper

Hall of Fame
So, there's this guy who's, at least, one full level above me. I've won sets over him, but never a match. Today, I played only one set against him and decided to try something different. So, I sliced a lot and not only the backhand. I lost 6-4, but only because he seriously went into his bag of tricks (well and because I choked on several break points). I admit I've always used slice mainly as defense and have looked down at people who use it too much, but there could be something there. Honestly, I need to figure out if this strategy was really being effective or if he was just having a not so great day. In any case, I'm thinking about mixing a bit of "offensive slice" into my game, without getting carried away, of course.

Edit: Maybe, what I'm talking about is kind of like junkballing... Anyway, it seems to be effective, try it.
 
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JRstriker12

JRstriker12

Hall of Fame
A good driving slice can is underated.

Watching Fernando Gonzalez at the Austrailian, you can see he definitely incorporated the slice into his game. Fed is also the master of using short, angled slices to bring opponenets in then pass them.
 
Ripper

Ripper

Hall of Fame
JRstriker12 said:
A good driving slice can is underated.

Watching Fernando Gonzalez at the Austrailian, you can see he definitely incorporated the slice into his game. Fed is also the master of using short, angled slices to bring opponenets in then pass them.
Click to expand...

At club level, deep slices (with heavy underspin) seem to, also, be helpful in provoking UEs.
 
K

kevhen

Hall of Fame
Slice works even better outdoors in windy conditions too as the ball moves more since it is slower.
 
lethalfang

lethalfang

Professional
I sometimes do these things when the going gets tough and when I am getting outplayed.
Usually I do it when I get a deep ball that bounces high, so I can hit a hard slice traveling with good pace, which clears the net by a foot and lands a couple of feet in front of the baseline. It forces errors or induce weak replies.
But I often hit the shot a little too high and it will go out, so I make lots of errors that way myself.
 
cereal

cereal

Rookie
Short slices in my expirience equal ownage. because of th way a properly exeuted slice comes off the court, deep slices if prepared and executed can mean some serious discomfort for the other player. ALso another good slice is when theyre coming up...hit it not too deep but just enough so they can flick it back and finish off at net the second method is only if youre like agassi and like running guys to death. :)

enjoy
 
Mad iX

Mad iX

Semi-Pro
JRstriker12 said:
Fed is also the master of using short, angled slices to bring opponenets in then pass them.
Click to expand...

I love doing this, although I'm obviously nowhere as good as Fed, but neither are the people I'm playing against. I'll also usually come to the net, as usually all they do is hit an off-balance shot that's easy to pounce on while they're still stuck in no man's land.
 
D

Deleted member 6835

Guest
iunno how it works for other people, but i LOVE when people slice to my forehand... i just hit winners, or at least good setups for put-away shots

but ya you're right in that the slice is a very useful and important shot... :)
 
L

lanky

Rookie
I'm an old timer and one of the shots that has gone out of the game,but is still very effective for most normal players other than pros is an offensive slice backhand.Most people,including pros hit the defensive version with a high takeback and a U shaped shot .For offensive see rosewalls backhand,where the racquet drives through the ball -result a little backspin ,a hard shot and it shoots off the surface,especially if a fast surface.Problem with it is the low margin for error over the net.Take a look at rosewall's backhand-it's great! PS if you dont alrready know Rosewall was famous for his superb footwork and being a perfect ball striker so the low margin of error over the net was not a big problem for him.
 
T

tennis_hand

Hall of Fame
The best slice, or you should call it dropshot: it bounces back to your side. Complete ownage.

Unless you hit really good slices and mix them up, you can't provoke many UEs in 3.5 level and above. Good players can even hit attacking winners out of it.
 
S

SlapShot

Hall of Fame
I use the slice to take some pace out of a heavy hitter - nowadays, guys seem to thrive on pace, and a slice usually gets them out of their rhythm.

It always helps that the Pro Staff Classic is a BH slice machine. It makes for a nasty shot to return.
 
Andres

Andres

G.O.A.T.
SlapShot said:
I use the slice to take some pace out of a heavy hitter - nowadays, guys seem to thrive on pace, and a slice usually gets them out of their rhythm.

It always helps that the Pro Staff Classic is a BH slice machine. It makes for a nasty shot to return.
Click to expand...
Indeed! The PSC 6.1 is a beast at the backhand slice. I don't know why, but I can't match the spinning ability with any other racquet. The ball bites the strings, and it bites the ground. It's amazing.
 
Jonny S&V

Jonny S&V

Hall of Fame
When I just let my racquet head just drop through the ball, I almost always get an offensive slice that my opponent can't handle and is either an UE or a sitter that I can volley away definitely. Slice is very underrated at the high school level, as 95% of the varsity players use a western grip where I live.
 
Ripper

Ripper

Hall of Fame
Another way to use slice offensively is to hit a very hard and spiny one right at your opponent when he's at the net. Unless he's a very good vollyer, you can, almost, count on that ball going into the net. Of course, you have to vary your shots or your opponent gets used to them.
 
lethalfang

lethalfang

Professional
lanky said:
I'm an old timer and one of the shots that has gone out of the game,but is still very effective for most normal players other than pros is an offensive slice backhand.Most people,including pros hit the defensive version with a high takeback and a U shaped shot .For offensive see rosewalls backhand,where the racquet drives through the ball -result a little backspin ,a hard shot and it shoots off the surface,especially if a fast surface.Problem with it is the low margin for error over the net.Take a look at rosewall's backhand-it's great! PS if you dont alrready know Rosewall was famous for his superb footwork and being a perfect ball striker so the low margin of error over the net was not a big problem for him.
Click to expand...

I hit my offensive slice with my forehand. My backhand produces more of the defensive variety. In any case, I consider my offensive forehand slice a high-risk shot.
 
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