Bad to hit running FH cross court?

[E46luver]

he hits ball into my FH corner so I run and hit it hard back to middle.
doing this consistently and very nice looking shot
but now out of position and he hits to open court.
should i lob running FH to reset point and give me time to recover to center?
or try to hit running FH down the line?

 

[mistapooh]

Instead of middle, aim for crosscourt which is higher percentage and also negates him from hitting into the open court unless he hits down the line also.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

he hits ball into my FH corner so I run and hit it hard back to middle.
doing this consistently and very nice looking shot
but now out of position and he hits to open court.
should i lob running FH to reset point and give me time to recover to center?
or try to hit running FH down the line?

Follow Wardlaw and hit it back CC. To gain even more time, slice it so it floats slowly and deep: not only does this buy you time, it also tempts the opponent to go for even more on the next shot and to overhit.

Lob is a good time-generating shot also.

Running FH DTL is high risk/high payoff. it wouldn't be my "go to" shot but I would try occasionally.

 

[mistapooh]

I would hit dtl if the guy is at net. He's expecting a crosscourt shot if he's at net. It's a good shot to practice anyways.

 

[E46luver]

When I hit it CC, it sometimes goes to middle, and either way, he can now hit to open court.
I am hitting it very hard and directly back. Should I loft it more?

Yes, I always try hit DTL if he's at net.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

When I hit it CC, it sometimes goes to middle, and either way, he can now hit to open court.
I am hitting it very hard and directly back. Should I loft it more?

The harder you hit it, the faster it will get to your opponent which means the less time you have to recover. If you need more time, don't hit it as hard: a floaty slice will take longer to get there, as will a lob or moonball. You have to judge whether time is the most critical factor. I'm assuming that if you're on the run, you are mostly in a defensive position [unless you try the low % DTL shot].

Another option is to hit even more angle and then make him decide. Whether you choose this depends on if you own the shot.

Yes, I always try hit DTL if he's at net.

When I'm at the net, I do not expect a CC passing shot. I put myself in the middle of his possible responses, which means I shade towards the line, and I wait. I will shade differently based on his patterns, court position, balance, etc.

if you always hit DTL, he should pick up on that and start covering the line. Some opponents aren't that perceptive, though.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[dropshotlikeitshot]

Assuming your opponent is on the baseline, I think crosscourt is fine as long as you give yourself enough time to recover lost ground. Rather than hitting it hard, focus on hitting heavy. A high, heavy crosscourt forehand that lands deep in the court not only gives you enough time to recover lost ground, but also puts your opponent on the defensive.

 

[dominikk1985]

I would hit dtl if the guy is at net. He's expecting a crosscourt shot if he's at net. It's a good shot to practice anyways.

Sounds pretty low percentage unless you are nadal

 

[mistapooh]

Got to practice that banana shot somehow.

 

[Bender]

Got to practice that banana shot and fistpump somehow.

FTFY

 

[fuzz nation]

he hits ball into my FH corner so I run and hit it hard back to middle.
doing this consistently and very nice looking shot
but now out of position and he hits to open court.
should i lob running FH to reset point and give me time to recover to center?
or try to hit running FH down the line?

Short answer - look to counter angle with more angle.

Opponent's shot pulls you out of position - the other side of your court (your backhand corner) is open. If you hit back into the middle of that opponent's court, he (and/or she) can hit into that open half of your court and either keep you on the run or maybe hit a winner. If you go for down-the-line, it's a lower percentage shot. The net is higher and the court is shorter compared with the cross-court option.

If you're on a dead run and can't hit your forehand with much accuracy, job #1 there is to just keep the ball in play. Try to at least get your ball deep to the far end of the court. But if you can get to that ball in time that you can "get around the outside of it" and hit it cross-court, that can be the very best option.

Your cross-court reply is a higher percentage shot given the lower net and if you can answer his angle with a little more angle, that can actually force your opponent to hit back toward you even though you're out of position. This can switch your situation from defense to offense in one shot if your opponent gets pulled wide with your reply, but then leaves the next shot in the middle of your court. Then you can hit into the open half of the court without so much risk.

 

[TnsGuru]

Have you ever tried to hit a softer passing shot with little pace but stays low? Or you can hit it hard but with extreme spin but let it drop to their feet. The volleyer will have to hit a low volley that may pop up giving you another chance to hit a better passing shot. The more the ball comes back to the net player there is a chance for an error.

Unless you're playing a guy with Rafter or Edberg volleys this might not work but I doubt it. Any volley from below is not going to have the same pace compared to a volley from above net level....too easy for the net player to put away.

 

[Goof]

Watch some old Sampras matches.

 

[sneezeey]

Short answer - look to counter angle with more angle.

Opponent's shot pulls you out of position - the other side of your court (your backhand corner) is open. If you hit back into the middle of that opponent's court, he (and/or she) can hit into that open half of your court and either keep you on the run or maybe hit a winner. If you go for down-the-line, it's a lower percentage shot. The net is higher and the court is shorter compared with the cross-court option.

If you're on a dead run and can't hit your forehand with much accuracy, job #1 there is to just keep the ball in play. Try to at least get your ball deep to the far end of the court. But if you can get to that ball in time that you can "get around the outside of it" and hit it cross-court, that can be the very best option.

Your cross-court reply is a higher percentage shot given the lower net and if you can answer his angle with a little more angle, that can actually force your opponent to hit back toward you even though you're out of position. This can switch your situation from defense to offense in one shot if your opponent gets pulled wide with your reply, but then leaves the next shot in the middle of your court. Then you can hit into the open half of the court without so much risk.

Strongly agree. Even as a defensive shot it's effective both as a time-buying and attack-preventing measure because you're also hitting the longest-distance shot you can go for. I personally often have the confidence in my forehand to buggy-whip crosscourt and attack outright, but give it an extra two metres of net clearance and as long as you've hit beyond the service line, you've automatically prevented a put-away shot at the very least.

 

[CiscoPC600]

Watch some old Sampras matches.

Just hit a winner, got it.

 

[zaph]

Depends if you're on the stretch or not. If I can reach I generally go down the line to the backhand, sometimes crosscourt, in which case I recommend spin over raw pace. Get it right and it will kick away from them and out of their hitting zone.

On the stretch, good old moonball to buy time. Really on the stretch, squashshot slice. It is a desperate shot but you can really ruin people's day with it. They don't expect it to come back.

 

[TagUrIt]

Might be helpful

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Might be helpful

Or hurtful if you try to do that stop BH like the Joker [I have yet to try it for fear of dislocating something].

 

[E46luver]

Depends if you're on the stretch or not. If I can reach I generally go down the line to the backhand, sometimes crosscourt, in which case I recommend spin over raw pace. Get it right and it will kick away from them and out of their hitting zone.

On the stretch, good old moonball to buy time. Really on the stretch, squashshot slice. It is a desperate shot but you can really ruin people's day with it. They don't expect it to come back.

not stretched I am hitting back these running fhs with big pace as they would be excellent basic groundstrokes from center but from corner i am just out of position to reply to next ball
it is tempting to hit the running fh hard but it seems to be the wrong shot i will try to hit a lob evenn if I can hit a hard topspin shot or higher topspin and not such a direct bullet to him

 

[Shroud]

I hesitated posting this because of the extreme talent and footspeed required and can not be held responsible if you destroy your body or psyche trying to duplicate this, but check out the point here:

 

[E46luver]

great angle my ball is hit harder and deeper but closer to the middle yr shot is better but lower % since angle was not intentional

 

[TagUrIt]

@Shroud great get. I don’t think there’s any one way to hit any ball on the run. Shot recognition, footwork are key to even reaching the ball. I think at the recreational level most of us are stretched and lucky to get a racquet on most balls. And if it’s a winner? Yeah we meant to do that.

 

[One Handed Dynasty]

he hits ball into my FH corner so I run and hit it hard back to middle.
doing this consistently and very nice looking shot
but now out of position and he hits to open court.
should i lob running FH to reset point and give me time to recover to center?
or try to hit running FH down the line?

If you know you’re going to be out of position when moving to a shot you want to give yourself as much time as possible, hitting harder is taking away time to recover. A good phrase I’ve heard from multiple coaches in my past is, “you can’t attack depth.” If you hit a deep, heavy topspin ball to a conservative CC target, you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance to stay in the point as you’ll have more time to recover, and your opponent will have to hit a low percentage shot to attack.

I wouldn’t go down the line unless your opponent comes to net or you’re trying to change to direction of the rally. It’s the lowest percentage shot, will give you the least amount of time to recover, and your opponent can punish you with a high percentage cc shot.


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[S&V-not_dead_yet]

If you know you’re going to be out of position when moving to a shot you want to give yourself as much time as possible, hitting harder is taking away time to recover. A good phrase I’ve heard from multiple coaches in my past is, “you can’t attack depth.” If you hit a deep, heavy topspin ball to a conservative CC target, you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance to stay in the point as you’ll have more time to recover, and your opponent will have to hit a low percentage shot to attack.

I wouldn’t go down the line unless your opponent comes to net or you’re trying to change to direction of the rally. It’s the lowest percentage shot, will give you the least amount of time to recover, and your opponent can punish you with a high percentage cc shot.

A couple of comments: you can't attack depth if you wait for the ball to reach its apex and start declining. You can attack depth if you short-hop the ball or, better yet, [swinging] volley it: it doesn't have to be a winner. Just volleying DTL into the open court will put the opponent under a lot of pressure since he's having to do the "coast to coast" run [once to the FH side and now to the BH side]. This alone will cause some to error. But even if there's no error, the volleyer has better court position.

The other point is that depending on how much "on the run" one is, it might be difficult to hit a heavy TS ball.

 

[megamind]

Haven’t read the comments, so sorry if this is a dupe:

i go cross court:
If the ball is shorter and at an angle, and I run up to try to get there early and get a good angle

i go down the line:
if i am pushed back and it’s hard to get a good angle (so it’s sort of a quick flick down the line)

 

[One Handed Dynasty]

A couple of comments: you can't attack depth if you wait for the ball to reach its apex and start declining. You can attack depth if you short-hop the ball or, better yet, [swinging] volley it: it doesn't have to be a winner. Just volleying DTL into the open court will put the opponent under a lot of pressure since he's having to do the "coast to coast" run [once to the FH side and now to the BH side]. This alone will cause some to error. But even if there's no error, the volleyer has better court position.

The other point is that depending on how much "on the run" one is, it might be difficult to hit a heavy TS ball.

Thats the great thing about tennis! There’s no one strategy that will work 100% of time, you always have to react to what the guy across the net is doing/giving you, and even then there’s always a counter.

That being said, hitting on the rise and changing direction is a lower percentage shot than hitting CC, and a swinging volley is an even lower percentage shot. I was just trying to give some general advice on playing the CC vs DTL and changing direction percentages. You’re right though, there’re numerous variables that would completely change the situation.

I guess the real question is to the OP: If you’re at a disadvantage in FH CC rallies, what pattern are you trying to switch to? What shot pattern do you have the advantage in and what shot do you need to hit to set it up?


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