Eh, pushers...

[J_R_B]

Yes, you flee the court. We've read your advice in another thread. You can't finish points without committing UEs so they beat you easily.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=411261

Here's your advice on pushers: "Personally, I think that is the only way to handle pushers and junk ballers; ignore them, don't play them..."

I think the OP is looking for advice from Skilled players who can beat pushers, not those such as you who quit in frustration and blame everything from court surfaces to their opponent's unwillingness to hit to their strike zone for their losses.

"Running Scared: My Life as a Pusher Victim" by TTMR

 

[vil]

I wrote the book on how to deal with pushers.

Yeah, don't need to read that crap again.

 

[Sean-Topspin]

Guys, you need pushers to your game if you want to improve your mental strength. Keep improving your technique elsewhere but playing a game with pusher is something different. It will test your abilities.

PS: One thing I know pushers absolutely hate, is heavy topspin deep, high bouncing ball.:twisted:

Lol, sometimes I'll mock a 'pusher' by hitting the ball straight at them with power. Hey man, just playing the percentages
The awkward reaction usually results in a crazy mishit or a perfect opportunity to volley it straight back at them Now you just got in the pusher's head, lol. And as a result he may not wanna give you as many perfect opportunities to crush it directly at his 5-hole

And yeah, just playing the percentages... ya know

 

[ace_pace]

In the end, if they win, they are the better player for that day. It just goes to show that consistency is more important than anything else in tennis aye?

 

[li0scc0]

Again, as Power Player and others have TRIED to reinforce, this thread was NOT about losing to pushers. It is simply that playing pushers is not fun.
Most of us aren't professional players, and most of us play tennis for the enjoyment. I get a lot more enjoyment playing against somebody who hits with pace vs. somebody who pushes.
I would rather lose 2 and 2 against a hitter than win 2 and 2 against a pusher. The latter is tedious, the former can be fun.

 

[BobFL]

As much as I love tennis one thing bothers me I was very competitive back in my prime in 2 sports - basketball and wrestling. Good thing about them is that inferior competitor with obvious flaws in technique simply could not bore me and then beat me under any circumstances. Now, tennis is very different in that regard. Some total goof and clown in your local YMCA can beat you. God, I miss contact sports!

 

[user92626]

In the early days I thought people were joking, partly being a sour grape, when they b!tched about "pushers", but now I see that many are dead serious.

WTF, tennis is tennis and it's played and scored by hitting the ball in. That's the only thing that gets all people to agree on. Why would you invent more arbitrary rules like you had to hit with pace or could not hit more than 5 shots? So strange.

I'll take "pushers' any day over those who hit 3, 5 shots no matter how much pace. Why? I'm out to hit the ball, not run around and pick up balls all days.

 

[loosegroove]

In the early days I thought people were joking, partly being a sour grape, when they b!tched about "pushers", but now I see that many are dead serious.

WTF, tennis is tennis and it's played and scored by hitting the ball in. That's the only thing that gets all people to agree on. Why would you invent more arbitrary rules like you had to hit with pace or could not hit more than 5 shots? So strange.

I'll take "pushers' any day over those who hit 3, 5 shots no matter how much pace. Why? I'm out to hit the ball, not run around and pick up balls all days.

Who says hitting hard and hitting consistently are mutually exclusive? And what is so wrong with enjoying to hit against non-pushers more than pushers? Like I've said previously, my buddy who is pusher to the core, doesn't like playing other pushers. So what can you say about that?

 

[olliess]

Who says hitting hard and hitting consistently are mutually exclusive?

If your opponent hits harder AND more consistently than you, then he/she is just better than you, there's no time to be bored, and this thread doesn't happen.

 

[user92626]

Who says hitting hard and hitting consistently are mutually exclusive? And what is so wrong with enjoying to hit against non-pushers more than pushers? Like I've said previously, my buddy who is pusher to the core, doesn't like playing other pushers. So what can you say about that?

Not I. But recreational tennis is plauged by couple-shots hard hitters who claim they play real tennis. Nothing wrong with enjoying against non-pusher. It's hard to argue wrong or right about an enjoyment. It's just pathetic to b!tch about any player, any style when you lose.

 

[loosegroove]

If your opponent hits harder AND more consistently than you, then he/she is just better than you, there's no time to be bored, and this thread doesn't happen.

Yeah, exactly. But someone who hits both harder and more consistently than me isn't a pusher.

 

[Power Player]

It's hard to argue wrong or right about an enjoyment. It's just pathetic to b!tch about any player, any style when you lose.

For the 100th time no one has lost or complained about losing to a pusher in this thread.

 

[J_R_B]

Yeah, exactly. But someone who hits both harder and more consistently than me isn't a pusher.

Not to you, but to someone who hits even harder than you but less consistently, he is.

We're talking about rec tennis here, not pros. Everyone has plays at their level and has relative strengths and weaknesses. For power players, if they are playing someone hitting with less power, that person is probably more consistent or they wouldn't be playing at the same level. Therefore, the power player bemoana the "pusher" because he is playing someone who is at the same level as that player but is playing a less stylistically pure game.

 

[user92626]

Not to you, but to someone who hits even harder than you but less consistently, he is.

Yeah, one man's Gonzo is another man's pusher.

 

[counterfeit25]

To me, playing pushers is like filing my tax return: It is not enjoyable, but it is important!

Accept the fact that pushers exist, and work on the weaknesses in your game that needs improvement, then go back and beat them! Then, you can move onto the next higher level "pusher". It is good to play a variety of tennis opponents to improve your game (baseline basher, net rusher, pusher, etc.)

Which reminds me, I need to file my tax return this weekend...

 

[J_R_B]

Yeah, one man's Gonzo is another man's pusher.

It's definitely true, though. I'm 4.0. I played an open tournament a couple years ago and played a guy who was a 5.0 league player that also ended up as the #1 rated open tournament player in the section that year (right ahead of Jaymon Crabb, but only because he played more tournies). He beat me 6-0 6-0. He could hit harder than me, but the most impressive part of his game was his retrieval skills. He was as fit as anyone I've ever played, and could run down anything and return it with a biting topspin shot. However, I've certainly seen 5.0 college kids bash the ball a hell of a lot harder than this guy hit to to me, so if a kid like that was playing him, he'd be a "pusher"/retriever compared to the bashing kids who are less consistent. Compared to me, he was both more consistent and hit harder.

 

[Vennemonster]

One of my best buddies is an admitted pusher. Every time you play a pusher, you are challenged to elevate your gameplay to take down your opponent since you need to end the point in a good way for you.

I enjoy playing them more than any other players because hitting back those balls give you the best practice for approach shots, different strokes, setting up footwork, and hitting into the open court wherever that may be.

Losing to a pusher just means that you need to work on your consistency. Actually, playing any pusher will quickly highlight any weaknesses in your game.

 

[Sean-Topspin]

One of my best buddies is an admitted pusher. Every time you play a pusher, you are challenged to elevate your gameplay to take down your opponent since you need to end the point in a good way for you.

I enjoy playing them more than any other players because hitting back those balls give you the best practice for approach shots, different strokes, setting up footwork, and hitting into the open court wherever that may be.

Losing to a pusher just means that you need to work on your consistency. Actually, playing any pusher will quickly highlight any weaknesses in your game.

Yeah, I've played mostly pushers in my life, mainly because most of the people I played were my brother, my 60 year old father and other friends who's concept is to win more than anything else. Pushers do challenge you to both stay focused and increase your creativity. Maybe a power hitter decides to learn how to play more drop shots and incorporate some bh spin shots or even a Tweener shot. By doing this you'll stay focused. I'm a power hitter, but I also have some nice volley and drop shots all over the court incorporating spins. Wanna pissoff a pusher? Learn how to hit a hard shot baseline and when he pops it back to you fake that you're gonna crush it again and put a nice drop shot over the net or sidespin a shot nice and low at the T. Or just fake the bomb and drop the shot just over the net. You'll have plenty of space to do it because they'll be expecting your baseline bomb

Don't think it's a pushers fault if you're a stubborn tennis playing unwilling to do anything but hit hard. I'll admit, hitting a fast passing shot inside/out to the corner of the baseline is a highlight moment for me, but you can't do that every shot. Federer did this to Andy Murray a few months ago and it's a devastating shot. Develop more touch for drop shots and slower placement shots and your power game becomes more effective because if they actually manage to make it to your shot after sprinting up the court, they'll give you a generous lob that you can pound down the sideline.

P.S. Not directly responding to your message Vennemonster Just replying in general with no target.

Pushers can choose to stay in their comfortable bubble of not really getting better, let them because it's less competition for you.