Help me beat the speed...

[Redflea]

I've got a match coming up w/a strong player who's biggest strength is his speed...he's beaten me three times now, and though I've gotten closer (last was 6-3, 6-4) I still haven't closed the gap and don't think I'm going to w/my approach so far. He's about 10 or so years younger and moves like a road runner.

He's a 4.0/4.5-ish player and gets to every-freakin' thing I throw at him. Balls that are winners or force errors/weak returns with others come back with good pace and depth when I play him - it feels like what it must be like playing Nadal on clay.

So I need a new strategy...I kept thinking that just a bit more angle/pace would do it, but that hasn't ended up working. So my new and improved plan is as follows, and would love to hear how you guys beat extreme speed when you face it:

1. Deep, loopy shots to his BH - he doesn't do well w/waiting for balls and likes pace, so I'm going to send him higher-bouncing/low pace shots, particularly to his BH side. Tried a few of these at the end of our last match and noticed he didn't handle them so well.

2. Softer/spinnier serves - As noted, he loves pace, so I'm going go softer and spinnier on my serves, pull him off the court more and try to get some weaker returns, and make him work harder to put pace on the ball. Also going to mix up the pace more than usual on my first serves (greater % of spin/off-speed) to the body and down the tee.

3. Reduce the pace/angle of my groundies...hit more balls directly back at him. He gets everything back anyway and likes hitting on the run (did I say how he frustrates the heck out of me?!), so I need to increase my consistency and see if I can let him beat himself more rather than me coughing up errors going for more and more extreme angles.

4. Go to 80% or so slice BH to keep the ball low and again not offer him too much pace - I love hitting my topspn BH, but he likes it's pace/height, so I'm going to slice so much that he'll have to scrape the ball off the court.

5. Generally going to slow things up...extend the rallies, change pace and play with more spin, frustrate him and avoid falling into playing a game he likes.

It shouldn't have taken me this long to come to this, but I've stubbornly been trying to beat a younger man at his game...time to get smart and for once give the wiley coyote a win over the road runner!

Thoughts? How do you beat speed?

Thanks.

 

[Borat]

Thats why everyone needs to condition......speed is real hard to beat. You may not like this, but you need to be somewhat of a pusher. Let him make the mistake before you. The key is to stay on top of your footwork and keep the ball in play. Basically what I am saying is try to hit your most consistent shots, and let him beat himself. It is nothing more than letting him beat himself by making less UE's than him.

 

[Trinity TC]

3. Reduce the pace/angle of my groundies...hit more balls directly back at him. He gets everything back anyway and likes hitting on the run (did I say how he frustrates the heck out of me?!), so I need to increase my consistency and see if I can let him beat himself more rather than me coughing up errors going for more and more extreme angles.

Thoughts? How do you beat speed?

Thanks.

Suprisingly, a lot of speed players have trouble with balls hit right at them. I've seen some players that move extremely well but seem to lock up when they have to get out of the way of the ball and decide whether to hit a forehand or backhand. That is some players.

It takes a lot of nerve to stick to this game plan because it's counterintuitive. Good luck.

 

[OrangeOne]

Here's a thought - serve some AT him, and see if he ever moves early, if so - hit some behind him too. Combine that with your strategy of hitting some too him, and maybe you'll surprise yourself. Maybe he indeed is better at / prefers hitting on the run to not!

Edit: evidently I was posting this as Trinity was posting. Hopefully two similar ideas mean it's a good one!

 

[Bagumbawalla]

He beats you because he is the better, all round, player. To beat him you need to become a better player than he is. This means getting serious and practicing your strokes until they are ultimately reliable-- so you feel that in any ralley, you can outlast him and place the ball wherever you want regardless of what shot he hits (assuming you get your racket on it).

If a person is a 4.5, this means that they have a good, solid, game and it will be hard to beat them with "tricks" or finding a weakness that can devistate them.

What can you do? First, as stated above, you need to become a better player, yourself. This is not something you can fix by tomorrow. Run, work out, drill, improve every stroke that you might ever need in your game so you have no weakness-- so that he really has to beat you.

Use strategies that are valid in any tennis situation-- percentage play. Hit every ball with a purpose to set up the next shot and the shot after that. There are books out there that describe court strategy and tactics.

Hit deep. A player backed up, behind the baseline is not the threat of a player you allow one or two steps inside.

Don't just take the pace off the ball, vary the pace and spin so he does not groove on your strokes.

Be prepared to take advantage of any weak return. Hit short balls for placements/winners and follow the ball to the net. Consider drop shots when you have him pinned deep and wide.

Work on service placement and spins, as you suggested. Don't let him take control of a point off your serve.

Most of the things you mentioned would not turn the tables against most 4.5 players (slowing pace and slicing) unless you work them into the game for variation and as part of an, overall, strategy that involves working for, and setting up points.

If you are serious about your game, taking lessons form a respected instructor/coach who can drill you and groove your shots, and strenghten your game, and work on strategy, can help.

Good luck,

B

 

[boojay]

i'm a pretty speedy player myself. however, if your opponent is anything like me, he/she has much better lateral movement than forward/back movement. while i can get to a lot of drop shots and deeps shots, i sure as hell hate the transition. it throws my rhythm off a great deal when a player moves me forward and back as opposed to side-to-side. it's something i definitely need to work on, but this could be a temp fix for you, that is, until your opponent comes up with a solution and it's back to square one for you

 

[donnyz89]

have you tried coming into the net... how are his passing shots. at your level you should have very proficient vollies. you can even try to sneak in the net behind a semi-topspin-lob to his backhand, I know a lot of players have trouble returning those, even at 4.0

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Just hope he's not also steady or at least be steadier than him. Try to beat him on the mental side.

 

[spadesss]

Are you a 4/0/4.5 like your opponent?
Just bring your lunch and dinner if he is steady as well.
You go for broke I guess. End the point ASAP and try to go for winners.

 

[kevhen]

Yep, don't play the angle game with a speedier opponent. Play safer and slow things down. You might need to go to net more against a speedy baseliner if you can hit a slice approach to his weaker side (backhand?) and finish with volley or overhead. Have you tried to lure him to net with some low short slice shots? Smart of you to slow the ball down and reduce angles and errors against a speedy counter punch type player.

 

[bad_call]

RedFlea - ur match strategy is sound. u just have need the patience to see it thru. also suggest u prepare yourself physically for the potentially long match play. good luck and stay tuff.

 

[Redflea]

Thanks for the additional feedback, guys, appreciate it. I'm a 4.0/4.5...but the age deficit hits me pretty hard when I play him. The extra 10 years I carry and the fact that even in my prime I never had his kind of speed are big factors in his favor...he's feeling fresher than me at the end of the second set, the *******. I've also lost my "big" first serve in recent years due to shoulder problems, so I don't get as many free points on my serve as I used to. On the flip side I'm more consistent on serve, so it's a trade-off.

I tried increasing my time at the net and had mixed results...he has nice passing shots and (sadly for my old legs) lobs very well. Overall, he is a better player than me, but I've beaten better players before, so that doesn't intimidate me. The big deal, I think, is setting my ego aside and not trying to slug it out with him any more. I think that's been the hardest thing to admit, that I can't push him around w/pace and sharp angles the way I'd like to.

Boojay...thanks for the thought on forward/back vs. lateral. I'll try that and see how it goes. I have good short/drop shots and lob pretty well, so it's something I can certainly try.

I think I'm actually going to write up some strategy notes to take w/me to the match, and refer to them at change-overs to reinforce things. Also going to see if a buddy of mine can sit-in and take some match stats.