Help with chop shot-ers please!!

[quicken]

I played a match against a young chop shot - er today.

Although I went down 1-4, was broken twice but came up and finished the set at 5-4 (No more time was allowed to finish). Not to brag but I went love 40 on 4 set all, but miraculously serves kicked in and had 2 aces and a FH winner to make it deuce then two unforced error by the opponent made it possible for me to win the game.

Anyways enough of that ridiculous game. My opponent was a typical chop shot - er, chopped at everything. Remembering slices are easy balls to take it in the air, I came into the net, but this kid had unbelievable lobs, lobs that landed inches away from the baseline both sides.

How do I deal with these chop shot -ers??
I think its all about mentality, but at the same time, I believe that there are some strategies to beat them with ease.

 

[i8myshirt]

By chop-shotter, do you mean a pusher? There is a whole thread on that one. http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=126199

 

[quicken]

Mmm I dont think so hes a new breed of annoying players I bet haha. Just puts slices on every single ball that I played against him. Thank god I did well, otherwise I would've exploded as I hate those kind of players.

 

[quicken]

It is indeed im sorry for making these posts, how do I delet my post?

 

[i8myshirt]

Does he slice both sides? If he doesn't and you like staying at the base line, hit to the side he doesn't slice. If he does both sides, then I think chip and charge will be the best way to beat him, considering the slices will be easy to put away at the net.

 

[Koaske]

Does he have an equally good lob on both forehand and backhand sides? Approaching more to the weaker side might make your job easier.

Also, you could stand a little further back while you're at the net to cover lobs. Since he's not hitting with topspin or pace, standing further back shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

If you have good, solid groundstrokes, you can hit the ball the same way you hit any other groundstroke. The importand thig to do is get to the ball, anticipate its bounce, and move your weight through the ball.

If the "chop shot" you are describing floats high above the net- and you can get to it, then try angeling the volley away from the opponent, or even trying a short drop volley.

If you know the opponent often replies with a lob, then step back and be prepared to move back farther and hit an overhead.

Also, try moving this player around as much as possible to open up the court and gve you a target to put the ball away.

 

[superman1]

A player with good strokes would be able to run that guy silly. Just be patient and worry more about placing the ball as far away from him as you can rather than trying to hit him off the court with power. If you hit a sitter, he's not going to hit a winner off of it, so don't worry. Just get him running.

 

[soggyramen]

it's easy for me to play chop shot-ers. all i do is when they slice is give them a good paced corner to corner ground stroke and eventually force them to net or to try something different to win the point usually resulting in an groundstroke going long or wide or a net volley. they like to slice so make them do something different.

 

[Rickson]

I played a match against a young chop shot - er today.

How do I deal with these chop shot -ers??
I think its all about mentality, but at the same time, I believe that there are some strategies to beat them with ease.

One thing for sure is to not hit with a lot of topspin. I should know because I am a part time chopper/junkballer. We slicers love topspin thrown at us because the spin is already there for us. The ball being nice and high is another plus from topspin because it's very easy to slice a high ball so this is one shot you don't want to give a slicer. On the other side of it all, I gave my slicer buddy nightmares by flattening out my shots and forcing errors on him. I also change my grip from my usual sw fh to an efh grip so I could get to a lot of his low balls. To reiterate, flatten your shots and try a more open grip.

 

[Ryoma]

One thing for sure is to not hit with a lot of topspin. I should know because I am a part time chopper/junkballer. We slicers love topspin thrown at us because the spin is already there for us. The ball being nice and high is another plus from topspin because it's very easy to slice a high ball so this is one shot you don't want to give a slicer. On the other side of it all, I gave my slicer buddy nightmares by flattening out my shots and forcing errors on him. I also change my grip from my usual sw fh to an efh grip so I could get to a lot of his low balls. To reiterate, flatten your shots and try a more open grip.

I think it depends on what kind of a top spinner you are playing with. I have a pretty decent slice backhand. When the level of top spin increases, it get harder and harder to time the slice. I would say try to hit aggressive top spin with various spin level and height. When he mis slice a ball, approach and hit down on the volley to the open court. Make him hit defensive slice on the run while you are at the net, or hit definsive lob on the run.

 

[quicken]

Thank you for all the advices that you guys have provided!!
Its a great help hearing from fellow tennis players.
Anyways, I think it was indeed my short tempers that caused so much errors in the beginning of the set. As I cooled off during the latter part, I was actually forcing unforced erros (if that makes any sense) of the opponent's slices. Also making the opponent run from side to side did make him cause errors as well. I think a key part to playing a slicer/junkballer is to remain calm and extend the rallies instead of shortening it.

And to Rickison, I love throwing in topspin in all my shots, and YES that opponent sliced everything! Even the topspin serve that everyone I played struggled returning, he simply sliced it.

 

[boojay]

Argh, my winning streak was interrupted by a pusher/slicer recently. The worst part is the score was like 6-1, 6-3 and I felt I was hitting well and had control of the match. Not a good sign. In fact, by the end of the match, you wouldn't have been able to tell who won and who lost as I was totally rested and my opponent was drenched in sweat. I look forward to playing against this super pusher again, but it's been a while since I've met someone who could track down all my shots. I'll probably have to back away from playing such an aggressive style and focus on keeping shots deep. Against topspinners I've been hitting on the rise and approaching, but this doesn't seem to work so well against slicers.

 

[Nellie]

One thing for sure is to not hit with a lot of topspin. I should know because I am a part time chopper/junkballer. We slicers love topspin thrown at us because the spin is already there for us. The ball being nice and high is another plus from topspin because it's very easy to slice a high ball so this is one shot you don't want to give a slicer. On the other side of it all, I gave my slicer buddy nightmares by flattening out my shots and forcing errors on him. I also change my grip from my usual sw fh to an efh grip so I could get to a lot of his low balls. To reiterate, flatten your shots and try a more open grip.

I have good success hitting fast, heavy topspin because it often cause slice hitters to pop the ball up, particularly when returning serve.

I also rush the net more because I can count on getting slow, floaters.

It does not work to stay back and wait for mistakes.

 

[FH2FH]

A guy here plays like that; top 3.5, weak 4.0. Very accurate. I ran my a** off the last time we played but prevailed after adjusting to his shots. I agree w/ above posts on using topspin. I just played a steady baseline game and waited for the short balls. I'm solid on both sides and will <gasp> make volleys when necessary. I hit quite a few drop shots too now that I think about it. Slice on clay, unless deep/hard, gives a baseliner LOTS of balls to attack. You can hit it heavy/deep and approach or pop it just over the net to mix it up.

 

[Zachol82]

Have you tried slicing back?

 

[quicken]

Well I did, but the opponent did it much better than me lol. Adjusting to his style of play was the biggest issue. And yes taking advantage on those short balls to help a lot. When I get a short ball I stick it in the corner.

 

[FH2FH]

Have you tried slicing back?

The OP might not have tried but I did. Trying to play their game is a no, no. They'll be able to do it better than you because it's what they do! In my case, it was the worst set I ever played against the guy (2-6) and I have a good BH slice. It just meant he was able to use more angles against me; my ball was not kicking into or away from him like topspin would. I am a aggressive baseliner though, not a dinker, poker, hacker, chopper, junkballer, etc so I do what I do best; win/lose with pretty strokes.

 

[FH2FH]

Well I did [try to use slice], but the opponent did it much better than me lol. Adjusting to his style of play was the biggest issue. And yes taking advantage on those short balls to help a lot. When I get a short ball I stick it in the corner.

There you go! Playing someone else' style against them does not work unless your A game is so good that you can win with your B, C, or Z game; ie, Federer, who could probably play with two hands like Santoro and still be in the top 10, LOL.

 

[Zachol82]

The easiest thing to do would be to volley the shots but a slice on both the forehand and backhand is pretty annoying to deal with.

You have a longer reach on both the forehand side and the backhand side if you slice. It's also a shot which barely uses any energy so a long rally would be to the slicer's advantage. However, it's hard to hit winners with slices if your opponent is consistent and knows the bounce of your slices.

On your service, I would say it's advantageous for you to serve and volley. On his serve, I would reccommend slicing back his serve and then go up to the net. Try to slice back his serve short so that he would have to approach net whereas you're already at the net so just kill it from there.

It's not guaranteed or anything since I would have to see how he plays first, but it's something you can try.

 

[FH2FH]

...However, it's hard to hit winners with slices...

If the OP could slice like this dude, the other guy would be writing the thread, not him. This was also the reason I was able to win playing a baseline game and wait for the sitters against my slicer opponent; I knew he would hit them, it was just a matter of time. I think consistency and good movement is the key [for a baseliner], not slicing to a slicer.

...On your service, I would say it's advantageous for you to serve and volley. On his serve, I would recommend slicing back his serve and then go up to the net. Try to slice back his serve short so that he would have to approach net whereas you're already at the net so just kill it from there.

S&V worked well in the set I tried it, but I didn't have the volleys or court sense to play this style better than my normal game, and I was uncomfortable doing it [I think this would be true for many weak 4.0's and under.] Approaching the net though in general worked well for me when I kept the ball short and didn't give him angles to work with. I used drop shots off his short balls [like many of his serves] to set it up. If I left an alley open or smothered the net he would pass or lob. His placement was excellent when he had court to hit into and I did a lot of running because of it.

Sorry for all the writing. It took me three times to beat this guy and I just want to help out the fellow baseliners!

 

[quicken]

I knew that S&V was a fantastic strategy to use against those annoying lesser breed but this guy had luck of his life that day or something. Every lob he hit was inside, and it didnt even land near the service area, they were deep high lobs that landed within an inch from the baseline. Even the mis hit lobs were going in!! It was very frustrating so I changed my tactics to "let him make the point, let him make the shot" since I thought that I had better shot consistency and it worked like a charm, I stopped giving him speedy balls and slowed my pace and then what happend was the opponent tried to over power his shots which caused him multiple errors.

=D

 

[FH2FH]

Slice/junk/etc may give the other player timing problems initially, but if the other player has good technique, footwork, and patience, topspin wins. It takes time away from the slicer who can only hit the ball so hard before it goes out or hits the net. Slice also gives the topspin player more time to reach the balls.

 

[BounceHitBounceHit]

Anyways enough of that ridiculous game. My opponent was a typical chop shot - er, chopped at everything. Remembering slices are easy balls to take it in the air, I came into the net, but this kid had unbelievable lobs, lobs that landed inches away from the baseline both sides.

How do I deal with these chop shot -ers??
I think its all about mentality, but at the same time, I believe that there are some strategies to beat them with ease.

It's tough to hit those slices when the ball bounds up to your shoulder. Loop him some deep, topspin shots. I'd tried the BH first, and then be ready to move in and take weak 'floaters' out of the air to put him on the run. If he can hit lobs to within inches of the line on the dead run, we'll soon all see him on TV and your loss will just make a great story to tell your grandkids. Good luck! CC

 

[Sliceboy2]

Be patient, don't beat yourself. . . wait for the right ball to approach the net and finish the point there. Loopy topspins works, read the first short ball then move in. Always try to place the ball deep.