How Do You Build Your Winning Point?

[Faris]

Hello friends,

4.5, 36 yo rec level player here.

Was just curious to get a little feedback from some of the fellow posters here at TTW.

My question is about tactical point building strategies each one of you use. I am curious to learn what your usual 'go-to" move is for winning a point when serving and when receiving.

For example

i) When I'm serving, and since my serves are not that big all the time, I place them such that I can pull opponent off the court as he returns opening the court for me to hit a winner or atleast make him hustle hard to reach that ball.

ii) When receiving try to return deep to give the opponent less time to recover from his serving motion mixing. Next, hope he gifts you a short ball which you can tee off on.

iii) During a baseline exchange (usually cross court FH) I start working on making a more acute angle and when I feel the opponent is getting off court I switch to his BH.

I'm curious as to how all of you try to win your points using tactics.

Thanks.

 

[OrangePower]

Hello friends,

4.5, 36 yo rec level player here.

Was just curious to get a little feedback from some of the fellow posters here at TTW.

My question is about tactical point building strategies each one of you use. I am curious to learn what your usual 'go-to" move is for winning a point when serving and when receiving.

For example

i) When I'm serving, and since my serves are not that big all the time, I place them such that I can pull opponent off the court as he returns opening the court for me to hit a winner or atleast make him hustle hard to reach that ball.

ii) When receiving try to return deep to give the opponent less time to recover from his serving motion mixing. Next, hope he gifts you a short ball which you can tee off on.

iii) During a baseline exchange (usually cross court FH) I start working on making a more acute angle and when I feel the opponent is getting off court I switch to his BH.

I'm curious as to how all of you try to win your points using tactics.

Thanks.

Mid 40s 4.5 player. I don't have the defensive skills I used to have, so I try to dictate points as much as possible. As such I am prepared to take risks.
1. When I'm serving, if I don't make my 1st, I go for aggressive 2nds. I'm looking to get an attackable return.
2. When returning, I go for angle cc, or hard down the line.
3. I try control baseline exchanges by taking balls early (I'm usually right on the baseline), and by being willing to change the direction of the ball.
Sometimes this all works, sometimes not
But win or lose, it's usually on my terms not my opponent's.

 

[Mongolmike]

Soooo, if I said cheating by hooking them on line calls... that's not what you're really looking for??

Cause I'm just saying it works.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

4.5 here also.

I too do not have a big serve; I rely on the real estate motto ["Location, location, location!"]. I'm fairly confident in my 2nd. As my moniker denotes, I like S&V. Oftentimes, simply the threat of someone coming to the net is enough to alter the opponent's shot and either cause an error because they went for too much or they don't swing loosely and one gets a more floaty return. This worked really well at 4.0; not so much at 4.5, which is why I'm working on my serve, especially my 1st.

On my returns, I'm usually just trying to start the point at a neutral standpoint which means no short, weak returns [a specialty of mine; if only that skill were in demand]. If the opponent's serve is attackable, I'll C&C, usually straight up the middle to cut down on his angle.

If the net game is not working or the opponent's passers are just too good [some people do better with a target; IMO, those tend to be the better players], I'll be more circumspect about when to come in.

During a rally, I'm trying to be more patient and not pull the trigger so quickly: I make too many errors and I think my results would improve more if I worked on cutting down the errors vs increasing the winners/forcing shots.

Go watch a few open tournaments and see how the big boys and girls do it. While I can't hit with nearly that much TS or power, there certainly are aspects that I can try to emulate [footwork, racquet preparation, anticipation, etc].

 

[Big_Dangerous]

Soooo, if I said cheating by hooking them on line calls... that's not what you're really looking for??

Cause I'm just saying it works.

Careful mate, I might just have to unleash Walter Sobchak on you!

 

[M Pillai]

When I start to think about it, I have just tooo many plays based on the variables involved on the opponent. Also there are just too many plays straight out of the book like serve and volley etc. But I will tell you about a sneaky play I use sometimes when I really looking for an edge over apparently a more stronger player than me, who may kill me on a regular baseline rally. And I find myself this to be working for me a lot.

Here it is:

The typical opponent for this got better ground strokes than you. Killer returns, and moves fast (obviously you don't need this play against somebody whom you can ace at will). Serves slice angle or topspin angle serve but sometimes intentionally slower since you want to buy time to predict their shot and move into place. But be ready for a sharp angle or that hard down the line (usually you will see a strong preference on each side, and u can predict based on their body alignment). Now the idea is to trap them into a bad strategic position and make them hit a shot which they think will be a winner. And you predict this, move into position and most of the time get a winner by just blocking the ball back using their pace. Now this play is very sneaky and if you hide your "got you" emotion well, the opponent may think that you just got lucky, since apparently he hit a really good shot, and you could make him fall into this trap over and over.

Now don' think that this is just easy as it sounds. It takes a while to develop that prediction and analysis, and once you master it, it will come quite naturally. I think it works really good, if you already play counter-attacking style of play, since you would have a better understanding of how to trap the opponents to bad attacks (so that your counter-attack is effective).

 

[MathGeek]

I win most points by not losing them. Eliminate UEs.

 

[tofast4u05]

This is not an easy simple answer. It depends on your level, what you're comfortable doing on the court, patience, and recognizing opportunities. Before my lessons about 10 months ago my strategy was to just do whatever it took to win the point. Basically just get the ball back. My problem was that I couldn't control depth, was not as patient or consistent. I'm rated 4.5 but I've been playing at a very high consistent 5.0 level thanks to my lessons. My views of point construction have changed considerably since taking lessons. My objective is to keep all my shots deep, play patiently (willing to hit 20+ balls) and wait for that short ball so I can come in and put it away. Sounds simple right? Not always but if you can control your depth and have good anticipation then you will play more offense than defense. Most of the time I'm able to dictate, end points through forced errors, or finish at the net. Rarely am I beating myself through unforced errors with players around my level. Higher level is when I'm making unforced errors or getting hit off the court. This will differ from player to player because everyone's strength/weaknesses and shot abilities are different.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

my strat:

I don't have a big serve, so very few easy points,... so i just try to at least get into a neutral ball rally, and run around my bh to dictate with my fh.
often will just get into longish baseline bh rallies, until i can get a short ball, or a neutral fh.
then attack and finish at the net (hopefully with volley, passing err, or overhead).
rinse and repeat.

i will sneak in s&v if you're decent at returning my serve back deep.

doesn't always work, but that's my plan anyway, finish everything at the net.
my attributes:
* decent speed.
* shot tolerance ~6
* decent fh (but not big enough to finish from baseline), consistent bh
* ok volley, overhead
* mediocre 1st/2nd, well placed 2nd

 

[Dakota C]

Hello friends,

4.5, 36 yo rec level player here.

Was just curious to get a little feedback from some of the fellow posters here at TTW.

My question is about tactical point building strategies each one of you use. I am curious to learn what your usual 'go-to" move is for winning a point when serving and when receiving.

For example

i) When I'm serving, and since my serves are not that big all the time, I place them such that I can pull opponent off the court as he returns opening the court for me to hit a winner or atleast make him hustle hard to reach that ball.

ii) When receiving try to return deep to give the opponent less time to recover from his serving motion mixing. Next, hope he gifts you a short ball which you can tee off on.

iii) During a baseline exchange (usually cross court FH) I start working on making a more acute angle and when I feel the opponent is getting off court I switch to his BH.

I'm curious as to how all of you try to win your points using tactics.

Thanks.

Play the geometrically smartest angles 70% of the time, and 30% of the time don't. I'm coach-ranked 4.0, and More then half of my points won attacking are won off having the other player expecting me to go to the open court, and not. I'm also the most tactically intelligent player I've come across. The more advantage you have in the point, the more pressured the opponent is to simply attempt to get to the open court instead of trying to read your direction.