How do you dispute Line call on Serve?

[In D Zone]

I am want to get back to playing more singles... so I started playing guys outside my local park.

I started playing this guy from work - he's rated 4.5 (very steady counter puncher player).
I am solid 4.0 (all court) but lack the years of playing experince compared to this guy. I have been playing alot of matches this year (plays singles a week singles; rest are mostly doubles). As far as I know I have a pretty good command on my serves. The group of guys (3.5 to 4.5) I played doubles commented that majority of my serves were landing close or at the service line which make the ball bounced higher and heavier.

I have played this guy from work twice already and noticed that he had been calling most of my serves out. Yes, I admit I am not perfect but I have noticed the majority of the serve that he called long or out looked 'good' on my end. I ended up losing points or slowing down the pace of my serves (1st and second) - which getting pummelled by his return. It's not I get ran over by his power, I have great defensive skills. But I don't want to loose control of my serve and starts on a defensive mode before I recover.

I never had so many questionable calls on my serves (I played 3 to 4 times a week - even if I am playing bad).

How can I addressed this with my opponent?

 

[lethalfang]

I am want to get back to playing more singles... so I started playing guys outside my local park.

I started playing this guy from work - he's rated 4.5 (very steady counter puncher player).
I am solid 4.0 (all court) but lack the years of playing experince compared to this guy. I have been playing alot of matches this year (plays singles a week singles; rest are mostly doubles). As far as I know I have a pretty good command on my serves. The group of guys (3.5 to 4.5) I played doubles commented that majority of my serves were landing close or at the service line which make the ball bounced higher and heavier.

I have played this guy from work twice already and noticed that he had been calling most of my serves out. Yes, I admit I am not perfect but I have noticed the majority of the serve that he called long or out looked 'good' on my end. I ended up losing points or slowing down the pace of my serves (1st and second) - which getting pummelled by his return. It's not I get ran over by his power, I have great defensive skills. But I don't want to loose control of my serve and starts on a defensive mode before I recover.

I never had so many questionable calls on my serves (I played 3 to 4 times a week - even if I am playing bad).

How can I addressed this with my opponent?

Have a mutual friend calling the lines.
That's the only way I can think of that will not result you guys throwing punches at each other.
Or if you want to pony up a few million dollars, you can install your own hawkeye system.

 

[FloridaAG]

1. Play on clay and check the marks

2. Comment to him and see what happens

3. Have someone else call the lines

4. Find someone else to play with

 

[Dags]

It's worth querying one to see how he reacts. Try to do it in a non-confrontational way to begin:

- if he makes a quiet call, then move to the other side as if you assume you've won the point and didn't hear him. If he calls you back, just say 'Sorry, I thought it was good' and then move back to take the second serve.

- pick one you're particularly confident was in, and when he calls it out say something like 'Are you sure?'. He's now got to confirm his call.

With both of these approaches, if he knows he's making some bad or close calls, you may find that just by questioning them he does it less.

If you've tried both of these and not got anywhere, then you may have to move to confront him more. 'Are you sure? It looked good from here. Felt pretty good too.' If he still says it was out, ask to play a let.

Whilst you're doing this, make sure your own line calls remain consistent. Don't try to pick up a couple of points on close calls where you know it was probably in just to even things out. If you question his calls and then make questionable ones yourself, it's only going to get worse.

Funnily enough, I've got the opposite problem at the moment - there's one guy I play who doesn't call my serves long when they clearly are. I've had to get used to playing to his calls, as if I stop and he hits a zinger of a return then when I question it he just says 'Yeah, it was good' and moves to the other side.

 

[volusiano]

All the advices above are good. The only think I would add is for you to consider your goals in playing singles with this guy or others.

If you're playing this guy so you can win and feel good about yourself, then try out all the good advices given above.

But if you're playing this guy so you can get more match play experience and improve your game, then who cares if he makes close calls to his advantage? So what if he wins? Let him.

It's not like you're playing for money or a title or anything. Is it worth the hassle of finding a third person to make line calls? Is it worth arguing with him over every questionable call? I don't know how easy it is for you to find a worthy opponent. But if not easy, is it worth losing a chance to play against a worthy opponent?

Just go ahead and cut down on the pace of your serve like you did. Or learn to give it more spin to make sure the ball lands more in the box so that there's no close call to question about. Consider this an opportunity to learn to improve the safety margin of your serve.

If he punishes you on the return, then learn to deal with it. Consider this an opportunity to learn to play defense against somebody with a strong return.

Overall, just think of it as a "handicap" that you allow him. If over time, you manage to start winning despite this "handicap", you will have truly become the better player in the end. Then you will have accomplished your real goal, to become a better player.