Right now, I can only beat players who are less consistent than I am. No, this is not a "how do I beat a pusher?" thread. I'm talking about good, solid players who can't depend on to just make unforced errors.
I think my power can match almost anyone at 4.0, but it's not so much that I can just overwhelm these better opponents.
I try to play by the directionals, and I know they're important to know and use. However, I think using the directionals makes my strategy 1) Hope they make an error or 2) I beat them for pace. Against players around my skill level, I don't think those are winning strategies.
So, what are some tactics and strategies to beat an opponent that don't rely on him making an error?
Obviously the best way is to train until you are more consistent than them, however it sounds like you want a tactical breakdown. As you are talking about Directionals, lets have a slightly more in depth think about percentage tennis in the three approaches to winning a point.
Ultimately all approaches to tennis come down to one of three ways to win a point. You have to: 1. hit a winner, 2. force an error, or 3. wait for an error.
1. Hitting a Winner
This requires you to hit a shot that your opponent cannot touch. In reality this is very hard to accomplish and this approach requires one of the other approaches to generate a sitter. This is often not understood by recreational players who just try to blast unreturnable shots. Approaching the net is the most successful winner based strategy at lower levels, while hitting a clean winner from the baseline is rarely a winning strategy even at higher levels, however 'hitting a winner' is a sensible play when you have a mid court 'sitter'.
This approach is usually the least reliable way of winning the point, especially at recreational levels, as it places the outcome of the entire point on one shot. This is a bad idea, as not only do recreational players not have the technique to reliably hit the winners, but they also also do not have the tactics or forcing shots to set up a point which will give them the 'sitter' which gives them a higher chance to execute their shot.
When trying this approach consider:
-The probability your shot will go in.
-The probability that your opponent can get to the ball and get the ball back in play.
This is a case of hitting the safest shot which is likely to win the point
Odds of 51/100 to go in and 1/10 that the opponent returns it, will actually favour your opponent!
2. Force an Error
This is the best approach for a pro-active recreational player. With this mindset you want to hit a shot which has the best trade off between giving you an easy shot, whilst giving your opponent a difficult shot. This can be a high bouncing heavy topspin shot, a low skidding slice, a wide angle forehand, a drop shot or anything else which works.
When trying a shot with this approach consider:
-The probability your shot goes in
-The probability that your opponent misses
(-The probability that your opponent gets a sitter, for instance a bad drop shot)
You want to choose the shot which has the biggest gap between the likelihood that the opponent misses and the probability that you miss over the next few shots. The large gap is particularly important as under pressure you will often over estimate your ability and under estimate your opponents ability.
3. Wait for an Unforced Error
This is the classic 'pusher' mentality. While some people look down upon this approach, advanced players use this mindset all the time. When an opponent has the upper hand in a point, or is missing most of their shots, this is the perfect play.
All you are trying to do with every shot is extend the rally for as long as possible. If you are successfully using this approach and your opponent is playing a lower percentage approach then all you you have to do is wait for your opponent to inevitably miss. This approach is not just a case of getting the ball back into the court, instead it is a case of ensuring that the point always continues another three or four shots. This means never giving your opponent a sitter, unless it is the only reasonable shot.
When using this approach consider:
-The probability your shot goes in
-The probability your shot gives your opponent a sitter
The aim is to find the safest shot that the opponent is unlikely to win the point from.
