Match Video: Help Appreciated!

[Ballinbob]

I lost a very interesting league match yesterday and would love y'alls input.

He exposed my up and down movement and I really want to fix that. He wasn’t really a pusher either as you’ll see… I felt he placed and moved the ball quite well.

Please feel free to comment on anything I could improve on.

My own analysis was I thought I served well but felt my movement was very exposed. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it though

Im the taller guy wearing orange shoes

Thanks everyone

Full match: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2-Gela1wk

Rallies above 5 shots: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2--CbaY98

 

[Dragy]

I lost a very interesting league match yesterday and would love y'alls input.

He exposed my up and down movement and I really want to fix that. He wasn’t really a pusher either as you’ll see… I felt he placed and moved the ball quite well.

Please feel free to comment on anything I could improve on.

My own analysis was I thought I served well but felt my movement was very exposed. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it though

Im the taller guy wearing orange shoes

Thanks everyone

Full match: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2-Gela1wk

Rallies above 5 shots: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2--CbaY98

I've just got myself same Koi orange Solution Speeds FF

Not sure about up and down movement, but you did play very passively off short balls, in many occasions. And I don't mean you should crush them, but those bunts really don't do the trick. Roll them deep, find sharp angles with topspin, or knife-slice them DTL to approach...

Your groundies are very solid and strong, so it's just possibly lack of dedicated short ball practice. You allowed him to "expose" you in a lot of situations where it should have been under good control for you, like 70+% to win the point, unless he comes up with miraculous lob or passer - but only if your approach shot has been decent.

 

[Dragy]

In second set, it's either pressure or fatigue that started creeping in. He also adjusted a bit better to your firing rockets at him, and overall fierce competitor and tough opponent with number of tricks and unxpected speed/stamina. All in all, you lost number of crucial points, like those deciders at 0:1 and 0:3. If not, it could be your set. In 1st set your serving games were dominant.

 

[Dragy]

And man, wtf, where's matchpoint! Freakin cliffhangers...

He got some very nice dropshot-lob combos, kudos, but still that pattern:
- You hit number of good shots running him around
- He goes with crap short ball
- You bunt it back and get lobbed
- Sorrow and hopelessness ...

Also consider improving your BH confidence/quality, as you overdo running around, and get exposed with this also. Sometimes just go with BH, even if it's a slice.

 

[Ballinbob]

And man, wtf, where's matchpoint! Freakin cliffhangers...

He got some very nice dropshot-lob combos, kudos, but still that pattern:
- You hit number of good shots running him around
- He goes with crap short ball
- You bunt it back and get lobbed
- Sorrow and hopelessness ...

Also consider improving your BH confidence/quality, as you overdo running around, and get exposed with this also. Sometimes just go with BH, even if it's a slice.

Thank you for the comments! Yeah after rewatching the match he’s better than what I originally gave him credit for. But I need to win these matches.

My approach shots are bad, and I get passed/lobbed a lot. What’s frustrating is my volleys are pretty decent, I just don’t move well forward and approach off bad shots. Maybe it’s just committing on those shorter balls to hit a proper shot and move in

Even if I won the match I wouldn’t be happy with the win because I felt he played the match on his terms. I can play against strong 8 UTR’s and feel more comfortable than what I felt playing this guy. The drop shots just killed my game

 

[Jono123]

Its a classic 4.0 tennis transition. Good serve, strong forehand, weak slice BH and underdeveloped net skills against a pusher. He will always win.

Embrace the pain and develop your BH by ditching the slice and getting comfortable off both wings and then come forward to kill the point.

Bon voyage.

 

[Dragy]

Even if I won the match I wouldn’t be happy with the win because I felt he played the match on his terms.

He kind of had that switch button, by which he could take you out of your comfort zone. The solution is to not have such easily accessible no-comfort zone

I mean, Rafa Nadal will still make balls explode on you, some great serve-and-volleyer won’t give you time to line up those run-around forehands (just imagine, every serve, return, groundstroke goes to your BH, and you need to pass/lob a decent net player off your BH all day long, how does it feel?).

But nevertheless, that “I hit you short ball and you loose in 2 next shots” pattern is the worst. Particularly with you being otherwise so quite strong.

I would really embrace attacking all short balls in next few practice matches and look if it’s unlockable for you, or you really need to “learn” it.

- stay keen to receiving shorter ball, get happy and energetic every time you recognize one; even if it happens to be perfect dropshot, well, still welcome it!
- crush it with your FH whenever you possibly can, make you 1000 stupid misses on the route to knowing when and how to deliver… I like this way of doing it by Grant:

Front foot hops:

And I cannot find the instructional video, but there’s cool way of running forward, loading on your dominant foot in almost reverse-open stance, and hitting the ball as you stride with your non-dominant leg, like Fed here:

- and when you have to play it still far in front, and low, so cannot drive it with your topspin FH, go for deep slice, add sidespin, aim for corners and lines. Occasionally — dropshot, with strong sidespin, again. Don’t be scared, don’t go for safe bunt — because you get lobbed and dead after it. Spin, low, aggressive placement — you can attack that short ball even when barely reaching!

Again, after you spend some time doing this stuff, you will discover this territory for you and intuitively will choose efficient options to win more points. They will hate to give you short balls!

 

[nyta2]

I lost a very interesting league match yesterday and would love y'alls input.

He exposed my up and down movement and I really want to fix that. He wasn’t really a pusher either as you’ll see… I felt he placed and moved the ball quite well.

Please feel free to comment on anything I could improve on.

My own analysis was I thought I served well but felt my movement was very exposed. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it though

Im the taller guy wearing orange shoes

Thanks everyone

Full match: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2-Gela1wk

Rallies above 5 shots: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2--CbaY98

only watched a couple points, but he was able to pull you in short when you hit a short ball in the middle of the court ("diamond/oval of death")
he was at/on the baseline + didn't have to move + your ball lands short,... most folks typically have at least 3 options (drive deep to corner, hit short, etc...)
if you keep your ball deeper (like 4ft from the baseline), then even if they hit that short shot, they are doing it from further back in the court, which gives you much more time to react and return the short slice more offensively.

 

[ChaelAZ]

I lost a very interesting league match yesterday and would love y'alls input.

He exposed my up and down movement and I really want to fix that. He wasn’t really a pusher either as you’ll see… I felt he placed and moved the ball quite well.

Please feel free to comment on anything I could improve on.

My own analysis was I thought I served well but felt my movement was very exposed. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it though

Im the taller guy wearing orange shoes

Thanks everyone

Full match: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2-Gela1wk

Rallies above 5 shots: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2--CbaY98

Do you play mostly clay? Just curious.

 

[Pass750]

I only watched first 4 games, but you look like a totally different player when serving compared to receiving.Nice hard serves, aggressive after that compared to passive in receiving games, especially since the opponent doesn’t have a big serve. You slice the ball way too much, all those slices do is keep you at neutral, you need to use a topspin backhand to open up the court and create opportunities to win the point.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

I'm surprised you lost really, I watched the beginning of the first and second sets. I'd have come into the net alot more, you seem super fit, around the 50 minute mark you got a great drop shot on the ad side of your court, hit a great approach down the line, somehow that guy hit a perfect lob to the corner of the back deuce court and you still ran all the way back and got it! I mean, basically it proved you have the wheels to get his best lob and all his shots are those floaty slice backhands, approach to his backhand and get in to the net.

Also his backhand was producing a lot of unforced errors, as boring as it is, I would have just fed that backhand of his over and over.

 

[Ballinbob]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Dragy: Appreciate the advice and videos. I agree my forward movement needs work. That’s probably the biggest takeaway from this match actually.

nyta2: You make a good point about depth. Hard to hit drop shots if the ball is deep.

Chaeiaz: I actually only play on hard court

 

[Ballinbob]

I'm surprised you lost really, I watched the beginning of the first and second sets. I'd have come into the net alot more, you seem super fit, around the 50 minute mark you got a great drop shot on the ad side of your court, hit a great approach down the line, somehow that guy hit a perfect lob to the corner of the back deuce court and you still ran all the way back and got it! I mean, basically it proved you have the wheels to get his best lob and all his shots are those floaty slice backhands, approach to his backhand and get in to the net.

Also his backhand was producing a lot of unforced errors, as boring as it is, I would have just fed that backhand of his over and over.

I’m surprised I lost too. That’s why I created this thread lol.

I do think he’s better than I gave him credit for but you are right, hitting to his backhand more and coming in would work. I also like the idea of coming to the net because it allows me to play on my terms, not his.

Even if I won the match, I wouldn’t feel great allowing him to drop shot me like that because that’s on his terms. I need to be smarter

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

I’m surprised I lost too. That’s why I created this thread lol.

I do think he’s better than I gave him credit for but you are right, hitting to his backhand more and coming in would work. I also like the idea of coming to the net because it allows me to play on my terms, not his.

Even if I won the match, I wouldn’t feel great allowing him to drop shot me like that because that’s on his terms. I need to be smarter

Yeah, it's also easier to look back and see what should have been done, I'm working on in match "awareness" myself. I did have a match that somewhat reminded me of yours where it took me 10 games or so to realize my opponent was not missing, was a counter-puncher/pusher, but I thought, what kind of ball is he hitting? I realized, they are all shoulder height on me when they cross the net , so I just came in over and over and it was easier to grind out a win.

 

[ratherlosethanpush]

I lost a very interesting league match yesterday and would love y'alls input.

He exposed my up and down movement and I really want to fix that. He wasn’t really a pusher either as you’ll see… I felt he placed and moved the ball quite well.

Please feel free to comment on anything I could improve on.

My own analysis was I thought I served well but felt my movement was very exposed. I’m not sure what I can do to fix it though

Im the taller guy wearing orange shoes

Thanks everyone

Full match: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2-Gela1wk

Rallies above 5 shots: https://swing.vision/matches/sw2--CbaY98

His court position was more aggressive than yours despite your average topspin shots having more weight than his. Depth can obviously help but he moved back well too when pushed.

His understanding of the court, where to stand and where to place balls appeared more developed than yours.

You were slow to recognise where he was playing, you can see this in your initial setting off steps. He seemed to have better ball recognition.

I understand the clay question, you don't need to be revovering behind the baseline like pros do.

His weight and depth of shot rarely justified it (he shouldn't have been able to hit a winner or force an error in baseline rallies), couple this with his predelection for drop shots and that really been his way of winning points by maneuvering you and making you uncomfortable a more aggressive court position would have helped you.

if I were u and was playing him next week, in other words no time to work on things my adjustments would be a more forward court position. This takes time from him and protects you from his drop shots and makes him need to hit better ones.

I'd be willing to be patient and not expose my court position with the angles you play as I don't believe he can hurt you from the baseline.

i'd go for more inside out forehands from left of the centreline (like tsitipas) to his forehand. This protects your bh, his dtl fh can't hurt you and if he hits a weak one you take advantage.

You say you can volley, great come in on your terms after you've hurt him or got him out of position (if he's gone dtl he may have got himself out of position for you).

If he hits a good dropper and you're late to it, look to neutralise and buy time, again he can't hurt you. If you get there early enough from your new court position or an error from him it's an easier shot take advantage.

If he's still able to get dtl droppers away that are hurting you with the above tactics then your switch up would be go dtl strong at the earliest opportunity and ideally follow it in. It's not as easy for him to play that shot if you're going dtl and making him move. I'm not worried about you getting court by him switching x court and moving you, because his shots don't have the pace to bother you.

He moves ok, knows where to cover and recover to and looks adaptable.

 

[socallefty]

Hit less to the no-hit zone.

I see a lot of players posting on here that they are unable to outhit their consistent opponents whom they call ‘pushers’ and end up losing matches due to missing earlier than their opponent. A big reason that players lose matches is because if you hit to the middle of the court at a middle depth, the opponent is not troubled in any way as they don’t have to move and even if you hit harder, they will get it back. The drill above talks of the ‘no-hit’ zone that you should avoid - I call it the ‘suicide zone‘ against good players as they can put away a ball hit there with a winner or trouble you with attacking shots.

The circle marked here is good for lower levels, but needs to be made bigger for higher levels and you can also make the no-hit zone a square. The tennis court is 27 feet wide - put target markers on the outside 9 feet near the sidelines and do drills to avoid the middle third (9 feet in the middle) of the court. The tennis court is 39 feet long on each side with 21 feet inside the service line - put markers about 9 feet from the baseline and about 10 feet from the net so that you have marked out a middle no-hit zone that is 20 feet long. Avoid hitting into this 20 feet long zone in the middle third of the court - so, no-hit zone is a square 20 feet long and 9 feet wide in the middle of the court. If you consistently avoid this middle-middle zone and hit closer to the sidelines, hit deep to the baseline or short at dropshot length (where you are bringing the opponent to the net on your terms), you will win a lot of matches.

The opponents who trouble good players a lot are the ones who hit serves near the lines and shots avoiding the no-hit zone. Especially if you hit with good spin and have some action to the ball, you are going to force a lot of mishits and short balls from the opponent as they will be hitting on the run and they won’t be able to avoid the no-hit zone on your side of the court. You can hit crosscourt mostly following Wardlaw directionals on neutral balls, but try to get your shots hitting targets closer to the opposite sidelines avoiding the no-hit middle zone. If you hit the middle third, you have to hit very deep or very short again avoiding the no-hit zone of middle depth in the middle.

Drill 1 is to avoid hitting the no-hit zone on the other side of the net and hit shots very short, very deep or close to the sidelines.
Drill 2 is to practice hitting forcing shots, approach shots and/or winners when you get opponent‘s shots landing in the no-hit zone on your side of the court.

If you get good at this, you will win a lot of matches even if your shot speed is only average for your level and you can maintain high shot tolerance without trying to hit too hard. Accuracy is a hallmark of winning players in tennis.

The next step is to learn to hit first serves in particular within three feet of the sidelines and four feet of the deep service box line - if you can do that at a high % in addition to becoming good at avoiding the no-hit zone plus hitting forcing shots/winners/approaches off balls hit to your no-hit zone, you will win at such a high rate that your only problem will be finding singles opponents who want to play you regularly!