Matchup question

[FatHead250]

If you play a same level player who is outplaying you in baseline rallies - forces your mistakes, makes winners off shorter balls. But you have a better slice, then how do you keep him from playing his game? If i slice the ball i've noticed he just topspins it back all the same. I find myself on the back of my feet guessing where he is going to hit. How to avoid rallies? I struggle with his serve too a bit, but he makes mistakes off mine too. I don't feel comfortable on the court and try to grind topspin shots back into play or hit heavier than usual forcing him off position, but thats not how i liek to play tennis - i liek playing different spins with slower ball speed. He jsut punishes those and i struggle to hit my type of ball anyway because his shots are a bit more heavy and unpredictable. My prefered style is baseline though, i dont do good at the net. This is a clay matchup.

He doesnt do well in touch-tennis kinds of situations so baiting him to come to the net with short balls might be a preffered play but i really tighten up playing against him and dont feel my racquet playing these shots, even though i usually like doing them

 

[Gazelle]

You have slice and slice. A really knifed slice can pose serious problems.

 

[mnttlrg]

To me, the slice is best when you hit it away from them and force them to take lots of steps. In particular, angled crosscourt slice is just mean when hit correctly. If he's "just topspinning it back," that means you're not moving him enough.

In reference to guessing where he's going to hit, I have never been good at that either (plus I'm slow), so instead I trap opponents. What I mean is, I cover 2/3 to 3/4 towards one side, and then get ready to pounce early on a ball hit to the other side. I force them to have to hit it away from me into a predictable location, and since I know that's the only direction I need to move to cover, I can get on it way earlier.

I can try to give you more later on, but I just got interrupted and I need to read your post again. brb

 

[Bagumbawalla]

There comes a time when, in order to improve your results, you might just need to need to work on your overall game. In this case, I would start with adding a strong, reliable topspin to your arsenal- this will give you the ability to hit out with a greater margin of safety and to open up the court with angled shots. That, in conjunction with your superior slice, may give you the edge you are seeking. If not, there are, obviously more things you can work on.