Musings; on stratergy, technique and the game in general

[StringSnapper]

I'm beginning to think what stratergy and technique you implement doesn't matter too much (inside the realms of tried and tested, atleast).

For example, if i want to win points through 'baseline control ', hitting deep then working the angles, for example, thats a legit stratergy tried and true. From there, its all repitition and getting good at what i do. Maybe i have a 3 shot stratergy. Deep to a corner, wide and shallow to pull my opponent out of position, then either volley or cross court while they struggle to recover. Thats my 'win condition'. Just like you might practice a particular serve, ill be practicing a particular shot (like getting enough whip and spin in my forehand to send it short and over the sideline to pull my opponent wide) over and over.

While implementing this over the years, ill come across all sorts of responses to my stratergy. I will get beaten, but ill know how and why. Then i will improve and adapt. Eventually ive faced it all before, i know unconsciously what to do, and thus my ranking goes up. Then im faced with new responses again, and the cycle repeats. The one who wins the tennis match? The one who stays focused and best executes their 'win condition' while fending off the opponents win condition. Thus the game is more about holding serve (relatively easy now youre a specialist at your stratergy) and then taking your chances to break, a higher level of tennis.

Eventually it becomes your best stratergy outright, against any opponent, after you develop consistency with hitting those basic shots of your chosen stratergy.

But it doesnt have to be 'baseline control ', it could be 'baseline power' or 'serve and volley' or whatever else there is. When you spend enough time developing your strokes to set up your 'win condition'; that will make you a solid reliable player. Youll know whats going wrong if youre not winning. Theres a process to each point, and if you can't pull it off thats ok - but you know what it is and how to be able to pull it off next time. It gives you a baseline of comparison, a structured complexity from which to build.... as opposed to shooting in the dark.

The same can be said of technique. Llendl had whack technique for todays game, but in his prime he'd surely beat 99% of todays rec players.

What do you think?
Are there any other particular stratergies/ shots you guys are working on (like my shallow cross court to bring my opponent wide)?
What stratergy is best adopted by which body type?

I suspect I'm a bit of pusher now tryig to orient myself to controlled baseline in an attempt to end points quicker and develop more skill as a player.

 

[GuyClinch]

So you say strategy doesn't matter then explain how you stick to your A game? All I can say is Huh?!
I should pick a meme for this..

Strategy and tactics matters a ton.

Strangely I agree with your idea about strategy too. Find your A game - stick with it. The pattern does not need to be complicated - find a shot you want to hit - that the opponent doesn't like and try to wear them out with it.

Now if what you really believe is that some fancy strategy that varies every match doesn't matter. Find some things you do well - and do them. Find some things other guys don't like doing - make them do those.. Win.

Having any kind of plan puts you ahead of most of the 3.0's and 3.5s IMHO.. That's why pushing can work sometimes - at least its SOME kind of plan. Hit the safest possible shots till the other guy misses. Its a plan..Not a great plan but better then no plan.

 

[SinjinCooper]

I hope I never run into that 1% of rec players who could beat prime Lendl. Sandbagging 7.5's are the worst.

 

[StringSnapper]

So you say strategy doesn't matter then explain how you stick to your A game? All I can say is Huh?!
I should pick a meme for this..

Strategy and tactics matters a ton.

Strangely I agree with your idea about strategy too. Find your A game - stick with it. The pattern does not need to be complicated - find a shot you want to hit - that the opponent doesn't like and try to wear them out with it.

Now if what you really believe is that some fancy strategy that varies every match doesn't matter. Find some things you do well - and do them. Find some things other guys don't like doing - make them do those.. Win.

Having any kind of plan puts you ahead of most of the 3.0's and 3.5s IMHO.. That's why pushing can work sometimes - at least its SOME kind of plan. Hit the safest possible shots till the other guy misses. Its a plan..Not a great plan but better then no plan.

i don't mean to say "stratergy doesn't matter", i mean to say "the type of stratergy you implement doesn't matter once you rack up enough experience and make it yours"

 

[J011yroger]

I hope I never run into that 1% of rec players who could beat prime Lendl. Sandbagging 7.5's are the worst.

You've obviously never seen an Atlanta 4.5.

J

 

[TennisCJC]

I suggest keeping tactics simple. Yes, it is good to practice a short wide topspin shot but it's a situational shot at best. Meaning your opponent has to hit you a relatively weak and relatively wide ball for you to play it back short and wide. If you opponent hits deep or with good pace, then attempting a short wide roller is low percentage tennis. I think most rec players should practice high percentage tactics. Learn to hit topspin CC shots that go 3 to 5 feet over the net. Learn to take a short ball up the line with a lower trajectory and inject a little pace into the shot. Learn to attack the net and close out points with volleys and overheads. Learn to get 2 out of 3 1st serves in so you don't have to defend 2nd serves all the time. Learn to hit passing shots lower over the net with topspin to make opponent play a low 1st volley. I think the skills I've mentioned have as much or more value than a short wide roller.

 

[StringSnapper]

I suggest keeping tactics simple. Yes, it is good to practice a short wide topspin shot but it's a situational shot at best. Meaning your opponent has to hit you a relatively weak and relatively wide ball for you to play it back short and wide. If you opponent hits deep or with good pace, then attempting a short wide roller is low percentage tennis. I think most rec players should practice high percentage tactics. Learn to hit topspin CC shots that go 3 to 5 feet over the net. Learn to take a short ball up the line with a lower trajectory and inject a little pace into the shot. Learn to attack the net and close out points with volleys and overheads. Learn to get 2 out of 3 1st serves in so you don't have to defend 2nd serves all the time. Learn to hit passing shots lower over the net with topspin to make opponent play a low 1st volley. I think the skills I've mentioned have as much or more value than a short wide roller.

Specifically to the tactic I outlined myself using:

I don't know, i think like the slice serve you just have to really massage spin on the side of it (its not a 'forceful' shot) and you can get it over the sideline with a lot more shots. Nadal does it pretty well. I think anything semi short you can do this too with practice.

I agree, if your opponent hits deep with good pace, its a low percentage. Do step 1 is always hit deep with good pace yourself, maybe to their weaker wing, and wait for a slightly weaker reply. I hope i didn't make this strategy seem to simplistic. I definately agree you can't always do one move over and over. In fact, hitting the short wide ball should be avoided, even if it is your main stratergy, if your opponent starts guessing it. Then you have to chuck in some DTL shots to keep it real.


But more to the main philosophy of this thread;

The skills you mentioned are all important, I agree. It sounds like a very generalist approach though, which there absolutely needs to be some degree of ability in. I find more and more that when you improve and go up the rankings, you kind of HAVE to pick a "go-to" stratergy that you've practiced most, and more than your opponent. If i've spent 3,000 hours practicing wide short ball rallies and my opponent only 1,000, i'm going to win that exchange more than half the time. So ideally i'll force that pattern of play.

Just like Nadal likes to hit to the backhand over and over with crazy height / spin, but he too can also hit volleys and overheads etc if needed.

Another thing. If i have a basic ability to hit volleys, but an above average ability to play angles, perhaps my angles are 8/10 and that means I don't need to hit amazing volleys, because my previous shot was so good, along with my anticipation of the return, maybe i only need a 6/10 volley to win the point.

Can you do the same with a 6/10 angle shot and a 8/10 volley? You bet.

8+6 = 14/20 total ability.
So you could say if you have a 7/10 angle shot and a 7/10 volley you'd get the same result.
Now in an even 14/20 vs a 14/20 match; who wins?

I'm saying in this thread, maybe its better to be skewed with a specialty. One reason is because being an PURE 'all rounder' you have to be able to read your opponent more. You don't have your own 'game plan' as much; you need to respond to theirs. I'd prefer to have my own 'go-to', especially in case theirs is hard to read. Another reason is what i've outlined above, having a 'baseline' to compare your own performance to. To keep yourself sane.