goober
Legend
I'm not advocating for the o.p. to take it easy on the guy. By all means, beat him 0-0 if you can. I just think it's a little bush league to have drops shots as a main part of his strategy to do so.
Also, I'm not sure I understand your Dodo Cheney argument. She plays (played?) against players her age or younger. The playing field is level. Not so with a 32 year old vs. a 84 year old.
I don't understand your argument. If an 84 year old chooses to enter a tournament where there are no age restrictions then other players should adjust their play for them, but it is ok if he drop shots you over and over? How about a strategy of hitting corner to corner or short angles forcing them to run is that not fair in your book either? To me it is no different to force them to run to the sideline or run to the net.
If I am in a tournament where I may have to play multiple matches in a day and I see you don't move well I am going to take advantage of that whether you are 20 years old or 80 . That does not mean drop shot after drop shot because drop shots are not that easy to hit well from the baseline. It does mean I am hitting to the corner, hitting short to draw you in and then lob and yes sometimes a drop shot if you hit the ball short and just stand behind the baseline. What I am not going to is hit the ball straight down the middle over and over because I feel sorry for you.
I don't think you give old guys enough credit. They know all the tricks in the book and they as a group drop shot more than anybody else. The 70 something year old guy I played who drop shotted me over and over and I started doing back to him wasn't offended. In fact is one of the few guys that I met at a tourney that gave me his full contact info and invited me to his club to play.