Situational play against drop shot

[tennisdad65]

I play a guy who loves to drop shot and does it really well. He typically comes in behind his drop, so this type of situation is fairly common in our matches.
Assume that I get to the ball when it is below net height (~ 2 ft).
What is my high percentage option? Both of us are right handed. I am one handed.

The pro's make the option of cross court to position 9 look real easy, but I think I make less than 20% of those. I can hit to position 1 on my backhand slice with 80-90% accuracy, but he is often waiting for it and lobs it over my head (so irritating :twisted.

what is the high percentage play?

|--1----------2---------3--| BASELINE
|
|
|
| 4-----------5---------- 6 | SERVICE LINE
|---------him
|
|
| 7-----------8---------- 9 |
====================== NET
|
| me
|
|
|-------------------------- | SERVICE LINE
|
|
|
|---------------------------| BASELINE

 

[Moz]

Going straight at him may be the most effective and high % - and also allow you to hit with more pace. Tough call if playing a friend though!

 

[jrod]

Well, you've pretty much layed out most of the viable options. For my game, I'd say positions 9 or 1 are equal in terms of reliability assuming the ball isn't within 2 feet of the net and is at least 2 ft off the ground. A previous poster suggests going directly at him and this may in fact be the easier shot, but might not be the highest percentage play if your opponent has good hands. The lob has to be executed well to work IMO....

Curious to see what others think.

 

[mental midget]

it's surprising you have a harder time going over the lowest part of the net. if you're a 4.5 player with a 1hbh, you should have pretty good control off that wing, and the shot to 'position 9' really shouldn't pose a problem. maybe just some more practice.

personally, i'd do either that, or hit a drop shot back to 'position 7,'back off the net just a bit and to the right, you'll be in good position for just about anything he can do from there.

 

[gatorbait01]

Unfortunately a good drop shot will your oponent the point. If you can get to it quickly it's possible to enable a good approach to 1 or 3 or even 2.

 

[vbranis]

Personally, I'd just try to hit a really LOW slice, whether it be right at his feet, or down the line to 1. Tough for anyone to hit a lob from his shoetops.

 

[mikeler]

personally, i'd do either that, or hit a drop shot back to 'position 7,'back off the net just a bit and to the right, you'll be in good position for just about anything he can do from there.

The majority of the time, I would hit it to the 7 or 4 position that you have described. This way, the ball is right in front of you because you are basically approaching the net down the line. The depth will depend on how far in your opponent comes to the net. If he is really close, hit it to 4. If he is midway in hit it to 7. This way, he will have to hit the ball as low as possible and create a lob off of it. Since you know he will probably lob, you need to hit your shot and make no further advance to the net. If possible, even take a step or two back.

He will probably adjust by not lobbing as much if you can put away a few overheads. Then you will have to adjust to his next move. The chess match has begun...

 

[TonLars]

personally, i'd do either that, or hit a drop shot back to 'position 7,'back off the net just a bit and to the right, you'll be in good position for just about anything he can do from there.

Right. The disciplined and best place to hit the ball off a drop shot is down the line. Either a drop shot of your own or deep depending on where he is. This allows for even if he gets to it he will not have a wide open court to hit into. Also, most likely your opponent will then go for a cross court pass or lob on the next shot. This can be anticipated and put away often. Sometimes you can go for the cross court touch shot play if you feel you can make a real good play on it and have time.

If they close the net tightly on their drop shot expecting you to bunt it, a good play is the flat lob to the backhand side. They wont expect it and they dont have much time to react there.

 

[goober]

You have to mix it up. He will start anticipating where you are going to go and negate any advantage. You need to practice going down the line, at him and cross court. Lobs are pretty difficult to pull off from a dropshot in many cases, but you could use it if he is charging the net.

What will help you more is figuring out why he is drop shotting off you so easily. Give him grounstrokes that hard to do this off- eg deeper and more topspin. Also position yourself better so you can anticpate better. Learn to read his swing, stand inside the baseline so you can catch that dropshot early and thus have more options to work with.

good luck

 

[LuckyR]

G- none of the above

You said it yourself, he does it all of the time. So you need to be inside the baseline every time he is inside the baseline (the correct location to be to hit a dropper). If you are anticipating correctly, you won't be getting to the ball with the ball extremely below net level so severe CC shots will (should) be a high percentage putaway, instead of a 20% wish shot.

After a couple of times having his bread and butter shot crammed down his throat, he should be looking at Plan B, which is exactly what you want anyone to be doing.

 

[jrod]

G- none of the above

You said it yourself, he does it all of the time. So you need to be inside the baseline every time he is inside the baseline (the correct location to be to hit a dropper). If you are anticipating correctly, you won't be getting to the ball with the ball extremely below net level so severe CC shots will (should) be a high percentage putaway, instead of a 20% wish shot.

After a couple of times having his bread and butter shot crammed down his throat, he should be looking at Plan B, which is exactly what you want anyone to be doing.

Agree with reading the play better...the higher the ball is when you get to it, the more options you have.

As for the crosscourt play, this is something that I used to practice in a drill where we would constrain things to mini tennis court and hit cross court with ever increasing angle to the point where you are hitting almost parallel to the net. You then back it up to the start and do the other side(FH or BH). This fun little drill really helped my ability to hit acute angles.

 

[mikeler]

In general, if you are hitting the ball deep, it will be tough to hit a drop shot. Let's be real here though, everyone hits short balls too. So there are going to be opportunities for drop shots for both players. Nadal will do it to Federer several times per match. The key is to figure out why this pattern of play is causing you problems.

Is he only doing it off one wing, say off his backhand since he mainly slices? Will he do it on short balls only or just about any ball? Will he target your backhand most of the time? If he is winning numerous points with this strategy, you will need to stand inside the baseline during rallies and back up if he hits a deep ball to take away this strength of his assuming this does not expose another weakness in your game.

 

[tennisdad65]

It is easier to keep a guy off the baseline if you control the rallies. But, he controls the rallies against me. He typically beats me 6-4, 6-3 in a match (2-3 break difference in 2 sets).

The guy stands pretty much on the baseline, and slices and dices a lot, so there is a lot of disguise to the drops. He also Serve and volleys, and has good drop volleys too. So there is really not much to prevent him from dropping at our current levels of play.

I do stand on the baseline and always looking for the drops. My foot speed is ok for a guy in his 40s, but his drops are very good. It rarely allows me to get to the ball while it is over the level of the net. Drops are more popular in 'older' tennis because of our reduction in foot speed.

Based on the responses, seems like I have to either practice my acute angle to 9, or stick with what I normally do, go down the line to 1 with more accuracy.

Being on the run and bending down and trying to hit acute angle to 9 is not easy in your 40s

 

[jrod]

It is easier to keep a guy off the baseline if you control the rallies. But, he controls the rallies against me. He typically beats me 6-4, 6-3 in a match (2-3 break difference in 2 sets).

The guy stands pretty much on the baseline, and slices and dices a lot, so there is a lot of disguise to the drops. He also Serve and volleys, and has good drop volleys too. So there is really not much to prevent him from dropping at our current levels of play.

I do stand on the baseline and always looking for the drops. My foot speed is ok for a guy in his 40s, but his drops are very good. It rarely allows me to get to the ball while it is over the level of the net. Drops are more popular in 'older' tennis because of our reduction in foot speed.

Based on the responses, seems like I have to either practice my acute angle to 9, or stick with what I normally do, go down the line to 1 with more accuracy.

Being on the run and bending down and trying to hit acute angle to 9 is not easy in your 40s

Tell me about it...I'm 52 and sometimes just getting there is a challenge. You should try the drill I mentioned above to help improve your crosscourt reply. At least that way you'll have your opponent guessing.

 

[EikelBeiter]

short to the 9 position, goes over the lowest part of the net, if executed well he won't be able to get there, if he does get there and wants to pass you down the line he has to get it over the highest part of the net.

 

[split-step]

Ok if I'm reading your diagram correctly, your opponent is inside the service box hitting a drop shot. I will assume he is basically following it up to net.
An angled slice to position 9 could work.
So would flat drive directly at him.
So would a cross court lob over him.

I don't understand why you would want to slice it deep to 1. He is covering the line and will volley into the open court.

If you are going to 9, you want to topspin drive the shot and get good pace on it.

 

[150mph_]

if go down the line to 1 because even if he poaches and goes and get it you can still have chance as you probably are going toward the middle after the shot

 

[RoddickAce]

I'd say lob it over him at 3 and occasionally smack the ball with tons of topspin between 6 and 9.

 

[EikelBeiter]

I see 4 votes for slice down the line? Personally i think this is the worst option, the ball is low and close to the net. If you slice it down the line this is the highest part of the net, so it would be a slow slice. Plus the guy is allready standing there, he has to take one step to the right and have an easy put away volley.

 

[LuckyR]

It is easier to keep a guy off the baseline if you control the rallies. But, he controls the rallies against me. He typically beats me 6-4, 6-3 in a match (2-3 break difference in 2 sets).

The guy stands pretty much on the baseline, and slices and dices a lot, so there is a lot of disguise to the drops. He also Serve and volleys, and has good drop volleys too. So there is really not much to prevent him from dropping at our current levels of play.

I do stand on the baseline and always looking for the drops. My foot speed is ok for a guy in his 40s, but his drops are very good. It rarely allows me to get to the ball while it is over the level of the net. Drops are more popular in 'older' tennis because of our reduction in foot speed.

Based on the responses, seems like I have to either practice my acute angle to 9, or stick with what I normally do, go down the line to 1 with more accuracy.

Being on the run and bending down and trying to hit acute angle to 9 is not easy in your 40s

I think you are misreading the advice. The point isn't to hit so close to the baseline that it makes it impossible for him to hit droppers. On the contrary, I'd hit shallow on purpose. Fool him into hitting his favorite shot. The difference is you are ready for it and get the jump on the ball. After you put a bunch of them away, he will still be able to hit dropshots, but he may decide against it.

 

[lancernrg]

I voted Hit it hard right at him at (5).

Gotta see if his volleying skills are up to par. Beside I love seeing the reaction on their faces, "DUDE....WHAT THE F***?"

 

[zacinnc78]

lol^^^ if hes a buddy he will say something about it lol but i voted lob to 3 because it will be a high deep ball to his backhand....tough to attack that unless you hit a shallow lob and hes roger federer

 

[swimntennis]

The highest percentage play, balancing both your ability to hit the shot and his future options, is lobbing the ball the 3. This will force him to back up, get ready, and hit a high(er) ball with his non-dominant side.

If it were me, I would drop shot the ball back to 7. If you're close to net and have to get the ball just 1 1/2 feet above the point its at when you reach it, it should be an easy shot, whether you have "good touch" or not. This will force him to move forward and and see if he can take in what he dishes out.

 

[mikeler]

Lobbing a dropshot is fairly difficult unless your opponent is right on top of the net or 4 feet tall

 

[Bud]

I play a guy who loves to drop shot and does it really well. He typically comes in behind his drop, so this type of situation is fairly common in our matches.
Assume that I get to the ball when it is below net height (~ 2 ft).
What is my high percentage option? Both of us are right handed. I am one handed.

The pro's make the option of cross court to position 9 look real easy, but I think I make less than 20% of those. I can hit to position 1 on my backhand slice with 80-90% accuracy, but he is often waiting for it and lobs it over my head (so irritating :twisted.

what is the high percentage play?

|--1----------2---------3--| BASELINE
|
|
|
| 4-----------5---------- 6 | SERVICE LINE
|---------him
|
|
| 7-----------8---------- 9 |
====================== NET
|
| me
|
|
|-------------------------- | SERVICE LINE
|
|
|
|---------------------------| BASELINE

First, try to avoid the court positioning that allows him to make that shot.

Next, in that situation, IMO... your best bet is to lob the ball high to his backhand. You don't even need to hit it too far back in the court... aim it to between your number 3 and 6.

 

[Bud]

I'd say lob it over him at 3...

lol^^^ if hes a buddy he will say something about it lol but i voted lob to 3 because it will be a high deep ball to his backhand....tough to attack that unless you hit a shallow lob and hes roger federer

The highest percentage play, balancing both your ability to hit the shot and his future options, is lobbing the ball the 3. This will force him to back up, get ready, and hit a high(er) ball with his non-dominant side.

Agreed. This is your best bet, IMO. It's fairly easy to execute and you're hitting it over the lower part of the net... going to what is (in general) many's weakness... the high backhand smash.

 

[larry10s]

there is an old saying drop the drop. go to #7 then you are right in front of him and can pick off if he goes cross court short angle and are close enough to pick off the lob on the way up. since you are below the net when you get there going right at him i thinkk is tough and he is in good position for your deep up the line. the lod over hos backhand side is always a ggod defensive play but again from where you are at contact dont know how viable that is. drop the dropper #1 short crosscourt option #2 for me

 

[EndLy]

yeah, i'd say go down the line also, that way you can cut off his volleys assuming you have some good hands also

 

[krprunitennis2]

I say you do your best so that your opponent can't hit the drop shot. It's like getting sick; the best defense is prevention.

If your opponent can hit those really good drop shots all the time, then he should be like a pro. I doubt that all his drop shots are going to be so low or too good. He is bound to make an error or hit a weak one that you could easily rip anywhere (with consistency, I hope).

So make sure you don't hit it at a comfortable area where he can hit an easy drop shot. Examples would be to hit high balls and mix up the pace. So anticipate well.

--------------------------
But in my opinion, if I go up against a good drop shot, I go push the ball deep (keep it in front of you) maybe to the weaker side, and do your best to anticipate the next ball. From there, you're at the net and you might be able to take control of the point.

 

[Kevo]

I like the slice to 3. Anything between 6 and 3 is pretty good. The main thing is you will need to try and gauge his position on the way in. I always try to either lean one direction and hit the other, or wait as long as possible to see if they lean one way or the other and then go opposite.

I try to hit the reply deep and low. I played an older guy in the city playoffs about a month ago. He was a former junior player and he had excellent strokes. Anything middle of the court he could step in on he would put away or hit an approach and come in. He also had an excellent slice and a good dropper.

I realized after a few games that he liked the dropper when he came in to net off a low ball. I started using short wide slices and moving in as he came in. When he hit a dropper I would just slice it the other direction low and fast. There must have been about 8 times when he just missed or clipped the ball because he couldn't change directions fast enough. I typically aimed for the ball to bounce a foot or so behind him to the wrong side. It worked pretty well and was a fairly safe play. He did manage to get me a few times when I didn't set up the approach that well.

 

[Kevo]

It is easier to keep a guy off the baseline if you control the rallies. But, he controls the rallies against me. He typically beats me 6-4, 6-3 in a match (2-3 break difference in 2 sets).

The guy stands pretty much on the baseline, and slices and dices a lot, so there is a lot of disguise to the drops. He also Serve and volleys, and has good drop volleys too. So there is really not much to prevent him from dropping at our current levels of play.

I wonder what kind of shots you are giving him to slice. You might try working some high topspin and see how well he slices off of that. A lot of slice and dicers will pop up the high spinners. I've gotten some people to swing right under the ball by varying the spin. You could also mix the topspin and slice to change the height and bounce. Maybe figure out if there is a way you can get into net early in the rally.

 

[mike53]

"Dropping the drop" is the highest percentage shot IMHO, but that would also make it the most expected. An excellent variation on "drop the drop" is "return junk with junk" so I would most likely lob to 3 mixing in an occasional drop to 7 when my opponent starts to expect a lob. Lobbing the drop is not as hard as it seems, especially if you practice it, but it works better for players that don't mind scratching their racquets a little.