Strategy for this type of opponent

[callmethedoctor]

As in my other thread (sorry for having 2 active threads at once lol) I'm a high school player, and I need to beat this kid in order to get my dream spot, 3rd singles. Well, 1st singles would be nice too, but let's be realistic . I honestly think I'm better than this kid, because I'm almost on par with the second singles guy (however I only know this because of 2 sets we have played, on different days- one he won 6-4, the second I was winning 4-2 when we had to leave), who beats my enemy/teammate handily whenever they play. I've played this guy a few times. 1st time, I lost 7-6. 2nd time, I lost 8-5. 3rd time, I won 6-1 (he had a bad day and I was on fire with passing shots, to his credit). 4th time, I lost 6-3, 7-5. But I had a better record than him against 3rd singles opponents last year too. I think I just have my strategy all wrong.

I am a heavy topspin player. I have a pretty good flat first serve (but I can slice it) and a weak, moderate spin second serve. I mostly play a baseline game (aggressive against opponents I overpower, defensive against stronger ones), but I come in to net on short balls. I consider myself very fast, but my footwork sometimes gets lazy (for example, I can sprint all day when the balls are away from me, but I rarely bother to run around my backhand). I sometimes have a hard time volleying aggressively, though, and my overhead absolutely sucks. My forehand is a western, heavy spin type, and I can handle high and low balls well too. I aim it crosscourt or down-the-line but rarely go for winners; rather I try to force errors or short balls with it. However, my forehand does not handle pace so well. I consider it my weaker shot because it is susceptible to break down occasionally. I am extremely consistent when my forehand is on. My backhand is a 2-hander with a 1-handed slice. The two hander is a flatter shot than my forehand but has topspin as well. It redirects pace well, and I often go down-the-line with it (I'm lefty so it's not too hazardous for me). My slice is also pretty good- I can use it defensively or as an offensive 'skidder' slice.

My opponent lacks in firepower but is very consistent. He is not a pusher, he has full strokes. He is not as fast as me, but he can run down balls too. He comes to net more often than me and is a somewhat better volleyer. He doesn't kill overheads but places them well. His forehand and backhand are really just rally shots. He can put either some pace or some spin on his forehand to make it aggressive, but he doesn't usually do this. He can't really do this for his backhand, which is mostly flat and weaker, but he gets good depth on almost all of his shots. His forehand is topspin when he's aggressive but he loses some depth. He is one of the most consistent players I've ever played. I am consistent, but he outdoes me in this department. His serve is a pretty weak first serve, and he's just learning spin serves. His second serve used to be a sitter until he learned spin, which makes it a bit harder.

So basically, when I played him I tried to force errors with my heavy topspin forehand. I figured I could overpower him, so I should go on the offense. I would aim my forehand at him so I wouldn't make errors, but he just did this little chop-shot thing. It's like a defensive slice forehand/overhead and it's very consistent, despite the backspin. It totally countered my main strategy, because I would rip it again, and he would do the 'chop shot' again, and I would mess up first. So on to the next strategy. I also can usually out-consistent an opponent. But not him. He is very patient, and it's so hard to get an error out of him (but it does happen). OK, so that didn't work either. Those are my two main strategies. I can also try volleying but I'm not so adept at that. He often volleys against me, but I have good passing shots. So I tried to drop-shot alot, but when he starts to expect it, he's in great position for his volleys. So my last strategy was to make him run. I tried pulling him off the court with my forehand, but he knows exactly what to do. He barely gets to it, and he just lobs it right back. He knows I can't do an overhead for my life. Next time I face him I will try swinging volleys. I have nothing left in my arsenal. Can someone help me beat this foe that I just seem to be set to lose against?

 

[Blake0]

Sounds like trying to overpower him doesn't work. Try hitting slices and see what he does against those. Another thing would be to hit your heavy forehand to his backhand, make him hit it at or above shoulder height.

Use the directional laws to change direction, your consistency should go up and you can still hit as hard.

A couple suggestions, good luck. I'll try to add more later.

 

[pyrokid]

Play safe, but aggressive.
Don't go for winners unless you have a CLEAR opportunity.
Vary between hitting really deep, loopy shots to his backhand until he puts up a short ball, then slice it low and away from him. Finish the point at the net.

Use stuff like that the whole match. Just don't try to go for winners. Just keep the pressure on and keep your feet moving.

 

[GetBetterer]

Your problem as you stated in your own post was that you aimed it at him.

If you aim it at him, he's going to hit it back. He also probably saw you hitting with the Western grip so he went "oh, this guy can't hit any bashing winners like Semi-Western or Eastern Backhanders can" and so he just chipped it back.

Make him run for it. Hit the ball cross court, down the line, cross court, down the line, etc. Eventually he'll tire, everybody does. You have a lot of topspin with the Western grip so you have nothing to worry about if you fear the ball will go out.

 

[callmethedoctor]

Well, my directional control isn't super-precise... I just keep my consistency up by aiming for the middle usually. I never, ever go for winners unless it's an easy shot. So making him run isn't the safest solution for me. And GetBetterer is right about the western-grip assumption. However when I get lucky and hit a sharp angle or well-placed shot, nine times out of ten he will just send up a lob deeper than the service line. What can I do when he does this? My overhead is absolutely horrible.

The other suggestion is heavy topspin to the backhand. This usually results in a deep but lower-paced shot that I can't take advantage of because I don't hit flat. I need help taking advantage of these types of balls, which is why I think I'll try swinging volleys next time.

He is also a pretty smart player and handles slices well. He knows exactly the best plan against my every move it seems. I hit hard but at him- he chops it deep. I hit soft but away from him- he lobs to get back into position. I hit hard away from him- I miss. I hit soft to him- he plays an aggressive (yet not going for winners, just like me) forehand.

For my next strategy I want to take away either a) his time to recover when I pull him off court or b) his ability to hit consistently deep when I press him with hard shots. I think these are my keys to winning; tell me if I'm wrong. For a), since I can't overhead I have to start taking the ball out of the air, but then it becomes hard to aim away from him to the open court. For b), I have no idea how to do this, any suggestions?

He doesn't (or can't) hit winners off of me and rarely forces an error, so it seems like the smart move to not give him anything and just wait for his mistake, since he can't hurt me. But somehow he's just so consistent that that doesn't work. I'm at a loss because he is a very smart player. He always is able to hit it very deep, which I think is the best part about his game, especially against a guy like me.

 

[GetBetterer]

Don't be fearful about directions. Subconsciously think it. Just say to yourself: Down the line

And before you know it, it'll be down the line!

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

Clearly you aren't going to force errors going right at the guy. You've tried and failed.

And your sets against the #2 aren't conclusive. He could've easily broken you back to win 6-4, or 7-6, or something of the sort, or you could've kept going and won 6-2 or 6-4. You won't know until you finish.

To beat the #3, you have to play aggressive. The problem is, he knows that all he needs to beat you is get balls back, because you can't REALLY hurt him. Maybe occasionally, but not nearly often enough to win.

If you can't volley, it's a MASSIVE liability. It means that even if you force the short ball, it means nothing unless you get a winner, which severely lowers your chances to win the point because you either have to go for more to make sure you don't lose the point (which also inherently increases your chances of losing the point), or you have to pray to God that they will miss the passing shot, which they probably won't if they know all they need to do is get the ball back a few times to win the point. If you can't hit an overhead, that's also a very bad thing since they can throw up weak lobs without fear and screw you over. You NEED to learn how to play the net if you can't consistently force winners outright.

Next is to setup points from the baseline. You have to constantly rally deep (depth is more important than anything else really) and off to the side. You don't have to tag lines, but keep it away from the center. The closer you get to the lines, the better, but you don't really need to go much closer than 4 or 5 feet from the line on most rally shots if you keep it deep. Obviously keep it crosscourt and change directions on the shorter and slow replies by stepping into the ball and getting your weight in that direction. Again, no need to tag any lines. Just go perpendicular to the baseline. Usually that's enough to force a weaker response. If it doesn't, keep rallying crosscourt. But once you get that short ball that's near the service line and you can take from well inside the baseline (or even at the service line), go for it if it's high over the net (but don't go overboard) or place it deep and off to the side if it's at or below the height of the net and move in to volley.

Also, you want to serve to his weaker side (backhand) and to his body. If he opens up space to his forehand, you can go there occasionally. (Honestly, it might be better to let him cheat one or two times to his backhand before you serve to his forehand. I personally go for the ace once I see open court because I've hit so many the other way that they don't expect me to be able to accurately place the serve there anyway.)

FYI, hitting hard and into the middle of the court doesn't do anything unless you get it deep with serious pace. Even then, it's only a change-up. It's better against people who use extended length rackets or are really tall so that they need to move even more to give themselves space. Against a small guy, you're actually making things MUCH easier for them.

If you can't place your shots, volley, or hit overheads... I'm not sure if you belong in any of the spots... That will wreck you in doubles, and will make you an easy opponent in singles. Ask the coach for help on your shots, and stay as a sub until you've fixed things up.

Also, that short lob he throws up off your sharp angle is EXACTLY what you want. It's a kill shot. WORK ON THEM.

 

[Chanto]

xFullCourtTennisx has given you a very thorough reply. I can't say anything other than what he has already stated.

This chop shot that he speaks about sounds like a great opportunity for you too. If you know that he's on the offensive doing this, then rush the net. But that's already been stated. Otherwise, when playing other players, try S&V and chipping to practice.

Good luck, as a fellow high school player. But when you do take his spot, try not to make him feel bad about it

 

[callmethedoctor]

Clearly you aren't going to force errors going right at the guy. You've tried and failed.

And your sets against the #2 aren't conclusive. He could've easily broken you back to win 6-4, or 7-6, or something of the sort, or you could've kept going and won 6-2 or 6-4. You won't know until you finish.

To beat the #3, you have to play aggressive. The problem is, he knows that all he needs to beat you is get balls back, because you can't REALLY hurt him. Maybe occasionally, but not nearly often enough to win.

If you can't volley, it's a MASSIVE liability. It means that even if you force the short ball, it means nothing unless you get a winner, which severely lowers your chances to win the point because you either have to go for more to make sure you don't lose the point (which also inherently increases your chances of losing the point), or you have to pray to God that they will miss the passing shot, which they probably won't if they know all they need to do is get the ball back a few times to win the point. If you can't hit an overhead, that's also a very bad thing since they can throw up weak lobs without fear and screw you over. You NEED to learn how to play the net if you can't consistently force winners outright.

Next is to setup points from the baseline. You have to constantly rally deep (depth is more important than anything else really) and off to the side. You don't have to tag lines, but keep it away from the center. The closer you get to the lines, the better, but you don't really need to go much closer than 4 or 5 feet from the line on most rally shots if you keep it deep. Obviously keep it crosscourt and change directions on the shorter and slow replies by stepping into the ball and getting your weight in that direction. Again, no need to tag any lines. Just go perpendicular to the baseline. Usually that's enough to force a weaker response. If it doesn't, keep rallying crosscourt. But once you get that short ball that's near the service line and you can take from well inside the baseline (or even at the service line), go for it if it's high over the net (but don't go overboard) or place it deep and off to the side if it's at or below the height of the net and move in to volley.

Also, you want to serve to his weaker side (backhand) and to his body. If he opens up space to his forehand, you can go there occasionally. (Honestly, it might be better to let him cheat one or two times to his backhand before you serve to his forehand. I personally go for the ace once I see open court because I've hit so many the other way that they don't expect me to be able to accurately place the serve there anyway.)

FYI, hitting hard and into the middle of the court doesn't do anything unless you get it deep with serious pace. Even then, it's only a change-up. It's better against people who use extended length rackets or are really tall so that they need to move even more to give themselves space. Against a small guy, you're actually making things MUCH easier for them.

If you can't place your shots, volley, or hit overheads... I'm not sure if you belong in any of the spots... That will wreck you in doubles, and will make you an easy opponent in singles. Ask the coach for help on your shots, and stay as a sub until you've fixed things up.

Also, that short lob he throws up off your sharp angle is EXACTLY what you want. It's a kill shot. WORK ON THEM.

You're right, I can't hit overheads. But volleys I can do, I just don't prefer it to baseline play usually. It just takes me a few volleys to put one away right. And I can "direct" my shots in directions, but I'm not a precision person, if you know what I mean.

And I know my sets vs. the #2 are not as conclusive as against the #3, and I don't believe at all that I'm better than the #2. But I believe I make a tougher match than the #3 seed does. The #2 said himself to the coach that he'd be more comfortable with me as the #3.

And thank you for paragraphs 5-7, very helpful.

Oh, and I forgot to add, no one wants to help me practice overheads. Not only do I suck at them, but an overhead is the least likely way to have a rally. That, and I have no coach or ball machine. So idk how I can possibly learn to put away kill shots, unless anyone has suggestions.

 

[pyrokid]

with overheads, start out just directing the ball.
You can usually hit a 60 MPH overhead winner if you keep it away from them and deep.

But if you're not comfortable dictating points (moving him around), coming to the net, or putting away his short balls, then you can't really do anything to consistently win games unless you get more consistent than he is or get to be more aggressive. So work on your directional control, that's the biggest thing.
For the overheads, practice them on a wall.
Hit the ball down onto the ground so that it hits the wall on the way up in a way that makes it come down like a lob.

But you don't even have to hit overheads, I played a match a few weeks ago where my overheads just weren't there, and so I just sliced everything low and away from him and finished it off with a volley if he got it back.

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

You're right, I can't hit overheads. But volleys I can do, I just don't prefer it to baseline play usually. It just takes me a few volleys to put one away right. And I can "direct" my shots in directions, but I'm not a precision person, if you know what I mean.

And I know my sets vs. the #2 are not as conclusive as against the #3, and I don't believe at all that I'm better than the #2. But I believe I make a tougher match than the #3 seed does. The #2 said himself to the coach that he'd be more comfortable with me as the #3.

And thank you for paragraphs 5-7, very helpful.

Oh, and I forgot to add, no one wants to help me practice overheads. Not only do I suck at them, but an overhead is the least likely way to have a rally. That, and I have no coach or ball machine. So idk how I can possibly learn to put away kill shots, unless anyone has suggestions.

If you're not a placement person, learn to be one. You'll be glad you did. It wins points much more quickly than hitting the ball hard. If you're taking more than 2 volleys to put the point away, you're not volleying well, and that's assuming the other guy is a great runner and tracked that first volley down. The second volley should be put away, whether it be a high volley or an overhead.

And I never said that you said you were better. I'm just saying you aren't necessarily on even terms.

And my friend went to a wall to work on overheads. However, it is VERY possible to rally with overheads. You see the warm up those pros (and solid tennis players) do? They hit mediocre overheads down the middle, right back at the other guy. This way, all the other guy has to do is bunt it back high to give them another overhead. Place them and warm the stroke up, focusing on consistency. Don't spike it over them, just hit it back with a full swing and accelerating through the ball. It actually helps the other guy a lot too, because at the higher levels, you're actually expected to get back any overheads that come near you. Most intermediate players can't do this. And it's a VERY valuable skill in doubles. It's VERY possibly in doubles to keep rallying while one team is raining down overheads on their opponents. Also, as you get better, you might want to modify this drill, so your partner is on one side of the court (or at the corner) and he keeps throwing up lobs wherever he wants (as long as they aren't meant to completely go over you for a clean winner), but you have to track them down and hit them right back to him. Then move to the other side. Both of you can switch roles, and both of you will have VERY solid overheads and overhead returns, as well as overhead movement/footwork.

Another overhead cooperation drill is more or less the same thing, but the baseline person alternates drop shots and lobs. The player at the baseline feeds a lob to the other player, who hits an overhead right back to the feeder, who then hits a drop shot. Now the net player rushes up to volley it back deep before the ball bounces. Then the baseline player throws up another lob, and this cycle continues until someone misses. Clearly, you should be hitting overheads the other guy can easily reach. The guy at the baseline wins a point anytime he gets the ball to bounce once on the net player's side (so the net player's goal is to move quickly and take EVERYTHING out of the air). Keep going until say... 7 or 11 points, then switch. It's a great co-op drill. Haven't done it myself, but it really works out the overhead, low volley, net movement, and touch to hit a drop shot or deep lob. This will REALLY improve your net game and your options both on offense and defense at the baseline.

Also, try to do the same thing with volleys to your partner. Basically, keep volleying it back to them and deep, and let them hit groundstrokes to you. Then you can probably move on to have yourself hit to one spot/side, and have them hit anywhere they want (as long as they don't go for a winner) to work on your control on the full stretch and your anticipation abilities. Or get two guys at the baseline and hit to what would be the open side in singles. and continue the point as if it were singles but the other guy was insanely fast so he got in position and is perfectly on balance to hit the pass. This means you need to keep moving side to side to cover the next ball. Sitting in the center does nothing. You need to be cheating a few steps to the side of the center towards where your shot landed. Also, the baseliner gets to hit to whichever side they like, as long as they don't go for a winner. These are all co-op drills. For the baseliners, it's mainly improving their ability to prepare quickly and move well under time constraints.

 

[ManuGinobili]

Depth and placement my friend. You have a spinning lefty forehand, guess who has it too... and he beat Fed by obsessively attack the backhand!

I suggest u devote a couple practices to this placement drill: place a hoola hoop (or easier, put balls into a big circle) at the 2 corners of the court, with the corner paint as the center. The point is to place your ball in that circle, or technically, at least 3 feet from the corner. You can vary the drill as to what kind of ball is fed, focus on one corner at a time or both, FH or BH.... as of now, try to place a forehand (from anywhere on the court) deep into the opponent's BH corner.

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

Depth and placement my friend. You have a spinning lefty forehand, guess who has it too... and he beat Fed by obsessively attack the backhand!

I suggest u devote a couple practices to this placement drill: place a hoola hoop (or easier, put balls into a big circle) at the 2 corners of the court, with the corner paint as the center. The point is to place your ball in that circle, or technically, at least 3 feet from the corner. You can vary the drill as to what kind of ball is fed, focus on one corner at a time or both, FH or BH.... as of now, try to place a forehand (from anywhere on the court) deep into the opponent's BH corner.

Oh yeah... That's how you become the alpha dick. lol

Another thing to add to this: take pace off the ball if you need to in order to control the shot. If you can consistently get it deep into the corner, you're looking at a weak response back anyway, especially if you got a little bit of bounce on your shot.

 

[NLBwell]

You need to improve your overhead first. If you can't punish him for just lobbing the ball back, all your aggression is going to waste. Generally, if you are having problems on the overhead it is because you aren't looking at the ball with two eyes (perhaps no eyes). For something to try in order to improve your overhead, try this:
As soon as the lob goes up, take 3 quick steps backwards (like a quarterback dropback), then worry about getting aligned to hit the ball.
When hitting the overhead, stand facing the net (chest facing the net - not chest to the side like a serve) and make sure that you are looking directly in the direction of your nose - both eyes on the ball (stereo vision is very important in determining depth). Point to the ball with your off hand - and keep the off hand up through your stroke (it is a little weird feeling to swing your racket arm through and still hold your off hand up, but it keeps your head from dropping). Hold your racket arm up above your head and hit the overhead with just a short punch with elbow and wrist (short stroke will make solid contact easier and with good contact you don't need a long swing to get enough power to put the ball away). If you do all of this, you should make good contact with the ball. It is a very awkward stroke. Once you get the hang of it, though, you can gradually move to a more traditional (and powerful) overhead stroke. However, when my overhead goes off, I will revert to this form to get back solid contact with the ball. Generally, I put the ball away with this form, too, having practiced it a lot and having good directional control.

 

[athiker]

You need to improve your overhead first. If you can't punish him for just lobbing the ball back, all your aggression is going to waste. ...
When hitting the overhead, stand facing the net (chest facing the net - not chest to the side like a serve) and make sure that you are looking directly in the direction of your nose - both eyes on the ball (stereo vision is very important in determining depth). ...

I've never heard this about the chest facing the net. In fact I've always heard 1st get sideways. Here's a vid of Fed practicing overheads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP9-DcRTyjs

Fuzzy Yellow balls has a video on overheads and there are a ton on Youtube as well the OP can check out. I completely agree about the value of improving this stroke though.

If the OP can't out consistent his opponent, can't hit outright angled winners and can't take advantage of weak balls produced by forcing groundstokes by moving to the net and closing out a point via both solid volleys or overheads as the attempted pass requires then I'm not sure how he can win.

I struggle with overheads too on occasion but have gotten much better than I was. A few thing that help me. 1) Get sideways 2) move back quickly a step or two further than necessary so you can step into your shot 3) off arm must be extended to the ball no matter how funny it feels, even the pros do it so don't slack on it 4) Like in a serve, keep your chin up and focus on the ball until after you've hit it. If you drop your eyes too soon you will mishit the ball. You don't have to kill the ball, but you do have to hit it in the sweet spot...so no last second jerking...if you just have a smooth stroke and hit the sweetspot you will have plenty of pace. 5) Don't aim to get it over the net, that's cutting it too close and you will dump some in the net. Aim about for the service line, that will give you room in both directions. 6) If you are deep in your own court then let the ball bounce and hit a groundstroke or even a moonball if need be. Its hard to hit a good overhead from deep in your court.

Good luck.

Here is FYB's Overhead section: http://www.fuzzyyellowballs.com/video-tennis-lessons/net-play/overheads/

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

When hitting the overhead, stand facing the net (chest facing the net - not chest to the side like a serve)

I've never heard this about the chest facing the net. In fact I've always heard 1st get sideways.

Woah~~!!!!! athiker is right. You ALWAYS turn sideways on an overhead, first and foremost! Idk how your overhead is NLB, but I can guarantee you that your overhead court coverage, footwork, power, and consistency will all GREATLY increase if you turn your entire body sideways right away, THEN move for the ball.

 

[aceX]

If you have to play him before you can improve anything mentioned above, just focus on hitting deep

 

[TheOneHander]

Wow. Sounds like a situation of mine in a men's league I had a few weeks ago.

I was playing a friend with a topspin forehand that is fairly aggressive with a consistent backhand. His serve is solid and has spin on it. This guy was also incredibly fast and could track down anything short of an overhead (well, he got one or two of those too!) and get it back deep.

For me, I just took away the small weapon that he had-his forehand-and I had to tough out the match.

You're not going to be able to take away his depth. You could of course try to take the ball earlier to take away his time, but you really cannot limit his ability to hit deep.

In that case, I pinned him to his weaker side. Every serve went to his backhand. Every groundstroke went to his backhand. Volleys and overheads, I aimed them all to his backhand.

By pressuring his weaker side, I eventually wore him down. It also opened up the court to hit into his forehand and then I could start running him around with minimal effort on my part because I was in control of the point. If you hit up the center, you'll only allow your opponent to take cotrol of the point because they can hit the ball wherever they want.

Really, though, you NEED to work on volleys and overheads. There's no point in being able to manufacture a short ball if you can't put it away. Based upon what you said about your first serve, it may be a timing issue with your overheads. But you either need to find a way to flatten out the ball or put away balls with volleys and overheads.

Good luck with your match-we're rooting for you!

 

[Nellie]

A key to being aggressive without hitting too many errors is to subtly take a better court position - you want to be hitting near/inside the baseline toward the middle while the opponent is way back running side-to-side. It does not sound like the opponent is going to drive you off the baseline, so you can perch close, change directions on balls hit to the middle (to make the opponent run), and move in on short balls to volley.

 

[NLBwell]

Woah~~!!!!! athiker is right. You ALWAYS turn sideways on an overhead, first and foremost! Idk how your overhead is NLB, but I can guarantee you that your overhead court coverage, footwork, power, and consistency will all GREATLY increase if you turn your entire body sideways right away, THEN move for the ball.

I thought I was quite clear (maybe not - or maybe the other posters didn't read the whole post) that this is a way to improve your overhead - to fix common problems on the overhead. As I said, it is awkward and you should move to the traditional overhead when you have fixed your problems and begin to hit the ball well. You should use it when working on improving your overhead, it is not supposed to be a finished product.
It has helped a lot of people improve their overheads.

 

[xFullCourtTenniSx]

I thought I was quite clear (maybe not - or maybe the other posters didn't read the whole post) that this is a way to improve your overhead - to fix common problems on the overhead. As I said, it is awkward and you should move to the traditional overhead when you have fixed your problems and begin to hit the ball well. You should use it when working on improving your overhead, it is not supposed to be a finished product.
It has helped a lot of people improve their overheads.

You failed to specify a "traditional overhead". Granted, many people can assume what you mean, but when teaching someone how to hit it, you need to specify it more.

And it's better to just work on the finished product, since it improves your movement and footwork as well.

 

[callmethedoctor]

I'm gonna try to respond to you all in one post.

OK, well for those of you who say that I shouldn't be able to beat this guy... today I played with a kid who took my teammate/opponent to a 3rd set tiebreak both times they played, and I just beat him 6-2 6-2. So take that, nonbelievers!

No, I don't have to beat this guy until next spring, so yeah I have time to work on my strokes.

I took some advice for the overheads during today's match and I got 5-10 overhead setups. A few I was too scared so I just volleyed or did an approach. I shanked two. I nailed two others for winners. And one I hit successfully, but right at him and it came back, so I did another... and he returned it again, so I gave up and did an angle volley. So I guess this is an improvement!

And I know all about court positioning, so I don't need a lecture on that.

And thanks guys, I don't exactly want a war about overheads on this board but if you feel the need, go right ahead lol.

 

[GetBetterer]

The overhead is an important shot that's underpracticed. Practice is all you need to perfect it. As you stated, you're too scared probably because you didn't practice it a lot.

Just practice. ^^

 

[NLBwell]

And it's better to just work on the finished product, since it improves your movement and footwork as well.

Different philosophy. Whole stroke vs. breaking it down into parts when there is a serious problem. Neither is always right or always wrong.
Still, I'll bet (without seeing any video) his problems come originally from not keeping his head up and still and not seeing the ball with two eyes.