Tips vs. Pusher in Playoffs

[Ice-Borg]

Playing this guy with weak shots but he is fast and mobile and fit. I have better and more powerful strokes than this guy and I'm pretty mobile myself, but I'm erratic. Sometimes I get in a groove and hit winners, sometimes they are all going out. We are both 3.5.

I played him once before and lost because I simply couldn't consistently put away his paceless balls. Yet, I think my best chance is to keep trying to attack his short balls and come to the net. The net game isn't perfect, but I can put away weak returns.

Another part of me thinks I should focus on minimizing mistakes, but then I might get into a pusher war which is the last thing I want to do. I did notice however, last time we played, that he is susceptible to junk himself. If I hit a lot of slice and garbage he can be made to mess up. Of course trying to hit junk to make a pusher mess up, is quite possibly the definition of tennis Hell.

On a side note, as a lot of my shots are flying long vs these guys with no pace I just bumped my tension back up to 55 from 50 and 53.

I figure it wil allow me more control and more leeway in generating my own power to put these weak shots away. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[movdqa]

My suggestion would be to practice against pushers. If you have to rally and play against these guys, you will hone your strokes against slow balls, high balls, and short balls with no pace. One approach I take is to hit the ball with 3/4 pace right back at the pusher. So they can easily get to the ball and hit another one back at you. You will hone your strokes and play against these kinds of balls.

 

[RyanRF]

A few things I've learned from playing pushers:

• Don't over hit. Just because they hit a floating short ball doesn't mean you can nuke it. Sometimes complete lack of incoming pace makes it more likely to blunder when supplying your own power. Focus on medium power, medium spin. Go for placement.
  
  
• Don't go for winners from the baseline. When your opponent hits without pace, it gives them plenty of time to recover to the center of the court. Combine this positioning with speed and they will get to everything. Instead take time away from your opponent by hitting the ball earlier (rather than harder). Look for opportunities to step inside the baseline and hit on the rise. Eventually get to net. Most of your points should end with volleys and overheads.
  
  
• If you're doing all of the above and your opponent manages to lob or pass you at the net every time, you may simply be outmatched. Just because a player chooses not to hit offensively doesn't mean they lack the ability. A couple of times I've lost badly to a "pusher", but then later saw the same guy playing a high-paced practice set vs someone I knew was 0.5 rating higher. A 4.0 player taking it easy and playing conservatively looks a lot like a 3.5 pusher.

 

[EddieBrock]

How is he at the net? A lot of times pushers are so used to staying back pushing you can bring him in and pass/lob him.

Lots of time pushers aren't good at passing shots so you can come in off a good approach. Not sure if you have this shot or not, but maybe practice hitting swinging volleys if he lobs/pushes when you come up to the net. The last pusher I played kept hitting me these shots at awkward height and with no pace when I came up to the net and I had to use the swinging volley.

You don't want to get into a pusher war, but don't want to go for broke when you don't have the shot.

 

[zaph]

It is possible to beat a pusher with power even if you're a 3.5 level player, I have done it and the trick is the mental part of the game. Pushers crush you with score board pressure, each miss eats away at you, every extra ball you play makes you go for too much.

You have to forget the score and you have to forget mistakes. If you play power tennis you will miss, that doesn't matter, as long as your winners cancel out those misses.

Your right in the fact you need to be able to put away the short balls, the trick is to not go for winners but treat them as approach shots. Go for the angle, normally to the backhand, slice is very handy on the backhand side, it keeps the ball low. Concentrate on the ball, ignore the net, ignore you opponent. Once you have hit it, move in behind the ball, don't stand still. Even not going for winners you will be surprised how many balls go clean past a pusher doing this and most of the volleys you will get will be pretty easy. If you do get lobbed or passed. Shrug your shoulders, say too good and play the next point.

 

[MajesticMoose]

Mix up your pace and spins. Hit slice deep and short. Hit deep topspin and find angles. Easier said than done I know. Work on drawing HIM to net. I'm sure his net game sucks and he loves camping at the back. Make him uncomfortable by bringing him in against his will.

You should be willing to come forward on the right shots as well and finish at the net.

 

[mental midget]

treat it like a practice session, relax, roll balls deep, watch him run. go for big targets on winners if he gives you an opening.

there’s a difference between a scrambler without real skills, and a skilled player who just doesn’t got for winners often, though. can’t assume you’re “supposed to beat” someone just because they play percentage tennis. if you do have better strokes then a “pusher war” isn’t so bad, you should win that war.

 

[Kevo]

First, you need to know your limits. As you stated, you won't win against this type of player if you make a lot of mistakes. That's exactly what they hope for as the run every single ball down and wear you out. So your task then is to find out what type of ball that you can hit consistently advances the point in your favor.

So go into the match with several different point strategies you think will work. Then try them out and be observant. Figure out what works and what doesn't. Do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

The hard part is really being mentally present enough to actually implement strategies intelligently. That is a skill that you really have to practice in matches. It's very hard to work on that in practice. You can obviously work on different plays and sequences, but being in a match and observing it so you can figure out what to do next at the same time is a different kind of skill.

Just be sure that you are thinking of what kind of point play you want to implement before each point starts. Have some ideas in mind and try to play them out. Then adjust based on the results. You have to do this point after point after point. If you can be more present than your opponent and you have the skills to win available to you, then you can work out the win during the match. If your opponent is more present and has the skills then they will work it out and win the match.

Good luck.

 

[time_fly]

Playing this guy with weak shots but he is fast and mobile and fit. I have better and more powerful strokes than this guy and I'm pretty mobile myself, but I'm erratic. Sometimes I get in a groove and hit winners, sometimes they are all going out. We are both 3.5.

You've gotten most of the standard advice above. I like the video below where they offer a slight twist: if you are playing what the call a "junk baller" (basically a pusher that doesn't just randomly block it back, but intentionally hits things like short-angle dinks, moonballs, etc) then in neutral rally positions play them deep down the middle instead of focusing on angles. You are more likely to get a short ball to attack, and less likely to get a short angle or quality drop shot that pulls you out of position.

 

[Ice-Borg]

Thanks guys. That match ended up being a disaster as I tried out a racquet at a higher tension thinking it would let me swing harder at pushed balls. All it did was end up sapping power from my shots making life easier for him. After losing the first set I switched to my regular tension racquet. I made some progress standing inside the baseline to take some of his balls early and trying to get into a rhythym where I wouldn't cough up unforced errors but it was too little too late. I also had no energy which is never good playing a pusher. He is now onto the semi-finals in the playoffs so I don't feel too bad losing to him.

 

[travlerajm]

Really, I think the way to beat a pusher that is too good for your normal game is to be patient. Don’t look at it as a pusher battle. Look at it like a chess match - the pusher will eventually cough up a short enough ball that tilts the attack odds enough in your favor that you can pull the trigger, and maybe take the net. It may take a 20 ball rally for that shot to come. Mental discipline is the key.

 

[denoted]

20 ball rallies at 3.5 are pretty damn rare. They are rare, in fact, at the highest levels of the game. I don't think it's realistic to expect that kind of patience, shot tolerance, and point construction from a player at this level.

 

[travlerajm]

20 ball rallies at 3.5 are pretty damn rare. They are rare, in fact, at the highest levels of the game. I don't think it's realistic to expect that kind of patience, shot tolerance, and point construction from a player at this level.

That’s why pushers dominate that level.

 

[Ice-Borg]

Part of the problem was that I was too focused on trying to counter the fact he was a pusher. I was trying to be aggressive, hit hard, and look for shots to attack and get to the net. Trying to do this with a new higher tension racquet playing with it for the first time was extremely dumb and my fault. I basically handed him the first set.

But midway through the second set, after I got readjusted to my regular lower tension racquet, and, sadly, once I was down like 4-1 and it basically didn't matter, I just sat back and hit the ball relaxed and eventually got a feel for the court and started hitting solid shots that produced errors. From that point on I won three of the next five games. If I had gone in with that relaxed approach and getting a feel for the court with my regular racquet I think I would have had a lot better chance.

I'm very mobile and I have a good drop shot and solid strokes. I can play the pusher and junk game myself if needed. I just didn't think my best odds were to get into a pushing match with the guy because everyone says never do that. But, the times I had success are when I just treated the point as if it were a tennis coach feeding me the ball. The good thing about playing pushers is that they are almost like a built in tennis lesson feeding you balls. Once I treated it like that, I gained a lot of consistency and started to get a feel for the court and was able to gradually start hitting with more pace and still getting it in. As I won those three games in the second set, it was very frustrating to realize what worked as I had already pissed the match away foolishly.

There is something to be said for just starting a match playing your game and getting a feel for your shots no matter what the opponents style is. Because if you can't hit the ball consistently in the court, it doesn't matter what his style is, you are going to lose anyway.

 

[movdqa]

Part of the problem was that I was too focused on trying to counter the fact he was a pusher. I was trying to be aggressive, hit hard, and look for shots to attack and get to the net. Trying to do this with a new higher tension racquet playing with it for the first time was extremely dumb and my fault. I basically handed him the first set.

But midway through the second set, after I got readjusted to my regular lower tension racquet, and, sadly, once I was down like 4-1 and it basically didn't matter, I just sat back and hit the ball relaxed and eventually got a feel for the court and started hitting solid shots that produced errors. From that point on I won three of the next five games. If I had gone in with that relaxed approach and getting a feel for the court with my regular racquet I think I would have had a lot better chance.

I'm very mobile and I have a good drop shot and solid strokes. I can play the pusher and junk game myself if needed. I just didn't think my best odds were to get into a pushing match with the guy because everyone says never do that. But, the times I had success are when I just treated the point as if it were a tennis coach feeding me the ball. The good thing about playing pushers is that they are almost like a built in tennis lesson feeding you balls. Once I treated it like that, I gained a lot of consistency and started to get a feel for the court and was able to gradually start hitting with more pace and still getting it in. As I won those three games in the second set, it was very frustrating to realize what worked as I had already pissed the match away foolishly.

There is something to be said for just starting a match playing your game and getting a feel for your shots no matter what the opponents style is. Because if you can't hit the ball consistently in the court, it doesn't matter what his style is, you are going to lose anyway.

I'm the kind of player that doesn't mind a game of attrition against a pusher. What you want to do is go onto the court with a BMI of 19, bring two gallons of water, two tennis raquets and wear an old t-shirt with grease stains that you got from running an 70 mile road race.

 

[Goof]

Part of the problem was that I was too focused on trying to counter the fact he was a pusher. I was trying to be aggressive, hit hard, and look for shots to attack and get to the net. Trying to do this with a new higher tension racquet playing with it for the first time was extremely dumb and my fault. I basically handed him the first set.

But midway through the second set, after I got readjusted to my regular lower tension racquet, and, sadly, once I was down like 4-1 and it basically didn't matter, I just sat back and hit the ball relaxed and eventually got a feel for the court and started hitting solid shots that produced errors. From that point on I won three of the next five games. If I had gone in with that relaxed approach and getting a feel for the court with my regular racquet I think I would have had a lot better chance.

I'm very mobile and I have a good drop shot and solid strokes. I can play the pusher and junk game myself if needed. I just didn't think my best odds were to get into a pushing match with the guy because everyone says never do that. But, the times I had success are when I just treated the point as if it were a tennis coach feeding me the ball. The good thing about playing pushers is that they are almost like a built in tennis lesson feeding you balls. Once I treated it like that, I gained a lot of consistency and started to get a feel for the court and was able to gradually start hitting with more pace and still getting it in. As I won those three games in the second set, it was very frustrating to realize what worked as I had already pissed the match away foolishly.

There is something to be said for just starting a match playing your game and getting a feel for your shots no matter what the opponents style is. Because if you can't hit the ball consistently in the court, it doesn't matter what his style is, you are going to lose anyway.

There is no clock in tennis*. Comebacks are always possible until the last point has been played. Work on your perseverance and attitude. A comeback is NEVER out of the question in tennis, especially for us non-pros who aren't facing near-unbreakable servers.

*Yes, I know, "timed matches" in USTA league play, but even that shouldn't cross your mind. Just adjust and try to win one point at a time.

 

[Ice-Borg]

There is no clock in tennis*. Comebacks are always possible until the last point has been played. Work on your perseverance and attitude. A comeback is NEVER out of the question in tennis, especially for us non-pros who aren't facing near-unbreakable servers.

*Yes, I know, "timed matches" in USTA league play, but even that shouldn't cross your mind. Just adjust and try to win one point at a time.

True. However, I meant most of the bold sections in hindsight. I never quit on a match. I tried till the end, it's just that I was up against the wall and had no margin for error at that point, whereas if I had played that way from the beginning it would have been a different ball game.

 

[Ice-Borg]

Just played a separate USTA match last night where the guy made two horrible calls. I assume there is no remedy for this? Also we were playing on crappy courts they reserved and the guys super spin shots hit cracks on two critical points and went shooting off causing errors. I swear, if they book you on a crack filled court you should be able to call a let every time it hits one. It was absurd. Worse than hitting a net ball that falls over for the win.

 

[movdqa]

Just played a separate USTA match last night where the guy made two horrible calls. I assume there is no remedy for this? Also we were playing on crappy courts they reserved and the guys super spin shots hit cracks on two critical points and went shooting off causing errors. I swear, if they book you on a crack filled court you should be able to call a let every time it hits one. It was absurd. Worse than hitting a net ball that falls over for the win.

Home court advantage. I've played a guy with a clay court in his backyard (he's since moved) and he knew where every bad bounce on the court was.