After reading so many threads on playing the dreaded "pushers," I thought I'd start one on playing a "hitter."
I challenged the #7 player on my singles ladder (I am 10th). I didn't find out until after the match, but he was recently bumped up to 4.5. He had a wicked forehand that he consistently placed deep in either corner. He didn't need a short ball to be able to unleash his forehand for a winner. His serve wasn't bad, either, so it wasn't always possible for me to avoid hitting to his forehand. So the match didn't last too long, and we had few long rallies as he steamrolled me in a 6-3, 6-2 win.
I know that many tennis players try to develop overpowering serves and lethal forehands, but I think if I possessed those weapons, it would make tennis less enjoyable. I imagine that the points played would be extremely short, with no long rallies. I like being involved in some good exchanges; it's more fun and I get my exercise. If I can consistently crank a forehand to where my opponent can't even reach the ball, it won't be fun for either of us.
I'm still going to try to improve my serve and strokes, but my enjoyment in tennis comes from being engaged in long points. A bit more enjoyable when I'm the one hitting the last shot, to be sure, but I would rather lose a match where each point was contested than win a match where I'm hitting service winners and one or two shots before hitting a winner.
(We had enough time to play two additional full sets for fun....where I made some adjustments and actually won both sets 6-4, 6-4. I'm not going to pretend to think that this means I "solved" his game; I'm sure he has an extra gear or two that he didn't bring out in the practice sets.)
I challenged the #7 player on my singles ladder (I am 10th). I didn't find out until after the match, but he was recently bumped up to 4.5. He had a wicked forehand that he consistently placed deep in either corner. He didn't need a short ball to be able to unleash his forehand for a winner. His serve wasn't bad, either, so it wasn't always possible for me to avoid hitting to his forehand. So the match didn't last too long, and we had few long rallies as he steamrolled me in a 6-3, 6-2 win.
I know that many tennis players try to develop overpowering serves and lethal forehands, but I think if I possessed those weapons, it would make tennis less enjoyable. I imagine that the points played would be extremely short, with no long rallies. I like being involved in some good exchanges; it's more fun and I get my exercise. If I can consistently crank a forehand to where my opponent can't even reach the ball, it won't be fun for either of us.
I'm still going to try to improve my serve and strokes, but my enjoyment in tennis comes from being engaged in long points. A bit more enjoyable when I'm the one hitting the last shot, to be sure, but I would rather lose a match where each point was contested than win a match where I'm hitting service winners and one or two shots before hitting a winner.
(We had enough time to play two additional full sets for fun....where I made some adjustments and actually won both sets 6-4, 6-4. I'm not going to pretend to think that this means I "solved" his game; I'm sure he has an extra gear or two that he didn't bring out in the practice sets.)