What to do in this situation???

[teppeiahn1]

Ok 1st shot is mine. Both righthanders at baseline.

I pull him out wide with a forehand to his forehand.
He counters with more sharp angle forehand but with lots of top so doesn't land short.
I usualy go for dtl to his backhand but then he just goes cross court winner since the whole court for me is open.
I try to go even sharper angle but thats just realy tough when your barely getting to the ball.
If i give him a ***** lobb, i get killed.
I've tried drops befor but Im just too inconsistent at it.

 

[Douggo]

Sounds like he's just better than you in this particular situation. I'd suggest not getting into this situation; i.e. don't pull him out wide with a forehand to his forehand.

 

[LeeD]

Basically, if I"m pulled out past the doubles lines during a rally, I gotta decide ..... Do I want to continue running and fetching?
Should I just go down the line hard for a clean winner?
Can I keep up with his angle game?
For me, it's the second alternative, almost every time.
But then, I don't do rally tennis. I'm a one hit wonder, win or lose, and like short points so nobody gets in the groove.

 

[kelz]

Ok 1st shot is mine. Both righthanders at baseline.

I pull him out wide with a forehand to his forehand.
He counters with more sharp angle forehand but with lots of top so doesn't land short.
I usualy go for dtl to his backhand but then he just goes cross court winner since the whole court for me is open.
I try to go even sharper angle but thats just realy tough when your barely getting to the ball.
If i give him a ***** lobb, i get killed.
I've tried drops befor but Im just too inconsistent at it.

Why don't you and try pull him mid-court? That is, abandon trying to win the sharp angled forehand to forehand winners and opt for another approach in winning points. If you like a bit of 'flare', you can try flattening that forehand DTL more so that you give yourself a chance to hit 'more' of a winner or a difficult shot for your opponent to attack.

 

[Fay]

what about the idea of hitting DTL around the post (off court) ...?
that is a shot I have been working on recently as it is tough for the person to run the entire court and you don't have to hit over the net at that point.

 

[In D Zone]

If the dude is fast recovering - you want to mx up the return
- go cross court (get the rallye going till you think you can hit it DTL)
- go DTL (only if you think he is pulled wide). If you go for DTL you got to drive the ball long. Hitting it short allows him to come in to hit back with an aggressive backhand.
- hit it back to him (to jam). If you get the opponent conditioned to run / retrieving side to side. Hitting the back right back at him will make change his rythm. Weird as it may sound - but it works.

I play against 2 guys who are just retrievers. I was getting frustrated so instead I started mixed it up and when I hit a heavy shot towards them they did not have time to recover and just block the ball ball or would over hit.

- lastly fake and the drop shot.

You want to let him guess where you are going next -otherwise you'll be more predicatable.

 

[lawlaw]

1. Chip and charge with a short ball up the centre of the court.
2. Chip and charge with a short ball dtl.

Coming into the net always gives the court another dimension and makes the court extremely small for a guy on the run who is moving forward and sideways.

 

[LeeD]

I'm too old and slow to employ chip and charge from outside the doubles court lines.
So it's winner or nothing.
Chip and charge, they just dink behind me or go with the flow and crosscourt me into oblivion.

 

[oneguy21]

Hit an approach shot down the line and come to the net. If you hit a good approach you should be able to put away the next ball with a volley.

A common mistake is to recover to the middle of the net after an approach shot. You should really follow the path of the ball and adjust your position accordingly.

Don't hit that approach shot with too much topspin. Either flatten it out or slice it to keep the ball low.

Also, stay away from crosscourt approaches. This will just leave your opponent with all kinds of angles to work with. It amazes me how high level pros like Jankovic lack these rudimentary net transition principles.

 

[lawlaw]

Haha, ok ok. However about a heavy, looping topspin FH up the line. Aim for about a foot away from the tramlines to give you margin for error. The ball should sit high enough so that the other guy is hitting/slicing off an awkwardly high ball. This will give you time enough to recover and prepare the to counter-attack.

If all fails.. bang it down the line!

 

[Fay]

Hit an approach shot down the line and come to the net. ......
Also, stay away from crosscourt approaches. This will just leave your opponent with all kinds of angles to work with. It amazes me how high level pros like Jankovic lack these rudimentary net transition principles.

That is a suicide mission, I agree ... opposite back open court for the opponent to hit an easy winner. And angles sometimes invite a sharper angle with more pace.

 

[LeeD]

Suicide for me too...
If I'm returning from beyond the doubles alley, I'm waaaaay out of position to recover anywhere near the court and handle both the dink behind me or the crosscourt topped passing shot.
Now if I"m just inside the singles court, then down the line deep and cover is the call, of course.

 

[LuckyR]

Ok 1st shot is mine. Both righthanders at baseline.

I pull him out wide with a forehand to his forehand.
He counters with more sharp angle forehand but with lots of top so doesn't land short.
I usualy go for dtl to his backhand but then he just goes cross court winner since the whole court for me is open.
I try to go even sharper angle but thats just realy tough when your barely getting to the ball.
If i give him a ***** lobb, i get killed.
I've tried drops befor but Im just too inconsistent at it.

Your strategy doesn't match up well with this opponent. If you could pull him wide enough for him to be unable to hit CC, then your strategy would be working and it would be you hitting the CC winner into the open court instead of him. He is fast enough to nullify this play. Instead, go for better struck balls CC that are very deep with pace, instead of a sharp angle. This will take away his ability to hit easy, severe CC angles, so you won't be left with DTL shots that he hits for winners CC.

 

[RoddickAce]

After you pull him wide, wrongfoot him by hitting behind him.

 

[JSummers]

Sounds like you are too out of position to hit the next shot regardless of where you put it, given that your opponent can get to the ball. In that situation, just blast a winner DTL.

Another option is to hit a slower, very loopy, top spin DTL deep towards the corner, while you recover and reset the rally. Hope he can't easily hit a winner pass you.

Third option nobody does that anymore (I occasionally pull this out of my bag of tricks) is forehand slice short DTL especially effective with some side spin without pace and make it skid low. It'll be really hard for your opponent to retrieve and hit anything effective. Usually draw some error. Make sure to move well within baseline after the shot and prepare for a counter drop shot.

 

[LeeD]

Good stuff there, JSummers...
Since I"m an old fart, that's really the #1 option when pulled out of the doubles court by a strong, crosscourt forehand. And being lefty, a natural short slice drop is the easiest shot to make, thus trying to end the point with one more shot (my lob after his retrieval).

 

[BU-Tennis]

Ok 1st shot is mine. Both righthanders at baseline.

I pull him out wide with a forehand to his forehand.
He counters with more sharp angle forehand but with lots of top so doesn't land short.
I usualy go for dtl to his backhand but then he just goes cross court winner since the whole court for me is open.
I try to go even sharper angle but thats just realy tough when your barely getting to the ball.
If i give him a ***** lobb, i get killed.
I've tried drops befor but Im just too inconsistent at it.

Learn what he does and be prepared. The best tennis players are able to read situations and learn about their opponent over the course of a match. Nadal attacked Fed's backhand during Wimbledon, that is why he won. If you hit a sharp CC angle, then be prepared for that shot back and then just block the ball into the open court. It is very difficult for your opponent to hit down the line in this situation, and even if he does the ball is still moving into the court which might give you enough time to run it down and hit it into the open court where the ball will then be moving away from your opponent.

Of course if this doens't work you have to be able to give up this play and find a better one.

 

[Off The Wall]

Unless you can drill it DTL for a winner (it's harder than it looks and if you could do it reliably you wouldn't be asking your question), hit a deep, off-speed shot down the middle to gain time to reset the rally.

 

[Fay]

Great thread!

 

[LeeD]

Seriously, guys...
If you allow your opponent to pull you past the doubles lines, in a singles match, you basically gotta make something happen, no matter how fast, quick, or magical you are.
C'mon, you're outside the doubles court! Any shot near him gives him easy options....crosscourt away from you, hi percentage behind you, or soft lob if you enter your court near the service line. And if you return to your court back at the baseline, a drop shot down the line makes you change directions TWICE !
Only option is to go for a winner.
Best option is to recognise his strength and negate it, not allowing him that shot.

 

[Geezer Guy]

If his forehand is better than your forehand, which sounds like the case, then best not to engage in FH to FH rallys. (as stated by others, earlier.)

But, to address your question anyway, if you're pulled wide - very wide - than returning DTL is tough. To hit DTL you're going over the very highest part of the net, and your ball has to angle back inbounds (from out of bounds), so it's actually going towards your opponent. If he then returns cross-court (which he should), you have a LOT of running to do to get to the ball. I think your best percentage is to go back cross-court, and let HIM try to hit the low-percentage DTL shot.

 

[sukivan]

slow looping shot DTL, follow to the net
- safer than a flat drive
- gives you time to recover
- makes him hit the ball up high
now you are at the net and your opponent has to hit a running passing shot.

 

[fin-tennis(h)]

After you pull him wide, wrongfoot him by hitting behind him.

That's what i would try.