You have more locations to go to than the 3 highlighted ones. You could hit a shorter slice to all 3 of those locations if your opponent has trouble with low balls. This also makes it more difficult to pull off a lob. If you own a drop shot, you could also hit to those 3 locations and pull him into the net.
... you're right, mikeler ... I tend to favor the deep shot and either don't think about or am hesitant about trying the shorter ball ... also, this is funny, but in another post I confessed that I never use or practice the drop shot ... hmmm ... maybe I have reason now to practice that shot!
agree with mikeler. you have more options than that. you could take pace off the ball and angle it off to one of the sideline T's. what I would like to add is that if your serve is effective enough to get returns like that you could serve and volley and look to take that first ball out of the air before it drops.
hey goran ... that serve was a particularly good one down the T ... I don't often serve that well ... to play the serve and volley game you need a volley ... and you neeed good movement and footwork ... I possess none of those traits so, like I said, I had to go the approach shot route ...
first if you know you hit a great first serve and it sounds like it was down the t since your opponent is in the middle of the court you should expect a weak reply and move a few steps into the court .this way you get to that return sooner and at a higher point.
i like to try and angle the ball to pull the opponent really wide to open the court from that position. either side. rather than deep to a corner. if he gets to the ball i overplay the dtl passing shot since its tough to go cross court when stretched out. my volley has a huge target for a winner.
back at the player in the middle DEEP is also effective. for me
... well, the truth be told ... I kinda surprised myself with that boom serve ... I have to confess there was a split second when I was admiring the shot and saying to myself "... now where the hell did that come from" ... the result, slow reaction on my part ... the weak return was alredy below net level ... an opportunity squandered ... again!
To which side are you serving?
You need to follow the approach shot, and I don't like to change direction without a reason (e.g., hit the ball to opponent's weaker side), so if I (righty) am serving from the deuce side, moving forward and left to get to the short ball, I would approach to the right-handed opponent's forehand so I could continue to move forward and left to shade my coverage toward my left sideline.
I was serving from the deuce court ... I get my best serves from that side ... usually down the T ... the problem is I don't know when I'm going to get those boom serves ... maybe one out of ten ... but you're right ... I need to follow the direction of the ball and move in.
Davis937- My biggest problem with this situation is deciding "on the fly" what shot to hit. The only way I can avoid this mental paralysis is to have a good idea of what my opponents strengths and weaknesses well before being presented with this opportunity. My primary objective is to select the shot that maximizes my chances of winning the point (which may take 2 or 3 more shots). Usually this is baked into my strategy so when the opportunity arises I am not caught thinking about things and instead focus on executing the highest percentage shot available to me.
If you opponent is weaker on the BH side, hitting a low slice deep to that corner requires them to come up with a decent pass or lob, so this might be a higher percentage shot for someone like this (assuming you can hit this shot with ease). On the other hand, if the opponent has trouble moving to their FH side you might consider hitting a dipping topspin wide and cover the DTL response off his FH wing (my BH volley is better than my FH volley so this has some appeal for me). Also, if your opponent likes to hit shots on the run, then deep down the middle is probably a good shot since it robs him of exploiting the angles. As mikeler has suggested, if you opponent doesn't move forward well or is uncomfortable at net, hitting it short and drawing him in is also a good option assuming you can pull this shot off with regularity.
Easy said, not always so easy done....
you're obviously a cerebral player who THINKS on the court ... unlike some of us (I'm pointing a finger at myself) ... I hear what you are saying and I need to be better "prepared" mentally ... thanks!
Oddly enough I was just watching the Fed/Baghdatis replay. Bag served down the T and Fed blocked a short one back center midcourt. Bag went right back at him, not terribly hard but deep so not much angle for Fed's reply. Bag followed it in and took the net in the middle of the court; Fed missed his passing shot wide.
*smile* ... well, I'm definitely no Baghdatis, but in this particular case I did as well as the Cypriot ... when I came in for my approach I saw that my OP seemed to be leaning toward his right (going to FH side of court) ... so, in my brilliance I decided to fool him and hit a BH slice to his BH side ... well, I blew the slice ... instead of going to his left, the ball sliced directly at him ... he was already a little off balance and I caught him off guard ... he hit his FH into the net ... he, obviously, was thinking that I was going to go to the BH or FH corner (he guessed FH) ... when the ball went right at him, he was dead ... so, I stumbled/bumbled my way into that point ... it was ugly ... but it worked!
