Drown/Quicksand Better Opponents

When facing an opponent who look better on paper, it is important to remember Muhammad Ali's rope-a-dope strategy against George Foreman in their famous Rumble in the Jungle. In this fight, Ali danced around the ring and leaned against the ropes thereby allowing the ropes to absorb much of Foreman's punches. In the end, Foreman got tired of hitting "nothing but air" and eventually got knocked down in the 8th round by a five-punch combination. Although Ali was by no means an underdog in this fight, it was a risky proposition considering the punching power of Foreman. However, through superior tactics, he came out successful.  Tennis player should remember this anecdote when facing "better" players or, more importantly, hard hitters. Often times, pride and testosterone get in the way of our success. Sometimes, when facing a hard-hitters it is tempting to get into a tank battle by trading artillery strikes ("Oh yeah! That's what you got?! Let me show you what I got!"). You get in this sort of thing and the chances are that the better player will win or, of you're lucky, the chances of success are 50-50. Is that good enough?! Shouldn't the goal be to win 100% of the time?! If the answer is yes, than perhaps one thing to consider would be to drown your opponent in shots that force him to generate all the pace and, when possible, shots that force him to take 5 steps to your two. This doesn't mean that you have to "push" (and there's NO judging from me if you do) but it does mean that you try to consistently hit shots out of your opponent's comfort zone forcing him to expend more energy. In time - be it 5-6 game or longer - the opponent will start making bad decisions; will start going for winners at inopportune times; will stop running after certain shots; will slow down. You have made the tank get bogged down in quicksand or, like the crocodile, have dragged the lion into the muddy water and drowned it (rather than fighting it on land - in its natural habitat).  When utilizing the "drowning" strategy, keep tabs on your energy levels as well as the score. For the most part, don't play the scoreboard but, instead, see how your opponent is coping with the pressure that your putting on him and, as your playing begins to take a toll, SLOWLY start pushing your opponent around the court (while still maintaing consistency and while still keeping the ball out of your opponent's strike zone). Have the confidence that the tank WILL, at "some point", run out of gas or get stuck in the mud. Actively work to identify that POINT.

Above All Be Stingy

First of all, let me start off by saying that I don't advocate gambling. I believe that, in many ways, gambling can be compared to hitting drop shots: if it works out, you want to come back for more; if it doesn't, you come back for more thinking that you'll do better next time (i.e., discounting the percentages and attributing your loss to fluke or bad luck). However, one lesson that CAN be learned from gambling, is how to be stingy. 

Often times, when I play against a developing youngster, it seems that they aim to make the highlight real of some sports channel. I must confess, that many times, I too am impressed with certain shots that they choose to hit. What is important to remember, however, is that in tennis you don't get graded by looks, but by matches won/lost. Furthermore, these matches are really comprised of individual points. So while the player gets the euphoria that comes from hitting a clean, flat-out winner that paints the lines (for example), someone with more experience grinds out point after point after point and, pretty soon, these points turn into games, games into sets and sets into matches. So, like Texas Hold 'Em, the player can win a medium-sized pot once in a while while the other player wins hand after hand of smaller pots which, in the end, push the opponents to "gamble" rather than play percentages. 

To be a better player, it helps to be more stingy; to ratchet back the level of testosterone that you inject in the game and focus more on winning more big points rather than winning fewer points in a big way. A point is a point; this is not figure-skating. The same value is attributed to an ace as to an unforced errors. Therefore, let you're opponents have the highlight real; you can go ahead and focus on taking home the paycheck. 

Alternate Defense and Offense Practices

How many times do you get on the practice court and follow a set routine? If you're like most players, you come on the court and follow the same regimen over and over again starting with warm-up, cross-courts, side to side, volleys, serves and maybe some points. This is not, however, how most matches are played. Very few times, especially at the highest level of the game, do you get to play in your comfort zone 100% of the time. In some points you get to dictate, in other points you get to be the rabbit.  In order to improve your chances of success, practice alternating offensive plays with defensive drills. For example, try mixing up aggressive pattern plays with "defensive" side-to-sides. Alternatively, you can practice hitting 4 hard serves, followed by the advance-retreat, the "cross" drill or some other form of covering the net. The point is to practice becoming ready for anything and not get stuck in a pattern of playing or pattern of thinking. As a player it's important to do the right thing, at the right time. Sometimes that means to defend; other times, that means to dictate. But it's difficult to transition back-and-forth among these variants if your practices are too rigid or mechanical. Learn that defense and offense are really two sides of the same coin. When you are being an aggressor in one aspect, be mindful that you have to defend another part of the court. When you are defending, look for ways to turn the tables on your opponent.  Of course, in some stages of development, it is important to practice certain plays/patterns repeatedly until the player masters them. However, once the player figures out the drill, it may be advisable to either tweak the drill a little bit to add a new dimension or to mix things up combining defensive drills with aggressive plays in order to open up the player's way of thinking so that she can be ready for anything that the opponent might throw in her way. Flow like water and you will overcome even the most difficult obstacles.

Train Your Opponent

As covered in a number of our tips/articles, tennis is a lot about patterns and proper execution thereof. It is important to recall that humans are made to recognize patterns as doing so keeps things simple. If we know a pattern - be it walking in the dark to the bathroom without stubbing your toe on a piece of furniture or hitting and recovering on the tennis court - it will, usually, make our life a lot easier since we can focus our mental energy on something more important or interesting. 

To explain what "train your opponent" means, let me start with a story that my dad told me when I was starting to play tennis. He told me that playing tennis is a lot like a mongoose hunting a cobra. The mongoose positions itself in front of the snake and tries to attack it by biting its neck. First, the mongoose, moves to the right. The snake sees this and moves to its left. Then, the mongoose moves to the left. In response, the cobra moves to its right. And on and on it goes until the mongoose establishes a pattern of moving side-to-side. The snake, being small brained, simply reacts my moving in accordance to the movements of the mongoose. But then, the mongoose FAKES a movement and goes back the same way twice. The cobra falls for the feint, moves in the opposite direction in order to defend itself and, as a result exposes its neck. The mongoose pounces on this opportunity and rips the cobra's neck to shreds.

In terms of tennis, training your opponent is similar to the example above. Move your opponent side-to-side until you establish a pattern AND THEN go for the "wrong-footing" strategy. This can work very well with a serve-follow-up combo where you swing your opponent out-wide and then go for the open court. Train your opponent to run a couple of times to chase the open court before you go back behind him. This concept works just as well with long points as well as with short points. The key is to lull the opponent into NOT THINKING at all...into assuming that he knows what you have up your sleeve. In many ways, it's just another way to keep your tactics fluid while allowing the opponent to fall into predictable patterns. So next time, do the RIKI TIKI TAVI and go for the jugular at the right moment.

Concentrate Your Weapons on Your Opponent's Weakness

Sometimes, when you perceive a chink in your opponent's armor, it is important to focus your weapons on hammering away at that weakness. Both Carl von Clausewitz (Prussian military theorist) and Sun Tzu would agree that a maximum concentration of forces is sometimes the key to winning battles. However, Sun Tzu's advice was slightly different in that he didn't simply believe in overwhelming the opponent by amassing the greatest number of troops. You have to find a way to pound at your opponent's weakness with your strength AND do so at the right time. Otherwise, he is going to find a way to get around the tank artillery no matter how much you shell him. 

In terms of tennis, it's not enough to simply lob or rally back a ton of shots to the opponent's backhand (assuming that that's her weakness). Most half-way decent players will actually become better the longer the point goes on assuming that the ball keeps coming the same way in the same spot. The first couple of balls will, of course, give her some difficulty but then the eyes, feet, hands, balance, hips and shoulders will become accustomed to the pace and the same exact shot will not give her problem.

Therefore, it is important - when spotting a weakness in the opponent's game - to pound it into submission but pull away when you feel that your shots are starting to lose effect (i.e., when the opponent gets comfortable with your pace, spin, trajectory and ball positioning). So, for example, let's assume that you're in the middle of an important point with an opponent who has a shaky backhand. You've tried hitting 100 shots toward that backhand and you've won some points and you've lost some points. It's possible that the opponent has managed to plant herself in that corner and starts to hit inside-out forehands. Being 50-50 (i.e. working hard and winning half the points) is simply not good enough. Your energy level will go down and you risk that the opponent may get lucky and/or hit some decent shots and squeeze by you. Therefore, assuming that you have spotted the weakness, find a way to hammer it 2-3 (maybe 4) times in a row; if you don't get the response you want right away (i.e. error or weak response), (a) change direction - get the opponent out of that corner - and (b) then hammer it again (BAM-BAM-BAM!) 2-3 more times. Throw in a couple of slices or some high lobs as well. Don't let the opponent get comfortable with the back against the wall; don't let him dig in and regroup; keep forcing him to make adjustments.

In terms of practice, focus your practice on quick-succession patterns, where you're hitting 5-6 shots with high energy and intensity at 2 targets. Your foot-speed, power, intensity, depth, spin, placement and timing should intensify from shot to shot to the point where your last shot is the best that you can possibly hit. For example, go for the cross-court forehand, then punish a cross-court backhand, followed up by 3-4 quick-succession inside-outs artillery strikes into the opponent's backhand corner. Also, practice soft/medium/hard sequences when hitting cross-courts (i.e., coach hits a consistent pace and player alternates between (i) a high, heavy topspin, (ii) a medium rally pace, and (iii) a blast).

In a match, you will remember to go for the jugular when your first strike draws blood.