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. 

Drop Shots

As much as I love watching a player who exploits the entire court (I am reminded of Federer's win over Soderling in the French Open final), it is disappointing to see a player who uses that particular tactic for the first time in the match. The match is not the first time when you should practice new shots - shots as the drop shot. Unfortunately, too many players either run out of gas or ideas and go for the low percentage shot at a key point in the match. Sometimes they make it; a lot of times they do not. In addition, players sometimes cannot control their urges - if they make the shot, they tend to go to the well over and over again. If they do not, they tend to retry it thinking that "I was so close last time".

The drop shot, just like any other stroke, should be practiced diligently and purposefully. However, baby steps should be taken in order for the player to FIRST develop the control necessary to hit a decent slice. In terms of hitting drop shots, I would recommend that the player practices alternating slices and drop shots in order to develop a feel for each stroke. The ball should be amortized with the legs as much as the arm (i.e., pace should be absorbed with the legs; similar to catching a football that punt). Furthermore, in the developing stages, I would recommend that the player hits the drop shot only after hitting 2-3 decent slices. Not only will this help the player practice his "range" but the opponent may be tricked into thinking that the short shot is in fact a deep slice. 

Nevertheless, how do you deal with a player who hits a drop shot at inopportune times? Well, sprints help. Lots and lots of sprints. You see, we talk to the players but a lot of times they think that they know better. They will continue to go for the high-risk shot if they perceive that there are no negative consequences. But, in a match, such consequences do exist. For example, if you try a drop-shot at deuce and lose the point, now you have to win THREE points in order to win the game. Had you played a solid point and won it, you'd only have to win ONE more point in order to win the game. In other words, a stupid shot costs you in terms of energy. And that's OK as long as you're willing to put in the effort to win those next three points. My favorite solution (rather than begging, pleading and being angry) is to make my players a deal: for every drop-shot (win or lose) at key points (15-30; 30-30; 30-40; 40-40; 40-30), the player will run a sprint (sometimes two). I don't do this to punish the player. I do this to make him understand what's at stake. If he's doing it with the forethought that if the play doesn't pan out he has to work twice as hard in the next two points, it means that the player has evaluated the risks v. the rewards. That indicates that the player is starting to think in advance as to the potential consequences of her decisions. 

Learning to Play at the Net

In military theory it is said that whoever controls the air controls the surface. In terms of tennis, this make sense because by being closer to the net than your opponent you are capable of intercepting shots more easily, you are able to produce more angles, you provide less time for your opponent to react and do not have to come up with elaborate strokes. 

Let's take the first concept: intercepting shots. Assume that your opponent represents the top of a triangle and the shots that he's capable of producing represent the two sides. The further back you stay, the more court you have to cover. As you move in, however, the opponent's angle stays the same but the distance that you cover shrinks. The only variable that you have to consider is that the further in you move, the FASTER you have to move.

The second concept is also easy to understand: the closer to the net you are, the more of your opponent's court you are capable of exploiting. For example, from "on top" of the net you can hit the a foot from the net as well as a foot from the baseline. The further back you go, the "less court" you have to hit (it's pretty tough to hit a 100mph drop-shot). 

The third concept is also easily understood: by moving in, you take time away from your opponent in which to react. He can hit a shot, but if you move in aggressively to intercept it, you give him less time to recover and react. Your job at the net is, in many ways, to act like a pin-ball machine - to redirect your opponent's shot into an area that he cannot cover. You do not have to over-think the volley; you have to outwork the ball. Don't wait for it to come to you; GO TO IT. This is, unfortunately, the most difficult concept for players to execute because, unlike, ground-strokes, volleys require active participation with your feet. You can't (and SHOULDN'T) wait for the ball to come to you. The bonus is that by working a lot on your net game, you will also be aggressive with your baseline game. 

Lastly, don't be afraid of getting passed. It's a bit difficult to get accustomed to seeing the ball go by you when you're at the net (simply because it doesn't happen that often when you're at the baseline), but you will learn to handle it. Remember, mastering the net game is mastering the percentages. The percentages are simply in your favor even if your opponent passes you 20-30 times. The fact is, he will also make more errors and you will also hit more winners. But you have to develop a "taste for blood" early on so that you can pounce on that volley like a lion on a gazelle. 

Strategy Versus Tactics

Taking another note from military science, it is important for a player to know the difference between strategy and tactics ("All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved” -  Sun Tzu). Tactics can generally be regarded as the activities or patterns used to execute a strategy. Strategy, on the other hand, is the big-picture plan. 

For example, let's assume that you are getting ready to step on the court for a big match. You have done your practices and workouts according to plan. You have analyzed your environment and have read your opponent. You are almost ready. Before you start, you should consider developing some sort of big picture plan for how the match will unfold. For example, should you be aggressive or defensive. Should you give the opponent pace, spin, height or angles. Etc. This is the basic road-map that you attempt to follow throughout the match and it constitutes your overall strategy. Your tactics, however, are a bit more refined. By being aggressive do you mean to serve-and-volley or charge the net off the bat or do you want to work the point before you "belt-and-bolt". If the strategy is to pick on your opponent's backhand, do you do so by first moving him to the forehand, or do you plan to merely serve hard or kick-serves to it. 

In other words, having a game-plan is not necessarily enough. It's important for a player to have a subset of plays or patterns which are to be used in executing the game plan. As the quote above indicates, the player should be kept in the dark as to the overall strategy because you will implement it via multiple plays. Although, in her mind, she's thinking that you're doing X you are really doing Y. But, of course, in order for this concept to work, you need to have the appropriate weapons. You can be the best strategist and tactician in the world, but if you're fighting with bows and arrows and the opponent is launching cruise missiles, then you're, moist likely, not going to win. That's why we stress that you should practice EVERYTHING. Develop ALL parts of the game..all weapons, so that you can combine these aspects to maximum effect. 

Playing Against Southpaws

Lefties are tough to play against simply because you have less opportunities to play against them in practice (so you tend to run into them in tournaments). In addition, the mental block really starts out when you're little and they tend to have the geometric advantage on you because their cross-court forehand goes into your backhand (which may, initially, be the player's weakest shot). Of course, your forehand can go to their backhand but not if you spend a lot of time playing to beat righties (i.e., focusing on inside-outs). So here are some tips for playing against lefties that you might find useful.

A. When returning on the deuce side, stand just a tad closer to the middle of the court to take away their slice serve down the T. Remember that a well struck lefty slice will curve away from you so you have to be just a little closer to the ball. Also, it may sound a bit counter-intuitive but I would recommend returning (with the backhand) towards the ad side of the court. Normally, this opens up the lefty-forehand, but remember that you are moving towards the middle yourself so they don't have that much of an advantage. Aiming cross-court (inside-out backhand) from the deuce side is somewhat risky because your face of the racket is angled outwards and there is chance that the ball will ricochet wide off your string bed. If in doubt, pound the middle of the court. 

B. When returning on the Ad-side, position your left foot (and, consequently, your left shoulder) further out in front than normal. That is, you should be at a slight angle in order to intercept the slider. If you wait with your feet/shoulders parallel to the baseline, the slice serve will move away from you. You want the ball to come into the strike zone. Unlike returning from the deuce side, in this instance I recommend sticking the return cross-court. This way, you don't have to change the angle of the ball (i.e., you're basically returning the ball towards the location from where the serve is struck) and your opponent will be forced to either hit a forehand down-the-line (relatively risky) or right back to you. As mentioned before, I am really not in favor of giving the opponent cheap points. And although going down the line (towards the lefty backhand) with the return seems to be the obvious choice, this is somewhat of a risky play due to the geometry and physics (i.e., angle of refraction; vectors) but also because you're probably not all that used to returning down the line against righties (where they burn you with the cross-court forehand). As stated above, again, pound the middle when in doubt and neutralize the lefty advantage. 

C. When it comes to being in an actual rally with a lefty, try to utilize the cross-court slice with the backhand in order to neutralize the lefty forehand. Most of the time, they will prefer to hit it right back cross-court rather than opening up down the line (where they set up your forehand). So, if you're ready for the return to the backhand, you can set up the down-the-line backhand (or inside-in forehand) and hit an aggressive shot to their backhand. In this regard, I recommend stepping inside of the baseline as a follow up in order to cut off the reply with another forceful shot.