Cover The Line?

A concept that continues to linger is that a player who approaches the net should "cover the [down the] line". This principle may have been effective when players use to utilize small-headed, heavy wooden rackets where it was difficult to to flip the wrist and hit it cross court. Nowadays, with improvements in technology, I am not sure if blindly following the "cover the line" rule is such a good idea. A player doesn't have to be Nadal in order to squeeze a tight, cross-court passing shot by the attacking player.

I believe that a better strategy would be for the attacking player to think in terms of BISECTING THE ANGLE. That is, position herself in such as way as to cover just as much of the cross-court as well as the down-the line (and possibly the lob). In addition, the player's chest should be directly square to the opponent's shot (i.e. the shoulders should not be parallel to the net but an angle facing the oncoming ball) thereby enabling the player to move equally fast in either direction.

As a matter of fact, I would recommend moving slightly more towards covering the cross-court and thereby tempt the opponent to go for the low percentage down-the line (i.e. over the high part of the net; "short" side of the court; and, perhaps, while being on a fast run). When attacking with a cross-court, it is important to understand that the opponent's movement to cover the approach coupled with aiming for the down-the line will, in a lot of situation, "vector" the ball out wide. In other words, the momentum of the opponent's movement combined with trying to hit down the line will often result in the ball being "dragged" wide (if only slightly, but wide nonetheless). Therefore, it is often a better strategy to tempt the player to hit the down the line passing shots. If he beats you with shots that go in by mere inches (as opposed to feet), then it was simply her day. However, more likely than not, the chips will fall in your favor when you attack the opponent and force him to take chance after chance by going for the line.

No Pride

A player should be proud of her preparation, training, attitude, passion for the game, etc., but many times certain variations of on-court pride leads to poor results. Obviously, you should always be honorable and seek to avoid engaging in gamesmanship or performing kabuki theater that is so prevalent in modern junior tennis.

By "having no pride", I mean once you step on the court to play a tournament, most of everything that you have learned up to that point is theoretical. Too often, players attempt to actively BEAT their opponents (going for low-percentage winners on every shot); not enough times do they make the effort to allow the opponents to BEAT THEMSELVES. This is not always helped when the player's parents clap for aces or wild shots but are silent when it comes to long points - cleverly thought out and constructed - but not flashy. What message are you sending your player when you clap every low percentage shot?!

For example, not every match needs to be played as if the ESPN highlight real is at stake. In most matches, good, solid tennis is sufficient to pull through. In these matches, don't be afraid to resort to a strategy that is beneath you in the event the gamestyle or strategy that you have initially picked does not pan out. Yes, sometimes you will have to dink, other times you will have to push, some other times you may have to chip your forehand or serve underhand. First, it's obviously important to practice these shots so that you are comfortable executing the same under pressure. Second, it's important to practice these shots so that you can draw upon them by instinct rather than forethought. Third, it is important to understand that these shot have no bearing on who you are as a player. They are just tools for being used at the correct time and discarded. 

On the other hand, however, there are some players who seem to specialize exclusively on these shots. This is not something I advocate although players such as Fabrice Santoro have made a very lucrative career at mastering the odd-ball shots or strategies. Prior to Santoro, there was Karsten Braasch. It seems that Santoro's heir apparent may be Dolgopolov although he possesses more pop and dimensions than his predecessors. However, when you watch Dolgopolov you will notice two things: (1) he's having fun. Tennis does not seem to be a burden for him. He's often smiling and doesn't look like he has too many cares in the world. And (2), he's not afraid to hack, slice, chip, drop shot or hit jumping shots. Although cameras are rolling, he doesn't seem particularly interested in making the highlight real. When the opponent's game calls for a slice, he slices. When the opponent's too far back, he drop-shots. 

Developing players would be well-served by sitting on an outside court and watching a player like Dolgopolov practice his craft. Often times, juniors watch the top players (Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic) and think that that's how the game should always be played. Yes, those guys are certainly the cream of the crop. However, in the trenches of junior, college and low-level pro events, it is often a different type of animal who is king of the jungle. Your objective, as a developing player, is to be able to come up with any stroke, any time. Master all the shots and don't feel like you're too proud to rely on them under pressure. Remember, matches are won point-by point. If you can hit a great shot one point, scrape another point, allow the opponent to miss on the third point and get an easy point on the fourth, you win the game. Like a poker player, don't be afraid to bluff and whittle away your opponent's chips. You don't have to have 4 Aces to win the hand. Sometimes, a well-played weak hand will do. 

No Battle Is The Same As The Previous One

In the history of military warfare, hundreds (if not thousands) of battles have been lost by superior armies that have failed to adapt their strategy to the new battle. In other words, they have continued to fight the "last war" where the enemy has learned from its losses, adapted to the conditions, adopted new tactics, practiced those new tactics and implemented the same in the next battle. 

As player, it is important to never ever "rest on your laurels". You must always seek to improve and develop new weapons and new tactics because you can bet your bottom dollar that the opponent is doing exactly the same thing after hit initial defeats. When coaches tell you that you must learn from your losses, the misconception is that you must learn ONLY from your losses. This is not the case; you must learn from your wins as well. Always figure out what worked for (along with what didn't) and determine ways for the opponent to breach your defenses (or break down your weapons) so that you can anticipate the attack during the next battle. For example, if you beat your opponent with a great inside-out forehand (I use this example a lot since it seems to be the meat-and-potatoes play for most players), make sure that you also practice hitting against a slice or heavy/hard down-the-line backhand from the opponent. Also, make sure that you are comfortable coming in or hitting passing shots off your backhand since the opponent may practice a new "play" between tournaments and seek to use it against you. 

Too often, players develop the mentality that because you've beaten an opponent in the past you will do so again in the future. WRONG! Every match, like every battle, is different. Not only will your opponent play differently but, often, the conditions will be completely different as well. Where you may have beaten him on a slow court, now you have to face him on a fast court. It may have been hot before - favoring a bigger hitter - but now it's colder (or windy) - making it difficult to generate pace. A soldier who takes the battle for granted and who is not ready for the element of surprise is a dead soldier. Although the stakes are dramatically lower when it comes to sports, the same principle applies. Expect the unexpected and you will find yourself victorious over and over again. 

Defeating Energy Sappers

There is one time of player who is very difficult to defeat and this player is known as the "energy sapper". In earlier stages of your development, the player can take the form of your classic moonballer. Later on, the player's shots will have developed and he may actually hit the ball with a decent amount of pace. However, this player thrives on utilizing the pace of your shots and redirecting the shots into a position where you will have to move and be off-balance. 

In my opinion, a classic example of an energy sapper is Andy Murray. Sure, he can certainly crank his serve and groundies but what he's really good at is redirecting the ball in such a way that it causes confusion in the opponent's game. Often times, the opponent just feels (certainly by looking at him - we don't actually know what he feels) that he has to either go for more than he's used to or utilize an untested strategy. You can spot the energy sappers a mile away because (1) they are good - often times, they beat players who are far superior to them on paper (i.e., measure the strokes pound-for-pound); (2) they are fast - these players have figured out that the most effective way to play is to be fast enough to get to every ball and take it "on the rise" (or around the strike zone); and (3) the pace of their shots increases with the pace of the opponent's shots - when the opponent crushes the ball, so does the energy sapper; when the opponent pushes, so does this player. It's not that these players can't generate their own pace; it's just that they simply prefer utilizing yours. 

The key to beating the energy sapper - and he will be a difficult foe to overcome - is to mix things up and force him to come up with pace from various positions around the court. Simply blasting the ball in the middle of the court will not cause problems for this player since his set-up is quick and and he can utilize the pace to throw you off-balance. That's exactly this player's bread and butter play. In order to hurt an energy sapper you must learn to combine high, heavy top-spins (which force the player to, initially move in to take the ball on the rise, but as the match progresses - and energy levels decrease - to move backwards), with short angle slices (i.e. just enough to force the player to move in, but not so short that it opens up an approach shot), followed by blasting a shot into the middle of the court. For the most part, I would suggest never hitting the same ball twice (particularly in the same spot); force the opponent to make as many adjustments as possible throughout the point/game/set/match and, if you're successful in pushing him to the point of exhaustion, to approach and make him pass you (in other words, make him generate his own pace).

Often times, players play against these energy sappers in a way that is completely wrong. They blast the ball and if that doesn't pay immediate dividends they blast it even harder. If you bang your head against a brick wall, the only dent that will appear will be in your head. Pretty soon, you will be exhausted and entirely at your opponent's mercy. What you need to do is identify the energy sapper from the beginning and then make a conscious effort to pack your lunch and be on the court for as long as it takes to get the job done. Also, stay focused from start to finish. Energy sappers are notorious for stealing victory from the jaws of defeat. Don't relax until you've turned in the score. You know when you're starting to get under this player's skin because the payer will start to force her own shots (things that she's not accustomed to doing) - thereby making more errors and giving you more openings for pressing the gas pedal ever so slightly. 

Hitting To Your Opponent's Strengths

It is a misconception that the player should only hit to the opponent's weakness. First of all, most good players make a conscious effort to improve their weakness from match-to-match. Therefore, you may find yourself 2-3 games in a hole before you figure out that the weakness is really not that weak. Second, if the player cannot improve the weakness, he will do a heck of a job masking it. Take for example the standard player who has a better forehand than backhand. Often times, you will watch two juniors engage in the battle of the "inside-outs" - each trying to get to the opponent's backhand. It seems that, a lot of the time, the thought to hit to the opponent's actual forehand side never enters the mind. Under these circumstances, the player who manages to squeeze the ball inside the sideline without missing usually wins. 

I don't condone playing to the opponent's strength exclusively - although Jim Courier preferred to pound away at the opponent's strength in order to show that he was the Alpha Male - but it's important to know how to do this in order to change things up and actually expose the opponent's weakness in the process. For example, just because the opponent has a killer inside out forehand, how good is this shot from the Deuce side of the court? Test her. See how well she handles the high balls, short, low slices, or hard shots. The beauty is that you don't have to take too many chances on these shots. Often times, she will simply move to the forehand and send the ball right back towards your backhand. Of course, now you have the angle on her and can start yanking her around the court. 

The key to this strategy is to develop shots that are difficult for the opponent to handle. You have to master the slice (in order to keep the ball low), you have to master the heavy top-spin (in order to keep the ball high), and you have to master the drive (in order to give the opponent less time to react). Your primary motivation is to make the opponent hit his strength but ON YOUR TERMS. In doing this, you will expose certain patterns or biases by your opponent. For example, if you slice down the line with the backhand, 90% of the time, the opponent will flip a cross-court forehand (because pounding the down the line will be difficult). However, you already anticipating this shot and are able to cut off the angle and drive the ball down-the-line to the opponent's backhand. In effect, you're learning to play "one shot ahead". 

To summarize, don't be afraid to pick on the opponent's strength as long as (a) you're doing it in a manner in which she cannot hurt you, and (b) you have a game plan for what you want to do with the next shot.