Words: Gentleman's Journal
Step 1: Good Movement
The important point here is your early movement. As soon as you see where the ball is going to finish, start moving back (and with an early full backswing) to completely establish your dominant position on the court. Exaggerate this movement to give yourself a couple extra steps so you can move into the ball when you hit it. This will give you more time to set up for the next return shot.
Step 2: Shot Selection
Hit more deep drives than you think. On the backhand, hit more straight than cross-court. On the forehand hit about 50/50. Obviously, when the ball is tighter, the proportion of straight shots should go up. Playing deep (particularly straight) is not negative: it is the crucial basis of the whole game. All other shots derive from – and depend upon – good deep drives. Low risk high reward. The lower the standard of player, the more boasts are played. It is a loose attacking shot and must be played relatively sparingly. A good boast will certainly damage your opponent but a bad boast – or even a good one played too often or too obviously – will damage you more. The best safe attacking shot – after the drive – is the straight drop. As long as it is played at the correct angle, it is a safe attack and will force a loose reply enabling you to easily play another good shot, probably deep.
Step 3: Effective Tactics
If there is a huge gap, hit the ball into it – even if it is the obvious shot. Look to play “good shot”, “good shot”, “and good shot” and then – as the gaps get bigger – one of these “good shots” will become a winner. You cannot go from nothing to a winning shot too quickly. It doesn’t matter if the rally continues, as long as you are not doing the running. Rallies will get shorter as you impose your tactical superiority. A hard lowish drive is normally best. Even though your opponent knows where the ball is going, and everybody watching knows where it is going, it is still the right shot, virtually every time.
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