January 3, 2012, 1:30 pm - (1 year ago) I had a hit with this guy at the weekend, who I thought would be cannon fodder but he proved to be a very awkward opponent to play against.
Firstly, we were playing indoors on carpet, so the surface is fast and the bounce very low compared to outdoor hardcourts where the ball sits up and you always feel you have time.
Secondly, this guy hit every groundstroke with a forehand or backhand slice, with not a single topspin stroke to be seen.
The problem was that on this type of surface, the ball just skids forwards off the carpet and never went higher than my knees. On occasions the ball was almost down to my ankles. I was already stuggling a bit adjusting to the surface, but these heavy slices and the ball shooting forward and slaying low off the bounce just made life really awkward.
I have quite a flat hitting game so it was difficult to attack off these balls and I found that I had to change my swing to a more small topspinny stroke to bring the ball up and over, which in turn made it more difficult to attack or hit through the court and consistently go after him.
Where I did have success was when I managed to move him around the court or push him out wide so he didn't have time to plant and slice, or bring him to the net with droppers, but this game was awkward! I never felt I could consistently play my normal game.
Has anyone played against such a strange type of player? Any tips for neutralising this type of heavy slice game? Click here to read full article
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