Professional tennis is exciting to watch. It’s impressive to watch the pro hit the ball so hard his/her opponent can’t get the racquet on it. Aces, passing shots and crisp volley winners bring the crowd to its feet. Like the long touchdown pass - one play and it’s all over. Back on the home courts, the impressionable fan has a tough time impressing anyone. The power shots either end up in the net or against the wall. He/she can’t seem to hit the ball past the opponent. An intelligent alternative to power tactics is to direct the ball and make use of the angles. This takes a different kind of personality. Instead of being impulsive, the player must learn to be patient. The serve is your first opportunity to direct the ball. Your choice is to slice it wide, serve down the middle, or hit directly at your opponent. In order to pinpoint your serve, take something off the speed - sacrifice a little steam for some direction. After putting the ball in play, most of your shots should land deep in the court. Aim high over the net. Wait until your opponent hits a shorter ball, one that you play inside the baseline, then take advantage of the cross-court angle. To learn angle shots, practice them during baseline rallies and warm-ups. Instead of exchanging hits down the middle of the court, rally cross-court or down the line. Practice the shots you need for the match.
In the tedious progression of developing a better game, considerable time is spent hitting the ball right back to your opponent. In a rally you instinctively know your best chance of keeping the ball in the court is to hit back where it came from. You hesitate to risk changing the angle of the ball. Someday, however, you must be daring and take that risk. When it isn’t coming too hard, try hitting it where he/she isn’t. A good way to practice these new shots is to play a game called crosscourt-down-the-line. From the baseline, play all your shots down the line; your opponent returns them all cross-court. (Start the pointing hitting a forehand down the line; he/she returns a backhand cross court; you hit it back down the line and he/she plays a backhand crosscourt, etc.). Keep score ping pong style; play until someone gets 11 points, then switch shots (you hit cross court and they hit down the line). Most points in tennis are lost. Many are lost because of forced mistakes. These are produced by moving your opponent around the court until he/she commits an error. To force your opponents into more errors, be patient and make use of court angles. You’ll discover it’s easier than hitting it by them.
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