More isn't always better!

When I was young and much more foolish than I am now, I got more joy out of hitting flashy winners than actually winning matches. Add the fact that I really didn't know how to play tennis i.e. placing the ball, opening up the court, etc. and I always lost to all too many people I should have beaten. ALWAYS. It didn't help, either, that I made the mistake of believing I needed EVERY kind of shot in the book to win whenever I played.

And seriously, I did everything I could to acquire just about every kind of shot you can name. The only problem was I could never hit any of them reliably or well when I most needed to do that.

Recently, I've had to do some major re-thinking about how I am playing, how I want to play and what I can do realistically to acchieve that, so for my own clarification this is what I concluded -

1.Service
I need a reliable serve with some sting, spin and high percentage more than I need a flat bullet or a wickedly curving slice. I am not tall or well-coordinated enough to hit flat serves consistently - nor have I ever been able to put sufficient sidespin on the ball to make it curve out really wide, except by accident.

So my best option is to hit every serve with topspin, adding as much sidespin as I can when I need to do that. I might not be able to hit many or any aces but aces are a bonus anyway (not even the biggest pro servers can realistically tell when they are going to hit an ace for sure). I should discipline myself to hit a serve that clears the net high, has enough weight to prevent my opponent to whack it and kicks up awkwardly to make it hard for him to adjust to its bounce.

2.Groundstrokes

It's not how many different ways I can hit the ball but how well I can hit the ball every time that matters. So -

Forehand

I have to change to a slightly more Eastern grip because my natural Continental is weak against high kicking balls and puts too much strain on my forearm when I hit certain balls. Apart from getting and having to hit more often with more topspin, I can still hit my forehand skidder approach shot by picking and choosing when I do that more carefully. I'll have to forego the occasional chip return but I can always focus on dinking the ball at a greater angle with topspin to compensate. 

Backhand

I need to use my flat-topspin more from the baseline for more clearance, use my skidder only when the ball is within that particular hitting zone, and try to finish points more efficiently with greater topspin or my semi-smash flat-slice by placing the ball instead of simply banging it as hard as I can. I should save dropshots for only when I have at least a 2-point cushion and NEVER when all things are equal.

3.Volleys

I never had good touch and trying to hit touch volleys is not the best option for me. To get points when I volley, I should simply focus on driving the volley carefully when the ball is above my waist, placing it even more carefully and very strategically when it's below that and using sharply angled volleys instead of drop volleys. I've got to discipline myself mentally to move to the ball instead of waiting for it to come to me, and taking it as high above the net as I can so that I have more angle to hit down and away.

4.Smash

The worst shot in my repertoire because I don't always get into position to hit it properly. So, instead of trying to hit it as hard as I can, I should focus on getting into position and placing it firmly with a controlled swing. 

5.Lobs

My backhand defensive lob is pretty reliable and for some odd psychological reason, it's harder for me to find myself out of position on that side BUT not on my forehand so I should focus on using an attacking lob as part of my game before my opponent has the opportunity to push me so wide on the forehand side that I have to lob defensively.

When I Play

1.Focus on placing the return of serve strategically and well with a firmly hit, controlled drive. 

2.Focus on placing my serves strategically, hitting up on it always. I hit many, many more balls into the net on my serve than I hit out.

3.Control 3/4 court balls back with my best high-percentage drives and DON'T try to hit outright winners. Think of opening up the court instead.

4.Attack 1/2 court balls with either my skidder shots or topspin but DON'T try to bang outright winners on anything that doesn't bounce IN FRONT of me above elbow height. Any balls below elbow height need to be placed as well as I can with spin and pace - not a wildly swung shot that might produce power but has an unacceptably low percentage. Better to open up the court effectively for the next shot if another shot is needed.

5.Focus on placing my volleys into an open court - NOT on hitting it as hard as I can. Win the point by placing the ball out of my opponent's reach. I'm not going to win the point if I hit the ball directly back to my opponent on the baseline.

6.Use attacking lobs from behind the baseline. Not a moonball, which a good player can handle well, but a really high-kicking topspin lob, especially to the backhand side, to open up the court.

7.Focus on moving TO the ball, especially when I am on the baseline or coming in to volley. I have a bad habit of waiting for the ball and trying to play a half-volley - that is unacceptable. Better to move forward and play an effective drive volley. 

I realise that such disciplined changes aren't going to happen overnight but as long as I try my best to play this way every time I step on court, I truly believe that the day will come when I play this way naturally. I'll worry about how to play even better when that day comes.