Tennis Suduko

Greg Moran

While doubles matches at the 3.5 level and below can often deteriorate into a race to see which team misses enough shots to lose first, high level doubles teams rarely beat themselves.

That being the case, one of your team’s biggest challenges is to solve the many strategic puzzles that your opponents bring to the match. Much like the wildly popular game Suduko, this requires a careful analysis as well as the ability to think ahead and put together a strategy for victory.

To conquer the puzzle that is the opposing team, you and your partner must begin to study them from the moment you take the court right through the end of the match. As you warm up with your respective opponents, practice these information gathering strategies:

1. Feed a ball right at their body and see which stroke they chooses to hit. This might give you an insight into which shot each player prefers.

2. Click photo: The lefty, Bob, is the bigger server. It always amazes me that after a match, so many players don't know if their opponents were right or left-handed.

   Are they right or left-handed? I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked this question to players after a match and they didn’t know the answer.

3. Look at their net game. What grip do they use? Your best net players will use the Continental grip as it allows them to move between forehand and backhand volleys quickly as well as serve and volley more effectively. Is their volley motion short and compact or do they like to hit swinging volleys. Generally speaking, the player with short and compact volleys will be the more effective player while the opponent with the swinging volley will usually be more erratic.

4. Try to get a sense of which player is the captain of the team as he or she may very well be the stronger player. When you spin the racket, see which player calls “up or down” and makes the decision whether to serve or receive. The captain will usually be the team member that does most of the talking and tries to dictate the warm-up and pace of the match.

5. Pay attention to their grips and technique on their groundstrokes. Every grip has its advantages and disadvantage. For example, if one member of the opposing team uses a semi-western or western grip for his forehand, he’ll struggle with low balls. Plus, Western grip players often are not great at the net. If he uses a Continental grip on his forehand, high bouncing balls will drive him nuts.
   
   If one player has a two-handed backhand, he’ll probably be able to hit the ball a bit harder as well as execute some difficult angles. Wide balls and balls into the body will be tough for him.

6. Be certain to test both player’s overheads. Feed them a lob and then a low volley so that you can get an idea of how well they move back for the overhead and then moves back in for the next shot.

7. Pay attention to each player’s body language. Do they hustle after the ball or do they appear lazy? Do they seem relaxed or nervous? How do they handle the inner game? Does one member of the team appear to get angry when he misses a warm up ball?

Keep in mind that many teams, in an attempt to set an intimidating tone, will begin ripping the ball right off the bat. They’re strategy is to win the warm up and, in the process, gain a psychological edge when the real contest begins.

Don’t fall for their folly. The Williams sisters or Bryan brothers are not on the other side of the net preparing to rip you to shreds. Once the match begins, they’ll come down to earth.

Once the Match Begins

During the first two or three games, keep the ball in play and focus on playing classic “percentage” doubles:

• A high percentage (70%) of first serves in
• Control the net
• Get in at least one poach each service game
• Attack your opponent’s second serve
• Hit a high number of shots low and down the middle
• When in trouble, lob!

Use the first few games to settle into a comfortable rhythm as well as continuing to check out your opponents. As the match progresses, gather information and make strategic adjustments. Keep your cool and remember that, no matter what they’re throwing at you, there is an answer. Here are six likely scenarios you’ll face and a few tips for each.

If your opponents:

Are strong serve and volley players: Focus on returning low to the server’s feet and lobbing over his partner’s head. If that doesn’t work, move to the both back formation on the first serve.

Prefer the one up, one back formation: Get to the net and look to execute shots between the two players and at the opposing net player’s feet.

Have one team member that is much stronger than the other: Pick on the weaker player. Make him hit virtually every shot.

Both have excellent lobs: Don’t abandon your net rushing strategy. When you come in, position yourselves around the service line so that you can handle the lobs.

Never lob: The match should be yours. Both you and your partner should position yourselves three feet away from the net and have a field day putting away volleys.

Are killing you with their cross-court angled return of serves: Focus on serving down the middle to make the angle more difficult to achieve. You can also play the Australian formation which will take the receiver out of his rhythm.

These are just a few examples of what to look for when you analyze your opponent’s games. Your goal as a team is to pay attention to everything. The more you can learn, the better you’ll be able to devise your game plan. More often than not, at the higher levels, it’s not the team that hits the better shots that wins the match…it’s the team that hits the smarter shots!

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Greg Moran's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.

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