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TennisOne Lessons
Pattern Play Tactics, Part 4:
Take the Offense by
Going Down the Line
By Monty
Basnyat
TennisONE Associate Editor
Movement,
that’s what the game of tennis is all about. If you can move your
opponent around, you can force errors while at the same time creating
opportunities for yourself - opportunities to end a point. Watch the
pros play. It looks easy, doesn’t it? They seem to be set up and ready
for almost every ball and hardly ever commit unforced errors. This is
because the pros usually play a specific pattern and follow a guideline
on when to alter the direction of the ball.
In
order to move an opponent around, a player must be capable of hitting a
ball down the line or crosscourt. The length of the court is 78 feet
down the line from baseline to baseline while crosscourt is 82 feet.
Obviously, playing the ball crosscourt is safer because of the extra 4
feet. Another factor to consider when playing the ball crosscourt is net
clearance. The net is 3 feet in the center, 3½ feet down the line. Your
margin of error is lower and safer when playing crosscourt.
But
to take the offense you must be able to hit your opponent’s crosscourt
ball
down the line. Here, contact point is key. To go crosscourt, the ball is
played slightly ahead of the front hip, for the down the
alley shot,
contact is slightly back in
the stance. In this lesson, we will focus on tactics rather than
mechanics – the when as opposed to the how.
A
key to changing direction and taking the offense is balance during
contact. When unbalanced, the higher percentage tennis is to send the
ball back in the same direction it came from. Remember,
down the line play is a riskier because of the shorter court and higher
net. It’s also an aggressive play because the shorter court means the
ball takes less time to get to your opponent. The result - less reaction
time for your opponent.
In
the first frame above, Borg is stretched out and needs to make the safer
play. In the second frame he is perfectly balanced and can put the ball
wherever he chooses.
Next,
consider
court positioning. In the frame below Bjorn Borg is setup closer to the
center of the court. Percentage tennis dictates this would be the best
time to go down the line.  The
reason, once again, time. Hitting down the line down when pulled
out to the extreme sideline gives you less time to recover good court
positioning. Fantastic if you can knock off a winner but if your
opponent gets to your down the line shot and rips it crosscourt you may
find yourself in a bit of trouble.
For
club players who want to hone their down the line skills, the ball
machine is an excellent tool. Set up the ball machine on the deuce side
of the court and have it feed cross court balls to your forehand side.
Move to the ball and execute your shot down the line. Keep repeating
this drill with 8 - 10 hits followed by a ten second break between
intervals. Always start from the center of the court and move to the
ball then return to the center after execution. Next move the machine
into the ad court and repeat this drill on the backhand side.
Remember
be aware of your court positioning, delay your contact point, make sure
you are balanced during contact and drill, drill, drill then drill some
more. Before you know it, you’ll be on the offense hitting down the
line screamers like the pros. |