3rd ball attacker

Dakota Castleberg Asked 10 years ago

hey Alois,

I have a guy at my club who at least 80% of the time will attempt to win the point with a drive or smash on the third ball. He serves short and with just a small amount of backspin. He will attempt to attack both flicks and pushes. I usually tend to try pushing deep to his backhand, but he's fairly quick and will still attempt to step around nearly every time.

As a lefty, if I try to push him wide to his forehand side, he will still tend to reach it with his speed and height/long arms.

I still beat him, as the weakness in his play is that he increases the risk as he tries to drive/smash shots he probably shouldn't.

Should I try to really practice my short push return? Is there a better solution? 

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Dakota,

Learning to play short will develop your game to a higher level against even better opponents. Without that skill you will find that the better players will be able to always attack first making it really difficult for you.