Strategy for defender

I am not bad a defender using long pips on backhand . however some guys give that loose counter lift which i chop then they give a simple push which i push back and again they do a simple counter lift . sometimes my chop of counter lift goes high and they finish the job because in long pips if the ball has no topspin then the return by long pips is also without backspin and invites trouble!! i try to change game tactic and try to attack the push ball so he is afraid to tease me forward and backward. can you give a fool proof strategy for this?

Dr Dharmesh Bhuptani

India

Hi Dr Dharmesh,

Unfortunately there is no fool proof method but certainly making more attacking balls for the soft pushes is a good way to change the rhythm and keep the attacker off guard.

If you are only pushing back the soft balls it allows the attacker a big margin for error on those balls.  If you can develop your attack then they will start to feel the need to keep those balls lower which should lead to more errors from them.

You can also think about turning and using your forehand attack on some of these balls.

One of the big things for a defender is to keep the attacker off balance so any different ball that you can give them is useful.