Stuck in defense

Hi pingskills team,

thanx to u all and some serious training Im proud to say that my game has improved greatly. Im winning alot more matches against really tough opponents and my unofficial coach and training partners (former caribbean champ included) are even suggesting tournaments.

Im having some trouble with a certain opponent who attacks with topspin almost straight away. Im able to block and counter maybe 60% of the time but I lose a lot of points being stuck trying to defend his barrage. I tried keeping it short and playing to his backhand more but he still seems to be getting the  better of me more often than not. Is there any advice you can give me to help with this situation? Thanx and keep up the great work.

Cheers, Nigel. 

Hi Nigel,

The best advice is to keep working on your short game.  This will be vital in not only beating this opponent but also a lot of higher level players.

Secondly right now you could try to make the monger ball more effective.  So if you can't beat him with the short ball give him heavy long pushes or fast flicks that will make his attack less effective.   Even mixing between short and long may help to keep him off guard. 

Work on your serves to gain an advantage so that you can make the first attack as well before he has the chance. 

It is good to see that your training is benefitting your game. It is the most critical factor in improvement for anyone.