- Respect your opponent and the challenges presented by a defensive baseline player. Be patient and mentally prepared for a “grind”. Be resilient and focused. Unless you can hit through the court and overpower your opponent, you will need to draw on all your resources to “work the point” and achieve a positive outcome.
- Play high percentage, error free, solid tennis with absolutely no mistakes in the net to start the match. Demonstrate your ability and willingness to keep the ball in play with a high shot threshold. Hit with high margin (net clearance) over the middle part of the net and hit to big targets. Establish rhythm and consistency. As the match progresses, look for other things you can do to take advantage of the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of your opponent.
- Be fluid with your stroke mechanics. There are two negative stroke tendencies when playing against a steady player with no pace. One is to overhit and muscle the ball which leads to mistakes. The second is to tighten up and shorten your stroke pattern making it difficult to do anything with the ball. This slows the tempo of play and extends the rally which in turn feeds into the strengths of your opponent. The correct approach is soft hands, extended length and acceleration through the hitting zone and a strong, complete finish with your follow through. Margin should be established with spin.
- Generate pace with weight transfer, forward momentum, taking the ball early and by the stroke mechanics mentioned earlier. Command the baseline. Take time away from your opponent by hitting as many balls as possible on or inside the baseline. Move diagonally to cut off the angles when moving wide and always look for opportunities to close and take the ball earlier (on the rise as necessary). The goal is still high margin but now with more applied pressure.
- Be active with your feet. Another negative tendency is to get flat with your feet. The slow pace and length of the rally with limited court coverage responding to balls mostly hit to the middle of the court can create a drag on your feet requiring extra motivation to stay alert. It is important to be animated with your feet moving to the ball, in setting up to ensure proper spacing and in recovery after the shot.
- Begin the process of moving your opponent and opening the court by targeting the four primary target zones (two deep baseline corners and two short angles as defined by the intersection of the singles sidelines and service line). Set up the point with high net clearance and depth. Hit heavy and deep to the corners cross court as your primary choice (and deep to the middle of court to jam your opponent and take away angles as a secondary choice). Look to get the ball to project (explode) up after the bounce with topspin and the weight of your shots.
- Look for opportunities to close out the point with redirection and cross-court angles. When given a weak or short ball or when your opponent is pushed off the court (due to a well-hit serve, penetrating groundstroke or any shot that gets your opponent off balance), take the initiative and attack by redirecting the ball down-the-line or angle the ball sharply cross-court (outside and short on or inside the service line). You can redirect with your forehand or backhand as your outside stroke and when able to run around your backhand (assuming forehand is your strength) with an inside in down-the-line forehand. Likewise, you can hit sharply cross-court with your forehand, backhand or inside out forehand. There are different options when going down-the-line. You can hit through the court with a relatively flat drive (with some shape to the ball to ensure clearance over the high part of the net). You can hit heavy and deep topspin. You can slice the ball short with sidespin to get the ball to bounce low and off the court and you can hit a sharper slice with bite to drive through the court. With cross-court angles, you can hit sharply with heavy, dipping topspin or you can take pace off the ball and finesse the shot with slice. After attacking to the open court with redirection or angle, close into the net following your shot to be able to pounce on the next shot (should there be one) with a mid-court drive, swinging volley, volley or overhead. The same should apply whenever you have your opponent in trouble and stretched out wide to get a shot. When in control and dictating play allow no escape for your opponent to get back into the point.
- Drop the ball short with backspin to draw your opponent into the net. Pin your opponent back with depth and the weight of your shots until you get a weaker reply. Move into a position inside the baseline and then draw your opponent into the net with the drop shot. Use disguise and be unpredictable. If your opponent is quick to the ball, hang back and look to conclude the point with a passing shot or lob. If your opponent is late getting up to the ball and is forced to either drop it short or pop it up, move in to attack the next shot on the bounce or before the bounce with a volley or swinging volley (going at your opponent as necessary to test resolve and skill at the net). Most defensive players are comfortable moving laterally (east to west) from the baseline but not as comfortable moving up and back (north and south). Likewise, defensive baseline players are generally not as comfortable with net play so going at your opponent once at the net is reasonable (not heartless) and a smart choice of shots.
- Attack short balls by closing into the net. Flatten the ball out or use slice with the approach shot to keep the ball down. Aim down-the-line and deep or chip it on or short of the service line. A well-executed short, angled sliced approach hit with disguise dislodges your opponent from the baseline, opens the court and if retrieved almost always assures a ball up you can then punish with the volley. Follow the line of the ball in closing with all your approach shots with your priority to cover the down-the-line pass. Fully commit to the approach shot with forward momentum. Hesitation tends to leave the ball up making you vulnerable to a well-placed lob or passing shot. Do not necessarily look to hit a winner with your first shot in the sequence. Use the approach to set up your volley or overhead. What you do with the volley depends on your position in relation to the net and the quality of the shot by your opponent. In taking the ball below the net, direct your volley deep or use slice to angle the ball low and out wide (with the expectation for the need to hit one or two other shots to finish the point). If responding to a ball above the net, close as tight as possible and drive or “stick” your volley to the open court or soften your hands and deftly use backspin to drop the ball short with angle to the open court.
- Use variety to disrupt rhythm. Vary spin and the degree of spin. Slice as an example can be quite versatile, particularly if executed with disguise and extremely effective in keeping your opponent off balance. Use slice with soft touch as mentioned earlier to draw your opponent in. Use slice to make the ball sit up and not project into the court or stay down after the bounce. Use slice to pull your opponent off the court. Flatten it out to drive through the court. Similarly, vary the degree and arc of trajectory with your topspin strokes. Use topspin for sharp angles. Hit heavy and deep with a high arc of trajectory to push your opponent back and/or require your opponent to take the ball above her strike zone. Other variables to vary include pace, net clearance, depth, bounce height and projection, direction and court position (specifically with the serve return). Defensive players like to get locked in from the baseline absorbing your pace and getting into a rhythm where they feel they cannot miss. Your objective is to mix things up by varying your shot options, patterns and tactics.
How to Play Versus a Steady, Skillful, Defensive Baseline Player
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Ten Things Tennis 