She had more patience than you had; kept the ball in the court until you missed; stayed on the baseline and out rallied you every time, and drove you to tears with slow, high balls placed deep into the corners. She not only fed off your power but also broke you down by being determined and consistent. She was a “Lob Queen” who ruined your confidence; yet, she was someone whom you really should be able to beat. Here are some tips to help you stage a successful revenge.
1.Next time you play a pusher, hit your groundstrokes and volleys behind her. A lob queen generally likes to run and prefers to retrieve balls from the open court. By going behind her you will” wrong – foot” her and develop a nice opportunity for yourself to win a point.
2.Use your angles. This strategy will take your opponent out of her comfort zone and, therefore, will help you to create some unforced errors
3.Don’t over hit the ball. Be smart about ball velocity and placement. Play percentage tennis; be patient and wait for a short ball to rip a winner.
4.Use a “delayed approach shot” concept. Keep your opponent off balance by hitting aggressive groundstrokes followed by surprising volleys.
5.Concentrate on demolishing the pusher’s second serve. “Chip and charge” on returns, be active and establish control at the net.
Make her volley. If she is a lob queen she will not like being at the net. Bring her in with a short ball and frustrate her with a drop shot/lob or a drop shot/passing shot combination.
Winning a match against a pusher is never easy. You will have to work hard, stay focused and play mature tennis to beat this type of player. And with a little time…who knows, you might be just like Martina Navratilova, feared by the pushers and loved by the rest of the players.
By: Renata Marcinkowska
http://www.womenstennisunlimited.net/
3 comments:
Thanks so much for this article. Playing against 'the lob queen' is exactly the kind of game I tend to lose. Usually after the first set I get tired of the drawn out rallies and start to make silly mistakes. Will be sure to give these tactics a try next time.
The bias in the rating system.
If you have two players of equal strength, and one is from a smaller town and one is from a large, the player from the smaller town is much more likely to be "bumped" to a higher rating than the player of equal ability from a large city. The reason is that the player from the smaller city is less likely to compete against fewer players his own or higher ability resulting in a better winning percentage than will the player from the large city. I think this is why the larger cities tend to do better at sectionals.
The bias in the rating system.
If you have two players of equal strength, and one is from a smaller town and one is from a large, the player from the smaller town is much more likely to be "bumped" to a higher rating than the player of equal ability from a large city. The reason is that the player from the smaller city is less likely to compete against fewer players his own or higher ability resulting in a better winning percentage than will the player from the large city. I think this is why the larger cities tend to do better at sectionals.
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