Do not just concentrate on hitting the ball well, but also direct your shots all over the court to keep your opponent running to make a hit, thereby creating opportunities for him to make a mistake. A good guide is to always hit your shots at angles that represent the letter ‘V'. Also, try to hide your shot direction from your opponent up to the final second of impact to keep him guessing the direction of your shot. Try to keep your return shots as low to the net as possible, unless you are playing the lob or drop shot. This will force your opponent to always be alert, without assuming that you will play the ball directly into the net (assuming that you are not doing that!).
Do not step away from the ball when playing any shot; always throw your full weight directly into the shot to give it full pace. Your drive shots should be played deep, almost always hitting at least behind your opponent's service line. A straight drive should just hit in front of the baseline, whereas a very deep drive will touch the baseline (for example when playing straight back to your opponent's toes). A cross-court drive will be hit shorter and harder, increasing your angle away from your opponent. Nevertheless, plan your drives according to the type of opponent you are facing; play deep against a baseliner (unless it is a drop shot), but short against a net player (unless it is an overhead lob).
To play a straight drive down the sideline, hit the ball about 4 feet from your body, immediately in front of your navel, shifting your weight to the front foot upon hitting the ball. Keep your racquet swing flat and straight through, with your wrist in a locked position. For the cross-drive to your opponent's backhand, swing your racquet a bit earlier than the straight drive, stepping towards the sideline of the direction you are hitting to.
The backhand drive is almost similar to the forehand drive, except that your weight shifts a bit sooner, while advancing your front foot slightly closer to the side-line, thereby clearing your body for the swing. Hit the ball in front of your front leg, being careful not to slice the ball out of play.
Without assuming the obvious, always make sure that your opponent is not perhaps left-handed, making his supposed backhand his actual, powerful forehand. During warm-up look to ascertain which arm he is playing with. It will save you unnecessary points and embarrassment, not to mention the time to adapt to playing cross-court to his forehand.
© Francisco M. Lakay. 2007. Find out how to improve your overall tennis game.
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