How to Come up with a Match Strategy
by: Dave Winship @ On The Line

I've come across a surprisingly large number of players - even some really good ones - who don't even think about match strategy! They just step onto court and hit their shots and if they hit better than their opponents, they win. If they don't, they lose. Most of us can't afford to hire Brad Gilbert to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of an opponent before we play a match. Many of us can't afford a coach at all.

If you fall into that category, you've got to learn to analyse your opponents by yourself. You can do it by reviewing your previous encounters (if you've had any), by watching their matches and by talking to other players. Make notes about their preferred patterns of play. Make notes about the shots and shot combinations that are effective against them (and the shots and shot combinations that are not). Try and identify what breaks down under pressure. With experience, you'll get better and better at reading what your opponents are all about. Just be aware that everyone you play has got some shortcomings. Just be sure you find out what they are.

Once you're equipped with a straightforward assessment of an opponent's patterns, strengths and weaknesses, you're ready to devise your strategy. Here are a few examples of some strategies you might apply:

identified weakness: impatience

strategy: Be sure to profit from unforced errors. Stay back and keep the ball in play with good depth until your opponent succumbs to temptation and risks a low-percentage winner.

identified weakness: one-speed

strategy: Occasional slow-balling will upset players who are only comfortable with a fast-paced game.

identified pattern: runs around to hit forehands

strategy: This could be a player who has a weak backhand, but it could also be a player who has a particularly big forehand and likes to use it at every opportunity. Either way, he is going to be taking risks with his court position. Catching him off-balance by hitting wide to his forehand may well pay better dividends than relentlessly trying to force a backhand out of him. At the very least, forcing him wide on his stronger side should actually help you get at his backhand with your follow-up shot.

Once you've identified something that hurts your opponent, go to the well as often as you like, especially on big points. But if your strategy is simply not working, be prepared to refine it or even change it completely. After all, if someone doesn't answer the phone, it's no good dialling louder!

Your groundstrokes, your serve, your volleys, your footwork - they're like fingers. You can do limited things with them, but a strategy curls them together into a single unit - a fist. Now you have a weapon!

Regards.

Dave Winship