I'm playing the other day and my partner hits a good shot. I'm at the net and he is back a bit, not all the way to the baseline -- a couple of steps in.
As I said, his shot was good and... he just stayed where he was and watched the point develop. That would have been fine if the shot was not returned, but it was.
The return was fine, nothing demonic or unworldly. If my partner had followed his shot to the kitchen line, he could have easily put it away. But he was back. And he did return this next shot, but now he was out of position and the opponents were at the advantage. They soon hit the ball at his feet and that ended the point.
Here was a shot that was great as long as the hitter recognized that the shot required some care and nurturing. The first shot was never going to be a winner, but the follow up shot was -- as long as he closed to the kitchen line.
I talk about time management a lot, but here is an example of space management. I think of this game as being one of "king of the mountain," and you always want to climb the mountain. Don't admire your shot or wonder if it's going to land in, just go to the best location for the next shot. Worst case is you got in a few extra steps!
Two biggest mistakes I see repeatedly in beginner and low intermediate players is stepping into the court after one serves thus having to move back when a long return is made and not coming up to the kitchen line after the server returns his or her serve. It's amazing when some people have been playing for years and still make these mistakes. I always wondered if some kind of buzzer system would cure people of stepping into the court too early. Karl
ReplyDeleteI've long recommended a shock collar for faster learning... Yes, these two "errors" are very common. In the defense of moving into the court early, that's good practice against weaker opponents. But, if the returns are deep, you are in trouble. The pros will typically do that, but they are good and fast about getting back and then hitting off the proper foot, etc. Rich
DeleteI'm constantly being "reminded" to not step in, and I'm still constantly doing it. But thank-you Rich for clarifying. It is a good strategy against weaker players. So it takes a bit of evaluation to see your opponent's skill level. THEN, you can chew my ass out.
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