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There's a guy I often play with, I think he's like 1800-1850 level player. I typically beat him 80% of times. He's a strange player, because he has a really difficult serve, but isn't too good apart from that. His main serve is a fast, spinny, long pendulum serve. This is usually a sidespin serve with varying levels of underspin.
Usually I play him by just pushing his serve back and accepting the result. His serve is very difficult, so up to now, I just didn't dare to try anything else. When he hits his 3rd ball attack, I'm at his mercy. But if he can't hit his 3rd ball loop, then I usually have the statistical advantage.
But today I decided that our games are fairly predictable. So I decided to totally change my style and loop every long serve. I found that this totally change the dynamic of our games. To my pleasant surprise, I actually executed this strategy moderately well. Considering that it was my first day trying this, I think i did quite well. This is what I noticed changed in our game dynamic:
1) There was a lot more point variance. Sometimes, I would miss the loops and give away 5 or so points in a row. Other times, I would put a lot of pressure on his serve and I would win a lot of points in a row. For example, in one game I started the game executing my all-loop strategy quite well and took a 9-3 lead. I could've just played safely and won the last 2 points more steadily with a push. But I continued my loop strategy and went on to lose that game 12-14.
2) I found that he feared me looping his serve. (no wonder pros rarely do a long serve). I found that he had to go away from his best serve, and started using a much less dangerous short underspin serve.
3) Somehow I felt that even when I was serve, he felt less comfortable and more rushed to "get back" at me. This seemed to work in my favor
I ended up winning 2 matches against him using this strategy. Statistically, I feel I win more points with my old pushing strategy. But like I said, for my very first day trying this, I did it fairly well. If I can get used to the faster rhythm of looping his serves, I feel he will be under a lot more pressure. Any feedback for me? Did I do the right idea?
Usually I play him by just pushing his serve back and accepting the result. His serve is very difficult, so up to now, I just didn't dare to try anything else. When he hits his 3rd ball attack, I'm at his mercy. But if he can't hit his 3rd ball loop, then I usually have the statistical advantage.
But today I decided that our games are fairly predictable. So I decided to totally change my style and loop every long serve. I found that this totally change the dynamic of our games. To my pleasant surprise, I actually executed this strategy moderately well. Considering that it was my first day trying this, I think i did quite well. This is what I noticed changed in our game dynamic:
1) There was a lot more point variance. Sometimes, I would miss the loops and give away 5 or so points in a row. Other times, I would put a lot of pressure on his serve and I would win a lot of points in a row. For example, in one game I started the game executing my all-loop strategy quite well and took a 9-3 lead. I could've just played safely and won the last 2 points more steadily with a push. But I continued my loop strategy and went on to lose that game 12-14.
2) I found that he feared me looping his serve. (no wonder pros rarely do a long serve). I found that he had to go away from his best serve, and started using a much less dangerous short underspin serve.
3) Somehow I felt that even when I was serve, he felt less comfortable and more rushed to "get back" at me. This seemed to work in my favor
I ended up winning 2 matches against him using this strategy. Statistically, I feel I win more points with my old pushing strategy. But like I said, for my very first day trying this, I did it fairly well. If I can get used to the faster rhythm of looping his serves, I feel he will be under a lot more pressure. Any feedback for me? Did I do the right idea?