The first-class court general and tactician is the man who not only knows all the technical answers but is also trying to exploit the psychological element to the detriment of his opponent. Such a man is always consciously aware of the logical reply to the shot his opponent plays, and also which sequence of shots of his own will pay off most frequently. He knows that he must wait out all spin shots until they have crossed the top of the bound.
Category: Match Play Tactics
Exploiting Your Opponent’s Weaknesses
Tennis matches are won by the man who hits the ball to the right place at the right time most of ten. That right place may be determined by the possibility of making a clean winner, but more of ten it’s a place from which an opponent will make an error on his return shot. Nothing is so disconcerting or upsetting to a player as to miss. A magnificent shot, which beats him completely, doesn’t cause him much mental anguish because, if he is a sportsman, he will admire it and then not worry about it any more.
Match Play Tactics: Courage
Over the entrance to the great centre court at Wimbledon, England, and also over the marquee steps to the stadium at the West Side Tennis Club, Long Island, are identical signs. They carry two lines from Rudyard KipIing’s “If”: