Let's face it - clay court tennis is different than hard court tennis.
And it's arguably more fun, more athletically challenging, and more stylish allowing you more time to hit beautiful angles.
And, as tempting as it is to try and play the same patterns on clay that you play on hard court, sometimes your old standby hard court patterns and tactics just don't work as well on clay.
For example, on hard court, a big inside out forehand can hurt your opponent and the point can often be won on the next shot with either another inside out or an inside in forehand up the line.
On clay your opponent can usually return your first inside out forehand without any trouble. so to hurt your opponent and gain an advantage you have to be more patient and hit a number of inside out forehands sometimes trying to pull your opponent wide further and further off the court. Then, when the opening is there you can go inside in up the line.
Watch the rallies on clay now and observe the patterns the players use . You'll notice how they're much more patient than on hard court.
Until next time,
Glenn Sheiner M.D. Author of INSIDER TENNIS STRATEGIES the tennis Ebook that can make you a smarter player and help you to win more matches now.
1 comment:
I live in Taiwan and there are lots of clay courts here. Even though I am having trouble adjusting and winning on clay, I have to admit it is a better surface. I still can't shake my hardcourt habit of blasting the ball. Put-away shots simply come back. The risk-reward for a hard shot... much less reward on a clay court.
One tip I have for clay court though, its really taught me about racket preparation. 8 to 10% of the time the ball will take a bad bounce. If your racket is already back you are in a much better position to react to the bad bounce.
Post a Comment