In the 55th reading note, I introduced the technical points of the three steps of "forward swing, hitting and swinging" of a single counter-attack ball, focusing on why the handle should be pointed at the incoming ball when swinging forward.
To be honest, Marty Smith didn't explain this in detail in his book Absolute Tennis, I based my analysis on the physics and calculus I learned in middle school and college, explaining why coaches emphasize "whipping" from the perspective of mechanics and mathematics, respectively.
Today's reading notes will go into the fifth section of Chapter 8 of Absolute Tennis, which is "Backhand Cutting", and I intend to introduce this section with two reading notes.
In professional games, we often see players using backhand cutting. Even Djokovic, who has superb double-reverse technique, used backhand cutting frequently during last month's Paris Masters. What impressed me was not his backhand cutting movements and the ball path, but the sound he made when he cut the ball. From what I've observed, he also makes a low "popping" sound when he cuts the ball, and our amateur players basically can't hear the sound when cutting.
This shows that backhand cutting is not only used for defense and transition, but also as a means of attack. When you master the technical points of backhand cutting the ball, and can cut out the deep, turned and low ball like a professional player, the opponent is not only difficult to attack, but also more likely to cause him to return to the ball and go to the net.
Even if you can't play the most aggressive cutting balls of a professional player, you can use the cutting ball to transition like most people, disrupt the rhythm of your opponents, and win yourself more time to return to position. Remember, as long as your cutting ball stays deep enough, it's hard for your opponent to give you a fatal blow.
Compared with those professional players, one of the most prominent problems of amateur players is that they cannot grasp the scale of attack and defense. That said, their batting strategies and timing choices often lack rationality and consistency.
Lack of rationality refers to cowering when it is time to attack and taking a more risky approach when it is not appropriate to attack. Lack of consistency means that they have not formed a fixed, more consistent batting action, practice fashionable and can ensure that the batting action is more standardized, and when it comes to the game, the requirements repeatedly reminded by the coach are all left behind, and the batting action is strange and varied.
The above two cases are particularly prominent in the backhand. The reason is that most amateur players have weak backhands and lack of self-confidence, and the two are complementary and mutually causal.
The reason for saying so much is simply to elicit the following point. That is, mastering backhand cutting techniques is of great significance to amateur players. Backhand cutting techniques are slightly less difficult than double counter-attack balls, and practicing this technique can enrich your technical and tactical system and allow you to switch between offense and defense more easily.
At a shallow level, backhand cutting can disrupt the rhythm of your opponent; at a deep level, backhand cutting can also temper your psychological will and allow you to make a more rational game strategy.
It should be pointed out that the above is only my personal opinion. Next, let's go back to the book.
When introducing double-reverse and single-shot counter-balls, Absolute Tennis author Smith believes that we are more likely to use a one-foot-in-front-one-foot-behind closed footwork, while backhand cutting does not require high footwork and standing positions, and you can play the cutting ball more easily in both closed and open positions.
More importantly, when the opponent plays a large angle backhand ball, you are often too late to use the double or single reflex to draw the ball, this time the cutting ball will be put to use, you do not have to think too much about rotation, as long as you try to cut the ball deeply, low and flat and slow return ball can let you win a longer return time.
Of course, backhand cutting isn't always used defensively, you can also be used to change the tempo or even lure your opponent into making mistakes. For example, there are always some amateur players who are particularly good at spinning the ball on the bottom line, especially defensive, and you can't beat him. For this kind of cowhide player who is good at "plucking" the ball, you can try to deal with him with backhand cutting, such as cutting the ball more into his backhand position, once he hits the spinning ball with his forehand sideways, it will expose a large gap in the forehand position, and you can more easily mobilize the opponent.
For example, you can also cut the ball shallower to lure the opponent out of the bottom line comfort zone. In the face of the cutting ball in the backhand position, many amateur players have difficulty playing a quality up-spin ball, and once the up-spin is insufficient, it will cause the ball to go down the net. Even in professional matches, we often see players returning to the net when dealing with the opponent's downward spiraling ball, because the difficulty is too great.
As we mentioned earlier, amateur players often lack rationality in their tactical choices and their techniques often lack consistency. Of all the techniques of tennis, backhand cutting the ball is one of the easiest to maintain consistency. In Smith's view, djokovic and Federer have a clear difference in forehand, while the difference in backhand cutting is small.
Being able to recognize this is very important for us amateur players, which shows that it is relatively easy to practice more standardized and consistent backhand cutting. In my next reading note, I'll detail the steps and technical points of backhand cutting the ball.
Stay tuned. (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)