By Paul Annacone
Illustrations by Craig Zuckerman

Making minor changes within your natural playing style is the best recipe for success.

When you become accustomed to a certain type of court, you tend to get rattled when you play on a different surface. You feel it’s necessary to alter your style to suit the characteristics of the court. Trouble is, when you drift away from the foundation of your game, the adjustments actually do more harm than good. Let’s look at the example of playing on a faster surface. This type of court will speed up the pace of shots and favor offensive tactics. Still, if you’re a consistent baseliner who predominantly plays on clay or a medium-pace court, rushing the net as often as possible is not the proper plan of attack. You have to understand your style and plug in little subtleties that will enhance your chances on a fast surface. Here’s how.

BEGINNER

OBJECTIVE 1:
Prepare early and shorten your swing. Since a fast court surface enhances the speed of your opponent’s shots, you have to take extra care to set up for the ball and use an efficient stroke. Early preparation, moving your feet, and making solid contact out in front of your body will help you avoid feeling rushed. What tends to happen when you’re hurried is you overplay your shots. You try to do too much, and since you’re making late contact your shots are difficult to control. If you feel the ball is crowding you, shorten your backswing and concentrate on making good contact.

OBJECTIVE 2:
Take advantage of the court speed. Just as you have to pay special mind to the increased pace of the ball, so does your opponent. Unlike playing on a slower court, a faster surface can help you win easy points. This is particularly true if you make things happen right from the first shot. A well-placed first serve can cause your opponent problems even if it’s not overpowering because the court will help you. And I’m a big believer in taking advantage of weak second serves. Since first serves on a fast surface may handcuff you, being assertive on second serves can be your best chance to have an impact on the point. Solid returns can yield more errors and will put pressure on your opponent to get his first serve in.

INTERMEDIATE

OBJECTIVE 1:
Play closer to the baseline. If you’re a net-rusher, a fast surface will play into your strengths. But if you’re a baseliner, grinding it out from the backcourt is a difficult proposition. You have to be extremely quick to play effective defense from several feet behind the baseline. If you’re a baseliner who can move up in the court to take the ball early, you’ll be able to control the points and have much more success. Since moving up will take some of your time away, you may have to shorten your backswing to make good contact. This way you’ve significantly improved your chances without deviating far from your strengths. Also, playing a power baseline game can translate well to fast courts. That’s why those who know tennis were not surprised when Andre Agassi captured Wimbledon, a fast-court event usually won by net-rushers.

OBJECTIVE 2:
Be mindful of your spins. If you hit your ground strokes with heavy topspin on a clay or sticky surface, the ball usually bites into the court and jumps up on your opponent. But on a faster court, this same shot has a tendency to sit up without much penetration. If you’re a topspin player, make sure you’re not overdoing it. Driving through the ball with less spin but more penetration is a better option on quick courts. In fact, possessing a good slice can be a real weapon in these conditions. A shot with tight underspin will skid and bounce low, which should give your opponent headaches. This can result in an opportunity on the next ball.

ADVANCED

OBJECTIVE 1:
Try to finish more points at net. If you’re competing at this level, there’s a greater likelihood that you’ve got some diversity in your game. So even if you’re a baseliner, you’re also a fairly proficient volleyer. Coming to net is effective on fast surfaces because you’re taking time away from your opponent, and the faster court will help turn mediocre volleys into winners. A great example of this was Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon. He wasn’t the greatest volleyer, but he did it well enough that the grass helped his volleys penetrate. Like Borg, what you want to do is approach the net behind aggressive baseline shots (he also used his big first serve) so that you get easy volleys. These are balls that you’re hitting around your chest and shoulders. You don’t want to come forward if you’re putting yourself in a position where you’re reactive and trying to dig out low volleys.

OBJECTIVE 2:
Practice coming forward and being aggressive. The more skilled your competition, the faster you’ll want to take control of the points. The impact of your serve or return is even more magnified at this stage. In either instance, if your shot yields an opportunity to advance and put pressure on your opponent, you must be willing to take that chance. On faster surfaces, players looking to set an aggressive tone will generally have the best results. Here’s one drill that will help you be assertive with your transition and net games: Have a playing partner feed you a relatively short mid-court ball that you must hit down the line and follow to net. Designating the area where you have to hit the ball will give the feeder a chance to get in position to hit a passing shot. This is important because you can then complete the point at net and work on your volleys. By taking the first ball you see and coming to net behind it, you’re creating an environment in which you’re the aggressor. Play up to seven points, then switch roles. Add up the scores to see who wins.