A couple of weeks ago I was playing with a guy who just loved to feed off pace. Every time I hit a clean, well-struck ground stroke, the ball came back with twice as much velocity. This only inspired me to try to crush the ball even harder, which didn’t seem to bother my opponent one bit. Then, purely by accident, I mishit a shot, causing the ball to float high and deep to his backhand. My opponent looked confused and uncomfortable, and smothered his shot weakly into the bottom of the net. From that point forward I made sure to mix in some slices and high rollers during rallies to try to disrupt his rhythm. When you’re playing someone who thrives off pace, it’s a smart tactic. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when you use a change-up:
Be smart with your depth: If you’re hitting a softer shot, you don’t want it landing in the middle of the court. Make sure to keep the ball deep and your opponent behind the baseline. Drawing him inside the court with a slice or dipping topspin angle can be a smart play, but only if you keep the ball low. That way he’ll still have trouble being aggressive.
Change speeds on your serve: Ground strokes aren’t the only opportunities to mix up the pace of your shots. Players that like pace during rallies usually like it on the serve as well. So throw in some wide slices and kick serves, particularly on the first serve when your opponent is expecting a flatter offering with more power. It will throw off his timing. It also puts doubt in his mind as to what serve is coming next. That way, when you do go for a big first serve, it will seem that much faster.