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US TENNIS January 1997 How to Control the Center of the Court By Pete Sampras, Playing Editor with Alexander McNab |
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| Before a Grand Slam final a few years ago, I was asked what would determine the result. "The winner will be whoever controls the center of the court," I answered. Here's what I meant by that remark: The winner of a match usually is the player who establishes a dominant position in the center and makes his opponent run from sideline to sideline. Club players used to be able to hit five slow balls deep down the middle and win. But as you move up in skill level today, that's less and less likely. And it is impossible in the pros. Why? Because of all the big forehands out there. Controlling the center of the court means keeping my shots out of the center of the court. Baseliners with big forehands -- players like Jim Courier, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang -- are most dangerous when you give them time to set up. When I'm simply hitting my rally backhand down the middle, they can smack their inside-out forehands and make me do all of the running. And if I'm doing more of the running, I'm usually losing more of the points. In the 1996 U.S. Open final, I never let Chang take control of the center. I kept my crosscourt backhand deep and wide in rallies. When his crosscourt backhands fell short, I stepped in and hit solid backhands down the line. Whenever I could, I stepped around my backhand and hit forehands that made him run out of the center. And I attacked at the net behind my serve and behind good approach shots. Basically, I controlled the center by using the whole court. Here is a more detailed look at how to do it. Work to set up your forehand The objective in today's baseline rallies is to dictate the point with your forehand. My goal is to get in position so I can hit an inside-out forehand (facing page) to my opponent's backhand. Once I have a forehand, I feel I should be in control of the court. If my opponent returns my first forehand decently, I can hit it to his backhand again. When he returns short, I have the additional option of pulling the shot down the line in front of me to his forehand corner. Vary backhands to keep your opponent out of the center You can't always set up for the forehand right away. So your basic rallying stroke should be a wide crosscourt backhand (above left), a shot I hit really well against Chang. You may not be controlling the center of the court by rallying backhand to backhand, but at least your opponent isn't, either. A key stroke in breaking out of that neutral pattern and gaining control of the center is the backhand drive down the line. It's a shot I've really developed in the last few years, and it's now a major element of my baseline game. The backhand down the line (left) opens up the court for me. For example, against Courier, who stands really far over toward his backhand corner, I have to hit the backhand down the line to keep him honest, to let him know that he can't just camp out in that one area and hit big forehands. If he then returns crosscourt, I hit a running forehand, one of my favorite shots. And if he goes down the line, I can hit the backhand crosscourt to his backhand, a shot that sometimes is tough for him to get to. Wait for a shorter ball to hit your backhand down the line. I'll go for it if I'm near the baseline; it's a little risky if you're 5 or 6 feet behind the line. The backhand down the line is tougher than the crosscourt, but it is a good play because it forces your opponent away from the center. When I want to mix it up, I can use a slice backhand down the line (inset, bottom, facing page). I'll also hit the slice when I want to approach behind my backhand down the line off a short ball. The key to the slice is to be firm through impact so you don't hit a floater. Make your opponent try to pass on the run Serving and volleying is an obvious way to control the center. A routine play, for instance, is to serve wide (top right), forcing your opponent far from the center, then to volley crosscourt, far from the center on the other side (bottom right). I use my first serve to try to win the point with an ace or an unreturnable ball, whether it's up the middle or out wide. But even when my opponent gets the ball back, I am usually in control because I'm hitting my first volley from the center. On the volley, the main thing is to make your opponent run. The obvious way to do that is to volley crosscourt. But occasionally you should volley behind him to keep him honest or to take advantage of his lack of quickness if he's slow at changing directions. The key is to keep him moving, because that's when most of his errors are going to come. If my opponent is going to pass me, he's going to have to pass me by hitting on the run. If he comes up with a winning shot, there's nothing you can do. You just have to accept it. But if you use your serve and volley intelligently to keep him away from the center of the court, you'll win more points than you lose. Checklist To control the center of the court: 1) Hit inside-out forehands to your opponent's backhand. 2) Hit deep crosscourt backhands when you're pinned behind the baseline. 3) Go down the line for surprise when you get a short ball. 4) Use the wide serve to set up the volley. 5) Volley wide to make your opponent try to pass on the run. |