VARIATIONS ON THE CROSS COURT RALLY

Last time I promised to discuss variations on the cross court rally.

1. Sharply angled shot

This is probably the safest variation because you don't have to change the angle very much. A couple of important things to keep in mind are:

• You have less court to work with, so the ball needs to 'dip' in time.
• You should only hit this shot if you're close to the side line.
• You have to make sure it's a difficult shot for your opponent otherwise he/she will attack on this shot.

I recommend that you try to hit this shot with top spin and make sure it stays low. If you don't know how to hit top spin yet you can hit a soft angled shot, but make sure it keeps low! The advantage of hitting this shot with slice is that it will not bounce up that much (if you have a good slice!), however it will not open up the court as much as a top spin shot will.

2. Down-the-line shot

If you hit this shot within the baseline rally make sure to 'guide' it to its proper destination. If you don't you will notice that a down-the-line shot on a incoming cross court shot has the tendency to drift towards the alley. Two things to keep in mind:

• Remember you have to recover beyond the center mark after a down-the-line shot so only hit it if there's a gap. (Your opponent is out of position.) OR
  
• Make sure you use enough height on the ball to make sure you have time to recover.

3. The approach 

If your opponent hits the ball short enough for you to take it on the rise and well on court you

can go for an approach.

• If the opponent has an obvious weaker side then hit to that side. Otherwise:
  
• Hit your approach shot down the line.
  
• Experiment with going deep down the middle.

If you get to the net, make sure to cover the down the line passing shot, especially if you hit a good shot and you expect your opponent to have some difficulty in getting to the shot.

4. The Drop shot