Effective Shot Combinations

In each rally, your objective should be to open up the court for an opportunity to put the ball away or force an error. It's a question of maneuvering your opponent into a position where he's vulnerable to attack. You will need to get familiar with shot combinations like these:

Hit a short angled shot, preferably with slice to keep the ball low, followed by a deep shot to the other side. You often don't need to go too wide with the second shot, but you do need to ensure it's deep enough to make your opponent move backwards as well as sideways. You can also use this tactic with a wide slice serve as the opening gambit. By the way, slice is particularly useful against players with western grips or two-handed backhands.

Hit a high, deep moonball to your opponent's backhand followed by a sneaky move into the court for a volley. If you load up the moonball with topspin to get the ball up to at least shoulder height, your opponent will probably not notice your advance to the net.

Hit a drop-shot followed by a pass or lob. This is a fairly low percentage option, because drop-shots and lobs require good touch and feel, but if you're feeling confident and your opponent is out of position behind the baseline, it's a combination that can be devastatingly successful!

Hit corner to corner, controlling the rally from the middle of the court. If, at any time, your opponent fails to recover to a good position, drive into the space. Watch out for a sign that your opponent has anticipated your next shot too early - if you spot this, hit back behind him.

from www.tennisontheline.org