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[ejunkie]

1.When your backhand is weaker than your oppoenent's, good idea to keep change the direction of play by going down-the-line with your backhand?

[ejunkie]

2. You opponent is favoring a forehand attack and has ran around the backhand several times in the game to use the forehand; is it then a good idea to go down-the-line with the backhand (like the master himself Waldner)? The answer might seem obvious to this one because one of the ways to play a penhold is to attack the forehand whenever possible, but supposed your opponent is not a penhold and he is solid both wings with good footwork.

[ejunkie]

3.If you have a strong forehand it might be a good idea to go down-the-line frequently to get a forehand to forehand counter going, but what if you have a strong backhand? Do you feel the need to change the direction of play? Some think that in this case if you can score a point it's OK, or if you can setup a forehand kill it's OK.`Do you like this idea of playing to the forehand when you have a better backhand?

[ejunkie]

4. Are you aggressive when going down-the-line with the backhand? A good idea to be more aggressive than say play shots to the backhand side when your opponent is not so strong (in general, forehand is stronger than backhand)?


Anyway, I have been playinga lot of backhand attacks now and think these questions are worth discussing.

[729 fx]

Q1) Yes it is a good idea to return down the line if after a couple of strokes diagonallly to the opponent's BH (assuming he is a shakehander)

Q2) Instead of playing both side (also assuming he is a shakehander), one may also play near the net and alternate with long balls.

Q3) If you have a strong forehand it is a good idea to go down-the-line after frequently giving a forehand to forehand counter. If you have a strong backhand, I would advise you to set-up for your backhand kill.

[ejunkie]

Thanks for the reply!

[729 fx]

4. Are you aggressive when going down-the-line with the backhand? A good idea to be more aggressive than say play shots to the backhand side when your opponent is not so strong (in general, forehand is stronger than backhand)?

Anyway, I have been playinga lot of backhand attacks now and think these questions are worth discussing.

Good for you on your backhand attack ejunkie. I believe that the Eastern European tt players are strong in their backhand as compared with their Western counterparts (Germany, England etc).

Back to your question no.4. If your backhand is stronger and your opponent forehand is stronger, then I would say it is better to use your backhand to hit to your opponents' backhand, instead of hitting down-the-line to your opponent's forehand.

[varghese]

What you guys do to control the ball to fall down the line? In a high speed rally, that would be an impossible thing for me.

[729 fx]

Well maybe this ryu sm's training will be beneficial for the down the line hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-npdrAkzpw8

[ejunkie]

To go down the line it's fairly easy, even in a fast rally; when you have a compact swing and your racket is already pointing at where you are hitting the down-the-line shot is very safe. If you have a looping swing and your racket is more at nine to ten o'clock you need good touch and feel of the shot, making very sure that you are making a change of direction and not overhitting. The harder you hit the slower the swing, and you might end up hitting the ball to the left of the table. So not hitting the ball hard is the key. Use a slight forward weight shift to get more power if you want to increase the power, just NOT HITTING TOO HARD with your hands.