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How to beat a shot maker.
How do they do it? Their ball control is excellent, dying lengths all the time and if you give them something loose, bam it’s gone in the nick. You feel under pressure from the service onwards, as you know you can’t afford one little mistake. Shot makers are know how to put the ball away. They can finish a rally just like that, and usually they can hit the shots to get that loose ball too.
How should you tackle trying to beat them then?
A good defence and defensive strategy is vital. In all probability they have better racket skills than you do. Given the chance, they will outplay you and out score you, so you will need to defend excellently. This means using the height of the court to give you time, and to pick times to attack well. You will need to be at your most vigilant when on the “T”, as you never know when another outrageous winner might be flying in! Extra time will help you get composed on the “T”, so slow the pace down, lift the ball and get to the “T” as quickly as possible.
Now you have the base to strangle and frustrate them. They thrive on hitting winners, actually putting the ball away. This is what they really enjoy about squash. This is their strength, and it’s also their weakness.
If you can start to deprive them of the opportunities to hit their flashy shots, they will start to get itchy. Itchy to hit a winner that might not be on. Hit 2,3,4 straight drives and watch them try to volley the 5th one short. But it’s not quite loose enough for that shot. Your drive was chipped, slow, so you are on the T ready to pounce and counter attack, but you might not need to, because there is every chance that your opponent will get frustrated and will start to hit the tin.
As their game starts to fall apart, frustration sets in, and the errors start to come more quickly now. Keep your discipline here. A glimmer of over confidence and you are in trouble. They will rediscover their form, and the game can turn i 2-3 rallies. Keep to your game plan, however boring it may be. The taste of a win will make up for it!
I remember an extreme example of this approach with staggering results from my junior days.
When I was an under 16 junior, I once watched an Under 19 National Championships quarter final. I can’t remember the names of the players, but I saw one player completely outplaying the other and going 2-0, and 8-3 up (traditional scoring). The guy that was losing then did something that I’ve never quite seen again.
He hit EVERY SINGLE SHOT chipped up and down the wall, mainly on the back hand side, as that’s where his opponent was hitting it. Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip.
There were quite few hand in and hand outs, but his opponent couldn’t quite close out the match then after a while he’d clawed it back to 8-5 and panic set in for guy who was losing his lead. This new game wasn’t working for him, he had to try something different, and he started to go for his shots too early. 2 games to 1 before you knew it. It took some time to get a grip on him, but when he had, htere was a flurry of mistakes and points. Next game, the player who was behind came out and did exactly what he did at the end of the last.
Every ball chipped up and down the wall. It was an amazing feat of self control and discipline.
The start of the game was tight again, but the aggressor’s game quickly went downhill, and the defender built a lead, and closed the game out without too much trouble in the end. The 5th was a formality, and the comeback complete, thanks to unwavering discipline in shot selection, and to the last few rallies all the victor’s shots were chipped up and down the sidewall.
Now this wasn’t a glamorous way to win neither was it pretty, and he might not use this strategy all the time. But against this opponent, he worked out that he had no answers. If he made himself difficult enough to beat, then his opponent’s game plan would crash.
A less extreme, but modern day example of this would be type of match up would be Nick Matthew’s strategy against Ramy. Keep pace off the ball and keep it straight. Let Ramy’s natural exuberance be his downfall. Nick knows that he can’t beat Ramy in a shot fest, but he can beat him with discipline, he can compete physically, so he tries to take the game into these channels by suffocating Ramy of the chances to use his wonderful attacking game. Consequently, Nick has one of the best records of all the top players against Ramy.
Other key things to think about.
· Give them no angles. Boasts and cross courts open up the game and give your opponent nice angles to hit nicks, winners and their own boasts. If they are likely to be stronger at this than you, make sure all boasts and cross courts are played with care and scrutiny.
· You will need to mix the game up a little, so don’t go completely defensive and predictable. Attack when on/near the T and atatck mainly straight. Try to get drops to cling to the wall rather than risk going for the nick and giving your opponent an angle to attack.
· Use the counter attack. By really looking for opportunities to counter your opponent’s attacking shots, you can put extra doubt in their mind, which will force them to hit lower and become more error prone.
Be patient, be disciplined, be vigilant and strangle them!
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