As your tennis improves and you begin to climb the competition ladder, simply being good is no longer enough. You need to employ strategies and tactics to keep your competitive edge. A great tennis tactic is to keep your opponent on the defensive and therefore busy. The art is not to let your opponent play this same trick on you.
You don’t need to play amazing shots to do this. Simply play your shot into a specific spot that forces the other player to go get it. Keeping them busy in this way means they will not have time to get into the offensive position and take back the advantage. Keep them reactive rather than proactive and you retain the upper hand.
Another good way to keep your opponent on their toes is to is to attack the net every chance you get. Advanced players do this at every opportunity because they have honed their anticipation skills. An intermediate player will usually hesitate too long before trying to draw his opponent into trouble. Sensing the other’s players move almost before they know what they are going to do next is the hallmark of a great player. Do this and you will be able to control your opponent and therefore the game.