So the recommended options for serves that will help you in generating third ball attacks in this particular case are:
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Both short and long serves, with less spin variation, and mainly sidespin or sidespin and topspin. The use of sidespin mixed with varying amounts of topspin should also help to induce higher returns from the opponent, which are easier to third ball.
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The shorter serves could be served slightly higher than normal to encourage your opponent to flip and make it more difficult to push it back tight.
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The longer serves should use variation of pace and placement over the whole table to help prevent the opponent hitting too powerful an attack, although you don't mind where he hits it.
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Backspin serves should be used occasionally to keep your opponent on his toes, but always with some sidespin to make reading harder for the opponent. Combine this with disguised float serves or pure sidespin serves that look like they have some backspin, and you should be able to force a few more 'pop-up' returns that can be third balled.
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Heavy backspin balls should be avoided unless they can be disguised well, as otherwise they encourage your opponent to push short returns which may be more difficult to third ball.
Fifth Ball Attacks - Not Just for When the Third Ball Fails
Fifth ball attacks can be arrived at via two different ways.
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The first is when you have been looking for a third ball attack, but have been unable to make a good third ball attack. So instead, you quickly change tactics and use your third ball to try to set up a fifth ball attack.
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The second way is when you have planned for a fifth ball attack all along. The serve and third ball were carefully chosen to set up a powerful fifth ball.
Both approaches are valid ways to get a fifth ball, with the main difference being that a planned fifth ball should allow you to make a slightly stronger attack than a fifth ball after a failed third ball. The reasoning here is that because you have been intending to fifth ball attack all along, your serve and third ball should be prepared in advance according to a set pattern that you want to play, and if it all goes smoothly, a good fifth ball attack should follow.
In both cases, you want a fourth ball return from your opponent that meets as many of the Magic 5 Criteria for third ball attacks mentioned on the previous page.
Planned Fifth Ball Attacks
A planned fifth ball attack should involve a sequence of shots selected to maximize your strengths and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses. Some examples include:
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If your opponent has slow footwork, a weak backhand, and only an average short game, a good sequence would be to serve short, flick or quick push his return out wide to the opponent's forehand side, then fifth ball attack to his weak backhand.
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If your opponent has a good short game but lacks a good block, serve long to the point of indecision to allow your opponent to attack (but not powerfully), then counterdrive or counterloop his return to the wide backhand or forehand, going for placement rather than power. His hopefully weak return can then be powerfully fifth ball attacked.
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If your opponent has a good fast push, serve double bounce serves to the sides of the table to try to force play cross court, then be ready to heavily spin the third ball, looking to hit a powerful fifth ball from your opponent's block which hopefully should go higher due to your heavy spin.
Unplanned Fifth Ball Attacks
A short service return that was too low, spinny, or well placed to be powerfully attacked can still be played by you to force a fourth ball return that meets as many of the 5 criteria for setting up third ball attacks as you can. For example:
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A good drop shot push by your opponent could be flicked by you into his playing elbow, allowing you opponent to topspin but hopefully without any power, so you can aggressively reloop his weak fourth ball.
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A looped service return by your opponent could be angle blocked away from him, forcing him to move and hit his fourth ball, which again could be relooped on your fifth ball for a winner.
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A fast deep push serve return could be looped by you with heavy spin to his wide backhand side, forcing him to move and block, and hopefully causing the return to come slow, higher above the net, and long enough to make a strong fifth ball smash or power loop.
As you can see, the overall patterns are generally the same. The difficulty lies in being able to change your plans quickly, and discard the third ball attack for a fifth ball attack instead.
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