One Whack or Two?
Hand in hand with the idea of patience is the question of what to do when your power attack comes back, as it often will do against a good blocker. Do you go back to waiting mode, and look for another attack later? Or do you keep hitting it hard until you or the opponent win the point?I'd recommend keeping an open mind on this question - it really depends on the quality of the return, and whether you are in good position to attack a second time. Look for the second strong attack, and if you think you can make it, have a go. If it's too tough, go back to your standard attack and wait for another chance. Then, as the match goes on, keep track of whether the second attack is working for you - if you are winning most of them, keep on hitting. If you are making too many mistakes, stick to hitting the easy put aways and go to your standard attack for the rest.
Don't Be Re-served!
Against a good blocker, some players seem to give up on serving and returning serve at their best, thinking that it's a waste of time, since the blocker is going to be able to handle the third ball attack, and is not likely to attack with their own third ball. Don't be one of these players. Intelligent use of your own serves can help you get your chance to hit the ball hard that much faster, which helps cut down the chances of you making a mistake while waiting to get the setup. And good service returns keeps the blocker under pressure, stopping him from getting any easy attacks for cheap points. So pay attention right from the start.Forehand - No - Backhand - No - Darn!
Use that area of indecision that your opponent has, where he must decide to hit with his forehand or backhand side. (For penholders, try to catch them where the tip of the bat is straight down - it's pretty hard to block over a spinny ball at that point). Every opponent will have a slightly different area where he tends to get caught deciding between backhand and forehand - it's up to you to find it and exploit it.Some weaker opponents also tend to keep the bat waiting on the same side as their last shot (i.e. keep the bat ready for a backhand after hitting a backhand). Against these types of players it's often a good idea to give a couple of attacks to one side, before hitting into the area of indecision. They'll generally stay on that side and move to take it with the same shot. You can them hit to the area of indecision a couple of times, moving them further over to one side of the table, before hitting a ball into the gap they have left behind. The beauty of this strategy is that you don't even have to hit the final ball hard, since they have left you a wide open gap to aim at. Lovely!
The Temptations
No, not the band, but your strategy of giving the passive blocker the opportunity to attack now and then. Passive blockers usually lack a good attack, and can be weak against a well executed counter-attack, since they aren't used to these sort of rallies. So don't be afraid to let your passive blocker opponent make the occasional attack, just make sure that you make your shot tempting enough to entice him to hit, but with enough spin or placement to make it hard to put away. And be ready for the attack of course!The Usual Suspects
These are the usual tips that most people would give you when playing against blockers. Again, there is usually some value in them, but every now and again you'll come across opponents who won't be affected. A handful of tips can't replace the intelligent use of your brain in a match, so be prepared to discard those tips that aren't working.- Loop both short and deep, and with good angles. Many blockers prefer to plant their feet, and are weak when blocking on the move. Also, many blockers stand very close to the table, and so can be weak against very deep balls.
- Use high spinny loops to avoid giving your opponent any pace to work off.
- Loop to the middle to avoid giving your opponent the opportunity to use wide angles against you.
- Chop beats block - so use more pushes in your game before choosing a ball to attack hard.
- If you have a good backhand attack, use this to open your attacks more often. Backhand opens can be performed more quickly than forehands, and can be harder to determine which direction they are going.
