Lob with Intent

The Point

Early-ish in a Western NE Men's quarterfinal, but Arraya/Parsons already out to a 4-0 lead. Watch Broderick's repeated lobs to Parsons at the net.

Analysis

Unsurprisingly, Broderick lobs a lot in this point. But the key insight is the sequence of four lobs in a row to Parsons just before the end of the point. It's clear that Broderick wants to avoid Arraya's overheads in favor of Parsons', and that Broderick is willing to be "boring" to get the weaker overheads from Parsons eventually. Let's break it down.

The point begins with a strong return from Parsons and he takes the net on Broderick/Bostrom. Parsons moves to the deuce side at the net once Arraya joins him, and from there, Broderick wants to target the Parsons overhead in the deuce court rather than Arraya's. Broderick hits a beautiful lob to get his first chance at a backcourt drive. Check out the finishing position of Parsons after hitting this overhead:

But the Parsons' overhead is good enough to get to the back wire and negate a driving opportunity. (It's worth noting that Parsons seems to never care about giving up the net on a great lob. He routinely stays back whenever his opponents have a clear driving opportunity and only comes to the net when it's safe. So, that's at play here as well.)

Continuing on, Broderick lobs Arraya a few times, but it's more out of necessity than preference. Arraya dictates with his overheads and this further confirms Broderick's preference for Parsons to take the overheads. Finally, Broderick gets a lob to Parsons:

This is important because the Parsons overhead doesn't dictate a response like Arraya's. So, just getting to the Parsons overhead means Broderick/Bostrom can begin to execute their strategy (i.e., any strategy).

Broderick follows that first lob up with another lob. This one is a bit deeper, and still to Parsons' forehand side (down the line).

Broderick/Bostrom can handle these overheads easily and continue executing their plan. Broderick hits another lob to the Parsons forehand overhead. This one is maybe a bit deeper:

Broderick hits a third overhead to Parsons' forehand side, demonstrating extreme patience.

Finally, Broderick's next shot is still a lob, but he does it with perhaps a slight delay. Whether intentional or not, Parsons is caught off guard or simply closer to the net than on previous shots. This means Parsons is retreating to the spot to hit his overhead, rather than being set at a spot to hit the overhead. Furthermore, the lob is to Parsons' backhand overhead, and this is exactly what Broderick was looking to create.

Note Parsons' position just after striking this backhand overhead:

This sets up a backcourt drive opportunity for Broderick/Bostrom on a weaker overhead coming through the middle (i.e., not angled). In this case, it's Bostrom's backhand, which is an offensive shot and a weapon for him.

As it turns out, he puts the drive into the net and Arraya/Parsons win the point. But the broad lesson is extreme patience can result in offensive opportunities if it's coupled with intent. Specifically, if there is a part of your opponents' net game that is weakest, seek that out whenever you can with your lobs.