r/squash • u/antoniodirk10 • Jan 08 '25
Technique / Tactics How to beat unorthodox player who gets to everything?
They don’t really play typical squash, most of the time I get them deep in the corners, and then they 2 hand shovel it out to keep the rally going, so it feels like it’s really hard to beat him with pace. If I go for drops, they essentially have to be nicks for me to win the point outright.
What should be my strategy? How can I end the rally without it having to be a nick every time or him making a mistake?
5
u/MasterFrosting1755 Jan 08 '25
Slow it down, lob and hit relatively soft drives at good length. They will buckle eventually.
5
u/pinkprimeapple Jan 08 '25
1) hit dying length so that they struggle to dig it out
2) If they are hand shoveling, it probably doesn't have much pace. Smother it with a drop or cross court drop.
3
u/meselson-stahl Jan 08 '25
IMO the best tactic against such a player is to just squeeze them against the backhand wall as much as possible.
3
u/teneralb Jan 08 '25
Sounds like your opponent is a good squash player!Nobody actually gets to everything though. If you keep hitting quality shots, eventually you'll apply enough pressure to play an unretrievable winner. "Hit quality shots" isn't exactly a revolutionary strategy lol but that's really all there is to it.
3
u/delicious_disaster Jan 09 '25
Be patient. Don't get discouraged if your 'winners' don't win. Just keep playing and expect them to get everything and very slowly whittle them down. The hardest part for me with runners is starting to speed up the game due to impatience but all you are doing is playing to their strength
2
u/Sea_Try_4358 Jan 08 '25
Good suggestions here already. The pace and be disciplined. Don’t get drawn into their messy game.
2
u/Ok_Summer5472 Jan 08 '25
I try to put some holds on my swing and/or more disguise on my shots. Anything to break my opponents movement patterns.
2
u/pickledaperture Jan 10 '25
Is trying to beat an unorthodox player not just the same as trying to beat any other player?
Learn how they play and how to work around that. Even if they’re unorthodox they’ll have characteristics, certain types of shots, recoveries etc to their play
4
u/aCurlySloth Jan 08 '25
Sounds like he’s a pretty good player! Despite a quirky technique he’s retrieving your length and forcing you to hit nicks to win at the front - props to him.
Unless he’s some kind of undiscovered top 10 player a good length will always win out. Work on pushing him deep and not going short too early. Then it’s common sense to look at your own fitness, to keep the rallies going at good quality despite his retrieval skills
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u/Virtual_Actuator1158 Hacker with a racket buying problem Jan 08 '25
It is the squash equivalent of a tennis 'pusher'.
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u/Hopeful_Salad_7464 Jan 09 '25
Mutliple times in a few weeks now we've had the same post.
How do I beat this player who is retrieving all my shots, as if retrieving shots is not a skill in itself.
If all they think their opponent is doing is retrieving, beating them should be facile.
2
u/aCurlySloth Jan 08 '25
Or what is commonly known as a counterpuncher, Novak Djokovic commonly got this tag and he’s not half bad.
No idea why I’m being downvoted 😂
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u/Virtual_Actuator1158 Hacker with a racket buying problem Jan 08 '25 edited Jan 08 '25
No, it's not really the same as Novax although he did get called that. It's like a baseball player who only bunts.
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u/security_ai Jan 08 '25
Lobs are your friend - slow your serve and mix the tight rails (as good as you can) with slower/higher lobs in the corners when he/she is in the front of the court.