help, need strategy tips

[Jason]

ok, well, I had a bit of a dilema this past weekend at the Cupertino Tournament. I played this guy who wasn't that great. I won first game easily but for some reason, in the second and third games that followed, my game slacked off. but that wasn't my main concern since that just requires more concentration and sleep(three hours of sleep the nite before) but what concerns me was his serve. He had the most annoying drive serve at the head. I found it very difficult to clear and since at a B level, I should be able to handle it. whenever, i did clear, he would just jump smash which put me into a lot of trouble and whenever i just dropped, he would attack the net. his whole strategy was to smash, then attack the net. Well, I was just wondering what I should do in that situation. I was contually beaten on that shot over and over again. I did put up a good fight tho but I still believe that I should've won since the scores were 6-15, 15-12, 15-11. Well, plz send tips.

[Mag]

Drive serves are actually pretty hazardous for the server. Usually, what I do is I crouch down a little more than usual in my ready position, racquet high, and then I'm in a position to drive it right back at the server. That usually ends the rally right there... After this happening a couple of times, the server usually won't try any more drive serves.

[Lao Liu]

He clearly adaped a tactic for doubles, drive serve, smash on every clearance or lift and attack at the net. I would probably do the same if I played with someone relatively slow in pace but with good accuracy. To overcome this, I would try the common tactic for doubles too. Keep your shots always fly downwards or play cross-court block-drops. At the same time pick up my own pace.

[Zclyh3]

Have you ever dropped it to the opposite side of the server or cleared to the the backhand of his opponent? Cause most of the time when someone gives me a drive serve, I would clear it to the backhand of his partner. Now if his partner smashes back toward you, you could possibly return it. Also, was this drive serve towards your backhand head? Because if it is, you can actually move onto the other side of the court and clear it. It may sound weird, but I've tried it before and it works pretty well. But if your opponents smash back on you on the serve, then don't let them smash after you return it. By the way, do you know of a Steve Ng?

[Cheung]

Jason seems to be referring to a singles match.

I am a little surprised a jump smash from the back of the court can be a winning shot. Perhaps the clear return off the drive serve was not deep enough.

How about the "attack at the net"? A kill at the net (i.e. your return shot was above the level of the net)?

[Takumi97]

Jason:

It appears that you have tried many options and the suggestions made by the other posters are very useful.

Here are my thoughts:
1. If you are to clear it to the back, make sure to clear it high over his head and to the very back. Mid-court clears are an invitation for a smash response.
2. One of the posters suggested a lower receiving stance and keeping the racket up - very good idea. When you return his serve, you may want to focus on using more wrist than arm movement. You will have better racket/placement control.
3. Have you tried standing further back in the court while receiving? This should give you a little more time to hit the shuttle and to make a better shot. However, the suggestion to attack the serve is also a very good one. It depends on your playing style preference - a faster or slower game.

[Kelvin]

Everyone who responded with exception of the doubles game one, had a very valid point. Being a singles player myself, I've encountered a few "unique" strategies myself.
I guess the most useful tactic would be to recieve the serve at a lower angle, however, being an attacking player, I would jump all over the drive serve, and immediately direct it right back at the server, because there isn't any possible way for him to recover fast enough from the serve. If you choose to clear, as mentioned earlier, make sure your clears are as deep as possible, as I don't know too many people who can jump smash from the back of the court that can get the shot past me without me destroying them on their next move.
I still would recommend, especially since he's serving at your head, is to attack his serve, I'm not exactly the tallest badminton player, however once you attack his serve, and put it back into his face a couple times, he is bound not to try that anymore. You also might want to look at your recieving stance, and your positioning on the court. If you're confident in your own abilities, you could possibly force him to serve in a different direction, that will benefit you.

Just remember this, "opportunities don't always present themselves, you must create them for yourself."

[Takumi97]

Kelvin: Thank you for reminding me of the drive return for a drive serve (to my head). I primarily drop the shuttle to the net or do a clear to the back.

My question is:

If the drive serve is to your back-hand side would you rather:

1. Do an around-the-head clear drive back at him and risk being off-balance and in a difficult positing to recover?

2. Take an extra step to the side, turn your back and do a back-hand clear/drop?

[Kelvin]

To be honest with you, I only use my backhand as a last resort shot.
As much training as I do use on my backhand, there is no way any body on the planet, not even the pros have as accurate a backhand as they do forehand.
I whole-heartedly recommend people use the round the head shot, because it opens up many more options strategically speaking... from a drive serve to your head your options are to:
Duck slightly lower and;
1. full smash
2. half smash
3. dropshot
4. high clear
5. flat drive, preferrably right back into your opponent
6. short drive to the sides.
or depending on how fast you move, if you get into position properly you could also do the above options without ducking down.
Last but not least... remember... if you see no where on the court you want to shoot at, just drive the damn shuttle right at your opponent.
For me, other than my backhand smash (when trained properly the most deceptive offensive weapon available) my drives are the most surprising shots.
I mean honestly... (I work out a lot, and stay flexible) what the heck is your opponent going to do when something is flying at them faster than they can blink?
I have surprised many players with my drives all the way up to the top level provincial players here in AB. Top level I mean ranked +10... anywho...
enough about me, back to answering you question...
If you are confident in your back hand clear, I suggest that would be a nice shot to make, as I'm human, and I get lazy sometimes so I'll pop up a nice high back hand for the opponent.
Hmm... but when you think of the logic... if you're facing your opponent correctly, and all you really need to do is take a step back, or duck a little or even if you're really aggressive like me, and just attack the serve... is there really any reason to give the opponent such nice opportunities???
I don't know, that's just my logic.
hope that helps.