And if you think the shuttle is too slow but your opponent doesnt want to change it , you can always stealthily compress the shuttle in your hand as you're holding it...
His tactic is to slow the pace of the game down. All the high clears is to slow things down. It wont be the shuttles; if he can hit it and you can't, it's your problem. I can almost guarantee he already knew you had problems clearing during the warmup, so he already knew what weakness to milk for the match. stop blaming external factors. Both of you played on the same court under the same conditions. Suck it up and improve ur fundamentals.
I think I know what is your problem because I had similar issues Slow shuttle - your are right in saying it effects you but it is not doing the same to your opponent. So it simply means you are not strong enough, not behind the shuttle when hitting or your technique is at fault. Take your pick. I think you are late that is why you cant generate enough power. Baseline clears - your opponent already knows your weakness and it exploiting it. Best advice to you is, do exactly what he does. Hit back all the way to the back, work on it until you can do it consistently. If you don't then the results are a foregone conclusion. He will just hit to the back waiting for you to make a short clear and just smash. Smashing - smashing from the baseline is very risky unless you have a very powerful smash or very accurate line hugging shots. It is best used when your opponent is out of position or short lifts. As you pointed out your opponent is doing this.
Work on your clears, Search youtube for pronation badminton. Same skill for smashing and clears. Do footwork drills, reference also available on youtube. Your opponent is outpowering you, need to work on that. Shuttles might make some difference, but you can't prevent him from exploiting your weakness until you work on your weakness.
Do not smash too often from the baseline unless there is an open space for you to get a point. Try to vary your smashing power in order to mess up your opponent's timing. Throw in some drop shots in between as well. Above all, do not be to obsessed in smashing. Try to focus more on placement.
If you're so fed up with his shuttles just use your own shuttles. Have you tried this yet? Does he insist on playing with his shuttles?
stock strings!!! cut them and restring asap. also you went from 18lbs to 24lbs!! Try a restring at 20lbs. At your level you dont need to worry about the miniscule accuracy improvement of higher tensions. Also regardless of your racket, if your opponent can hit a shot, you should be able to too. Even if shuttle too slow for the environment, you should be able to clear backcourt to backcourt. when you can hit the return to backcourt then you should have the advantage because you know where all his shots are going. you just concentrate on hitting his 4 corners.
