Hey Kevin, yeah this can definitely be tricky in these situations and many players have the same struggles. I would say it really comes down to your style and what you feel confident with to be honest. Often when leading 10-8 for example they tend ot go a bit negative and stop doing what they did to get to the 10-8 position. So stick to what you’ve been doing and try to be positive and brave with your serves I would say. This will give the opponent more to think about and hopefully a weak return.
When it’s 9-9 it may change slightly obviously because you may not be serving. If you are returning I would say always look put for a long serve or loose one you can attack, as often when under pressure players serves drift long. If its a tight serve the next focus is to just keep it tight and not give the opponent an easy shot, but most important of all is to make them play and don’t give away and cheap points.
If you are serving at 9-9, it’s about thinking how to set up your strength and again not giving the opponent a chance to attack. It will also depend on the style of the opponent and how they play, it’s always important to adapt and be able to change your tactics in different situations against different players. So try to take each situation individually and practice getting your strengths into play as much as you can. I hope this makes sense and helps but of course let me know if you are unsure on anything or need more help with this! Cheers, Tom 🙂
