IMPRESSIONS

[JJ_DUBZ_87]

good point...

[Hawkeye Miihawk]

You have nothing to fear, SV will be more effective, yes. But ask Xavi Passing shots are now are more effective then in TS3 as well. WAY more effective.

I think out of 4 major styles, it look something like this:

1. Defensive Baseliner
2. Offensive Baseliner
3. SV
4. All around

If you tried playing defense in TS3, it should be very clear to you even from the demo that this style is now Super effective. Offensive basliners still will be strong, mainly because they will have both, serve and power. SV guys are going to be good yes, but on their serve, lots of tie breaks for them. All around is the weakest. Fed is the best example of all around and he is the weakest player in the demo besides Ivanovic.

I disagree. I've played my bro with all the combinations in the demo.

Fed vs nadal
The great thing about fed is that he can do everything. Trying to beat my brother with fed, him using nadal, from the baseline is tough. He could return everything, but once it came to my forehand, or I hit a good shot in general, and rushed to the net it was practically over. This is where wrong footing, different types of shots, and variation of depth comes in. I experienced the same thing when he used fed, and I used nadal. The thing is nadal can't really overpower federer, but federer can overpower nadal at times. I can't stress federer's forehand anymore, that thing is just.... There were times when I would pull a winner outta ma @$$ off the forehand out of nowhere. Even at times, although not as frequent, his backhand would produce a spectacular shot. You better not give fed the chance to hit anything, inside-out/short return/etc, that he can rush to the net after, or else it's over. It can be hard to win with fed against rafa, but unlike serena, will explain later, he actually has the speed to chace down balls, and volleying skills to be comfortable at net and end points quickly.

S&V, imo, will be one of the hardest, if not the hardest, for defensive baseliners. All it took at times was just one good shot, against my brother, that slightly put him off balance to rush in with fed easily win the point at the net. Now imagine playing someone with high volley stats, and a coach that makes his volleying better. Def baseliner has no chance to extend rallies and tire him out.

Serena vs nadal
Serena is just too slow. Once you work her a little bit from side to side, the point is practically over. She can out hit nadal very easily though, so trying to win from the baseline with him can be difficult. She can make incredible shots out of thin air, so you really have to watch out for that random explosive shot and be more content on tiring her out and exploiting her bad movement.
vs Fed
Fed can keep up with her. Infact his forehand can explode at any time, and serena will definitely not catch up to the ball or she'll hit a poor reply. Once you come to the net off a good shot serena is not going to get it back.

Serena's recovery after a change of direction is too long because she's so slow. Her speed/stamina is something def/off baseliners/all-rounders can exploit. Once you bring her to the net, if she can even get to the ball, she can't hit a decent volley to save her life, just like nadal.

Coming to net is very hard to handle for def baseliners.
I have a feeling S&V will be strong in TS4, but someone with high return stats and a coach that gives him a skill in returning might be a nightmare for S&Vers.

You won't understand what I mean until you play a human. Different depth/angles in shots, wrong footing, drop shots, coming in to net, mindgames, etc something the CPU doesn't do.

If anything, an All-rounder would be the ideal character to create. Having no weakness, and having just enough stats in everything, especially volleying, to handle all styles effectively is a huge bonus. With fed there was nothing my brother could attack, unlike when I used nadal/serena.

Now I'm not saying All-rounder will be the strongest, No. I'm just saying I don't think, as of right now at least, that any style will be the strongest. It's just, if you don't want to have any exploitable weaknesses, then all-rounder is the way to go.

[o Sinna o]

You have nothing to fear, SV will be more effective, yes. But ask Xavi Passing shots are now are more effective then in TS3 as well. WAY more effective.

I think out of 4 major styles, it look something like this:

1. Defensive Baseliner
2. Offensive Baseliner
3. SV
4. All around

If you tried playing defense in TS3, it should be very clear to you even from the demo that this style is now Super effective. Offensive basliners still will be strong, mainly because they will have both, serve and power. SV guys are going to be good yes, but on their serve, lots of tie breaks for them. All around is the weakest. Fed is the best example of all around and he is the weakest player in the demo besides Ivanovic.

I disagree. I've played my bro with all the combinations in the demo.

Fed vs nadal
The great thing about fed is that he can do everything. Trying to beat my brother with fed, him using nadal, from the baseline is tough. He could return everything, but once it came to my forehand, or I hit a good shot in general, and rushed to the net it was practically over. This is where wrong footing, different types of shots, and variation of depth comes in. I experienced the same thing when he used fed, and I used nadal. The thing is nadal can't really overpower federer, but federer can overpower nadal at times. I can't stress federer's forehand anymore, that thing is just.... There were times when I would pull a winner outta ma @$$ off the forehand out of nowhere. Even at times, although not as frequent, his backhand would produce a spectacular shot. You better not give fed the chance to hit anything, inside-out/short return/etc, that he can rush to the net after, or else it's over. It can be hard to win with fed against rafa, but unlike serena, will explain later, he actually has the speed to chace down balls, and volleying skills to be comfortable at net and end points quickly.

S&V, imo, will be one of the hardest, if not the hardest, for defensive baseliners. All it took at times was just one good shot, against my brother, that slightly put him off balance to rush in with fed easily win the point at the net. Now imagine playing someone with high volley stats, and a coach that makes his volleying better. Def baseliner has no chance to extend rallies and tire him out.

Serena vs nadal
Serena is just too slow. Once you work her a little bit from side to side, the point is practically over. She can out hit nadal very easily though, so trying to win from the baseline with him can be difficult. She can make incredible shots out of thin air, so you really have to watch out for that random explosive shot and be more content on tiring her out and exploiting her bad movement.
vs Fed
Fed can keep up with her. Infact his forehand can explode at any time, and serena will definitely not catch up to the ball or she'll hit a poor reply. Once you come to the net off a good shot serena is not going to get it back.

Serena's recovery after a change of direction is too long because she's so slow. Her speed/stamina is something def/off baseliners/all-rounders can exploit. Once you bring her to the net, if she can even get to the ball, she can't hit a decent volley to save her life.

Coming to net is very hard to handle for def baseliners.
I have a feeling S&V will be strong in TS4, but someone with high return stats and a coach that gives him a skill in returning might be a nightmare for S&Vers.

You won't understand what I mean until you play a human. Different depth/angles in shots, wrong footing, drop shots, coming in to net, mindgames, etc something the CPU doesn't do.

If anything, an All-rounder would be the ideal character to create. Having no weakness, and having just enough stats in everything, especially volleying, to handle all styles effectively is a huge bonus. With fed there was nothing my brother could attack, unlike when I used nadal/serena.

Now I'm not saying All-rounder will be the strongest, No. I'm just saying I don't think, as of right now at least, that any style will be the strongest. It's just, if you don't want to have any exploitable weaknesses, then all-rounder is the way to go.

Interesting Opinion and I believe what you said because I played many Matches with Fed. now.

[djarvik]

You have nothing to fear, SV will be more effective, yes. But ask Xavi Passing shots are now are more effective then in TS3 as well. WAY more effective.

I think out of 4 major styles, it look something like this:

1. Defensive Baseliner
2. Offensive Baseliner
3. SV
4. All around

If you tried playing defense in TS3, it should be very clear to you even from the demo that this style is now Super effective. Offensive basliners still will be strong, mainly because they will have both, serve and power. SV guys are going to be good yes, but on their serve, lots of tie breaks for them. All around is the weakest. Fed is the best example of all around and he is the weakest player in the demo besides Ivanovic.

I disagree. I've played my bro with all the combinations in the demo.

Fed vs nadal
The great thing about fed is that he can do everything. Trying to beat my brother with fed, him using nadal, from the baseline is tough. He could return everything, but once it came to my forehand, or I hit a good shot in general, and rushed to the net it was practically over. This is where wrong footing, different types of shots, and variation of depth comes in. I experienced the same thing when he used fed, and I used nadal. The thing is nadal can't really overpower federer, but federer can overpower nadal at times. I can't stress federer's forehand anymore, that thing is just.... There were times when I would pull a winner outta ma @$$ off the forehand out of nowhere. Even at times, although not as frequent, his backhand would produce a spectacular shot. You better not give fed the chance to hit anything, inside-out/short return/etc, that he can rush to the net after, or else it's over. It can be hard to win with fed against rafa, but unlike serena, will explain later, he actually has the speed to chace down balls, and volleying skills to be comfortable at net and end points quickly.

S&V, imo, will be one of the hardest, if not the hardest, for defensive baseliners. All it took at times was just one good shot, against my brother, that slightly put him off balance to rush in with fed easily win the point at the net. Now imagine playing someone with high volley stats, and a coach that makes his volleying better. Def baseliner has no chance to extend rallies and tire him out.

Serena vs nadal
Serena is just too slow. Once you work her a little bit from side to side, the point is practically over. She can out hit nadal very easily though, so trying to win from the baseline with him can be difficult. She can make incredible shots out of thin air, so you really have to watch out for that random explosive shot and be more content on tiring her out and exploiting her bad movement.
vs Fed
Fed can keep up with her. Infact his forehand can explode at any time, and serena will definitely not catch up to the ball or she'll hit a poor reply. Once you come to the net off a good shot serena is not going to get it back.

Serena's recovery after a change of direction is too long because she's so slow. Her speed/stamina is something def/off baseliners/all-rounders can exploit. Once you bring her to the net, if she can even get to the ball, she can't hit a decent volley to save her life.

Coming to net is very hard to handle for def baseliners.
I have a feeling S&V will be strong in TS4, but someone with high return stats and a coach that gives him a skill in returning might be a nightmare for S&Vers.

You won't understand what I mean until you play a human. Different depth/angles in shots, wrong footing, drop shots, coming in to net, mindgames, etc something the CPU doesn't do.

If anything, an All-rounder would be the ideal character to create. Having no weakness, and having just enough stats in everything, especially volleying, to handle all styles effectively is a huge bonus. With fed there was nothing my brother could attack, unlike when I used nadal/serena.

Now I'm not saying All-rounder will be the strongest, No. I'm just saying I don't think, as of right now at least, that any style will be the strongest. It's just, if you don't want to have any exploitable weaknesses, then all-rounder is the way to go.

Rafa>Serena>Roger

nuff said.

[TomBs]

Agree with that. I'm still not beating Nadal very easily with Fed, but haven't played the demo that much either. Can beat him, but when playing with Nadal vs Fed I have an easy match. Also Nadal vs Nadal is easy. And Williams... that serve is so damn powerful, faster than Fed. I'm wondering what Roddicks' will look like...

About the depth of shots btw, this morning I've been able to hit quite some deep shots with Fed. With good/perfect timing I managed to get them near the baseline. But indeed, they'll never go out. If the timing is off they'll just land short or - if you're out of position - wide.

I really like the dropshots btw. Difficult to pull off, but great to see when it's perfect

[Hawkeye Miihawk]

Rafa>Serena>Roger

nuff said. [/size]

lol, nah. Rafa, and Serena's style of play is more clear cut. There is only one game plan. They both aren't going to come to the net, nor is serana going to tire her opponent out, or rafa blast you off the court. Playing them is very straight forward.
All-rounders have to change their style on the fly. This is why people think fed is bad because they're trying to play him like he's an offensive baseliner. They say rafa is good because people are trying to blast through him from the baseline, WITH FEDERER. They say serena is better than fed because they're trying to overpower her from the baseline, WITH FEDERER.

You have to be more varied with your style when using fed. You don't have the luxury of playing in a 1-dimensional way like rafa/serena.

I surprisingly like the nadal vs fed matchup from fed's point of view, even though I love creating counter-punchers. You have to play really smart. Nadal has it easy, yes, that's why people say he's better than fed, but I don't think he's better just because he has it easier. With rafa, his basic baseline game is enough. The mindset is just different with federer, which is why I think people think he's bad. They are playing him with that "I should win only from the baseline" strategy.

[Rob ITST]

Nadal vs Fed I have an easy match. Also Nadal vs Nadal is easy.

That makes it seem to me that what Hawkeye is saying is true. It's not that Fed is easier to beat than Nadal, it's just that Nadal suits a lot of people more.

[Hawkeye Miihawk]

Nadal vs Fed I have an easy match. Also Nadal vs Nadal is easy.

That makes it seem to me that what Hawkeye is saying is true. It's not that Fed is easier to beat than Nadal, it's just that Nadal suits a lot of people more.

Exactly. People are so comfortable just winning from the baseline. You will end up losing, or have a tough time if you want to win from the baseline with fed against serena/rafa.
You have to abuse playing short balls, and drop shots to bring them in. Nadal and serena's volleying sucks big time. Passing shots against people with low volleying stats in TS4 is too easy.
You also have to be looking for shots that slightly put them off balance and come in to volley a lot. Trying to beat them from the baseline will either not work or be very difficult as most of you who have played the demo already know by now. When you play a human it becomes even more evident how hard that baseline game is for fed.

I've fallen in love with the all-round style. I'll probably create 1. I love the variety.

[o Sinna o]

Nadal vs Fed I have an easy match. Also Nadal vs Nadal is easy.

That makes it seem to me that what Hawkeye is saying is true. It's not that Fed is easier to beat than Nadal, it's just that Nadal suits a lot of people more.

Not me, I didn't ry to play him a single time now because I don't want to play as a Lefti. I tried Serena and Ivanovic but I played 85 to 95 % of my Demomacthes with Fed, against Nadal. Said it before I think.

[Mack2300]

btw, do we know if your player can bounce the ball before serving in the retail version of TS4? I believe there is the "two bounce" rule in TS3 so what will happen if the serving remains as it is in the demo?

[Coolhand Texas]

btw, do we know if your player can bounce the ball before serving in the retail version of TS4? I believe there is the "two bounce" rule in TS3 so what will happen if the serving remains as it is in the demo?

There is no 2 bounce rule in ts3

[VillaJ100]

i played a shot earlier a complete carbon copy of roger's backhand pass at wimbledon 08 when match point down. Hit a woeful late return, just scraped over the net, rafa hits big to the BH and i ran, full charge and ripped a insane winner down the line, i was literally like 'oooooooooooooohhhhhh!!!'

[Mack2300]

btw, do we know if your player can bounce the ball before serving in the retail version of TS4? I believe there is the "two bounce" rule in TS3 so what will happen if the serving remains as it is in the demo?

There is no 2 bounce rule in ts3

ah sorry I thought there was..I remember there being some fuss over Roddick's service motion because it doesn't give the returner time to get into position so I thought a rule was brought in because of that.Must have been dreaming it

[o Sinna o]

btw, do we know if your player can bounce the ball before serving in the retail version of TS4? I believe there is the "two bounce" rule in TS3 so what will happen if the serving remains as it is in the demo?

Hm that's a Question I didn't thought about yet. But hey ballboucing before Serving is not a must but a cool and realistic Feature.

But you can't see it here also and they played a full Preview Version like you see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb4EKODeDIE

Anybody knows more about that when it comes to ball bouncing before serving in TS4?

[DMG100]

I like hearing the footsteps when your player runs for the ball but its flying out so they just jog the rest. I like hearing the traction of the shoes on the court as well when you're playing a point.