Playing against Welch

[jayb1988]

I just lost a good final match, albeit in straight sets against Sebastianhu who uses a pretty lethal Welch of 90 on either wing.

I used to get the better of him in WT but Welch has made him go up to a level I stuggle to stick with.

I've never really got used to playing against this set-up and was wondering how people go about counteracting it?

I know its been discussed often but to me Welch seems almost unplayable, just when you think you've won a point, back the ball comes like a rocket for a winner, and the accuracy creates ridiculous angles.

The thing that frustrates me the most is that even with the power stat so low, the setup defies the laws of top spin and still enables people to hit through the ball with alot of pace, not sure how that's possible

[BluudyEEfingaz]

Yes! I played a tight set against the same opponent and he is amazing with Welch. The thing is with the speed and the wing advantage is nearly impossible to win a point, especially during long rallies. I suggest mxing up serves and quickly getting the upper hand in the point. Hit flat shots close to the baseline because although he can hang in rallies, his reflex and power stats are still low which means eventually you will get a short ball to put away. Going to net also helps end the points quickly. Use power or standard volleys because drop volleys Welch players can usually get to.

[Corbon]

There are very few players with a Welch setup on WT but that may be because this setup requires a lot of touch. Even his apparently weak Serve isn't really a weakness because of the horrid TS4 return mechanics. It seems like increasing your wings by a few points seems to have a much bigger effect on shot speed than putting some points into SRV for example. The lasat time I played with Welch I played against Slavina, funny match, I even managed to sneak two baseline drop shot winners in (against 100 Speed) but lost the tie-break because of too many UE's (14-4 or so, grew impatient at one point).

Counteracting Welch? Instant Rocket seems very effective against them.

[jayb1988]

Yes! I played a tight set against the same opponent and he is amazing with Welch. The thing is with the speed and the wing advantage is nearly impossible to win a point, especially during long rallies. I suggest mxing up serves and quickly getting the upper hand in the point. Hit flat shots close to the baseline because although he can hang in rallies, his reflex and power stats are still low which means eventually you will get a short ball to put away. Going to net also helps end the points quickly. Use power or standard volleys because drop volleys Welch players can usually get to.

Yeah I think you are spot on, shortening the points is the only way it seems. I was having some success with serving and volleying towards the end of the match but I was already down a break in the set so it was too late .

I also feel kind of cheesy serving wide and then just running in to tap away for a point, seems abit too easy, I like my baseline battles!

[VillaJ100]

Yes! I played a tight set against the same opponent and he is amazing with Welch. The thing is with the speed and the wing advantage is nearly impossible to win a point, especially during long rallies. I suggest mxing up serves and quickly getting the upper hand in the point. Hit flat shots close to the baseline because although he can hang in rallies, his reflex and power stats are still low which means eventually you will get a short ball to put away. Going to net also helps end the points quickly. Use power or standard volleys because drop volleys Welch players can usually get to.

Yeah I think you are spot on, shortening the points is the only way it seems. I was having some success with serving and volleying towards the end of the match but I was already down a break in the set so it was too late .

I also feel kind of cheesy serving wide and then just running in to tap away for a point, seems abit too easy, I like my baseline battles!

If you constantly serve wide that will work for about half a set, before it starts messing you up real bad

[SupremeLoren]

In my opinion there are 2 styles while works very well against this players.

Power. You can hit with power to the center, with low angles. They wont have reflexes and gives you a short ball, then you do an extremelly angle with power and go back or contol and go to the net.

S&V or S&V/Defensive. If you want to test your pure control technique against this players you must have any of this stiles ( I not recommend test your pure control technique against that). I like Mi Cha Seol and Alex Bickham to play against Welch or Slavina