While I was streaming Top Spin 4, I was asked this question, how am I able to disguise your shots so well. The short answer was control shots.
It surprises me to find out after 8 years people are still powering up every shot. There are times a Powershot is totally necessary. But that’s one of the reasons why we sometimes don’t have enough time to hit a perfect shot. Powershots take more time than Control Shots. Powershots have a slow windup, control shots on the other hand, really don’t have any tells. The signs that your player is about to swing happens so fast you can’t see it, but it’s there. That partially explains why control shots are so effective, so yes, it is easy to disguise your shots in Top Spin 4. You just have to practice it.
If your one of those players holds down the shot button to power up, try a single quick tap instead. You might not pick up the timing at first, as it took me a month to really feel comfortable. Control shots can be performed using any of the shot buttons, A, B, X or Y. Just to be clear, it’s a quick tap of the button. That’s it.
Hit Accurate Control Shots
If you want to disguise your shot better, you must remember to move the left stick in the direction the ball is going the second you tap the button and hit your control shot. Angle the left thumbstick in the direction you want your tennis ball to go in, and do it as early as possible. When I first started using control shots I used the spot/shadow the ball bounced before I hit it to tab the shot button.
Quick Tip
The last tip I will give is this. Using the left thumb-stick, make sure you remember to push the majority of your shots deep. If you want to hit a sharp-angled shot, then move the left thumb-stick towards the left or right side but on a slightly lower angle, not too far down. This seems to be very effective in all types of situations in Top Spin 4.
Check out this article on how to make an infographic for Mixer here.
Check out this Top Spin 2 match.