Conventional wisdom says that you should keep the ball crosscourt during a neutral rally. That tends to be sound advice. It’s a high-percentage play (low net / lots of court to work with) and it makes your opponent’s reply more predictable (crosscourt).
However, against some opponents hitting down the middle of the court can be a good idea. If your opponent is good at hitting angles, keeping the ball more toward the center prevents them from creating crazy angles.
Juan Martin Del Potro used this strategy to great effect against Rafael Nadal in the semis of the 2009 US Open. Del Potro hit hard, flat groundstrokes down the middle of the court and didn’t give Nadal any angles to work with. The result was a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 beatdown.
Check out our recap of the Nadal – Del Potro 2009 US Open semifinal match (at the beginning of the video) if you haven’t already.