Is it better to grip the racket horizontally or straight?

The cross grip is more comfortable, no matter if it is a forward or backward draw, as long as you are skillful, there are more chances to backward draw others. The straight grip is better for defense, as long as you don't give him a chance, he doesn't have it when he smokes you. If you don't give him a chance, you should try to pull the ball down and hit it to his backhand, which is a little bit worse than his backhand, or you should just hit the short ball, not the long ball.