thomasferrett
Hall of Fame
I feel like Gasquet's backhand is one of the most overrated shots in tennis.
Even regarding only high contact point topspin backhands (Federer's greatest weakness), I would still place Federer's backhand over Gasquet's. Gasquet's backhand is actually SIGNIFICANTLY weak when the ball is up high on him. It is so loopy and lacks pace when hit at a high contact point, and always drops short into a nice hitting zone for his opponent.
I was watching his match against Murray in Rome 2012 on YouTube when I realized it. Even Murray (a relatively flat hitter) knew to loop an inside out forehand to Gasquet's backhand to get a very short response.
Watching Almagro face Nadal on clay, you see Nadal hitting inside out forehands to Almagro's FOREHAND when Almagro's backhand gets hot.
That's because Almagro can hit a high backhand with a LOT of pace and actually pressurize Nadal's forehand. Almagro's comfort with high balls means he does not back up court positioning (unlike Gasquet), and thus his shot reaches the other side of the court even quicker.
Gasquet is a superior player overall to Almagro as he has better natural touch, court-craft and better mental focus, but backhand-wise I don't think they're close - Almagro's is just better.
I would rank Wawrinka and Almagro as the best one-handers in the game today, and I would rank Kohlschreiber, Haas, Youzhny (well maybe not now he has declined) and Federer ahead of Gasquet's backhand. On clay specifically, I would also take Thiem's, Cuevas's, L. Mayer's, Garcia-Lopez's, and Zeballos's backhands over Gasquet's.
Seriously, it's just not a great shot. Yes, he can hit 100mph winners if given a perfect contact height and time to do so, but the other guys mentioned can hit more pressurizing shots off a much higher vertical strike-zone.
If Almagro and Wawrinka are the 1st tier topspin 1-handers, Gasquet's is at best a 2nd tier.
Even regarding only high contact point topspin backhands (Federer's greatest weakness), I would still place Federer's backhand over Gasquet's. Gasquet's backhand is actually SIGNIFICANTLY weak when the ball is up high on him. It is so loopy and lacks pace when hit at a high contact point, and always drops short into a nice hitting zone for his opponent.
I was watching his match against Murray in Rome 2012 on YouTube when I realized it. Even Murray (a relatively flat hitter) knew to loop an inside out forehand to Gasquet's backhand to get a very short response.
Watching Almagro face Nadal on clay, you see Nadal hitting inside out forehands to Almagro's FOREHAND when Almagro's backhand gets hot.
That's because Almagro can hit a high backhand with a LOT of pace and actually pressurize Nadal's forehand. Almagro's comfort with high balls means he does not back up court positioning (unlike Gasquet), and thus his shot reaches the other side of the court even quicker.
Gasquet is a superior player overall to Almagro as he has better natural touch, court-craft and better mental focus, but backhand-wise I don't think they're close - Almagro's is just better.
I would rank Wawrinka and Almagro as the best one-handers in the game today, and I would rank Kohlschreiber, Haas, Youzhny (well maybe not now he has declined) and Federer ahead of Gasquet's backhand. On clay specifically, I would also take Thiem's, Cuevas's, L. Mayer's, Garcia-Lopez's, and Zeballos's backhands over Gasquet's.
Seriously, it's just not a great shot. Yes, he can hit 100mph winners if given a perfect contact height and time to do so, but the other guys mentioned can hit more pressurizing shots off a much higher vertical strike-zone.
If Almagro and Wawrinka are the 1st tier topspin 1-handers, Gasquet's is at best a 2nd tier.
