Pro players' technique

[PascalMariaFan]

What are some technical aspects of players' games that you've noticed, positive or negative?

I'm watching Djokovic now, and I think the main reasons he has the best groundstrokes is because of his exaggerated upper body rotation and racquet head speed. I know his coach talked about him increasing his racquet head speed, but I only just noticed how sharply he rotates his upper body when hitting backhands, even when going down the line. By doing those two things he's got total control of the ball, whereas someone like Federer is at the opponent's mercy because all he does with his backhand is block the ball back.

[President]

This thread would probably be better suited to the Tips and Technique sub forum.

[PascalMariaFan]

I can't find the sub forum you're talking about.

Speaking of Federer, I don't think the fact that he uses a 1HBH is an excuse for not having an offensive backhand. Wawrinka's 1HBH is a huge weapon thanks to his exaggerated rotation.

[President]

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

[paulorenzo]

stan relies much more on rotation in the forward swing than federer. compact backswing, but in the forward swing, he opens up his shoulder very early with his arm trailing behind and snapping forward, not unlike what happens during a modern forehand, and not unlike what happens in djokovic's two hander. stan's backhand almost super reliant on his torso's rotation however.

federer has a more extreme take back than stan, often times his back is visible to his opponents, but federer keeps his shoulders closed/ perpendicular to the baseline in the forward swing, not allowing his torso to fully open, but allowing the shoulder to do the work. notice how gumby his shoulder is in the follow though. this is due to his torso staying perpendicular.

the same stroke, with almost totally different driving mechanisms. also, with two different mentalities. stan unloads on the backhand side much more often than federer. it's great early on, but takes a toll late in the match. the most recent occurrence is the 5 setter with djokovic, but stan has been known to fall apart in the third set of matches as well.

a good middle ground between the two would be gasquet's, who utilizes both techniques regularly.

while i dont think federer "blocks" the ball on his backhand side (his stance allows him to take the ball earlier and hit more in front) i do agree that from a pace stand point, stan wins because of the exaggerated opening of his shoulders and the willingness to unload every chance he gets.

stan's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZpIDzwuW1c

federer's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX7CcDIkMhE

gasquet's: utilizing both
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghnFZCtkBX0

[slowfox]

Originally Posted by PascalMariaFan

I can't find the sub forum you're talking about.

Speaking of Federer, I don't think the fact that he uses a 1HBH is an excuse for not having an offensive backhand. Wawrinka's 1HBH is a huge weapon thanks to his exaggerated rotation.

Federer even acknowledges that Wawrinka has a better backhand. Like a year ago in Tennis magazine they did a feature on Stan's backhand. I think John McEnroe said it's the best in the game right now.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by PascalMariaFan

I'm watching Djokovic now, and I think the main reasons he has the best groundstrokes is because of his exaggerated upper body rotation and racquet head speed. I know his coach talked about him increasing his racquet head speed, but I only just noticed how sharply he rotates his upper body when hitting backhands, even when going down the line. By doing those two things he's got total control of the ball, whereas someone like Federer is at the opponent's mercy because all he does with his backhand is block the ball back.

Disagree with both your observation and your conclusion:
1. Stroke mechanics of the two-handed backhand are different from those of the one-hander. On the two-hander, upper body rotation is needed nearly all the time, with the non-dominant hand assisting the rotation. On the one-hander, the non-dominant hand is used as a device for balancing and opening up the body. This means that body rotation works differently on both shots.
2. Federer does not just block the ball back on his topspin backhands, he chooses when to hit the rally shot and when to unload. Djokovic, like Nadal or most other modern players is more homogenous with respect to the array of speeds and spins with which he hits the balls. Novak's average speed is most likely higher than Federer's, and his variance is certainly lower.

The differences between Federer and Wawrinka are just second order differences that are unimportant compared to the above two major points.