It is curious to me to call it "chest press." What looks like a chest pressing out is the shoulders pulling back, the hard flexing, contraction, of the lats on both sides of the back. I've never seen Fed hit a topspin backhand drive (when he has the time) without powering the hitting hand out and up by the lat flex. That flex also sends the off arm backwards. If this maneuver is done, then the forward rotation momentarily stops, then restarts for the follow through. Or so it seems to me....
I feel like I'm getting worse...
- Thread starter Alexrb
- Start date
It is curious to me to call it "chest press." What looks like a chest pressing out is the shoulders pulling back, the hard flexing, contraction, of the lats on both sides of the back. I've never seen Fed hit a topspin backhand drive (when he has the time) without powering the hitting hand out and up by the lat flex. That flex also sends the off arm backwards. If this maneuver is done, then the forward rotation momentarily stops, then restarts for the follow through. Or so it seems to me....
Curious
G.O.A.T.
The GOAT has never been seen grunting except when he was imitating Nadal.
D
Deleted member 23235
Guest
Keendog
Professional
and this is why speaking in absolutes is risky
He was obviously talking about Laver...
Alexrb
Professional
In my eyes there's a lot wrong, but I'd say footwork and consistent technique are the biggest issues (that I see). Maybe the lack of confidence is coming from footwork and technique?
Match update
Lost last night 4-6 1-6, some personal notes;
-Had 4-5 double faults, serve felt wonky in both sets. Low percentage first serve so I hit more 2nds as first serve.
-BH took awhile before I felt any confidence with it
-Way too many errors in general, would love to eliminate some
-Camera was set as high as I could, still missed the wide shots on both sides, so I apologize. You also can't see where it's pointed, so you'll notice it's crooked. Can try my wifes' GoPro next time to see if I can catch more wide angle.
-I didn't edit the dead time, so instead I posted times for points I played decent if you want a tldr
Set 1A -
21:00
27:35
Set 1B -
Set 2 -
12:47
14:25
20:12 (got away with a crap dropper)
21:40
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Curious
G.O.A.T.
He ALMOST never grunts.and this is why speaking in absolutes is risky
Keendog
Professional
I watched the first video from the 6 minute mark. Some casual observations :
:- OK, this is a VERY low intensity match. I've seen Bernie Tomic put in more effort to chase balls down. Did you really want to win? Did you start mirroring the effort of your opponent?
- A few second serves you seem to do something I am prone to doing, when you drop the racquet down you pause or decelerate, and then swing forward from there. That results in less momentum in the racquet head and a more muscled serve. The giveaway is it feels like a lot of effort but not much speed. Have you tried my water bottle idea? https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...st-serving-tool-mankind-has-ever-seen.629534/
- Bit surprised you lost, your opponent didnt seem to give you much trouble in the first vid. From 6 minute mark to 11 minute mark I think you lost one point. From 11 minute mark onwards you have a bad run. Were you tired and swinging out? Were you trying to impose yourself on the match unnecessarily? Watch what you did at the 6 minute mark and try to repeat that more often.
- The backhands you missed were generally deep balls, perhaps slice those ones?
- As bad as you think you were serving his serve had nothing on it. Remember even if you faulted you got some free points as well. Serve was not the issue IMHO.
- You seem to miss serves when you plan on serve volleying though. Perhaps a bit of tightness?
- You can also up the aggressiveness without swinging out, many times you hit the ball on the way down because it required less movement rather than at the peak, and also you could've attacked the net earlier in points, your opponent didn't seem great at digging out deep backhands.
- That's a lot of points haha, but this one would probably help most: With your backhand it does seem flat, which isn't bad, but to get more topspin and more margin for error I personally found stepping right across, so your right shoulder points at the side fence, rather than the back fence as yours does, helps to get the racquet move in a more natural, loopy swing path. I've adjusted so my first move is to really exaggerate the stepping across with the right foot so that I am in a good position. All pros have their back pointing at the net, you don't.
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Fxanimator1
Hall of Fame
The play seems to be VERY casual, I would say up the intensity. Get down down for volleys and groundstrokes and go after the ball rather than wait for it to get to you.
In your hand feed videos you appear more intense and focused.
In your hand feed videos you appear more intense and focused.
NuBas
Legend
@Alexrb I only watched the timestamps you suggested. Set 1A at 27:35 was a nice point, that level of energy and focus should be for every point.
There are glimpses of really good play and if you want to be consistent at that level, you just need to play games more and get used to winning points. Sometimes after you have drilled technique over and over, it could be best to just not think about it anymore and just allow yourself to play.
I think you have technique down better than you may think, its only gonna hinder your singles game if you think about technique during points. I think the solution for you to improve is to play more with better quality opponents, reduce the thoughts you have during game play, and do more with your footwork meaning almost exaggerate.
Winning is also something you have to practice. Reducing errors, sure it will certainly help but winning in itself is something you must practice.
There are glimpses of really good play and if you want to be consistent at that level, you just need to play games more and get used to winning points. Sometimes after you have drilled technique over and over, it could be best to just not think about it anymore and just allow yourself to play.
I think you have technique down better than you may think, its only gonna hinder your singles game if you think about technique during points. I think the solution for you to improve is to play more with better quality opponents, reduce the thoughts you have during game play, and do more with your footwork meaning almost exaggerate.
Winning is also something you have to practice. Reducing errors, sure it will certainly help but winning in itself is something you must practice.
Alexrb
Professional
I watched the first video from the 6 minute mark. Some casual observations
I've noticed a pattern here with your posting and maybe it ties in with your body language. Maybe I'm fishing. Just trying to help as you seem lost on what to improve. You seem to focus a lot on negatives and what isn't working. You seem quick to get down on yourself too. Maybe you need to focus less on technique (which looks solid) and focus on the eye of the tiger. All the technique improvements in the world won't help you without a competitive spirit. Find your inner De Minaur. Get a dog up ya! Unleash the RAGE!!
- OK, this is a VERY low intensity match. I've seen Bernie Tomic put in more effort to chase balls down. Did you really want to win? Did you start mirroring the effort of your opponent?
- A few second serves you seem to do something I am prone to doing, when you drop the racquet down you pause or decelerate, and then swing forward from there. That results in less momentum in the racquet head and a more muscled serve. The giveaway is it feels like a lot of effort but not much speed. Have you tried my water bottle idea? https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...st-serving-tool-mankind-has-ever-seen.629534/
- Bit surprised you lost, your opponent didnt seem to give you much trouble in the first vid. From 6 minute mark to 11 minute mark I think you lost one point. From 11 minute mark onwards you have a bad run. Were you tired and swinging out? Were you trying to impose yourself on the match unnecessarily? Watch what you did at the 6 minute mark and try to repeat that more often.
- The backhands you missed were generally deep balls, perhaps slice those ones?
- As bad as you think you were serving his serve had nothing on it. Remember even if you faulted you got some free points as well. Serve was not the issue IMHO.
- You seem to miss serves when you plan on serve volleying though. Perhaps a bit of tightness?
- You can also up the aggressiveness without swinging out, many times you hit the ball on the way down because it required less movement rather than at the peak, and also you could've attacked the net earlier in points, your opponent didn't seem great at digging out deep backhands.
- That's a lot of points haha, but this one would probably help most: With your backhand it does seem flat, which isn't bad, but to get more topspin and more margin for error I personally found stepping right across, so your right shoulder points at the side fence, rather than the back fence as yours does, helps to get the racquet move in a more natural, loopy swing path. I've adjusted so my first move is to really exaggerate the stepping across with the right foot so that I am in a good position. All pros have their back pointing at the net, you don't.
@Fxanimator1 @Keendog Believe it or not, I actually feel like I am putting in a lot of effort. By the second set I was gassed, which is probably a combination of fitness and lack of breathing. Looking at it on video I totally understand what you're saying though. I played baseball until I graduated college, which is very stagnant, so I'm still trying to figure out how to turn on my inner De Minaur.
Taking balls on the way down is also something I definitely need to get better at.
His game is very consistent, serve is attackable (but I feel like he defends the aggression very well), groundies are just spinny and deep. That's why you saw me go to the middle so often. I know he's not (usually) going to crack a winner on me, so I'm just trying to bide time for a ball I like. I usually lose based on my UE count, which is really how everyone loses to him. My friend Andreas is going to come out next Tuesday, I'll record him playing Dan. You'll notice Dan has a couple more gears that I just don't bring out of him.
I'll go through this in more detail later, thanks for your thoughts.
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Alexrb
Professional
Thanks for taking the time, appreciate it. I hear you, I guess I'm just not convinced I've drilled technique over and over. Just as an example my serve in that match felt terrible. I think I had a handful of flat serves go in, and my kick attempts didn't feel solid or like they had much bite on them. I know I've served much better than that, I just don't know how to replicate it again. I'll probably find it in another month, and then lose it shortly after.
NuBas
Legend
Serving is probably one of most difficult things to learn but some people just ingrain it in themselves and know how to reproduce shots over and over. I think as long as you can remember the sensation or feeling of the perfect shot then it will come easier, until then you like most others just need to keep at it. Tennis can be frustrating cause for the longest time you gotta do trial and error until you can play how you like. Also I feel like there's no real great serving instructional videos out there, everyone has their own key points, if you search YouTube there are some videos of Janko Tipseravic and Robin Solderling giving some serving tips, just type in their name and "lesson" after wards.
