Federer on forehands

The-Champ · Sep 14, 2009

Federer compliments DelPotro's forehand but claims it is not on par with Gonzalez', Blake's or Nadal's.

Q. Could you talk about his forehand, just talk about it and how it compares to other big forehands on the tour.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's different. I guess he hits it well on the forehand side. The inside‑out is good, too. But I mean, there are some better ones out there. He definitely strikes it with great pace and good margin, too. Sometimes he hits crazy ones, too, but that's what happens when you go for it a lot. He has a great technique at backhand. Rock solid.

Q. The other ones, you've spoken highly of González's forehand. Who are the others, the better ones?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, his is different. I don't know if I could put it up to González and Blake and Nadal. He's got a very good forehand, but I don't know if it's the best in the world right now. I don't think so. But it doesn't matter. He won the match, right? Doesn't matter if you have a great backhand or forehand.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interviews/2009-09-14/200909131252827286093.html

Del Potro's fh certainly looked devastating on TV and very CONSISTENT. If the other 3's fhs are better, I wonder how it feels like being on the receiving end of those. Anyway do you folks agree with Roger's fh comments?

crazylevity · Sep 14, 2009

Gonzalez and Blake definitely have bigger forehands; those are match-winning forehands alone, when on. Look at Gonzo and Blake: they have no other weapon other than the forehand. That forehand took out Nadal at the 2007 AO. Just that one forehand.

ArrowSmith · Sep 14, 2009

Roger just being a bit bitter? Del Potro has the biggest forehand ever seen on the planet, bigger the Gonzo or Tsonga or whoever. Nuclear forehand.

Tennis_Monk · Sep 14, 2009

What does Roger know about Forehands. Only our TW forum posters are capable of analyzing this kind of stuff.

darthpwner · Sep 14, 2009

Gonzo has the nuclear power on the forehand, Blake could take it early and has a good forehand return, and Nadal has nasty topspin on his. Del Potro is like a combination of them all. I dont think his forehand is as good as the other guys though. Its not even his best groundstroke. His backhand is rock solid

NickH87 · Sep 14, 2009

Well put it like this Blake and Gonzalez "might have" a bigger forehand, but look at how often it doesnt land and the unforced errors. Those forehands didnt win them a grandslam. Look at gonzo in the quarters, error after error and got destroyed.

navratilovafan · Sep 14, 2009

That is crazy. Del Potro easily has a better forehand than Blake, Gonzalez, and probably Nadal. Blake and Gonzalez have NEVER even for a match outdone Federer off the forehand side to the degree Del Potro did today and of course Federer has the best forehand in history according to some people.

NamRanger · Sep 14, 2009

Del Potro has a rock solid backhand, one of the best serves in the game, and a very good return game. His forehand isn't as good as Gonzalez, Nadal's, or Blake's (arguably), but it's definitely top 5 or so, and combine that with the other parts of his game.... well you can see why he won the USO.

Swissv2 · Sep 14, 2009

Tennis_Monk said:
What does Roger know about Forehands. Only our TW forum posters are capable of analyzing this kind of stuff.

LOL at that.

navratilovafan · Sep 14, 2009

NickH87 said:
Well put it like this Blake and Gonzalez "might have" a bigger forehand, but look at how often it doesnt land and the unforced errors. Those forehands didnt win them a grandslam. Look at gonzo in the quarters, error after error and got destroyed.

Gonzalez and Blake do not have a bigger forehands. They have never played a match with almost double the forehand winners of Federer even with all the times they played him.

navratilovafan · Sep 14, 2009

NamRanger said:
Del Potro has a rock solid backhand, one of the best serves in the game, and a very good return game. His forehand isn't as good as Gonzalez, Nadal's, or Blake's (arguably), but it's definitely top 5 or so, and combine that with the other parts of his game.... well you can see why he won the USO.

If Gonzalez, Nadal and Blake all had better forehands than Del Potro than how does he have a top 5 forehand according to you. Federer, Verdasco, Djokovic, Soderling, possibly Roddick all have superior forehands to either Gonzalez or Blake.

ghostbear · Sep 14, 2009

Well, Fed thinks highly of Nadal's forehand:

5. What would you want to have to be the perfect tennis player – without Roger Federer?
Serve, I take Andy Roddick, in addition David Nalbandian’s backhand, Rafael Nadal’s forehand and Lleyton Hewitt’s fighter qualities. There is no longer so many volleys today, but I would say Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter or Tim Henman. And in the mental area, I take probably once again Nadal. This doesn’t guarantee success, but it would be a very difficult to play against this opponent.

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/15/roger-federer-tells-us-almost-everything/

tennis_hand · Sep 14, 2009

Roger used to have the best forehand before 2007. Look at his match against Hewitt and Agassi in USO final.

ever since then, his forehand is no longer that good.

dh003i · Sep 14, 2009

As Federer said, it doesn't really matter, because Delpo won. He has a great all-around game (although 1st serve is a little iffy, and 2nd serve too; but he was better there than Fed today).

He certainly has a big forehand.

NamRanger · Sep 14, 2009

navratilovafan said:
If Gonzalez, Nadal and Blake all had better forehands than Del Potro than how does he have a top 5 forehand according to you. Federer, Verdasco, Djokovic, Soderling, possibly Roddick all have superior forehands to either Gonzalez or Blake.

Well, I'm not saying Del Potro has a worse forehand than the players listed, I'm just saying it's arguable whether or not Del Potro's forehand is really THAT good. He can hit the living daylights out of the ball; sure. But I think his forehand looks a little better than the others because he gets alot more opportunities to do so due to the fact that he has game outside of his forehand.

The-Champ · Sep 14, 2009

ghostbear said:
Well, Fed thinks highly of Nadal's forehand:

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/15/roger-federer-tells-us-almost-everything/

That was an amazing compilation. He does admire Rafa's fh a lot.

navratilovafan · Sep 14, 2009

NamRanger said:
Well, I'm not saying Del Potro has a worse forehand than the players listed, I'm just saying it's arguable whether or not Del Potro's forehand is really THAT good. He can hit the living daylights out of the ball; sure. But I think his forehand looks a little better than the others because he gets alot more opportunities to do so due to the fact that he has game outside of his forehand.

Fair enough. His serve and backhand set up alot of great forehands, plus his smart point construction. Blake and Gonzalez's forehands may be the whole centre of their game but that doesnt mean they are the best out there though. What have they managed in their careers with their forehands, not even a Masters title, and as I said neither challenge Federer at all off the forehand side in nearly all their matches which atleast some of these others (Del Potro included) sometimes do.

dh003i · Sep 14, 2009

tennis_hand said:
Roger used to have the best forehand before 2007. Look at his match against Hewitt and Agassi in USO final.

ever since then, his forehand is no longer that good.

Please, you must be kidding. He still has a great forehand; still arguably the best in the game when its on. It just isn't as consistent. So overall, I don't know. But he still has a great forehand for sure, top 5. Good enough to win him slams.

His big problem today was poor serving.

I noticed that he seems to have an abbreviated toss, doesn't toss it up as high as he used to; almost snaps it up. Maybe that's an issue.

tlm · Sep 14, 2009

How many forehand winners did delpo blow past fed tonight?

prattle128 · Sep 14, 2009

ArrowSmith said:
Roger just being a bit bitter? Del Potro has the biggest forehand ever seen on the planet, bigger the Gonzo or Tsonga or whoever. Nuclear forehand.

You are so wrong, it hurts.

navratilovafan · Sep 14, 2009

tlm said:
How many forehand winners did delpo blow past fed tonight?

More than Gonzalez or Blake ever have, that is for sure. In fact more than Nadal ever has, but of course that isnt a fair comparision as Nadal's game is based around alot more than hitting clean winners.

asdfuogh · Sep 14, 2009

Del Potro has a good forehand... but I think he could get even better on that. Anyway, he won because he has strong, consistent strokes on BOTH wings... not one shot wonders like Gonzo and Blake..

GoaLaSSo · Sep 14, 2009

I think it's good but gonzalez's is better. I think fed's may be better overall when its on. He can get such good angles. It was definitely not on today. he had many UE's and his swing speed was slower than normal

grafselesfan · Sep 14, 2009

GoaLaSSo said:
I think it's good but gonzalez's is better. I think fed's may be better overall when its on. He can get such good angles. It was definitely not on today. he had many UE's and his swing speed was slower than normal

It makes no sense to say Gonzalez's is better then say Federer's just might be better when its on. Federer's forehand is MUCH better than his pigeon Gonzalez, so if Federer's only "might be better overall when its on" that is already sufficient that Del Potro's is easily better than the overrated Gonzalez.

tennis_hand · Sep 14, 2009

dh003i said:
Please, you must be kidding. He still has a great forehand; still arguably the best in the game when its on. It just isn't as consistent. So overall, I don't know. But he still has a great forehand for sure, top 5. Good enough to win him slams.

His big problem today was poor serving.

I noticed that he seems to have an abbreviated toss, doesn't toss it up as high as he used to; almost snaps it up. Maybe that's an issue.

please. you must be kidding.

comparing his current forehands with those agassi and hewitt matches is a joke.

tricky · Sep 14, 2009

Potro may have the best running FH in the game right now. It's going DTL and there's not much you can do about it.

grafselesfan · Sep 14, 2009

tennis_hand said:
Roger used to have the best forehand before 2007. Look at his match against Hewitt and Agassi in USO final.

ever since then, his forehand is no longer that good.

I am no Roger fan but you are wrong there. His forehand isnt as good as it used to be, but it is still one of the best, possibly the best. He wouldnt be winning so many slams if it wasnt since that is still his best shot even with its regression and the improvement of his serve. It isnt as dominant as it used to be though.

GoaLaSSo · Sep 14, 2009

grafselesfan said:
It makes no sense to say Gonzalez's is better then say Federer's just might be better when its on. Federer's forehand is MUCH better than his pigeon Gonzalez, so if Federer's only "might be better overall when its on" that is already sufficient that Del Potro's is easily better than the overrated Gonzalez.

umm... okay all i was saying is gonzalez's forehand is a monster and is better than delpo's in my personal opinion. When federer is playing well his forehand is better than delpo's as well. As we saw tonight, federer's forehand is not better thand delpo's when he's off, which i guess is obvious but oh well.

ArrowSmith · Sep 14, 2009

grafselesfan said:
I am no Roger fan but you are wrong there. His forehand isnt as good as it used to be, but it is still one of the best, possibly the best. He wouldnt be winning so many slams if it wasnt since that is still his best shot even with its regression and the improvement of his serve. It isnt as dominant as it used to be though.

No **** sherlock. But would DelPo beat 2004 USO Federer? Not likely.

grafselesfan · Sep 14, 2009

I find Gonzalez's forehand way overrated. Even if his game is only a forehand if his forehand was the best in the game like some people talk about it he would have atleast won a freaking Masters title by now. Federer has owned him off the forehand side in almost every match, Nadal has in atleast half their matches (no I am on counting their U.S Open match this weak where I know Nadal won by defense and consistency), and Soderling did at the French Open this year.

Gonzalez in general is just an overrated player on this forum. Does anyone realize he played one of his absolutely best matches ever, pretty much a perfect match for him, and still couldnt even beat Ivan Ljubicic in the 2005 Madrid quarters from 6-3, 2-0 up. This was his best chance ever for a Masters title as he had a real shot vs a 19 year old Nadal in the final on a lightning fast court, he played perfect tennis, and he still couldnt win from a set and break up vs freaking Ljubicic.

FitzRoy · Sep 14, 2009

When Blake and Gonzalez hit big forehands, they seem like they're really going for it. It doesn't seem like their "normal" rally shot, and it seems like there's a fair amount of risk involved.

Nadal really seems like he's going after the ball, too, but he's using that to impart mostly spin, so he doesn't hit nearly as many winners but it's much more consistent.

To me, Del Potro hits Blake-type forehands without really seeming like it's very risky. His normal rally ball seems absolutely huge.

So in that sense I think DelPo's forehand is more effective than Blake's and Gonzalez's on basically every surface, and also more effective than Nadal's on a hard court.

GoaLaSSo · Sep 14, 2009

gonzalez's is definitely not as consistent and any of the players you mentioned i guess but i just mean when he gets in a groove and is hitting them in it's the best.

Your right tho. He may hit the biggest forehand, but i would not say his is best.

stormholloway · Sep 14, 2009

Gonzo and Blake's forehands are overrated. Against Nadal, DelPo's forehand proved the strongest, clearly. Nadal sometimes has trouble flattening it out.

I remember two forehand winners being clocked at 108 mph. DelPo clearly has the biggest forehand in the game, and one of the best overall, along with Fed and Nadal.

Halba · Sep 14, 2009

JMDP slams 1

gonzo 0

JMDP better forehand. he trounced nad 2,2,2

considering only 20, he can develop it further

tenniskid567 · Sep 14, 2009

I think since none of us have ever been on the receiving end of any of those guys' forehands....then there's not really much we have to argue against him with. Watching it on TV is one thing, but actually playing against it...

stormholloway · Sep 14, 2009

tenniskid567 said:
I think since none of us have ever been on the receiving end of any of those guys' forehands....then there's not really much we have to argue against him with. Watching it on TV is one thing, but actually playing against it...

Well, exactly. Federer just played against it and lost. When was the last time he lost to Gonzalez? Gonzalez ever won a slam? Blake has beaten Federer... once?

Federer was just hesitant to give his opponent the credit he deserved. Anyone with two eyes can see DelPo's forehand is bigger than both Blake's and Gonzo's. It's bigger and better.

FitzRoy · Sep 14, 2009

stormholloway said:
Well, exactly. Federer just played against it and lost. When was the last time he lost to Gonzalez? Gonzalez ever won a slam? Blake has beaten Federer... once?

Federer was just hesitant to give his opponent the credit he deserved. Anyone with two eyes can see DelPo's forehand is bigger than both Blake's and Gonzo's. It's bigger and better.

I'm not sure we can say it's "bigger" than both Blake and Gonzo's. It's a bit subjective...does bigger mean faster, heavier, does it take into account depth, consistency, etc?

I think the best thing to say would be that they all three seem to hit pretty big forehands - big enough to be in roughly the same category - but Del Potro's certainly seems to go in the court a hell of a lot more frequently, and he isn't accomplishing that by hitting it with less authority than they are. So for me that means it's better.

Grizvok · Sep 14, 2009

tricky said:
Potro may have the best running FH in the game right now. It's going DTL and there's not much you can do about it.

I agree. When he is set up for that shot out wide near the double's alley the only thing his opponents can do is hope that he misses.

tenniskid567 · Sep 14, 2009

stormholloway said:
Well, exactly. Federer just played against it and lost. When was the last time he lost to Gonzalez? Gonzalez ever won a slam? Blake has beaten Federer... once?

Federer was just hesitant to give his opponent the credit he deserved. Anyone with two eyes can see DelPo's forehand is bigger than both Blake's and Gonzo's. It's bigger and better.

Good point...maybe it just seems bigger cause the other guys can't hit anything else. When you've got both big forehands and backhands coming at you, the forehands don't seem as tough to handle, but when like playing Gonzalez, they hit around for a little, and then BAM in comes the inside out, with no shot of getting to it, maybe he's not as ready for it I dunno....does that make any sense? Haha kinda confusing probably, sorry.

alienhamster · Sep 14, 2009

I'd take DelPo's forehand over Gonzalez's and Blake's in a heartbeat. He's far more consistent with it, and it's HUGE, even if less huge than Gonzalez's. He's also oddly good at hitting it relatively flat even when sliced to him low and short.

stormholloway · Sep 14, 2009

FitzRoy said:
I'm not sure we can say it's "bigger" than both Blake and Gonzo's. It's a bit subjective...does bigger mean faster, heavier, does it take into account depth, consistency, etc?

I think the best thing to say would be that they all three seem to hit pretty big forehands - big enough to be in roughly the same category - but Del Potro's certainly seems to go in the court a hell of a lot more frequently, and he isn't accomplishing that by hitting it with less authority than they are. So for me that means it's better.

Well the commentators noted the *thud* sound that it made. I heard it myself. It was something special. It certainly looks bigger and they noted that two of them were well over 100 mph. Even if it isn't bigger (though I think it is), it's certainly a higher quality shot than Gonzo or Blake's.

tenniskid567 said:
Good point...maybe it just seems bigger cause the other guys can't hit anything else. When you've got both big forehands and backhands coming at you, the forehands don't seem as tough to handle, but when like playing Gonzalez, they hit around for a little, and then BAM in comes the inside out, with no shot of getting to it, maybe he's not as ready for it I dunno....does that make any sense? Haha kinda confusing probably, sorry.

Makes sense. Gonzo has the out-of-nowhere shot that makes it look bigger than it is. Del Potro consistently hits big. There were a couple DelPo forehands that went right into Federer. He couldn't handle them.

roddickfan1000 · Sep 14, 2009

bigger doesn't mean better, if so, then why isn't gonzalez a GS champion.

FitzRoy · Sep 14, 2009

stormholloway said:
Well the commentators noted the *thud* sound that it made. I heard it myself. It was something special. It certainly looks bigger and they noted that two of them were well over 100 mph. Even if it isn't bigger (though I think it is), it's certainly a higher quality shot than Gonzo or Blake's.

The important point is that it's a higher quality shot. We agree on that. I'm not sure if he hits it harder on average than Gonzalez or Blake (my perception is that his average speed is higher than either of them), or if he hits it higher in terms of top speed (I'd guess Gonzalez would be the victor in that category). All three of them hit their forehands very hard, but Del Potro seems to do it with much greater consistency. Or at least much greater effectiveness.

It simply seems like hitting it that hard is just his normal way of hitting it, whereas Blake and Gonzalez seem to be "going for it" - which then involves the risks associated with that. No matter how hard I see Del Potro hit the ball, it never seems like a risky play for him. That's the big difference in my mind, and why his is the better shot.

tyler_durden · Sep 14, 2009

This man has the biggest forehand ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjFfuXMG0Rg

tyler_durden · Sep 14, 2009

I forgot to add:

It's not consistently the biggest but when he wants to hit it, he can hit it like no one else

GuyClinch · Sep 14, 2009

I got to see Del Porto up close recently (as I am sure others did) and I thought his forehand was HUGE. Maybe Blakes and Gonzo's are bigger but no doubt Del Porto's is awesome. You get in a rally with him and sooner or later he cranks it up and you just can't compete. I never seen a guy as big as him play like he does.

Tony48 · Sep 14, 2009

Roger Federer: Forehands that don't win slams are better than forehands that do.

flying24 · Sep 14, 2009

Federer is just being a jerk. Obvously he feels the heat of the moment after a tough loss and is letting that affect his statements. He is diminishing himself in a way since he has the best forehand of his generation, maybe of all time, and yet he is lowballing the forehand of someone who outplayed him off that side on this day and calling it inferior to a few of his pigeons. Pretty obvious sour grapes on his part.

big bang · Sep 15, 2009

Fed is the GOAT... at whining that is!! hawkeye is useless when Del Potro plays, you can just look at the holes on court from his forehand

its simply insane how hard this guy can hit, I think baby-Fed got scared out there and could have been hurt

tricky · Sep 15, 2009

When he is set up for that shot out wide near the double's alley the only thing his opponents can do is hope that he misses.

Del Potro's FH reminds me of Lindsey Davenport . . . if Lindsey Davenport was a 6"6 dude with arms the length of a NBA basketball player. Blake and Gonzo may have bigger FHs, but only from a relatively static position. Delpo hits biggest when he's running, whether it's side-to-side or toward the short ball.

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