Roddick's forehand or Nadal's forehand?

hyperwarrior · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soADAL_uGs8

Roddick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpocoSPRkMA

Which one is more beautiful or more pure?

samprasvsfederer123 · Apr 5, 2010

i like roddick's more

Chris Rizutto · Apr 5, 2010

Who cares about beauty of shot? Nadals generates more rpms than anyone ever recorded.

Im gonna go with dodo hands on this one.

volleynets · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal's is more pure. Roddick's forehand at the contact point looks like his arm is about to snap off. Nadal's is more natural low to high with straight arm. Funny you asked which is more beautiful between two players who both don't have very beautiful forehands.

Kevinfiji · Apr 5, 2010

Not responding to the vids but generally think Nadal has a way better forehand. It's brutish.

prattle128 · Apr 5, 2010

I prefer to look at Nadal's forehand. Like a poster previously mentioned, Roddick has his arm go in some weird motion almost as if he's trying to hard to try and impart topspin and get his weight into the shot. Nadal's just looks a lot more natural for him, while Roddick's forehand seems like he's almost trying to do things that he's not comfortable with.. that's just the vibe that I get from it though lol.

Justdoit10 · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal. I think Nadals overhead forehand is ugly but when he really swings across his body, his forehand looks amazing.

forzamilan90 · Apr 5, 2010

nadal forehand and it's not even close on this one

doodlyd · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal's forhand is more like Federer than Roddick !!! there was a side by side video of Nadal and Fed playing forehand , it was clear that they both have similar motion

kishnabe · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal forehand is beautiful and the topspin that it generates is fun to watch!

Lsmkenpo · Apr 5, 2010

The Roddick forehand it is easier on the knees and better for offensive game.

drakulie · Apr 5, 2010

Roddicks forehand enables him not to get knee injuries.

sh@de · Apr 5, 2010

Nadal's. It looks way more fluid.

darthpwner · Apr 5, 2010

In FYB's Nadal video, you can clearly see that Nadal still has incredible racket head speed despite the video being slow-motion.

ronalditop · Apr 5, 2010

Roddick's forehand looks as if he's arming the ball. Obviously he isn't it just looks like it.

JeMar · Apr 5, 2010

This is getting out of hand.

Roddick played has had a couple of pretty good months, that's it. Nadal's forehand's won him a bunch of slams on three different surfaces, never mind a lead over the greatest player of all time; Roddick's forehand has gotten him one slam and a bunch of runner up trophies.

Lsmkenpo · Apr 5, 2010

JeMar said:
This is getting out of hand.

Roddick played has had a couple of pretty good months, that's it. Nadal's forehand's won him a bunch of slams on three different surfaces, never mind a lead over the greatest player of all time; Roddick's forehand has gotten him one slam and a bunch of runner up trophies.

Disagree, his movement is primarily what won him slams not his forehand. Same forehand with one step less movement becomes an attack-able weakness that is exploited by players who take away his time.

MajinX · Apr 6, 2010

Lsmkenpo said:
Disagree, his movement is primarily what won him slams not his forehand. Same forehand with one step less movement becomes an attack-able weakness that is exploited by players who take away his time.

quoted for truth and wisdom. Whoever thinks single shots or one thing wins slams or tourneys needs to go out and play some more tennis.

Anaconda · Apr 6, 2010

JeMar said:
This is getting out of hand.

Roddick played has had a couple of pretty good months, that's it. Nadal's forehand's won him a bunch of slams on three different surfaces, never mind a lead over the greatest player of all time; Roddick's forehand has gotten him one slam and a bunch of runner up trophies.

Karlovic has the best serve ever. I don't see him winning anything special.

rodd_fan · Apr 6, 2010

Lsmkenpo said:
The Roddick forehand it is easier on the knees and better for offensive game.

agree here

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

Kidding me ? Roddick killed Nadal some days ago with his forehand, and someone is going to tell me that Nadals FH is better?

Roddicks FH is better on HC and Grass, Nadals on clay ofcourse.

borg number one · Apr 6, 2010

I think Nadal's forehand is more effective and more beautiful than Roddick's overall. Nadal is also a much better mover than Roddick. Yet, I think Nadal's forehand has allowed him to get better results than Roddick overall.

Nadal's serve that is not nearly as big a weapon as Roddick's, but his forehand can do lots of damage. Roddick has an excellent drive forehand and it can be quite consistent, but Nadal has more variety, spin, while also hitting with comparable pace. What else does Nadal really depend on besides his forehand and movement? Nadal's backhand is very good, but not the weapon his forehand is.

Algo214 · Apr 6, 2010

tough call, I hate them both equally, but Roddick's, I like power instead of spin and also Nadal's overhead finish is just awful

MichaelNadal · Apr 6, 2010

AndyArodRoddick said:
Kidding me ? Roddick killed Nadal some days ago with his forehand, and someone is going to tell me that Nadals FH is better?

Roddicks FH is better on HC and Grass, Nadals on clay ofcourse.

Nadal's forehand IS better. Don't be a fanboy. Nadal's forehand is better than Roddicks, and I have no problem saying Fed has a better forehand than Rafa.

NamRanger · Apr 6, 2010

MichaelNadal said:
Nadal's forehand IS better. Don't be a fanboy. Nadal's forehand is better than Roddicks, and I have no problem saying Fed has a better forehand than Rafa.

Nadal has 10x better movement that allows him to use his forehand. Roddick in fact hasn't used this forehand in ages; when he does, he is usually contesting a slam or winning a title (see Wimbledon 2004, USO Series 2003, Dubai 2008 ).

Nadal wins based on his movement, his better backhand, his better fitness, and his better defensive skills. That doesn't necessarily mean he has an overall better forehand; on HCs, I'd say there are alot of guys with better forehands than Nadal, such as Verdasco, Del Potro, Djokovic, and quite a few others.

The justification of using the number of slams to support the fact that a player has a better shot is preposterous. Are you really going to try to make the argument that Federer has a better backhand than the likes of Wawrinka, Nalbandian, Djokovic, Murray, etc.? Are you going to say that Federer has a better serve than Roddick, Karlovic, Isner, Guccione, that Australian guy (Ball I think)? Don't make me laugh.

aldeayeah · Apr 6, 2010

Halfway through last week's match:

Nadal FH winners: Fifteen.
Roddick FH winners: Zero.

NamRanger · Apr 6, 2010

aldeayeah said:
Halfway through last week's match:

Nadal FH winners: Fifteen.
Roddick FH winners: Zero.

So great a forehand that Nadal can hit 15 winners and still lose the match right?

rovex · Apr 6, 2010

So, NamRanger concludes that as Roddick can hit flatter shots with his forehand compared to Nadal's it must be better...

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

rovex said:
So, NamRanger concludes that as Roddick can hit flatter shots with his forehand compared to Nadal's it must be better...

So your saying that winner says it all ? Then Petzchner or Gulbis should have the BEST FH in the world..
Again, Andy outplayed Nadal with his FH in 2nd and 3rd set and basically won the match with this stroke...
And again, depends on the surface! (OBJECTIVE!)
I mean, i think in the top 10 the FH "rankings or so" in my opinion is kind a like this:1. Fed, 2.Del Potro 3. Tsonga, 4. Cilic, 5. Roddick, 6. Nadal, 7. Davydenko, 8. Söderling, 9. Djokovic, 10. Murray

cknobman · Apr 6, 2010

Nadal has the better forehand because his consistently has more pace and spin.

rovex · Apr 6, 2010

AndyArodRoddick said:
So your saying that winner says it all ?

Nope.

AndyArodRoddick said:
then Petzchner or Gulbis should have the BEST FH in the world..
Again, Andy outplayed Nadal with his FH in 2nd and 3rd set and basically won the match with this stroke...
And again, depends on the surface! (OBJECTIVE!)
I mean, i think in the top 10 the FH "rankings or so" in my opinion is kind a like this:1. Fed, 2.Del Potro 3. Tsonga, 4. Cilic, 5. Roddick, 6. Nadal, 7. Davydenko, 8. Söderling, 9. Djokovic, 10. Murray

Nadal didn't have a plan B when Roddick starting pressing with the forehand. Your list is hilarious. Soderling's forehand is miles better than Roddick's.

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

rovex said:
Nope.

Nadal didn't have a plan B when Roddick starting pressing with the forehand. Your list is hilarious. Soderling's forehand is miles better than Roddick's.

Söderling has top 5 BH, but his FH is kind a like Gulbis/Petzchner style..he lost to Berdych because of his FH, he lost to Roddick because of his FH..did you even see those matches ??

And what there is hilarious ?

rovex · Apr 6, 2010

AndyArodRoddick said:
Söderling has top 5 BH, but his FH is kind a like Gulbis/Petzchner style..he lost to Berdych because of his FH, he lost to Roddick because of his FH..did you even see those matches ??

And what there is hilarious ?

The fact that he can dictate play with it while making few UE while Roddick with his grinding game doesn't.

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

rovex said:
The fact that he can dictate play with it while making few UE while Roddick with his grinding game doesn't.

"Few" ? Let's say he made some ~40 UEs in match against Roddick. Some ~30 of them was from FH for sure. (His BH is good, not so many mistakes) Is 30 "few" in your opinion ?

If you don't like Roddick or hate him, then say it..don't try to be objective cause certainly you're not.

hyperwarrior · Apr 6, 2010

When I said which one is more beautiful or pure doesn't means who has the most effective forehand...This is not about who has the better forehand and unfortunately, some of you are completely out of the subject...

rovex · Apr 6, 2010

AndyArodRoddick said:
"Few" ? Let's say he made some ~40 UEs in match against Roddick. Some ~30 of them was from FH for sure. (His BH is good, not so many mistakes) Is 30 "few" in your opinion ?

Did you even read my post? Of course he's going to make errors when Roddick is just pushing the ball into play. You can't deny that Roddick has been playing a passive game for a while.

AndyArodRoddick said:
f you don't like Roddick or hate him, then say it..don't try to be objective cause certainly you're not.

It's funny you say that, when i see you going into every thread which has Roddick in the title and defending him even if he's wrong. What irony.

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

rovex said:
Did you even read my post? Of course he's going to make errors when Roddick is just pushing the ball into play. You can't deny that Roddick has been playing a passive game for a while.

It's funny you say that, when i see you going into every thread which has Roddick in the title and defending him even if he's wrong. What irony.

1.Yes he has and im not so pleased about it either..but it works, doesnt it ?

2.Well yeah, maybe..but in this thread i have tried to be as objective as i can.

rodd_fan · Apr 6, 2010

off topic:Too many Roddick haters :twisted:

pjonesy · Apr 6, 2010

hyperwarrior said:
When I said which one is more beautiful or pure doesn't means who has the most effective forehand...This is not about who has the better forehand and unfortunately, some of you are completely out of the subject...

I think Nadal's is more beautiful. Nadal's forehand is more flowing, but there is an aggressive, violent, intense aspect to it as well. I've never seen a player's forehand that is even comparable to Nadal's. It is a totally unique shot, that only Nadal can complete. Nadal is more of an artist on the court and his forehand is what he works with. It's refreshing to see a stroke that stands out and that did not come out of a repetitious cookie cutter academy drill (although I'm sure he put in plenty of work on the practice court). We know that extreme topspin started with Borg and Vilas, progressed through Lendl, Courier, Agassi etc. Most recently expressed over the last 20 years by the Spanish Armada. Corretja, Bruguera, Costa and Ferrero all hit a lot of topspin, but Nadal's forehand takes it to a new level. As for Roddick's forehand, when I first saw him play I was impressed with the amount of spin and pace he could generate on the forehand side, but I would not call it beautiful.

P_Agony · Apr 6, 2010

Nadal's strokes, especially the FH, always looked forced and unnatural to me, so needless to say I think Roddick's FH is way better looking. However, Nadal's FH is a much better stroke IMO.

Blinkism · Apr 6, 2010

drakulie said:
Roddicks forehand enables him not to get knee injuries.

Oh really?

Pray tell, why did Roddick lose first round in Beijing, retire in his first round match in Shanghai, and skip the rest of the Fall season last year?

:lol:

AndyArodRoddick · Apr 6, 2010

Blinkism said:
Oh really?

Pray tell, why did Roddick lose first round in Beijing, retire in his first round match in Shanghai, and skip the rest of the Fall season last year?

:lol:

Did you see it?..it wasnt because of his FH.

rodd_fan · Apr 6, 2010

Look what Roddick made to Nadal with his forehand on Miami this year and also at Dubai 2008.

namelessone · Apr 6, 2010

rodd_fan said:
Look what Roddick made to Nadal with his forehand on Miami this year and also at Dubai 2008.

Look at what Nadal has done to the tour with his fh(main shot) for the last five years running(including two wins on hard over roddick at IW in the last couple of years and could have won this year as well). What has roddick done with his fh in the last five years? He got pummeled by rodge a couple of times and churned out one memorable GS performance in WB 09'.

Oh,and that was Roddick's forehand of desperation in the Nadal match. Notice how he reverted to the safe,loopy forehand in the berdych match. So that flat fh is not his usual fh and it rarely comes out nowadays. I have seen Nadal flatten his fh out a couple of times but that doesn't mean that this is his regular shot.

Nadal's fh takes this one.

Federer_pilon · Apr 6, 2010

rodd_fan said:
Look what Roddick made to Nadal with his forehand on Miami this year and also at Dubai 2008.

once every 2 years? oh alright....so i guess next time will be in 2012

also...are you sure his serve didn't have much to do with those 2 wins?

Spider · Apr 6, 2010

Nadal's forehand is deadly on all surfaces. In today's era, it is the most effective shot on clay by far.

Roddick is just a pusher, nothing more. At times he plays aggressive tennis but that doesn't mean his forehand is suddenly more effective than someone who can produce the goods day in and day out.

Sangria · Apr 6, 2010

Look Roddick is a fine, fairly complete player with a great serve (and one of my top 5 faves), but Roddicks forehand is basically the same style that a lot of pro players have. Flat, aggressive forceful looking shots that is easy to imitate, mind you when he isn't being passive...

You have to look at this way. As Nadal is the only one who has, and can master the "lasso" whip, IMO its considered to be beautiful because of the difficulty of the shot and its uniqueness. Minus the grunt lol.

I still can't get over that spectacular running "banana shot" at IW 09, ironically vs Roddick lol.

There is no comparison.

World Beater · Apr 7, 2010

P_Agony said:
Nadal's strokes, especially the FH, always looked forced and unnatural to me, so needless to say I think Roddick's FH is way better looking. However, Nadal's FH is a much better stroke IMO.

you have it the wrong way.

nadal's fh is every bit natural. its raw and relatively untamed technique.

roddick's stroke is very much forced and is not nearly as fluid and whippy as nadal. roddicks fh is the result of many coaches attempt to have him hit the ball a certain way.

roddick's fh stroke is not efficient at all. his kinetic chain far inferior to nadal's.

rodd_fan · Apr 7, 2010

Federer_pilon said:
once every 2 years? oh alright....so i guess next time will be in 2012

also...are you sure his serve didn't have much to do with those 2 wins?

1.I was refering to h2h matches.
2.He also served pretty well last year at IW.

Like somebody else said here,I Roddick's forehand is better on hard courts and grass(even Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon)

It's simple:Roddick has the weapons to beat Nadal on hard courts.
On clay , he has no answer, but how many players can face Nadal on dirty?

P_Agony · Apr 7, 2010

World Beater said:
you have it the wrong way.

nadal's fh is every bit natural. its raw and relatively untamed technique.

roddick's stroke is very much forced and is not nearly as fluid and whippy as nadal. roddicks fh is the result of many coaches attempt to have him hit the ball a certain way.

roddick's fh stroke is not efficient at all. his kinetic chain far inferior to nadal's.

I can't "have it the wrong way" because it's my opinion. Nadal's strokes look forced and unnatural for me and that's the end of it. Disagree with me all you want but that's my opinion. I never claimed Roddick's FH is the most beautiful one, but it's more beautiful motion than Nadal's FH.

Nadal's FH has been proven to be very effective and a dangerous shot that can produce some of the most insane passing shots on the run along with great consistency from the baseline. Doesn't mean it's pretty to watch though.

Roddick's forehand or Nadal's forehand?

For the purist, which forehand is more 'beautilful'?

Nadal's forehand

Roddick's forehand

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