1hh favors slow and high bouncing surfaces, not grass and carpet

[tennis_hack]

Look at the prominent 1hbh's out there;

1). Wawrinka
2). Gasquet
3). Almagro
4). Berlocq
5). Montanes
6). Volandri
7). L. Mayer
8). Garcia-Lopez
9). Robredo

Every single one of these has clay as their favorite surface. Almost all of them are clay court specialists.

Federer is actually the exception to this rule, yet most people think that Federer and Nadal are the only two guys who play tennis in this world, so they take Federer as the rule and not the exception.

At what Slam in 2013 were there just as many quarter-finalists (ATP not WTA) with 1hbh's as there were with 2hbh's? The French Open.

Why do we always hear that 1hbh's are doomed when the bounce gets higher and the courts are slower, when the facts staring everyone in the face say exactly the opposite: the 1hbh thrives on slow and high bounce and struggles on faster surfaces.

I think commentators must think all the 1hbh guys these days are hitting with continental grips instead of the strong eastern or even semi-western backhand grips that most guys using 1hbh's are using today.

Why does the 1hbh thrive on slow and high bounce? More vertical reach to hit higher balls, more racket-head freedom to have a vertical swing path, and thus impart heavier topspin, ability to hit sharper and more hooking crosscourt angles. ROS disadvantage negated by slower serves.

Why does the 1hbh struggle on faster surfaces? Faster ball is not good for the longer wind-up of the 1hbh - on serves and fast groundstrokes. Topspin and angle are not as rewarded as early flat hitting - the specialty of the 2hbh.

So what do you think? The modern 1hbh actually prefers slower, higher surfaces like clay, or grass and carpet?

 

[President]

It depends on what type of 1HBH you have. Those guys you listed all generally hit very spinny 1HBH, and they may be the majority these days but you still have guys like Haas, Stakohvsky, Youzhny, Brands, and Federer who prefer faster, low bouncing surfaces.

 

[Andres]

Weird you don't mention Haas.

Gasquet favours grass over clay.
Wawrinka favours hard courts over clay.
Same with Leo Mayer.

 

[Andres]

Also left out Feliciano Lopez, or Ivo Karlovic, who favour faster surfaces.
Kohlschreiber as well. Also Youzhny.

Volandri, really?

 

[Andres]

Also, let's not forget Mahut and Dimitrov.

 

[SouthboundAgain]

I'm not sure I agree with your analysis.

Here are a few counter examples:
Tommy Haas
Kohlschreiber
Youzhny

Also as mentioned, I wouldn't consider Gasquet and Wawrinka as clay court specialists. It is not clear that it is their favorite surface.

I also don't think one-handers thrive on high bouncing balls. But most pro one-handers take the ball on the rise so they don't necessarily have to hit a lot of these shots.

 

[JohnMartin]

generally speaking it is true -

1hbh takes longer time to set up, but has more spin potential..... that determines it's favorable on slow clay.

the lack of stability makes 1hbh less favorable on fast courts.

 

[egn]

At what Slam in 2013 were there just as many quarter-finalists (ATP not WTA) with 1hbh's as there were with 2hbh's? The French Open.

What slam had the same out of semifinalists with 1hbh's and 2hbh's that was the US Open. Oh wait and it had the same amount of quarterfinalists with 1hbh as 2hbh. Ya know Youhzny, Stan, Gasquet and Robredo. All one handers. All made quarterfinals of the fastest major with lowest bounce. Hmmm do continue with your illogical theory.

You also called, Wawrinka and Gasquet clay court specialists. Neither of them are such. Sure Wawrinka has won more clay titles than others and does have strong clay results, but he also has done very well on hardcourts. Gasquet has seen equal results across all surfaces let's not be stupid here. Almagro is a clay court specialist but the other two, nope.

Also we then have Haas, Dimitrov, Youhzny, Kohl, Lopez, Llodra and Karlovic who all do not go clay first. I'd also argue strongly against Wawa and Gasquet being bunched in your first list. Then you add in Fed as well and hmm well things are looking debunked.

The reason people like 1hbh on faster surfaces is it can allow you to achieve great angles and quick counter swings that a twohander doesn't achieve. Honestly though it's all about what you are comfortable with and play style.

 

[Rorsach]

Most one-handers grew up playing on the european clay courts. No wonder they play good on that surface.

 

[tennis_hack]

What slam had the same out of semifinalists with 1hbh's and 2hbh's that was the US Open. Oh wait and it had the same amount of quarterfinalists with 1hbh as 2hbh. Ya know Youhzny, Stan, Gasquet and Robredo. All one handers. All made quarterfinals of the fastest major with lowest bounce. Hmmm do continue with your illogical theory.

You also called, Wawrinka and Gasquet clay court specialists. Neither of them are such. Sure Wawrinka has won more clay titles than others and does have strong clay results, but he also has done very well on hardcourts. Gasquet has seen equal results across all surfaces let's not be stupid here. Almagro is a clay court specialist but the other two, nope.

Also we then have Haas, Dimitrov, Youhzny, Kohl, Lopez, Llodra and Karlovic who all do not go clay first. I'd also argue strongly against Wawa and Gasquet being bunched in your first list. Then you add in Fed as well and hmm well things are looking debunked.

The reason people like 1hbh on faster surfaces is it can allow you to achieve great angles and quick counter swings that a twohander doesn't achieve. Honestly though it's all about what you are comfortable with and play style.

Things are looking debunked? I'm doing the debunking here - the common perception already is that 1hbh only can do fast and low bouncing surfaces. People cite Federer as an example. As THE example.

Kohlschreiber is good on clay, and Dimitrov had his best showings on clay last year (2013) - beating the world no. 1 on clay, and taking a set off Nadal.

Point is you can find more than equal a number of top players with 1hbh that prefer to play on slow high bouncing surfaces rather than low fast ones, so the general perception that 1hbh is good for 90's grass only is bunk.

 

[heninfan99]

I don't believe it's the one hander but the player. Guga was fantastic on clay (and other surfaces) and Sampras was dominant on grass and hard.

I now think the only advantage the two-hander has is on return of serve but you can cover more court with the one hander if you're lazy -- you can get extra reach out wide. Of course Tommy Haas has an incredible return of serve, not sure how he does it or what grip he waits with.