6.0 (#1064 ATP, two forehands) vs 5.5 (former UVA varsity player) warmup + matchplay

TennisProdigy

Professional
My buddy collin currently ranked about #1000 ATP, uses two one handed forehands, currently 22, we started played tennis at the same time (both late), when he was 14 and I was 16 and we met at a L5 junior tournament in MD. He exploded one season when he went to train in florida one summer when he was 16 and I was 18 and I could never catch him since. I also went to college while he trained at UMCP with the intention of going pro. The unique thing about him is that he hits with two one handed forehands but he is NOT ambidextrous. He could never hit a good backhand so one day when we were training (he was 15), he decided to try hitting one handed lefty forehands and he sucked at first but clearly he's got it down now.

David played his freshman year at UVA then decided to try to go pro. He was able to accumulate 3 atp points that year but determined it wasn't an ideal career for him so he finished off his college education at UMCP. In the last 2 years he hasn't played a single competitive match but occasionally teaches lessons to 3.5-4.5 level players and crushed me in a couple matches.

I apologize for the shaky camera I don't own a tripod unfortunately.

Matchplay starts around 27 minutes, lighting gets smoother as the video transitions to night, and shakiness stabilizes a bit towards the end, enjoy!

I remembered to ask about racquets/strings since I know u guys like that stuff :D

Collin J. 5'11" 155 lbs - Pure Control Plus leaded to 368 grams - acelon polyester 16 gauge strung at 53 lbs
David N. 6'2" 175 lbs - Wilson blx 95 18x20 stock, luxilon original strung at 55 lbs

Video is posted as "unlisted" on my channel, if you want to share it with a friend you need to copy the link then send it to them.

 
Last edited:

WildVolley

Legend
Cool to see the guy hit two forehands. He's the first good player I've seen do that in a match. His grip changes are quick.

The lefty has an odd serve motion. He pins his elbow to his side like Robbie Ginepri.
 

mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
pretty cool! while he hits a left handed fh, he still slices his right handed bh! thanks for sharing.
 

drewdoo

New User
Good grief! Hard for me to comprehend how hard and well 5.5 and 6.0 guys hit. I could practice 8 hrs a day and never even get close to that level...cool video. Thanks for sharing!!
 

Alien

Hall of Fame
Great stuff, I love it. Two forehands, that is unique. I have always thought about that but had concluded the change of hands would take too long. What does he do, one hand on top of the other and the he let the correct one slip down (if on top)?

I see the video in slight slow motion, not sure why.
 

dimkin

Hall of Fame
awesome stuff . . . the I could see myself holding my own agst David (if he took it easy), but Colin just has too much firepower ... both wings so much power
 

TennisProdigy

Professional
Great stuff, I love it. Two forehands, that is unique. I have always thought about that but had concluded the change of hands would take too long. What does he do, one hand on top of the other and the he let the correct one slip down (if on top)?

I see the video in slight slow motion, not sure why.

Hmm not sure why its in slow motion for u, try watching in a lower quality. For groundstrokes I'm not really sure what he does, but for returns I believe he has his right hand on the bottom, left on top slightly and chokes up a bit for the lefty return.
 

Alien

Hall of Fame
Now motion is normal, thanks.
You should do a kind of interview to your friend of the two forehands. Like how long to develop, same power (I know he says yes), how does he shift, can he slice with his left, why not a lefty serve, does he invert to his left forehand (yes he did in the first minutes but in matches?), is his left side still his weak side, does he attack the same from both sides, etc, etc.
It is a very interesting choice.
 

TennisProdigy

Professional
Now motion is normal, thanks.
You should do a kind of interview to your friend of the two forehands. Like how long to develop, same power (I know he says yes), how does he shift, can he slice with his left, why not a lefty serve, does he invert to his left forehand (yes he did in the first minutes but in matches?), is his left side still his weak side, does he attack the same from both sides, etc, etc.
It is a very interesting choice.

I can answer some of those questions for u since I practiced with him up until he was 18. He started playing at age 14, started developing the two forehands at age 15. From age 15-18 his left handed forehand was a viable shot but his right hand fh was far stronger. When he went to train at UMCP he worked on his lefty fh a lot and he says that the power is the same on both but his right hand is still stronger.

Remember, he is NOT ambidextrous and through hard work alone developed the lefty forehand. Basically, his righty forehand can generate more pace/spin, better placement, and can handle heavier balls, but since his left side gets attacked a lot, he has worked a lot on his lefty passing shots as evident in the first game in the match.

For shifting what he used to do is hold the left hand over and slightly on top of the right and just choke up on the handle 1/2 an inch when hitting a lefty shot but not I'm not exactly sure what he does.

He cannot slice or serve with his left hand, again he's not ambidextrous it would take far too much effort for him to develop there, he only chose to hit a lefty fh to find a solution for his biggest weakness (bh).

He can attack from both sides but in matches he normally will not hit inside-out lefty side.
 

TennisProdigy

Professional
Where does the 5.5 give lessons? I recognize the club they are playing at.
owen brown tennis club in columbia maryland. the guy giving lessons is a 5.0 not 5.5.

Oh if ur talking about david (5.5) he just gives a few lessons around where his clients live.
 

oble

Hall of Fame
Thanks for sharing the vid. Very nice to see two forehands in action. His lefty forehand looks so smooth and natural, it's amazing! It seemed like Collin lost a bit of interest and concentration towards the end of the match.
 
Top